Shifting just the tiniest bit, Elizabeth linked her fingers together, settling her hands into her lap. ‘Do you mind if I ask a question of my own first?’

‘Of course, go ahead.’

‘What does my case have to do with yours?’

‘We don’t know that it does,’ Alyssa answered honestly. ‘But we’re investigating every avenue because not only do we have a double homicide’ – she didn’t miss the way Elizabeth winced at her blunt words – ‘but we also have two missing girls we have reason to believe could very much be in danger of meeting the same fate.’

Shoulders slumping, Elizabeth stared down at her linked hands, sucking in a deep breath and exhaling loudly. ‘I’m not sure how my information will help, but I guess it doesn’t hurt for you to know.’ Her humorless laugh fell flat. ‘With Mr. Kensington’s death, it’s not like I’ll be getting the answers I’d hoped he’d find for me anyway.’ One hand flew up to cover her mouth as she gasped. ‘That sounded so callous. I’m sorry. I didn’t—Please forgive me. This is all—’

Alyssa held one palm up to halt the onslaught of Elizabeth’s apology. ‘I understand.’

Elizabeth released her breath and settled her hands back in her lap. ‘Three weeks ago, I approached Mr. Kensington about finding out what had happened to my high school sweetheart. Seven years ago, I got pregnant, and he and I were going to run away. My eighteenth birthday was coming up, and so we planned to hide out until we could legally marry, and then we’d return home and tell our parents.’ She blinked moisture from her eyes. ‘We weren’t so concerned about his parents, but mine, well, that was a different story altogether.’

‘Tell us a little about them, your parents, I mean,’ Alyssa suggested, remembering Grace’s claim that Gabriel’s client had Puritanical parents.

Elizabeth twisted so she could scan the room behind her. When she caught herself doing it, she wiped her palms on her dress and laughed nervously. ‘Clearly, my mother and father still have an unhealthy hold on me. My parents belonged – belong – to an extreme fundamentalist group who follow the strictest parts of scripture. Primarily, anything that places women in subservient positions and elevates men to near godlike status, they believe. Dating before marriage – and that includes even holding hands with someone – is a very slight step below adultery. Needless to say, they never knew I had a boyfriend, much less one I was having a “sinful” relationship with.’

‘How did you manage to keep your pregnancy a secret from them?’ Alyssa asked.

‘Baggy clothes.’ Elizabeth covered her middle as if she were still protecting her unborn child, and Alyssa wondered if the woman was aware that she was doing it.

‘I also made sure they saw me “eating more” even though I wasn’t.’