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Back When the Stars Go Dark Save as PDF
Chapters (83)
  1. Epigraph
  2. Maps
  3. (prologue)
  4. Part 1: Signs and Vapors
  5. (one)
  6. (two)
  7. (three)
  8. (four)
  9. (five)
  10. (six)
  11. (seven)
  12. (eight)
  13. (nine)
  14. (ten)
  15. (eleven)
  16. (twelve)
  17. Part 2: Secret Things
  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. (twenty-seven)
  33. (twenty-eight)
  34. (twenty-nine)
  35. (thirty)
  36. (thirty-one)
  37. (thirty-two)
  38. (thirty-three)
  39. (thirty-four)
  40. (thirty-five)
  41. (thirty-six)
  42. (thirty-seven)
  43. (thirty-eight)
  44. (thirty-nine)
  45. Part 3: Time and the Maiden
  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. Part 4: The Bent Grove
  61. (fifty-four)
  62. (fifty-five)
  63. (fifty-six)
  64. (fifty-seven)
  65. (fifty-eight)
  66. (fifty-nine)
  67. (sixty)
  68. (sixty-one)
  69. (sixty-two)
  70. (sixty-three)
  71. (sixty-four)
  72. (sixty-five)
  73. (sixty-six)
  74. (sixty-seven)
  75. (sixty-eight)
  76. (sixty-nine)
  77. (seventy)
  78. Dedication
  79. (acknowledgments)
  80. (author’s note)
  81. BY PAULA MCLAIN
  82. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  83. What’s next onyour reading list?

“We’re holding a town meeting to drum up support,” I say, shifting the focus back to Cameron. “On Saturday evening. You and Troy should be involved. A public statement could get more eyes on the problem and a lot more bodies in the field, too. We need to increase involvement, Emily, and not just locally.”

“Reach out to the media, you mean…” Her voice trails. “Troy and I have talked about it and think it’s a mistake right now. For us. You can imagine the kinds of stories that would run. Sensational, exploitive. Those people are monsters.”

“I’ve seen the ugly side of publicity in my work, too. I wouldn’t begin to say their motives are always virtuous, but ours can be. We can control the message.”

“You can’t, though. That’s just it.” She sounds diminished, physically and literally, as if she’s receding when I need her to grow, to reach. It makes me want to shake her. To show her there are much-bigger monsters in the world than TV journalists. One has taken her daughter.

I take a deep breath and try something else. “Right now, Cameron’s just a name on a missing poster that no one’s even paying attention to. But if people are moved, they act. They come forward to help, make phone calls, offer time, money.”

“We’ve offered money. We did that right away.”

“I know you did, and trust me, it will be put to good use as the search continues. But I still think your presence could galvanize the community. I get why you’ve been reluctant to be a real part of this town, Emily. Celebrity has made you wary. It must feel strange to try to open up to people as yourself, and not some character. But this is important.”

Emily looks away as I finish my sentence and seems to spiral inward. Beyond her, through a massive window, the afternoon is hazy, the sun only an idea behind low, loose clouds. Between us, the silence becomes its own weather system, a pressurized feeling. “Whatever you think, I love my daughter. She’s the most important thing in the world to me.”

“I believe you,” I say, and I want to. I can see her struggling just to stay upright. So much has gotten away from her. There are things she would have done differently. Things she will do differently if she can just get Cameron back safely. We all make those bargains, offering anything, everything, for one more chance.

“Do you have children, Detective?”

The question is simple. I can’t answer her.

(thirty-eight)