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Back Never Look Back
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. One
  4. Two
  5. Three
  6. Four
  7. Five
  8. Six
  9. Seven
  10. Eight
  11. Nine
  12. Ten
  13. Eleven
  14. Twelve
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-One
  34. Thirty-Two
  35. Thirty-Three
  36. Thirty-Four
  37. Thirty-Five
  38. Thirty-Six
  39. Thirty-Seven
  40. Thirty-Eight
  41. Thirty-Nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-One
  44. Forty-Two
  45. Forty-Three
  46. Acknowledgments
  47. P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . .*
  48. About the Author
  49. About the Book
  50. Also by Alison Gaylin
  51. About the Publisher

Though Mr. Hart’s wallet and watch had been taken, along with assorted movie and TV memorabilia, police sources say that the crime appeared to be unusually violent for a simple robbery. “There seemed to be an element of overkill,” said Lieutenant Barrett Grange of the L.A.P.D. County Sheriff’s Department, whose detectives are assisting West Covina police. “Even if the assailant was a complete stranger, the violence visited on Mr. Hart was unusually excessive for a simple robbery.” Mr. Hart was shot in both legs, the groin, abdomen, and face, all apparently while bound and gagged.

Mr. Hart was divorced, with no children. Said Lieutenant Grange, “Anyone with any knowledge as to what person or persons may have committed this crime is encouraged to contact the law enforcement team at the tipline, listed below.”

Dear Aurora Grace,

Newspapers are strange. They tell you about things after they happen, but when you read them, you feel as though they’re happening right in front of you. This article is a good example. Ed Hart will never be alive again, and yet when you read that article you want to help. You want to save him. Don’t you? I want to save him.

I wanted to save him when it was happening but I was too scared. I couldn’t move and couldn’t speak and I hated myself for that. As we drove away from his house, I wished with all my heart that I’d been brave enough to stop Gabriel. To change things. But now I’m not sure. Now, I’m thinking that maybe it was meant to be. That Gabriel and I were steered by the Hand of Fate down that quiet street and up Ed Hart’s driveway and into his house to give him exactly what he deserved. Does that sound crazy? Does it sound like I’ve been reading the Bible too much?

I was supposed to throw this newspaper out, but I ripped out that clipping when Gabriel wasn’t looking. I stole a tube of glue from Ed Hart’s house and that’s what I used to stick it to the page. When you are old enough, I want you to read the article, but I want you first to read what I am about to write here, so you know and understand the whole story.