In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite #8)(103)

“Bobby told us he was getting a divorce. He opened up about the person Jewel had become. He told us he worried about Elle. Worried about her living in such a toxic home. I already knew their house was not a home for a little girl.”

“You picked her up from school.”

“Many times when Bobby couldn’t get there. He didn’t want to call Jewel, and he preferred not to call my parents. I loved picking up Elle and spending time with her.”

“When did you formulate the plan to take her?”

“When Elle began to tell me things—about that house. About her mother. About Bobby. We knew Bobby had been violent with Jewel. That was not how he was raised. We feared what could happen to Jewel and to him if his anger escalated.” She paused and went to a cabinet for a glass, then poured herself water. She lifted the glass to Tracy, who declined.

Back on the barstool, Gloria sipped her water before she continued. “Jewel had a boyfriend before the divorce. The boyfriend moved into the house.” Gloria took another sip of water. “Elle began to tell me things—that he would put Elle on his lap and rock her as if on a horse. She would tell him to stop, but he would not.” Gloria lowered her head.

“You believe he was abusing her.”

Gloria nodded. “And I’m sure it sounds like justification to you, but . . . I believe what Elle told me.” She sipped her water again, gathering herself. “The domestic violence charge brought much shame to my parents and our family. I worried about the impact all the fighting would have on Elle, about the boyfriend and what he was doing, what he would do, about the irreversible damage to Elle, and what Bobby would do if he found out. He would kill him. He would shoot him. I was sure of it. Removing Elle from the situation was the only way to save her and to save my brother.” Gloria sipped her water. “When I picked up Elle from school she was often angry and volatile and would act out. I would calm her and ask why she was so mad.” Gloria looked at Tracy.

“What did she say?”

“She didn’t want to go home,” Gloria said.

Tracy thought of Lindsay Sheppard. I would be better off with people thinking I was dead than living another day in that house. She thought of Stephanie Cole and her desire to go back home. How sad that a little girl, just five, would not want to go home.

“She asked if she could live with me and Uncle Bo,” Gloria said. “She would beg me to let her stay when Bobby came to take her home. ‘I want to live here, Auntie. Why can’t I live here with you?’” she would say. “It broke my heart. It broke Bobby’s heart.”

“Do you have other children?” Tracy asked.

Gloria shook her head. “My husband and I tried, but I was unable to conceive. Elle was going to be the only grandchild. At least it appeared that way.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. Tracy could see the weight of the years of torment. “My husband and I were leaving. He was returning to Chengdu for a job. He has family here. My parents decided to also come. We talked about going to Bobby and Jewel and offering to take Elle, but we knew Jewel would never agree. She wouldn’t see the benefit to Elle. She would see it only as a win for Bobby.”

“And if you asked to take Elle, you’d be prime suspects when she disappeared.”

“Yes. Bo and I decided we could not tell either parent. You have to believe me when I tell you this. We decided we had to wait to tell Bobby because we didn’t want him to be arrested, for the police to think he was involved. He was not.” Her eyes widened in fear.

“I believe you,” Tracy said.

“I knew what it would do to him, but I also knew that it was the right thing to do. He needed to suffer the pain of losing Elle to understand what was in her best interests, to do the right thing. This was not about punishing Jewel. It was about saving Elle.”

Tracy thought of her interview with Bobby Chin in his office, of the tears he shed and the hesitation in his voice. It had not been an act. It had been the pain and the guilt of a father who knew he had been, in part, responsible for losing his daughter, that he had not earned the right to raise his child.

Gloria grabbed a tissue from a box on the counter and blotted her eyes. “It hurt me deeply to know how much I hurt my brother, but I couldn’t let Elle live in that house, not with Jewel, and not with that boyfriend. I knew the longer Elle stayed there, the more damage she would sustain. I did what I did out of love. I love Bobby and I love Elle. I did it to protect both of them.”

“I don’t doubt you,” Tracy said. “When did you finally tell Bobby?”

“We asked him to come to Chengdu for my father’s sixtieth birthday. We sat Bobby down and explained that Elle was here, with all of us.”

“How did he react?”

“The pain of parting is nothing compared to the joy of meeting again.”

“That doesn’t sound like the nature channel.”

“Charles Dickens. I studied English literature at the U.” She smiled. “Bobby cried. He fell to the floor and he cried like a baby. He cried because he realized he had failed his daughter. He had failed as a father. He was racked with guilt, but he was also happy Elle was alive, and that she was safe. He didn’t ask for an explanation. He knew why we did what we did, and he knew he could never take Elle home again, never could act like she was still alive, because Jewel would take Elle, just to spite him. Bo helped Bobby to get a good job with a Chinese company that opened an office in Seattle. It is an excuse for Bobby to travel here to see Elle.”