by Gerri Hill
“What about this Thompson’s Plants? You think we can get someone to go out there?”
“I guess if they won’t, we will.”
They walked into the offices, nodding at familiar faces. They’d spent damn near three hours there already.
“Brady still in?” he asked.
“Yep, go on back.”
The door was open, but he paused to knock. Chuck Brady was staring at his monitor, a frown on his face, and he motioned them to enter without looking.
“Deputy Brady, we have a few more questions for you.”
He looked up then. “And the FBI returns.” He motioned for them to sit. “What’s on your minds now? You plan to do some more drug busts while you’re in town? Those women were kinda ballsy, weren’t they? We had that house on our radar. It was just a matter of time before we moved in.”
“Well, seeing a drug deal in broad daylight is kinda hard to ignore,” he said. “But yeah, they can hold their own. Saved you some time, I guess.”
His smile was forced. “So what’s up now, Agent Freeman?”
“Two things, really,” Ice said. “We’re going to need a key to the Wicker house.”
“The Wicker house? You mean the Underwood place?”
“I think the local residents in Pecan Grove call it the Wicker house,” Billy said. “Or at least the ones at Shady Pines do.”
He nodded. “Yeah, we got a key. But like I said, we already checked it out. There wasn’t anything disturbed. Place is covered in dust and cobwebs.”
Ice smiled politely. “We’ll still need the key.”
Brady tapped the desktop with his fingers. “Okay. No problem. And two?”
Ice glanced at Billy, and he took the cue. “Thompson’s Plants,” Billy said.
“What about them?”
“We understand they have undocumented workers, that they house them,” he said.
Brady smiled. “Yeah? Now you want to be an immigration officer? Maybe border patrol? Want to go round up some illegals? Doing a drug bust wasn’t enough?”
“Actually, we were wondering if anyone has gone out there to question them,” Ice said. “Maybe one of them is the parent of our unidentified boy.”
“That’s not how it works,” Brady said. “We go out there, they’ll scatter like fleas on a dog’s back. Ain’t none of them going to talk to us.”
“Have you approached the Thompsons, then?”
“Look. We have a young Mexican boy here. Do you think we’re going to go around Cleveland and ask every Mexican family if they’re missing one? Hell, it’s been all over the news. Don’t you think someone would have already come forward?”
“Do you?”
Brady leaned back. “If they come forward and they’re undocumented, well, we gotta do what we gotta do. You know how it is.”
Ice leaned back too. “Then we’d like to take a trip out there. If you’ll point us in the right direction.”
“If you think they’ll talk to the FBI, you’re wasting your time.”
“He was someone’s son.”
Brady raised his hands up. “Your choice, man. Thompson’s is about eight or ten miles north of town. But I’m telling you now, they’re not going to talk to you.”
Billy stood first. “If we could just get the key to the house then, we’ll be on our way.”
“Sure. Let me hunt it down. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as he was gone, Ice rubbed his hands over his bald head, noting that he’d not shaved that morning. “He’s a prick,” he murmured.
“These are his people,” Billy said. “He probably knows what he’s talking about.”
“Come on, man. They’re not working this case.”
“Yeah, I know. But the chances of this one and the cold case being linked are nil,” Billy said. “Once we leave here, that poor kid will probably never be identified.”
Ice rubbed his head again. “You think the girls are wasting their time talking to this Edie Krause woman?”
“I don’t know. Could be a link there,” Billy said. “Kinda a coincidence that the kid who killed her son was one of the four boys to go missing. Seems like that should have been a red flag way back when.”
* * *
“Déjà vu,” CJ murmured as they drove slowly through the run-down trailer park where they’d been only a few hours earlier.
“Do you want to talk to Lizzie first or go directly to Edie Krause?”
“Let’s talk to Lizzie again. I’m not really sure what questions to ask Edie. Are you?”
“No. I’d like to get a little background on her first.” Paige reached over and touched her thigh. “I forgot to tell you. When I spoke to my mother the other morning, she again asked about you.”
CJ raised her eyebrows. “Oh yeah?”
Paige smiled. “I may have…well, I got tired of her asking me the same question.”
“The half-naked woman question?”
“Yes. That one.” Paige squeezed her thigh. “So I told her you weren’t half-naked. You were totally naked.”
CJ laughed. “You didn’t?”
“I also told her it was none of her business.”
“Wow. Sneaking out of the closet?” she teased. “Good for you.”
“Yes, but she hasn’t called me back. That means she’s either still in shock, or she’s planning a surprise visit and interrogation.”
“Well, maybe she called Seth. Maybe he explained it all.”
Paige shook her head. “I would have heard from him if he’d had to endure the inquisition alone. Besides, knowing Seth, he would play the victim and beg as much sympathy out of her as he could.”
CJ turned into Lizzie’s driveway and stopped. She took Paige’s hand, holding it tightly in her own. “Whatever you need me to do, I will,” she said. “If your mother comes down here and wants answers, then I’ll be there for you, if you’re ready to have that talk with her.”
“Thank you. But I would never subject you to my mother. You may run away screaming and I’ll never see you again.”
CJ wasn’t entirely sure if Paige was teasing or not. “Your mother could never make me run away from you.” She gave a quick smile. “I kinda like hanging out with you, you know.”
There was a look on Paige’s face that she couldn’t quite decipher. Paige’s eyes were questioning.
“Is that what we’re doing? Hanging out?”
There was suddenly a tension between them that CJ had no clue how to dissolve. For that matter, she didn’t know what answer Paige expected from her. But now wasn’t the time to delve into their relationship. She decided to take the safe approach.
“I guess we’re doing more than just hanging out, seeing as how we’re together almost every night.” She released Paige’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go talk to Lizzie.”
Paige held her eyes for a few seconds longer before nodding.
They walked up to the door in silence, finding only the torn screen blocking their view inside. CJ knocked twice on the frame.
“Lizzie? Can we speak with you again?” CJ heard the squeaking of the chair Lizzie had been sitting in as she got out.
“Well, my, my,” Lizzie said, smiling broadly at them. “How lovely it is that you returned.”
“We have a few more questions, if you don’t mind,” Paige said.
“Oh, not at all, dear.” She pushed open the screen door. “Come in, come in. I was just watching TV. I so miss Bob Barker. That other fellow just isn’t the same.”
She and Paige exchanged a quick smile as they followed her back inside, again sitting where they had earlier.
“We came to talk to you about Edith Krause,” CJ said.
“Oh? About Little Eddie?”
“That too,” she said. “But we just wanted to know the whole story, not just what we got from the police report.”
Her eyes crinkled nearly shut as she grinned. “Oh, you mean gossip.”
Paige leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs. “You
said that Butch picked on him,” she prompted.
“Constantly,” Lizzie said. “Now he wasn’t the only one. Other boys picked on him too. In fact, Markie Poole was another one who did. He was tall for his age. Poor Eddie didn’t stand a chance. He was such a small boy.” Lizzie pursed her lips. “She never fed him enough when he was little. Waited too long to start him on solid foods, I say.”
“And Butch was a much bigger boy?”
“Oh, yes. Not only that, Eddie was only six. Butch was already close to eight then.” She shook her head. “Butch was mean. Not only to Little Eddie. He picked on anyone littler than him. He threw rocks at birds. One time he took a baseball and hit Mary Beth Crowley’s poor little poodle.”
“So after the accident at school, were there ever any altercations between Edith and Butch’s parents?”
“Oh yes. Before the accident too. Edie was down there all the time. The Renkies lived four trailers down from us,” she said. “Now Herbert, not so much.”
“Herbert?”
“Edie’s husband. He was, well, not to sound cruel, but a bit of a sissy. Thin man. Wore glasses. Little Eddie took after him. Now Edie, she wore the pants in that family.”
“So where is Herbert?” CJ asked.
Lizzie shrugged her thin shoulders. “When Edie came back, Herbert wasn’t with her. Said he’d left her.”
“Came back from where?” Paige asked.
“And when?” CJ added.
“Oh, they just up and left one day. Practically in the middle of the night. I got up one morning just in time to see them driving away. A few days later, her cousin was moving in.” She frowned. “This would have been…oh my, I can’t say for certain, but maybe 2001 or 2002.”
“Were they still here when the four boys went missing?”
Lizzie nodded. “Yes, they left after that.” Her eyes brightened. “Yes, now I remember. After Bradley Simon went missing—he was the last one—Edie said it was such a painful reminder of her Little Eddie, having to watch those parents go through what she went through. I guess it was a few months after that.”
“And when did she come back?”
“Let’s see…I guess it’s over a year now.” She nodded. “Yes, late last summer. Her cousin stayed with her for a few more months, then she moved out. It’s just Edie now.”
“But her husband didn’t come back with her?”
“No. Just her.”
“Where had she moved to?” Paige asked.
“They went to live with her mother, Norma. That was in Midland, out in West Texas,” she said. “Now her mother was from here originally. Her husband—Edie’s father—died in a horrible train accident.” She shook her head slowly. “Tried to beat a train across the tracks, over near Highway 59. She had to get a job then,” Lizzie said, shaking her head. “Most awful job, if you ask me. She went to work at the Wicker house, for the Underwoods. Edie was still a young girl then, I suppose in high school or close to. Norma didn’t last long there, though. Who could blame her? After that, she worked in the cafeteria at school. It was there she met some man. A delivery man. Moved off with him. Edie had just married, if I recall. Norma was younger than me, but we got along.” She smiled and showed off her dentures again. “I got off topic, didn’t I? Well, as I was saying, Edie and Herbert went to Midland. Her mother took ill, so they ended up staying. As I hear it, Herbert ran off with a younger woman.” Her lips pursed again. “I just don’t see it. I mean, Herbert was nothing to look at, if you know what I mean. I can’t imagine some young thing wanting to be with him.”
CJ nearly laughed at the expression on Lizzie’s face but managed to keep it in. “Do you and Edie talk much?”
She shook her head. “Not so much. Like I said, she’s been different ever since she lost Eddie. Keeps to herself. Goes into town for groceries once a week, that’s about it. And church on Sunday, of course.”
“Do you think she’d speak with us?” Paige asked.
“Oh, I doubt it. She never has visitors, except maybe her cousin. And she won’t say much more to me than ‘hello’ or a comment about the weather.” Lizzie clasped her thin, arthritic hands together. “Terrible way to live life, I say.”
CJ nodded. “You’ve been a big help, Lizzie. Thank you for seeing us.”
Lizzie smiled broadly. “I feel honored that the FBI is seeking my help.”
“You don’t happen to know her mother’s last name, do you?” Paige asked.
“Oh, I couldn’t say. But I do know Edie’s maiden name was Gilbert.”
CJ stood and Paige did the same. “No need to get up,” she said as Lizzie was about to pull herself out of the chair. “We can show ourselves out.”
“Well, that’s bad manners on my part, but okay,” Lizzie said as she settled back down. “You come back anytime.”
“Thank you,” Paige said with what CJ knew was a genuine smile.
They walked back to the truck in silence and she glanced at Edie’s trailer but saw no movement. The blinds were all shut tight.
“So what do you think?” she asked as they got back inside the truck.
“Interesting, that’s for sure,” Paige said. “I suppose we should try to locate Edie’s mother and verify her story.”
“Yeah, maybe Edie snapped after her son died. Maybe she and her husband took out their revenge on the neighborhood boys who used to pick on Eddie.”
“Or maybe the husband did and that’s why he’s missing. He’s in hiding.”
CJ laughed as she drove away. “You don’t think he ran off with some sweet young thing?”
Paige smiled. “I like Lizzie. She would be a perfect grandmother.”
“Yeah? Are your grandparents still alive?”
Paige nodded. “Both on my mother’s side. My father’s mother died when I was young, but my grandfather is still alive.”
Her statement was said without much emotion and CJ wondered if she had a relationship with any of them. Paige must have sensed her question.
“We’re not close. My mother’s parents certainly didn’t approve of my career choice and my other grandfather, well, I was never fond of him. He’s not what you would call warm,” she said. “He was very gruff, very regimented. Honestly, I was afraid of him when I was young.” Paige tilted her head as she looked at her. “You never mention yours.”
CJ stiffened. “No. I don’t.” She stared out the windshield, not looking at Paige. “Why don’t you give Howley a call? See if he can find something on Edie’s mother.”
Paige’s answer was to pull out her phone. CJ was aware that she had a firm grip on the steering wheel and she made herself relax. She hadn’t thought of her grandmother in a number of years, and she didn’t know if she was still alive or not. She didn’t really care one way or the other. All she remembered was her grandmother’s accusations and the blame and guilt she tried to lay on both her and Cathy. Of course after Cathy’s suicide, the blame and guilt was solely for CJ. For some reason, her grandmother never blamed their father for his actions.
She jumped when Paige squeezed her thigh.
“Okay?”
CJ saw her white knuckles, and she again relaxed her hands. “Sorry.” She glanced at her. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. Howley?”
“Yes. He’ll let us know what he finds.” Paige’s hand rubbed lightly against her leg. “Want to talk?”
CJ shook her head. “Maybe later.”
Chapter Nine
Ice slammed the truck door, looking at rows upon rows of greenhouses, their doors opened for ventilation against the afternoon heat. The directions Brady had given them were true, and they found Thompson’s Plants without incident. The drive up to the main house was through fields of shrubs and trees in black rubber tubs, all various sizes, linked together by irrigation hoses. It was a massive operation and he could only imagine how many workers would be required to make it all run. They headed toward a white building where a car and three trucks were parked.
“You think anyone w
ill talk to us?” Billy asked for the third time.
Ice just looked at him and let out a frustrated sigh. His answer hadn’t changed so he saw no reason to reply.
“What? I’m just asking,” Billy said.
“Look, man. I know you’d rather be partnered with Paige. And I’d rather be with CJ. But now they want to be buddy-buddy on this one—for whatever reason—so I guess we’re stuck with each other.”
“Yeah. Why is that?”
Ice shook his head. “I’m trying not to think about it.”
Of course, who was he kidding? He thought about it all the time. He watched them, looking for signs, even a tiny hint that they were having an affair, but only if he let his imagination run could he find anything. Sure, they were friendlier than ever, but he still doubted there was anything going on between them. Because, well, Paige was Paige and…CJ was CJ. They were as different as night and day. But was that really still the case? They bickered and teased and made light of their differences, but really, were they that far apart? Paige had changed a little, but CJ the most. As far as he knew, she wasn’t cruising the bars anymore and he couldn’t remember the last time she’d shown up to work wearing the same clothes as the day before, smelling like tequila. In fact, it had to have been before the whole Hoganville mess. She never mentioned women or sex, never mentioned anything. He stopped walking, his eyes widening. She hadn’t been going to the bar. She hadn’t been going out. Then what the hell was she doing? And with whom?
“What?”
Ice slowly turned to Billy, but he closed his mouth before sharing what he’d been thinking.
“Nothing,” he said with a quick shake of his head. Damn. Paige and CJ? Sleeping together? He shook his head again. Damn.
The sign on the outside of the door read “Thompson’s Plants. Wholesale only.” He assumed it was an office and opened the door without knocking. The inside was cool and air conditioned, making him take note of the warm afternoon. Two desks were on opposite sides of the room, facing each other and a long countertop blocked traffic from the rest of the building.
“May I help you?”
Ice pulled out his credentials and held them up to the young lady sitting behind one of the desks. He saw instant fear in her eyes.