Read J.D. Trafford - Michael Collins 02 - No Time to Die for Free Online Page A

looking for my client, Tommy Estrada. He’s missing.” They sat in silence, staring at her. Nobody said a word, and then Jane repeated herself in Spanish.
    Again, no response.
    “Somebody knows where he is. I need your help. We were trying to make your life better, but now he’s gone. I know some of you were in a van. You were going to the fields on the morning he disappeared. You stopped and waited for Tommy, but he didn’t come. I want to know what you saw.”
    A young man with a thick black moustache and a barrel chest stood up.
    “You are only making things worse.” A few of the men nodded in agreement. “Tommy was making trouble, and whenever there is too much trouble, they just deport us and bring in new people.”
    “ They can’t do that. They need you to work the fields,” Jane said.
    “ Jolly Boy struck a deal,” another man said, standing. “They come get us, deporting us in waves – not all at once – that way the companies keep going. Fields still get picked.”
    Jane looked back at Michael for help. She knew they were right. In fact, the politicians in Florida were incredibly proud of their solution for “orderly” deportation. Everybody wins, except the field workers.
    Michael put his hand on Jane’s shoulder, and then took a few steps closer to the men.
    “ I think they killed Tommy.” His stomach lurched, unsure whether he should continue. He was just supposed to follow Jane and keep his mouth shut.
    Michael looked at the men, and then he looked at Jane. Neither knew what actually happened to Tommy, but she didn’t stop him. So he kept going, hoping somebody would come forward with more information.
    “They took him and they killed him. Nobody wants to say it, but it’s obvious. He had a family that I care a lot about. I’d like to hold these people responsible. If you care, call Jane. Go to Jane. If you don’t care, say nothing. It’s your decision. But know that you’re probably going to disappear next.”
    As they turned and started to walk away, Kermit smiled.
    “You’re always Mr. Happy.” He put his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “That’s what I like about you.”
    Michael laughed, his mind already drifting to the blue Taurus and Agent Frank Vatch. He wasn’t planning on saying anything, but he needed to make something happen and get out of Jesser. Whoever was in the blue Taurus wasn’t going to wait forever.

CHAPTER NINE
    Morning came early. It was a hot day in Jesser. The temperature already hovered around 92 with no breeze, baking the dirt. Standing in the middle of a field, a person could hear a soft crackle as the earth dried out, moisture evaporating.
    The farmer sat atop a shiny green John Deere tractor with a 23-row applicator attachment, meaning it could fertilize 23 rows at one time. The cab was new and soft. A 7-Eleven Big Gulp of Mountain Dew rested in the cup holder. Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Trashy Woman” played loudly on the stereo.
    He rumbled across the vast field of soybeans. The sky was clear blue with no obstructions.
    It was a good day to be a farmer, he thought. Nobody looking over his shoulder. Nobody telling him what to do.
    His wife could deal with the screaming kids and the credit card bills.
    He was working. And, more importantly, he was working his way – six hours to drive tractor, listen to music, and maybe smoke some weed.
    In total, he farmed about 3,000 acres. He owned 1,000 and rented the rest of the acreage from neighbors and absentee landlords who were looking for a tax write-off and a government subsidy.
    The farmer drove the land in loops. At the eastern property line, he cranked the wheel and circled back. At the western property line, he cranked the wheel and did it again. The whole thing had a simplicity and rhythm. 
    After a few hours, it was time to switch music. He turned the tractor, and then slowed it down to a stop.
    He put on AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” and then opened the glove compartment and found his bag of weed.