Betrayed (Rosato & DiNunzio, #2)(19)

Her aunt hurried ahead, but Judy slowed to take it in, imagining poor Iris working here. None of the women looked up, their ears plugged against the refrigeration noise, breathing in the manure smell. They were white, Hispanic, and Asian, all dressed in dark blue smocks over hoodies and wool hats over hairnets, packing mushrooms into light blue containers, positioning them in the wrapping machines, stamping them, and placing them in large, unmarked cardboard boxes. The humans worked like robots, part of the assembly line itself, and the job horrified Judy as much as the growing room. She hurried ahead to keep up with Aunt Barb, past a time clock with yellow cards in trays, and reached a scuffed swinging door, pushed it open, and entered a short hallway leading to some sort of office.

“That was awful.” Judy took a deep breath, but the air was still smelly. She felt vaguely ashamed at herself, for beefing about the asbestos damages cases, but she knew that wouldn’t stop her.

“Finally, the office! Let me do the talking.” Aunt Barb flagged down an overweight man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, lumbering down the paneled hall toward them, a confused frown folding his fleshy face. His hair was a sparse brown, and he had on a light blue oxford shirt, loose tan work pants, and worn black sneakers.

“Ladies?” He waved back at them. “May I help you? The public isn’t allowed in the—”

“I’m sorry, but we’re looking for Julio,” Aunt Barb answered, as they reached the man. “He’s the boss, right? Or is Mike around?”

“They’re not here. I’m Scott Panuc, assistant operations manager. What can I do for you?”

“Scott, my name is Barb Moyer, this is my niece Judy, and I’m a friend of Iris Juarez, who works here—”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about.” Scott folded his arms over his chubby belly.

“Look, I know that Iris worked here. She’s been working here for two months on the three-to-eleven shift, in the packing room. She should’ve been working tonight.”

“No, you have your facts wrong.” Scott shook his head, sticking out his lower lip. “I don’t know any Iris Juarez. Nobody works here by that name.”

Judy held her tongue, only because her aunt wanted to do the talking.

“Scott,” her aunt said, calmly, “I know she worked here. She started two months ago. I dropped her off here two weeks ago.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

“I know she worked here. I picked her up here, too, the same day. That was when I met, or at least saw, Julio.”

Judy interjected, “Scott, we’re not from Immigration or the IRS or anything. We’re just personal friends of Iris’s, trying to figure out what happened to her. I don’t know if you heard but she was found dead in her car today, on Brandywine Way.”

“Oh no!” Scott’s eyes flared, his surprise genuine. “Oh, uh, jeez, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Me, too.” Aunt Barb sighed, whether from relief or fatigue, Judy couldn’t tell. “Okay, so now we know. She worked here.”

“Yes, she did.” Scott buckled his lower lip. “I didn’t know who you were, well, you know.”

“I know. The police think she had a heart attack. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of it, because she should have been at work tonight.”

Scott hesitated, rubbing his face. “Yes, to be honest, she should have been here, but she didn’t come in today.”

“So you didn’t see her today at all?”

“No, she was a no-show.” Scott shrugged his heavy shoulders sadly. “It’s not like her, but then again, you never know.”

“Did you call her when you realized she wasn’t here?”

“No, I never do. I figured she moved on. They move around a lot and usually don’t say where they’re going. One day, they just disappear.”

Judy remained silent. Nobody had to ask whom he meant by they.

“That wouldn’t be like her, either, just to disappear without saying so.” Aunt Barb seemed to slump in her parka, and Judy could feel her leaning on her arm for support.

“No, it wouldn’t, but I didn’t change what I usually do.” Scott’s face fell into lines. “Iris really is, or was, a special person. My wife and I just had our second baby, and she brought in cookies for me to bring home.”

Aunt Barb smiled sadly. “That would be Iris to a T.”

“I didn’t know she had heart problems.”

“She didn’t, that I know of. That’s what I’m trying to figure out, that and why she was on Brandywine Way. You have any idea why she would be down there?”

“No, not at all. There’s nothing there.” Scott frowned, puzzled.

“She was friends with Daniella Gamboa, and I think Daniella used to work here, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but she left.”

“Do you know why?”

“No idea. Like I say, they come and go. One day last week, she didn’t show up.”

Judy interjected, “Was Iris friendly with any of the other women in the packing room?”

Scott shook his head. “No, there’s so much moving around. They don’t even know each other’s names, and that’s the way they like it. The only exception is when the families come up together, like cousins will work together and they stick together. But I never saw Iris with any of them.”