Mama’s waiting on the porch with Corinne. She meets me outside, the ends of her hair hastily bumped in a curl. She’s so shell-shocked she’s not tracking things well. Like she knows she needs to be strong, but inside she is cracking. Scared to death.

“Anything on the news?”

“Just local weather,” I lie. Mama knows how bad it can get. I don’t need to add to her concern. “Tasha’s gonna ask around at school. See if anybody’s heard from Jamal.”

“Good.” Mama’s eyes are glazed.

“He didn’t do it. We’ll get Jamal back.”

We both know Jamal could never, but when has that mattered? It sure didn’t when Mama kept saying Daddy was coming home.

As we leave, we’re forced to pass the police car staking out our house. I square my shoulders and narrow my eyes while I reach for Corinne’s hand to pull her close to me. Beneath our anger, there’s hidden shame and embarrassment that’s similar to what we felt the first time we left the house after Daddy was arrested.

Ten minutes on the road and I let my mind wander. Every small town looks the same, all rolling into each other. Except, of course, when we reach the WELCOME TO GALVESTON COUNTY sign. Whenever we pass it, I have the same visceral reaction.

The first time I saw the sign, I was riding a bus from New Orleans. Daddy tried to hide that he was just as frightened about evacuating as we were. The way his eyes skittered around, though, I knew he was questioning if we should’ve waited out the storm. I didn’t know the answer then, but I know now that it wasn’t the levee failures in New Orleans that wiped my family’s life away. It was moving to Texas.

Not returning was Daddy’s idea. Daddy partnered with Jackson Ridges, who’d gotten him his first contractor job when we evacuated to Texas. Later, Mark Davidson hired Daddy by himself for renovation work. After a few jobs, he said Daddy could get a loan if he wanted to expand his business to land development. Mark trusted Daddy. He knew he did good work. He didn’t know Jackson Ridges, and so he tried to edge him out of the development deal. I think he just didn’t like what part of town he was from, but Daddy was always loyal and was ready to pull out unless Mark agreed to include Jackson in the new business venture.

Daddy being charged with the Davidsons’ murder was unbelievable for anyone who knew their relationship. There was no bad blood. Just a disagreement.