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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?

Will has noticed all of this and more. I’m well over my head and we both know it. But he can’t begin to realize how many other forces are pushing me, why there’s no way I can slow down now—why I can’t and won’t lose Cameron, no matter what.

He pushes back in his chair to better face me, his brow a map of concern. “You’re smart about this stuff, and really experienced. I know that. I also know your work in San Francisco took you through a lot of things no one should have to see, Anna. Maybe that’s why you’re back here.”

I feel myself flush, unable to meet his eyes.

“If all this gets to be too much, you need to tell me, okay? I’m here. We’re a team.” He reaches out for my arm and squeezes it for emphasis. “Yes?”

“Of course.” I swallow hard. “But, Will, someone has to save this girl.”

And it has to be me.

(twenty-five)

The next morning, October 5, I drive into town just as the sun is rising to meet Will at the GoodLife and grab coffee. Then we climb into his cruiser and head south along the coast toward Petaluma, skirting a single long gray fogbank that blanks out the sea and the horizon, everything but the road.

“Any news about the Russo girl?” I ask. I woke up thinking about her, as if I need another missing girl on my mind. “Did you run the plate?”

“I did. Nothing of note except the registration’s expired. Her mother decided not to renew the tags probably. Why waste money?”

“What about an APB on the car? Just to be sure.”

He shoots me a here we go again look. “On a psychic’s claim?”

“Maybe,” I say, holding my ground. “Maybe you don’t believe in them, but they’re not all crazy. Anyway, what does it cost us to follow up on this?”

He says nothing.

“Just because the girl’s led a troubled life doesn’t mean she’s not worth our time. We shouldn’t let anything go right now. The stakes are too high.”

He tucks his chin, half a nod. I watch his face, waiting for more, and finally he says, “Okay.”

—

An hour later we come into Petaluma through olive groves, cattle land, a rural patchwork of farms and fields. I’ve forgotten how like New England this part of California looks and feels.

“It’s Our Town,” I tell Will as we roll along Petaluma Boulevard, past historic adobe buildings and vintage façades. There seems to be only one bar, and the sign reads SALOON.

“We used to call it Chickaluma.” Will points at the poultry-processing plant. “Can you believe we’re forty-five miles from San Francisco?”