Dad is in the bathroom when everyone arrives, and as they fill up the living room and kitchen, I quickly realize we haven’t thought this through.

“How big is your backyard?” Ross asks.

“Big enough.”

He nods and gets everyone’s attention, then looks at me like he’s expecting something. If they want an inspirational speech, they came to the wrong place.

Instead, I say, “This way,” leading them out the back where they stand around, looking awkwardly at one another.

“What time does Danny get here?” Ross asks.

“Usually seven, but I told him to be early today.”

Ross nods and says, “You should say something.”

“Now?”

“Yes. They came because of you.”

“They came because of you,” I say.

Ross laughs. “Just talk to them.”

That wave of sickness I’ve been feeling since yesterday is now a tsunami.

“Hey,” I say. “Erm, look, thank you for coming.”

A few of them smile, but most stare with blank faces.

Then I see Frances and think of her grandson, Lorna’s son, who will never see his mother again, and it triggers something in me.

“I started doing this for my mom,” I say. “I wanted justice, because she has never come close to getting that. I thought I could go live once a week and remind everyone what he did, and somehow, someone would realize who he was or finally give him up, and we would end this. But all I did was attract horrible people and stalkers. And then I met Ross. He listened to my idea and thought it was a good one. And he somehow got you all together. And I’m so grateful for that.”

I catch Frances’s eye, then look away and say, “I am so, so sorry for what he did, to all of you. If I could have caught him when I was seven, I would have. He took my mother. He stole her for no reason, and I hate him for that.”

Everyone is nodding now, then they look past me, at something over my shoulder, and when I turn, Dad is there. He looks both happy and nervous, but there’s also a look of understanding—because he recognizes them too.

“Everyone, this is my dad. Dad, this is everyone.”

Chapter 97

Danny looks at his watch, then he nods at me, his fingers counting down five…four…three…two…one. The red light on the camera flashes on, and we are live.

“I haven’t done this for a while,” I say, “but today is different. There is someone out there lying to you. There’s someone out there who pretends they’re like everyone else, and then, when you’re not looking, they murder people.

“One of you knows him. One of you is sitting next to him right now. And he’s acting completely normal, because that’s how he gets away with it.