Page 73 of Girl, Forgotten (Andrea Oliver 2)

Andrea leaned back against the counter. She unlocked her phone. She placed it on the counter with the screen side up, then pushed it back with her elbow so that Star could take it.

“Is it all farming?” Bible asked. “Or do they work in that factory up the road, too?”

“That’s where the beans are processed,” Wexler told him. “It’s mostly automated, but there are still things that have to be done by hand such as packing and taping boxes. Logging them in for shipping. Loading them into the trucks.”

“High-level skills with practical applications,’” Bible quoted.

“Precisely,” Wexler said, not picking up on the sarcasm. “We give them valuable skills before they are released back into the world. Anyone can sit behind a desk and read a textbook. This was the problem I saw every day when I was teaching. Why make someone read about a subject when they can put their hands in the soil and understand the earth in a metaphysical way?”

Andrea heard a rolling pin squeaking behind her. The smell of yeast filled the kitchen. She glanced down at her phone. It was exactly where she had left it. The screen had gone black. The phone was programmed to lock after thirty seconds.

“Funny how you said that,” Bible told him. “‘Released back into the world’. Does that mean you cut off those ankle bracelets before you let them go?”

“I’ve told you all that I know,” Wexler said. “Cheese, when will I get my field back? We have work to do.”

Stilton clearly didn’t like the nickname any more when Wexler used it. “When I’m damn good and ready.”

“What about Alice’s parents?” Bible asked Wexler. “I assume you’re going to notify them.”

“I wouldn’t know how.”

“Nardo, then?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Andrea debated about whether to unlock her phone again. Was Star trying to send her a different message? Andrea looked at her hands, her shorts. What had Star been trying to signal?

“We could take notifying her parents off your hands for you,” Bible said. “Maybe there’s some letters or a phone in Ms. Poulsen’s personal belongings. People have all kinds of information on their phones.”

“Don’t you need a warrant for that?” The corners of Wexler’s mouth twitched with his familiar smugness. “Probably not the best idea to ask for legal advice from a cop.”

“I prefer to be called either Marshal or Deputy,” Bible said. “Cops are generally like Chief Stilton here. They handle state-level issues like traffic tickets and DUIs. I’m at the federal level, so that covers things like wage theft, conspiracy to commit forced labor, sexual coercion and sex trafficking.”

The room went so silent that Andrea could hear the oven ticking as it warmed up.

She tried not to startle when something small and solid pressed against her elbow. She waited until the rolling pin started to squeak again to look down. Star had pushed Andrea’s iPhone away.

“Did Ms. Poulsen live over there in the bunkhouse?” Bible asked. “We can just pop over and—”

“Not without a warrant.” Nardo was standing on the other side of the screen door. A fresh cigarette dangled from his lips. “There’s no imminent danger. The girl is dead. You can’t walk into any of these buildings without express permission. We have a reasonable expectation that our Fourth Amendment rights will be honored.”

Bible laughed. “You sound like somebody who knows enough lawyers to try to sound like he’s a lawyer.”

“Right.” Nardo pushed open the screen door, but didn’t come in. “Dean, I need your help in the barn. You pigs will either have to leave the property or keep to the area around the body.”

Wexler groaned as he pushed himself up from the chair. “That means now.”

Stilton and Bible made to leave. Andrea turned back to Star, but the woman was busy kneading her hands into dough. She was making bread. The pan was already oiled on the stove top.

“Smells good,” Andrea tried. “My grandmother used to make bread like that.”

Star didn’t look up. Maybe she could tell Andrea was lying. Or maybe she was terrified that Wexler or Nardo would punish her for speaking. She had not said one word beyond Dean since she’d entered the room.

“Out you go, old boys.” Nardo held open the door as the law enforcement contingent passed through.

Andrea was glad for the fresh air. The house had felt stifling. Bible didn’t head back toward the field, so neither did Andrea. He took his place in the chief’s cruiser. Andrea climbed into the back. She could see Stilton walking around the front of the car through the wire mesh divider.

Bible asked, “What’s that you had going on with Star?”