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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?

“I don’t know. The discrepancy could mean anything. She might have spanked Cameron too hard once, or locked her in her room. Parents stew over that kind of thing for years.” Will holds his pint between his palms and rolls the glass back and forth as if it might help him measure his words, help him persuade me. “It could be this case, for all we know. Her feeling of responsibility. That she couldn’t protect Cameron in her own home.”

Listening, I have to wonder if I’m jumping to conclusions. Or is he missing what’s right here in front of us? Parental guilt can be a thorny and bottomless thing, I know all too well. But something did happen in Emily’s home, and not just the night her daughter disappeared. Emily didn’t protect her daughter when it counted, when Cameron was far too young to protect herself. That gap has widened with time, becoming the crevasse of this moment. In all the ways that matter right now, Cameron’s past has created her present. “Will,” I say, “we have to talk about the abuse piece.”

He seems thrown. “What makes you think it didn’t happen before she came to the Curtises, if it happened at all?”

I ignore his cynicism and plunge forward. “Statistically, onset of sexual abuse falls between ages seven and thirteen. Around ninety percent are targeted by a family member. And the victims, Will, they’re quiet, troubled, lonely children. Girls like Cameron.” An intensity has crept into my voice, telling me it’s time to dial back, to hold myself in check, but somehow even the notion of self-control feels far away, beyond my grasp. “I think we should confront Emily and see what happens. We go to the free clinic with a warrant for Cameron’s file and then push it right across the table at her.”

Will looks shocked. “Christ, you’re cold, Anna. Her daughter is missing.” The word flares between us, sharp and spangled. “You don’t think that garners Emily a break, a little benefit of the doubt? And what about Troy Curtis? Why does he get a pass? He might be the one who hurt her.”

I’m suddenly aware of the heat in the room. The smell of fried fish wafting from the kitchen. The sticky bar top under my hands. Will’s challenge isn’t at all rhetorical. He thinks I’m over the edge, here. And I might be.