The family Bibles, confiscated in Governor Dunham’s raid, had worked their magic. Two of the Not Chosens, both listed in the late Donald Gray’s family Bible, were Agnes’s half sisters, Christina and Donna Marie.
Sean Fergus, fast-tracking The Family’s DNA testing, had learned early on that the two half sisters—one who spoke and one who now wore thick glasses—were two of the very few human trafficking survivors. Shipped off to Nigeria, they had somehow managed to stay together. They had been bought by someone in Lagos. What happened next was unclear, but they had been rescued and taken to a local orphanage. With no way to explain who they were or where they were from, the two girls had lived in the orphanage as children, cared for by the attendants. When they were too old to be orphans anymore and without papers that would allow them to go elsewhere, they had stayed on, becoming caretakers for the younger children.
Now, through the intervention of Sean Fergus and Interpol, Donna Marie and Christina had been issued U.S. passports. They were coming home to the place from which they’d been spirited away at the age of six—a place they barely remembered.
As passengers from the flight made their slow way into the customs area and sorted themselves into lines, Agnes stood with her face pressed against the plate glass, looking down at the process.
“Will they recognize me?” Agnes asked anxiously. “Will they know who I am?”
“I’m sure they’ll remember you,” Ali said reassuringly.
Sister Anselm nodded. “The face of kindness is something a child never forgets.”
A minute later, Agnes spotted them. “There they are! It’s them. They just got into the far line on the left.”
The two women in question wore loose-fitting, brightly colored dresses that flowed when they walked. Their feet were clad in flip-flops, but their dark blond hair was braided and pinned in a crown around their heads.
Ali’s first thought was that Christina and Donna Marie were far better dressed than Enid had been when she had shown up at the hospital.
Ten minutes later, the new arrivals stepped warily onto an escalator that carried them upstairs. As they rode up, Agnes hurried to station herself just outside the sliding glass doors at the top of the escalator.
They stepped through and then stopped abruptly, staring at the soaring but unfamiliar room around them. Only when Agnes stepped forward to greet them did the one wearing glasses notice her. A moment later, the three of them were gathered into one another’s arms, weeping and laughing in a warm embrace.
Ali was struck by how much younger the two newcomers looked. Difficult as their lives might have been at the orphanage, they’d received better care there than The Family’s Brought Back girls had received at home.
Finally, Agnes said something. As they broke free, Agnes led them to meet the other people in the welcome party. “These are my friends,” she said. “Patricia, Enid and her baby, Ann, Ali, and Sister Anselm. And these”—she smiled at the young women—“are my sisters, Christina and Donna Marie.”
The new arrivals shook hands with Ali and Patricia and bowed formally to Sister Anselm. Ali realized that somewhere along the way, a Catholic sister of some kind must have impacted their lives.
“Agnes says she’s my sister,” the one called Christina said, nodding in Agnes’s direction. “I remembered her all this time. I always thought she was my guardian angel.”
There was a stir behind them. Ali turned in time to see Bill Witherspoon wheeling Governor Dunham toward them in a wheelchair. Her leg was wrapped in a toe-to-hip cast, but at least it was still attached. There was some hope that she would one day be able to walk again without the aid of crutches or a cane.
“Actually,” Ali said, “Agnes is only one of your guardian angels. Here’s another. Her name is Virginia Dunham, and she’s the governor of Arizona.” To the governor, she said, “These are Agnes’s sisters, Donna Marie and Christina.”
“I’m so happy to meet you both,” Governor Dunham said, smiling and holding out her hand in greeting. “Welcome home.”
Cold Betrayal
Ali Reynolds is no stranger to tough situations—or family drama. When her new daughter-in-law Athena approaches her about some unusual threats being made to Athena’s grandmother Betsy, Ali recognizes something fishy and agrees to help. Meanwhile, Sister Anselm enlists Ali’s aid in tracking down the identity of a pregnant Jane Doe who has come under her care—a woman who Sister Anselm believes might have escaped from a dangerous cult. As Ali works tirelessly on the two cases, it becomes obvious that unhealthy family dynamics are at play in both investigations. In Cold Betrayal, Ali and her friends learn the unfortunate truth that sometimes the family we’re given cannot be trusted.
For Discussion
1. Our first encounter with Betsy Peterson involves a police investigation that ends with the abrupt conclusion that Betsy is mentally unstable in her old age. Do you think that Betsy’s situation was a result of ageism? Do you think the police officer who came to investigate the gas at her home might have been more sympathetic to a younger person?
2. Bella and Princess are both miniature dachshunds beloved by their respective owners, Ali Reynolds and Betsy Peterson. In what ways do these dogs act as heroes in the novel? Do Bella and Princess share any other similarities besides their breed?
3. “She had left the pigpen then, but that conversation marked the beginning of Enid’s rebellion. She was struck by the injustice of the way The Family’s boys were treated and the way the girls were treated.” Discuss Enid as a symbol of rebellion in the novel. In what ways does she rebel? Are the gender injustices the sole reason for Enid’s rebellion?
4. Revisit the scene when Enid is hit by David Upton’s van. In this moment, did she make the right decision by running away from the sheriff and out onto the highway? What were her other options? Would you have made the same decision in her place?
5. Discuss the significance of water in the novel, particularly in the scene when Enid is hit by David’s van. “Enid felt something wet fall on her face. At first she thought it was a drifting snowflake, but then she realized it was a tear—a single tear.” Directly following this moment, her water breaks. What is the connection between snow, tears, and new life? What are these water images metaphors for?
6. When Athena confides in Ali about her difficulties with her parents, a possible theme of the novel emerges as Ali replies: “growing up in that kind of family dynamic must have been tough.” Discuss how tough family dynamics are relevant to many of the characters in the novel. Is “Growing up in that kind of family” to blame for all of the characters’ problems in Cold Betrayal? Why or why not?
7. Evaluate David Upton’s character. Do you like him? Why do you think that Sister Anselm and Ali trust him so completely and so immediately? Is his character something like a guardian angel?
8. What role does small-town living play in the novel? Do both Betsy and Enid suffer from living in places where “everyone knew everyone else’s business”? How might Betsy’s circumstances have been different had she lived in a big city? How might Enid’s?
9. Ali confronts the difficulty of her decision to investigate The Family: “Did she keep poking her nose into the problem or did she let it go? Do something about it or turn away? And was she prepared to deal with the consequences of both taking action and not taking action?” Briefly discuss the consequences to which Ali alludes. Ultimately, do you think the good of her decision to unravel The Family’s secrets outweighs the bad? Why or why not?