“Yes.” Emotion vibrates along an invisible string between us. “But then for some kids—one in ten, maybe, though it might be closer to one in four—really hard stuff happens to them, in their own family, or by an acquaintance whom that family trusts. Trauma, neglect, abuse, manipulation, coercion, exposure to violence. And they don’t have the tools to process it, or the words to talk about it. So silence follows. Forced complicity. Shame. Soon what you’ve got is thick black tar, and when the light shines through…” I let my sentence trail, knowing he’s probably realized I’m not talking just about my cases through the years, that some of what I know, I’ve lived first.

“Bat signal,” he says soberly.

“Yes. Big as the moon over Gotham City. And every psychopath, sociopath, sadist, alcoholic, narcissist piece of shit anywhere can see it and comes running. And when the two find each other, they click. They recognize each other on some deep level. It’s like they speak two variations of the same language.”

“Wow, okay. Jesus. That makes a little too much sense.” He picks up the damp napkin under his glass and begins to worry it, shaking his head. “But how does the original abuse happen if everyone gets a blank slate? Why are some kids targeted and not others?”

“Cameron wasn’t even four when her life was upended,” I explain to Will as my thoughts ricochet back through decades, to my own childhood and Jenny’s, and countless others’, gathering charged momentum. “Think about how young that is to have your whole life turn on a dime. But old enough to not know who you are anymore, or where you really belong. Even if Cameron didn’t seem lonely or scared to Emily and Troy, you can see how so much confusion and uncertainty could make her a little too trusting of others. She wanted love. She wanted to feel okay.” The muscles in my throat feel tight and strange, my tongue heavy, but I force my way to the end of my point. “And if that wasn’t enough, the scar of that early trauma might very well have drawn someone else her way. Another predator.”

Will sighs. “That would be pretty fucking ironic. I mean, if Emily and Troy thought they were helping a needy kid and ended up causing the damage that led to her being taken?”

He has been listening. “You asked why I can’t let Emily off the hook, Will? It’s exactly that. What if everything bad that happened to Cameron happened after she was rescued? After she was supposed to be safe and secure and happy?” My voice cracks on the last word. My hands tremble on the edge of the bar.