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Back She's Gone Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Video #1
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. Twenty-Four
  30. Twenty-Five
  31. Twenty-Six
  32. Video #2
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Forty-Three
  50. Forty-Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Fifty-Four
  61. Fifty-Five
  62. Fifty-Six
  63. Fifty-Seven
  64. Fifty-Eight
  65. Fifty-Nine
  66. Sixty
  67. Sixty-One
  68. Sixty-Two
  69. Sixty-Three
  70. Sixty-Four
  71. Sixty-Five
  72. Video #3
  73. Sixty-Six
  74. Sixty-Seven
  75. Sixty-Eight
  76. Sixty-Nine
  77. Seventy
  78. Seventy-One
  79. Seventy-Two
  80. Seventy-Three
  81. Seventy-Four
  82. Seventy-Five
  83. Seventy-Six
  84. Seventy-Seven
  85. Seventy-Eight
  86. Seventy-Nine
  87. Eighty
  88. Eighty-One
  89. Eighty-Two
  90. Eighty-Three
  91. The Final Video
  92. Acknowledgments
  93. About the Author
  95. Back Cover

“I know all that. Still…my most important job is taking care of you. And Liv—Olivia. And my other job, the one I get paid for in actual dollars, is using my brain to think through things. I’ve been sitting downstairs trying to think about your problem in the same way I think about my work.”

“This isn’t the Civil War,” I say. “It’s bad, but it’s not that bad.”

“I guess you’re right,” he says. “But whatever happens to you or Olivia feels that important to me.”

“Thanks,” I say, and I mean it.

“When I try to solve a problem and something just doesn’t add up, there are certain things I look for.”

“Like what?”

“Okay, let’s break it down. A lot of things are pointing toward Ron Hartman. He was harassing Chloe. He admitted that. And it makes sense that, if she was being harassed in that way, she would be distant and distracted in the weeks leading up to the dance. Hartman was in the parking lot that night, so he knew about Danny’s movie and how it might make him look guilty. He’d have reason to go kill Danny and take the movie. He wanted to keep Chloe from telling anyone about the harassment because he knew he’d get fired. Or worse. All the arrows point the same way.”

“So it was him. He just needs to admit it and…” The words stick in my throat like pieces of broken glass. “He has to tell the police where Chloe is.”

“That would be the end of it.”

“Yeah. The end of a lot of things.”

Dad studies me. His glasses are once again pushed up on top of his head, reflecting the light above. There’s more gray in the stubble on his chin than I’ve ever noticed before. “I thought you might be struggling to accept that all of this is the answer,” Dad says. “Is it because Ron was your friend and mentor?”

“Of course it’s that. But it’s also…I’ll say it, but I’ll sound like a fool.”

“I doubt it,” Dad says.

He sounds so confident, so much like he believes in me. I’m willing to sound stupid.

“Okay,” I say. “I believed Ron when he told me his story. When he said he didn’t take Chloe. And I thought he was telling the truth when he said he went after us but then another car came along. I believed him, so…”

“You’re saying why would he admit to all those horrible things, but not admit to the rest? If he really knows where Chloe is, why keep it a secret?”

“Exactly. He admitted a lot. He’s going to get fired at the very least. He’s going to lose his new job. Am I wrong to think that makes it look like he’s telling the truth?”