Дэвид Балдаччи - Walk the Wire

“And what does that mean?” asked Jamison curiously.

“She picks all the clothes or at least the fabric and is in charge of the making of the clothes,” offered Ames.

Jamison turned and waved at the woman, but she simply stared back and didn’t return the gesture.

Gunther warily looked at Decker. “So the FBI? Joe didn’t say why you wanted to meet with us.”

Kelly said, “Can we go inside? We’re going to tell you why we’re here, but it’s not going to be pleasant.”

Gunther and Ames exchanged a startled glance. Gunther turned and led them toward one of the buildings.

It was a startlingly clean communal kitchen with two long picnic-style tables down each wall and a similar table in the middle of the room. The appliances were commercial grade. A woman in a dress similar to Susan Ames’s was unpacking some supplies and placing them neatly in overhead cabinets.

“Excuse us, Martha,” said Gunther. “We need to talk to these folks about some important matters.”

Martha glanced suspiciously at Decker and Jamison and hurried into another room.

They sat down at the table in the middle of the space. Gunther clasped his hands in front of him.

“Now, why are you here?” Gunther asked Kelly.

“Irene Cramer.”

Gunther kept his surprised gaze on Kelly. “Irene? What about her?”

Decker interjected. “We understand that she was going on a trip?”

Ames spoke up. “That’s right. Our school had just started back up. But we saw no reason not to let her go. She coordinated with Doris, the Colony teacher. It was only a week or so. She should be back soon.”

“When did she tell you about the trip?” asked Jamison.

Gunther said, “Why all the questions about Irene?”

Kelly glanced at Decker, who nodded. “Irene was found dead,” Kelly said to Gunther.

“Dead?” exclaimed a horrified Gunther. “Where? How?”

“The ‘where’ was out in the middle of nowhere. She was found by a hunter. The ‘how’ was that she was murdered.”

“Well, I’m not surprised.”

They all turned to see Susan Ames standing in the doorway where Martha had earlier walked through.

“Susan?” exclaimed Ames. “What in heaven’s name do you mean you’re not surprised?”

“Mindy? It was only a matter of time.”

“Okay, I admit that one hit me out of left field,” said Kelly. They were outside in the heat, and he was smoking a cigarette. Decker stood there looking back at the building they’d left a few minutes ago. Jamison was standing a little away from Kelly’s cigarette smoke.

Gunther and Milton Ames had apparently been so taken aback by Susan Ames’s statement that they had quickly ushered Decker and company out of the building, while they “discussed” things among themselves.

“She knew about Cramer’s other life,” noted Decker. “Which begs the question of why she continued to allow her to teach their kids. And there’s something else.”

“What?” Kelly asked as he tossed his spent smoke on the gravel.

“If Susan Ames knew, who else did here?”

“You really think one of the Brothers butchered Cramer like that?”

“Locals can come here. Cramer worked here and she was an outsider. Any other non-Brothers around?”

Kelly looked shrewdly at him. “Yeah, they hire contractors to help with the manufacturing stuff and some of the farming operations.”

“Okay.” Decker glanced toward the dining hall. “If they keep us out here much longer I’m just going to kick the door down before heatstroke fully sets in.”

“They might not like that,” warned Kelly.

“They’re pacifists. So what are they gonna do about it?”

Kelly grinned and then pointed. “Well, you just got your wish.”

Decker looked over to see Peter Gunther standing at the open door and waving for them to rejoin him.

Inside, Susan and Milton Ames were sitting side by side at the center table. He appeared upset and she looked somewhat contrite.

Milton said, “Um, Susan wants to explain her earlier remark .”

“Okay,” said Kelly, sitting down opposite them while Decker and Jamison hovered behind. Kelly said to Susan, “So you knew about Irene?”

Susan wouldn’t look up. “Yes. And... it was very cruel what I said before. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess... I suppose I was upset.” Now she did look up and her eyes were watery. “But I did fear for her. And it seems that those fears were unfortunately justified.”

“How did you know about her other life?” asked Decker.

“This past spring our oldest son had gone to visit my sister and her family in Pennsylvania. They’re not part of us. But we do visit and keep in touch. He traveled by bus. I went into town to pick him up at the depot. He was late coming in, it must’ve been after midnight. I was waiting in my truck when I saw her walking down the street with some man.”

“Irene, you mean?” said Kelly.

“I had to look three times before I recognized her. It was more the way she walked, really, and how she would tilt her head. I would see her do that at the school all the time.”

“Then you’re a careful observer,” noted Decker.

Susan glanced nervously at her husband, who still stared down at the table. “I... I am someone who notices things. My duties here require that attention to detail.”

“Go on,” prompted Kelly.

“Well, the man was obviously drunk and had his hands all over her. I thought she might be in trouble. So I got out of the truck and called out to her. She was horrified to see me, I could tell. She started trying to get rid of the man who was with her. But he said the name Mindy, which is how I knew about that. Anyway, the man yelled that he’d pay her an extra hundred dollars if she, well, if she performed a certain act on him.” Susan blushed deeply as she said this, and Milton and Gunther looked like they might be ill. She noticed this and hurried on. “That’s when I realized it was more than some date that got out of hand. The man finally left and we sat in my truck and talked. She could tell I was very shocked and she explained at length about what was going on.”

“Take your time and tell us everything you can remember,” said Jamison.

“She said her mother had cancer, had no insurance, and she was sending all the money she made by, well, by being with men—”

Here Gunther made a clucking sound.

“—so as to help her mother,” finished Susan hurriedly.

“So just to be clear, she told you she was selling sex for money?” said Kelly.

“I know nothing about it, of course, but isn’t that the point? To do it for money?”

Kelly glanced at Decker and didn’t answer.

“Did you believe her about her mother?” asked Decker.

“I was so stunned I didn’t know what to believe. But she seemed incredibly sincere, and so, against my better judgment, I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone about what I had seen. She would have been instantly dismissed from working here if I had.”

“Of course she would have,” bellowed Gunther. “And you should have told us, Susan. To think that our children were being taught by someone who... who engaged in such immoral behavior.”

Susan glanced up at him defiantly. “And would it be moral to let her mother die?”

“I’m sure there were other ways,” said Gunther. “Do you not agree, Milton?”

Milton looked startled, as though he were a student hiding in the back of the room when the teacher called on him for an answer he didn’t have.

“Yes, yes, of course. I’m sure there were other pathways.” He brightened. “She could have come to us. We would have helped her.”