Faithless

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 a

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 saw 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 fa

“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 Sava

“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.”