pierced. I wasn’t godly enough to be his child, and he made sure I was the example the others didn’t want to live up to. Even Hope couldn’t stop him from taking things out on me, and he adored her.”
Gabe’s jaw clenched. “You were identical?”
Glory nodded. “She always dressed the way he wanted and wore her hair the way he wanted, to keep him from hurting her.”
“Do you think he did other things to her?”
God, how many times had she asked herself that over the last few years? “I don’t know. She was always quiet, withdrawn, but it got worse as we grew older. I just thought she was trying to stay off my dad’s radar.”
“Do you think your father had anything to do with her disappearance?”
She shrugged. “He lost his mind when we couldn’t find her. I’ve never seen him that angry. And he blamed me, like he’d hoped I would be the one taken and not her.”
Gabe tapped his pen against the table, his expression grim. “Is it possible that what happened to her was meant for you?”
She hated to do it, but she nodded. “Yes. If my father was the one behind it, then yes.”
“All right. Walk me through everything you remember before she disappeared, the day she went to the library, and the days afterward.”
Glory nudged Ryan. “Can you get me some water? This is going to take a while.”
Ryan softly kissed her forehead. “I’m here for you, sweetheart.”
“You shouldn’t be.” She closed her eyes. God, why did she keep trying to push him away? She was such a masochist.
“But I am, and I’m not going anywhere.” He got up and grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini fridge. “Go on. Tell him what he needs to know.”
She opened the bottle and took a sip before obeying Ryan’s request. “Before she left, everything seemed normal.” She snorted. “Normal for us, anyway. We all went to school, we all came home and did our homework. We hung out with our friends and gossiped about boys.”
“Your brother and sisters acted normally?”
“Before Hope went missing? Sure. Temp tried to keep the peace between us, but even he couldn’t keep our dad off us if he decided we needed to be punished.” She fiddled with the bottle cap, refusing to look at Gabe. “Temp was nothing like our dad. He was the one who did all the dad things, like making sure we got to school on time and lecturing us about boys.” She smiled wistfully. “And he doted on Faith.”
“Your youngest sister.”
Glory bit her lip. “I hope…” Ryan took hold of her hand, and only then did she realize how badly she was trembling. “I hope Temp kept our dad off her.”
“Why didn’t your mother gain custody?”
Glory finally looked at Gabe. “Because doormats don’t get anything but stepped on.”
Gabe nodded once. “All right. Everything was normal right up until Hope went to the library. That day, did any of your family react oddly? Was there anything strange, anything out of place?”
Glory tried hard to remember the details of that day, but everything up until the moment they all realized Hope wasn’t coming home was a blur. “I spent the day in my room, bruised and sulking. Temp brought me lunch and Faith tried singing to me through the door before my father screamed at her to stop. Dinner came and went, but Hope didn’t come home.”
“Then what?”
“The cops came and took a statement from my dad. They declared her missing because she was a minor, and they wanted to get her face out to the surrounding police precincts. But they never found her.”
“Your father left town when you were eighteen and left you behind.”
Glory hated thinking about that time. She’d been left in the cold with the clothes on her back, beaten black and blue and with five dollars in her wallet. Thank God for Mrs. Reyes, and thank God for Cyn, because otherwise Glory would have been homeless. “Yeah.”
“The years in between must have been hard.”
Ryan was still holding her hand, but at that he
Gabe’s jaw clenched. “You were identical?”
Glory nodded. “She always dressed the way he wanted and wore her hair the way he wanted, to keep him from hurting her.”
“Do you think he did other things to her?”
God, how many times had she asked herself that over the last few years? “I don’t know. She was always quiet, withdrawn, but it got worse as we grew older. I just thought she was trying to stay off my dad’s radar.”
“Do you think your father had anything to do with her disappearance?”
She shrugged. “He lost his mind when we couldn’t find her. I’ve never seen him that angry. And he blamed me, like he’d hoped I would be the one taken and not her.”
Gabe tapped his pen against the table, his expression grim. “Is it possible that what happened to her was meant for you?”
She hated to do it, but she nodded. “Yes. If my father was the one behind it, then yes.”
“All right. Walk me through everything you remember before she disappeared, the day she went to the library, and the days afterward.”
Glory nudged Ryan. “Can you get me some water? This is going to take a while.”
Ryan softly kissed her forehead. “I’m here for you, sweetheart.”
“You shouldn’t be.” She closed her eyes. God, why did she keep trying to push him away? She was such a masochist.
“But I am, and I’m not going anywhere.” He got up and grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini fridge. “Go on. Tell him what he needs to know.”
She opened the bottle and took a sip before obeying Ryan’s request. “Before she left, everything seemed normal.” She snorted. “Normal for us, anyway. We all went to school, we all came home and did our homework. We hung out with our friends and gossiped about boys.”
“Your brother and sisters acted normally?”
“Before Hope went missing? Sure. Temp tried to keep the peace between us, but even he couldn’t keep our dad off us if he decided we needed to be punished.” She fiddled with the bottle cap, refusing to look at Gabe. “Temp was nothing like our dad. He was the one who did all the dad things, like making sure we got to school on time and lecturing us about boys.” She smiled wistfully. “And he doted on Faith.”
“Your youngest sister.”
Glory bit her lip. “I hope…” Ryan took hold of her hand, and only then did she realize how badly she was trembling. “I hope Temp kept our dad off her.”
“Why didn’t your mother gain custody?”
Glory finally looked at Gabe. “Because doormats don’t get anything but stepped on.”
Gabe nodded once. “All right. Everything was normal right up until Hope went to the library. That day, did any of your family react oddly? Was there anything strange, anything out of place?”
Glory tried hard to remember the details of that day, but everything up until the moment they all realized Hope wasn’t coming home was a blur. “I spent the day in my room, bruised and sulking. Temp brought me lunch and Faith tried singing to me through the door before my father screamed at her to stop. Dinner came and went, but Hope didn’t come home.”
“Then what?”
“The cops came and took a statement from my dad. They declared her missing because she was a minor, and they wanted to get her face out to the surrounding police precincts. But they never found her.”
“Your father left town when you were eighteen and left you behind.”
Glory hated thinking about that time. She’d been left in the cold with the clothes on her back, beaten black and blue and with five dollars in her wallet. Thank God for Mrs. Reyes, and thank God for Cyn, because otherwise Glory would have been homeless. “Yeah.”
“The years in between must have been hard.”
Ryan was still holding her hand, but at that he
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