Welcome to my dark little corner of the universe, as with almost all the things I write, this story consists of many dark, non-consensual themes, a little DV, some violence/abuse, imprisonment, kidnapping, and occasionally even a little bit of torture. If any of this or my terrible grammar offends you, then this is not the story for you! Stop now!~
"We have been asked to conduct an investigation into the boy's disappearance," Abraham announced. The rest of the members seated themselves, the younger men fanned out, some went to the living room, others made themselves comfortable leaning against the kitchen counters. Dale stood behind Ezekiel who was doing his best not to look my way, although I could see him trying to from the corner of his eyes. What on earth could he want my hair for? Considering the rest of his kin, nothing I imagined was going to help me sleep better at night.
"You are claiming that Ezekiel here saw the boys heading out and they told him they were headed here. And that was the last time anybody heard from them?" Dale nodded.
"Ezekiel isn't capable of lying, everyone knows that. I questioned Samson, but my gut says there is more to it than what he is telling me. I trust your judgment; I will abide by whatever judgment you see fit."
"Anything to say for your defense, Samson?"
"I never said Zeke was a liar, what I simply implied was that perhaps on their way here, they came to their senses. If they were truly headed this way, then something must have happened on the way here because they never arrived."
There was sticking to truths, and then there was a bold face lie. I feared they could sense it, the way a shark senses blood in the water.
"Alright, wait outside while we question the boy." Neither Sam nor Dale argued, instead I was pulled outside where we made ourselves comfortable on the patio. Despite being outside, Abrahams' voice carried out through the open kitchen window, and it was as though we never left.
"It is my understanding that you were the last one to see them that night, is that correct?" Ezekiel must have nodded because I heard no verbal reply.
"Tell us, what do you remember? Where were you when it happened?"
"I was out watchin' the stars, they're really pretty at night. There is always seems to be more of them when the moon isn't full. I saw them get into the truck, and I stopped Marcus, I said he shouldn't be driving with how much he had been drinkin'. Papa says you never mix alcohol with machinery. Marcus told me unless I could wrestle the keys from his hands, I should keep my stupid mouth shut. I asked where they were going, and they told me they were headed out to fuck Sammy's new wife. Tradition is one of the things that separate us from the heathens, and he said he wasn't going to let Sammy take that away."
"I thought you only had a sister," I announced suddenly. Sam looked my way as if just remembering I was there and looked at Dale, who sat across the table from us and sneered. As if the fact I could speak at all was abhorrent.
"I told you, Christopher was a monster. He made his way through a lot of cousins; Zeke isn't my only half-sibling. It's just the big dirty secret nobody talks about."
"You know it's unwise to speak ill of the dead." Sam rolled his eyes and reached for my hand.
"Don't sit there and act like you didn't want to kill the bastard yourself after what he did to your girls. He's dead now, what does he care what we say about him?" Dale's jaw went rigid, then began to waver. He cleared his throat to hide the slight crack in his voice.
"Because it ain't going to bring them back! It serves
no one
to bring up painful memories!" Dale growled. He stood angrily, shoving his chair into the table so hard it shook and walked away, feigning rage but I was certain I had seen his eyes brimming with tears. Could Dale cry? The same bastard who dragged a disobedient wife behind a tow truck. Could someone that evil even feel things like loss?
"Go on, ask me. I know you're dying to know, my curious kitten, I can see it all over your face."
"What happened?"
"Suicide pact, he lost seven of his girls in one night."
And now three sons
.
"Was Zeke's mother one of them?" Sam nodded, giving my hand a small squeeze.
"Whatever Christopher did, it broke those poor girls. Dale appealed to the conclave, begging them for justice and they had Christopher whipped, but it only made him more sadistic. He started to hurt them,
really
hurt them, he hurt them until they stopped telling. The conclave could do nothing once the girls began to lie for him."
"How-How did they die?" I didn't want to hear it, because then I would begin to picture it. But all knowledge could be useful knowledge if used correctly and it was better to know than let my imagination run wild.
"Hung themselves, he went out to check on the horses and found them all dangling there like Christmas ornaments. Blames himself, thinks he should have done more." Is that why the noose marks had bothered him so much? Or was it one of the things Christopher had taught his boys? Were they sure it was even suicide?
"You're going to be in there with me, right?" I asked, mouth going dry at the thought of being surrounded by so many of
them
. What if I had another panic attack?
"Just remember to stick to facts, no eye contact unless asked. They will not appreciate your sarcasm the way I do, if you cannot control yourself, they will have you whipped. Answer only what is asked, offer nothing more. I'll be right out here," he pointed to the patio. I could feel the blood drain from my face and suddenly it was already harder to breathe. Some of them were armed; what if they could tell I was lying? What if I said something wrong? I was not someone who did well under pressure.
"Please." The plea was out before I could stop it. I cringed, hating myself for sounding so weak, hating him more for putting me in the situation in the first place. He brought my hand to his lips, planting a soft kiss on my knuckles. I clenched my free hand into a fist, wanting nothing more than to jerk my other one free. I hated it when he was nice, it always left my head a confusing mess. But that's all these nice moments were, just another part of his ploy to break me down, to make me
let
him in.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, everyone is questioned alone. They must cut off any influence I may hold over you. They are going to make you promise, they are going to make threats. They will even lie if they believe it will help them discover the truth. They cannot touch you if you follow the rules. I know you are going to be fine, just focus and remember to breathe."
Whatever look was on my face, it did not bring him comfort. He frowned and reached into his pocket as he turned my hand over in his, slipping off the golden wedding band and replacing it with one from his pocket. This one was dull silver, with a small garnet gem that was flush with the band; there was a simple beauty about it.
