Page 48 of Fire and Bones

I prowled around on the NYP website a while, clicking from page to page. Learned many useful facts, including the following.

Jute is an annual plant of the genus Corchorus.

Jute is grown entirely for its fiber.

Burlap is made from jute.

For centuries, people in India used jute to make rope, paper, and handwoven fabrics.

Early on, English traders saw jute’s potential as a substitute for hemp and flax.

The East India Company exported its first hundred-ton shipment of jute in 1793.

While interesting, none of this info was relevant to the question I wanted answered.

Ninety minutes after starting, I sat back, frustrated.

Returning to the NYP home page, I drank tepid coffee while staring at the shifting images topping the screen. Tree root baskets. Deer corn bags. Ground covers. Seed sacks.

What were the chances anyone at NYP would be at the office on Memorial Day?

Zero to none sounded like a reasonable estimate.

What the hell.

Figuring shared roots might make the person answering my call more receptive, I phoned the plant in Lumberton, North Carolina.

Four rings. A voice answered as I was about to disconnect.

“NYP Corp. Colt’s my name. Burlap’s my game.” Drawl thicker than sludge in a sewage pipe.

I was so stunned I didn’t respond immediately.

“Y’all there?”

“Sorry, Mr. Colt. I didn’t expect to find anyone working on a holiday.”

“That’s not how I view it, ma’am.”

“Excuse me?” At a loss what Colt meant.

“For me, burlap is a labor of love.”

“I see.” I didn’t. “I’m interested in a particular item. Wondered if you might—”

“Is that a Carolina twang I’m hearing?”

“Yes, sir. I live in Charlotte.”

“Privileged to make your acquaintance. Go Panthers!”

“Yahoo. I’m calling because I have some questions about the manufacture of burlap.”

“What do you know about our little op?” Colt asked.

“Not much.”

“Well, then.”