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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?

“It can’t be a coincidence,” he continues. “We were both here back then, and we’re both here now. Doesn’t that seem like a sign or something? We’re supposed to pick this all up again and solve it.”

I’m almost dizzy listening to him. A big part of me would give anything to finally put away Jenny’s murderer, for all the same reasons Will has, plus my own. But he means the others, too, a massive undertaking by anyone’s standards.

Will isn’t waiting for my answer or for anything, the momentum inside him building like a wave. “In Petaluma the other day, Barresi mentioned something when you went to grab coffee. The FBI is working on putting together a national database connecting crime labs all over the country. You know how slow everything is now, how disjointed. Once the new database is up and running, a semen sample from a rape kit in Seattle could be matched with a sentenced perpetrator in Philly or DC. Think about all the cold cases that could get new life, Anna. It blows my mind.”

“Exciting stuff for sure. But how does it help us right now? Why did you bring me here tonight?”

Some complex feeling shears over his features. He takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I brought you here because I hoped you’d see it, too. That we’re supposed to solve Jenny’s case, too. All of them.”

His expression is so intense. It’s taken a lot for him to show me the files. “Maybe someday,” I say, finally, afraid to promise more. “When all this is done.”

Somehow he’s begun to move closer. I can smell his Barbasol shaving cream beneath the vodka we’ve been drinking. I can smell his nervousness, his need.

“Will,” I say. But he’s already leaning to kiss me. A kiss that has taken forever, plus weeks of full-on crises and chaos. His lips are warm and insistent. His mouth tastes like forgetting.

I’d be lying to say I don’t want it. Not just the sex but also the distraction from all of this, shutting my eyes and tumbling into his arms. But after it was over, wouldn’t I be right back where I started, only with guilt in the mix, and regret, too? I’ve already hurt Brendan enough. Even if he never found out, I’ve already broken too many promises to add infidelity.

Will’s lips press harder, his tongue opening my mouth.

“Please don’t.” I stumble backward. The look on his face kills me.