BooksBarbecue
Back When the Stars Go Dark
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?

He shakes his head as if he wishes he could erase the facts. “I know it’s a lot to process. I’ve been on the phone since dawn. The suspect’s still at-large.” He hands over a composite sketch of a heavyset middle-aged man.

SUSPECT

White Male Adult 30–40 yrs.

Approx. 6'3" Dark/Dark Gray Hair

Full Beard, Wearing Dark Clothing

With Yellow Bandana Around Head

If you have any information on this man

CALL THE PETALUMA POLICE:

707-778-4481

A lot to process? I came here ready to do whatever I can to find one girl, and here is another. As if there’s some kind of sick revolving door just out of sight. “How is this related to our case? Could this be the same guy who has Cameron?”

“I kind of hope so,” Will breathes. “There are witnesses this time. There’s a crime scene. Polly’s two best friends were with her when he entered her room. They heard his voice. They saw his face.”

As I let the details sink in, I feel more and more as if I’m treading thick dark water. We’re in the deep end now. These were three twelve-year-old girls in the middle of a slumber party. Their Friday-night sleepover torn like a pink paper heart. Polly’s kidnapper had blackened the bedroom door, threatening to slit their throats if they screamed. He’d put pillowcases over the girls’ heads and had them count to a thousand. What had a thousand felt like? Nothing short of forever.

“There weren’t any prints on the back door,” Will is saying. “That’s how he got in. The CSI team did find a print in Polly’s room, but it’s too smeared to run through the system. Apparently he came in with precut ligature and a hood he’d made, some sort of silky material, like a slip.”

I reach for the sides of the bucket chair, smooth and solid. “One hood?”

“Right. The girls said he seemed disoriented to find three of them there. He asked which one of them lived in the house.”

“Maybe he saw Polly somewhere else and zeroed in on her, not thinking or caring about who else might be there when he made his move. A house full of girls isn’t exactly quiet. Where were the parents?”

“Mom was asleep and Dad was at his own residence. They’re divorced.”

“They might not have been able to protect her, even if they were both there and awake. Some predators stop at nothing once they’re set in motion.”