Faithless

  “But she worked some in the fields?” Lena asked, remembering their earlier conversation.

  “Yes, but only with other family members. Cousins, mostly,” Lev said. “We have a rather large family.”

  Esther listed, “Rachel has four, Paul has six. Mary’s sons live in Wyoming and . . .”

  She didn’t finish. Jeffrey prompted, “And?”

  Rachel cleared her throat, but it was Paul who spoke. “They don’t visit often,” he said, the tension in his voice echoing what Lena suddenly felt in the room. “They haven’t been back in a while.”

  “Ten years,” Mary said, looking up at the ceiling like she wanted to trap her tears. Lena wondered if they had run screaming from the farm. She sure as hell would have.

  Mary continued, “They chose a different path. I pray for them every day when I get up and every evening before I go to bed.”

  Sensing Mary could monopolize things for a while, Lena asked Lev, “You’re married?”

  “Not anymore.” For the first time, his expression appeared unguarded. “My wife passed away in childbirth several years ago.” He gave a pained smile. “Our first child, unfortunately, but I have my Ezekiel to comfort me.”

  Jeffrey waited an appropriate interval before saying, “So, you guys thought Abby was with her parents, her parents thought she was with you. This was, what, ten days ago you went on your mission?”

  Esther answered, “That’s right.”

  “And you do these missions about four times a year?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re a registered nurse?” he asked.

  Esther nodded, and Lena tried to hide her surprise. The woman seemed to volunteer yards of useless information about herself at the drop of a hat. That she had kept back this one detail seemed suspicious.

  Esther supplied, “I was training at Georgia Medical College when Ephraim and I married. Papa thought it’d be handy to have someone with practical first-aid experience around the farm, and the other girls can’t stand the sight of blood.”

  “That’s the truth,” Rachel agreed.

  Jeffrey asked, “Do you have many accidents here?”

  “Thank goodness, no. A man sliced through his Achilles tendon three years ago. It was a mess. I was able to use my training to control the bleeding, but there was nothing else I could do for him other than basic triage. We really need a doctor around.”

  “Who do you normally see?” Jeffrey asked. “You have children around here sometimes.” As if explaining, he added, “My wife is a pediatrician in town.”

  Lev interposed, “Sara Linton. Of course.” A slight smile of recognition crossed his lips.

  “Do you know Sara?”

  “We went to Sunday school together a long time ago.” Lev stretched out the word “long,” as if they had many shared secrets.

  Lena could tell that Jeffrey was annoyed by the familiarity; whether he was jealous or just being protective, she didn’t know.

  Being Jeffrey, he didn’t let his irritation interfere with the interview, and instead directed them back on track by asking Esther, “Do you normally not telephone to check in?” When Esther seemed confused, he added, “When you’re away in Atlanta. You don’t call to check in on the children?”

  “They’re with their family,” she said. Her tone was demure but Lena had seen a flash in her eyes, as if she had been insulted.

  Rachel continued her sister’s theme. “We’re very close-knit, Chief Tolliver. In case you hadn’t picked up on that.”

  Jeffrey took the slap on the nose better than Lena would have. He asked Esther, “Can you tell me when it was you realized she was missing?”

  “We got back late last night,” Esther said. “We went by the farm first to see Papa and pick up Abby and Becca—”

  “Becca didn’t go with you, either?” Lena asked.

  “Oh, of course not,” the mother said, as if she had suggested something preposterous. “She’s only fourteen.”

  “Right,” Lena said, having no idea what age was appropriate for a tour of the homeless shelters of Atlanta.

  “Becca stayed with us at the house,” Lev provided. “She likes to spend time with my son, Zeke.” He continued, “When Abby didn’t show up for supper that first night, Becca just assumed Abby had changed her mind about going to Atlanta. She didn’t even bother to bring it up.”

  “I’d like to talk to her,” Jeffrey said.

  Lev obviously did not like the request, but he nodded his consent. “All right.”

  Jeffrey tried again, “There was no one Abby was seeing? A boy she was interested in?”

  “I know this is difficult to believe because of her age,” Lev replied, “but Abby led a very sheltered life. She was schooled here at home. She didn’t know much about life outside the farm. We were trying to prepare her by taking her into Atlanta, but she didn’t like it. She preferred a more cloistered life.”

  “She had been on missions before?”

  Esther provided, “Yes. Twice. She didn’t like it, didn’t like being away.”

  “‘Cloistered’ is an interesting word,” Jeffrey observed.

  “I know it makes her sound like a nun,” Lev told him, “and maybe that’s not far off base. She wasn’t Catholic, of course, but she was extremely devout. She had a passion for serving our Lord.”

  Ephraim said, “Amen,” under his breath, but it felt cursory to Lena, like saying, “Bless you,” after someone sneezed.

  Esther supplied, “She was very strong in her faith.” Quickly, she put her hand to her mouth, as if she realized her slip. For the first time, she had spoken about her daughter in the past tense. Beside her, Rachel took her hand.

  Jeffrey continued, “Was there anyone hanging around the farm who seemed to pay more attention to her than he should have? A stranger perhaps?”

  Lev said, “We have many strangers here, Chief Tolliver. It’s the nature of our work to invite strangers into our homes. Isaiah beseeches us to ‘bring the poor that are cast out to thy house.’ It is our duty to help them.”

  “Amen,” the family intoned.

  Jeffrey asked Esther, “Do you remember what she was wearing the last time you saw her?”

  “Yes, of course.” Esther paused a moment, as if the memory might break a dam of emotions she had been holding back. “We had sewn a blue dress together. Abby loved to sew. We found the pattern in an old trunk upstairs that I believe belonged to Ephraim’s mother. We made a few changes to update it. She was wearing it when we said good-bye.”

  “This was here at the house?”

  “Yes, early that morning. Becca had already gone to the farm.”

  Mary provided, “Becca was with me.”

  Jeffrey asked, “Anything else?”

  Esther told him, “Abby’s very calm. She never got flustered as a child. She’s such a special girl.”

  Lev spoke up, his voice deadly serious in a way that made his words sound not like a compliment to his sister but as a matter of record. “Abby looks very much like her mother, Chief Tolliver. They have the same coloring, same almond shape to their eyes. She’s a very attractive girl.”

  Lena repeated his words in her mind, wondering if he was intimating another man might want his niece or revealing something deeper about himself. It was hard to tell with this guy. He seemed pretty open and honest one minute, but then the next Lena wasn’t even sure if she would believe him if he told her the sky was blue. The preacher obviously was the head of the church as well as the family, and she got the distinct feeling that he was probably a lot smarter than he let on.

  Esther touched her own hair, recalling, “I tied a ribbon in her hair. A blue ribbon. I remember it now. Ephraim had packed the car and we were ready to go, and I found the ribbon in my purse. I had been saving it because I thought I could use it as an embellishment on a dress or something, but it matched her dress so well, I told her to come over, and she bent down while I tied the ribbon in her hair . . .” Her voice trailed off, and Lena sa
w her throat work. “She has the softest hair . . .”

  Rachel squeezed her sister’s hand. Esther was staring out the window as if she wanted to be outside and away from this scene. Lena saw this as a coping mechanism that she was more than familiar with. It was so much easier to keep yourself removed from things rather than wearing your emotions out on your sleeve.

  Paul said, “Rachel and I live on the farm with our families. Separate houses, of course, but we’re within walking distance of the main house. When we couldn’t locate Abby last night, we did a thorough search of the grounds. The workers fanned out. We checked the houses, the buildings, from top to bottom. When we couldn’t find anything, we called the sheriff.”

  “I’m sorry it took him so long to get back to you,” Jeffrey said. “They’ve been pretty busy over there.”

  “I don’t imagine,” Paul began, “many people in your business get concerned when a twenty-one-year-old girl goes missing.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Girls run off all the time, don’t they?” he said. “We’re not completely blind to the outside world here.”

  “I’m not following you.”

  “I’m the black sheep of the family,” Paul said, and from his siblings’ reaction, Lena could tell it was an old family joke. “I’m a lawyer. I handle the farm’s legal business. Most of my time is spent in Savannah. I spend every other week in the city.”

  “Were you here last week?” Jeffrey asked.

  “I came back last night when I heard about Abby,” he said, and the room fell silent.

  “We’ve heard rumors,” Rachel said, cutting to the chase. “Horrible rumors.”

  Ephraim put his hand to his chest. The old man’s fingers were trembling. “It’s her, isn’t it?”

  “I think so, sir.” Jeffrey reached into his pocket and took out a Polaroid. Ephraim’s hands were shaking too much to take it, so Lev stepped in. Lena watched both men look at the picture. Where Ephraim was composed and quiet, Lev gasped audibly, then closed his eyes, though no tears spilled out. Lena watched his lips move in a silent prayer. Ephraim could only stare at the photograph, his palsy becoming so bad that the chair seemed to vibrate.

  Behind him, Paul was looking at the picture, his face impassive. Lena watched him for signs of guilt, then any sign at all. But for his Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed, he stood as still as a rock.

  Esther cleared her throat. “May I?” she said, asking for the picture. She seemed perfectly composed, but her fear and underlying anguish were obvious.

  “Oh, Mother,” Ephraim began, his voice cracking from grief. “You may look if you like, but please, trust me, you don’t want to see her like this. You don’t want this in your memory.”

  Esther demurred to her husband’s wishes, but Rachel reached out for the photograph. Lena watched the older woman’s lips press into a rigid line. “Dear Jesus,” she whispered. “Why?”

  Whether she meant to or not, Esther looked over her sister’s shoulder, seeing the picture of her dead child. Her shoulders started shaking, a small tremble that erupted into spasms of grief as she buried her head in her hands, sobbing, “No!”

  Mary had been sitting quietly in the chair, but she stood abruptly, her hand to her chest, then ran from the room. Seconds later, they heard the kitchen door slam.

  Lev had remained silent as he watched his sister go, and though Lena couldn’t read his expression, she got the feeling he was angered by Mary’s melodramatic exit.

  He cleared his throat before asking, “Chief Tolliver, could you tell us what happened?”

  Jeffrey hesitated, and Lena wondered how much he would tell them. “We found her in the woods,” he said. “She was buried in the ground.”

  “Oh, Lord,” Esther breathed, doubling over as if in pain. Rachel rubbed her sister’s back, her lips trembling, tears streaming down her face.

  Jeffrey didn’t offer specifics as he continued, “She ran out of air.”

  “My baby,” Esther moaned. “My poor Abigail.”

  The kids from the pigpen came in, the screen door slamming closed behind them. The adults all jumped as if a gun had been fired.

  Ephraim spoke first, obviously struggling to regain his composure. “Zeke, what have you been told about the door?”

  Zeke leaned against Lev’s leg. He was a spindly kid, not yet showing signs of his father’s height. His arms were as thin as toothpicks. “Sorry, Uncle Eph.”

  “Sorry, Papa,” Becca said, though she hadn’t been the one to slam the door. She too was stick-thin, and though Lena wasn’t good with ages, she wouldn’t have put the girl at fourteen. She obviously hadn’t hit puberty yet.

  Zeke was staring at his aunt, his lips trembling. He obviously sensed something was wrong. Tears sprang into his eyes.

  “Come here, child,” Rachel said, dragging Zeke into her lap. She put her hand on his leg, petting him, soothing him. She was trying to control her grief, but losing the battle.

  Rebecca kept to the door, asking, “What’s wrong?”

  Lev put his hand on Rebecca’s shoulder. “Your sister has passed on to be with the Lord.”

  The teenager’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened and she put her hand to her stomach. She tried to ask a question, but no words came out.

  Lev said, “Let’s pray together.”

  Rebecca breathed, “What?” as if the air had been knocked out of her.

  No one answered her question. All of them but Rebecca bowed their heads, yet instead of the booming sermon from Lev that Lena expected, they were silent.

  Rebecca stood there, hand to her stomach, eyes wide open, while the rest of her family prayed.

  Lena shot Jeffrey a questioning look, wondering what they should do now. She felt nervous, out of place. Hank had stopped dragging Lena and Sibyl to church after Lena had torn up another girl’s Bible. She wasn’t used to being around religious people unless they were down at the police station.

  Jeffrey just shrugged, taking a sip of lemonade. His shoulders went up, and she watched him work his jaw to get the sour out.

  “I’m sorry,” Lev told them. “What can we do?”

  Jeffrey spoke as if he was reading from a list. “I want employment records on everyone at the farm. I’d like to talk to anyone who had contact with Abigail at any time over the last year. I want to search her room to see if we can come up with something. I’d like to take the computer you mentioned and see if she’s been contacted by anyone through the Internet.”

  Ephraim said, “She was never alone with the computer.”

  “Still, Mr. Bennett, we need to check everything.”

  Lev said, “They’re being thorough, Ephraim. Ultimately, it’s your decision, but I think we should do everything we can to help, if only to eliminate possibilities.”

  Jeffrey seized on this. “Would you mind taking a lie detector test?”

  Paul almost laughed. “I don’t think so.”

  “Don’t speak for me, please,” Lev challenged his brother. He told Jeffrey, “We will do everything we can to help you.”

  Paul countered, “I don’t think—”

  Esther straightened her shoulders, her face was swollen with grief, her eyes rimmed red. “Please don’t argue,” she asked her brothers.

  “We’re not arguing,” Paul said, but he sounded like he was spoiling for a fight. Over the years, Lena had seen how grief exposed people’s real personalities. She felt the tension between Paul and his older brother and wondered if it was general sibling rivalry or something deeper. Esther’s tone implied the pair had argued before.

  Lev raised his voice, but he was talking to the children. “Rebecca, why don’t you take Zeke into the backyard? Your aunt Mary’s there and I’m sure she needs you.”

  “Hold on,” Jeffrey said. “I’ve got a couple of questions for her.”

  Paul put his hand on his niece’s shoulder and kept it there. “Go ahead,” he answered, his tone and posture indicating Jeffrey was on a short leash.

>   Jeffrey asked, “Rebecca, did you know if your sister was seeing anyone?”

  The girl looked up at her uncle, as if asking permission. Her eyes finally settled back on Jeffrey. “You mean a boy?”

  “Yes,” he answered, and Lena could tell that he saw this as a fruitless exercise. There was no way the girl would be forthcoming in front of her family, especially considering she was a bit rebellious herself. The only way to get the truth out of her was to get her alone, and Lena doubted very seriously that Paul— or any of the men— would allow that.

  Again, Rebecca looked at her uncle before answering. “Abby wasn’t allowed to date boys.”

  If Jeffrey noticed that she didn’t answer the question, he didn’t let on. “Did you think it was strange when she didn’t join you at the farm when your parents were away?”

  Lena was watching Paul’s hand on the girl’s shoulder, trying to see if he was exerting pressure. She couldn’t tell.

  “Rebecca?” Jeffrey prompted.

  The girl’s chin lifted a little, and she said, “I thought she’d changed her mind.” She added, “Is she really . . . ?”

  Jeffrey nodded. “I’m afraid she is,” he told her. “That’s why we need all your help to find out who did this to her.”

  Tears flooded into her eyes, and Lev’s composure seemed to drop a little at his niece’s distress. He told Jeffrey, “If you don’t mind . . .”

  Jeffrey nodded, and Lev told the girl, “Go on and take Zeke out to your aunt Mary, honey. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  Paul waited until they were gone before getting back to business, telling Jeffrey, “I have to remind you that the employment records are spotty. We offer food and shelter in return for an honest day’s work.”

  Lena blurted out, “You don’t pay anyone?”

  “Of course we do,” Paul snapped. He must’ve been asked this before. “Some take the money, some donate it back to the church. There are several workers who have been here for ten, twenty years and never seen any money in their pocket. What they get in return is a safe place to live, a family and the knowledge that their lives are not wasted.” To put a finer point on it, he indicated the room he was standing in, much as his sister had done before in the kitchen. “We all live very modest lives, Detective. Our aim is to help others, not ourselves.”