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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’m not sure, but I’m still stuck on when Cameron’s abuse might have happened. If it was Drew, interviewing her birth family might help us eliminate the earlier part of her life. Or who knows. Maybe someone from back then has found her here? Stranger things have happened.”

“I can try. What did you think of Lydia offering to help with a search center?”

“If she’s serious, you should have no problem taking her money. But even a big fat check might not help us get the town involved. That’s what’s really working in Petaluma.”

“We’ve been over this, Anna. I can’t compete with ‘kidnapped at knifepoint.’ Nothing here pushes those same alarm bells. And Polly was clearly a very special girl. You saw. Those people feel personally invested. You can’t fake that and you can’t force it, either.”

“No,” I have to concede. “But we can work to give people more of a sense of who we’re trying to find. You’ve said yourself that the Curtises have always kept their distance from the community. That has to be part of the problem. What about calling a town meeting and asking for support, just flat out? Do a big shout-out to the media first to get them there. Tell them we have breaking news.”

“Do we?” Even in profile, his eyes on the snaking road, Will looks annoyed.

“Maybe we will by then, and if not, we show them our turnout, the whole town coming out for Cameron. We put pictures of her everywhere, and then you stand up and say her name ten times. Twenty times.”

“It can’t be that easy.”

“What else have we got?”

He doesn’t answer. For a long moment the vineyards clip by, green and gold and deep purple. Dusk light is like a soft warm animal lowering its body over the round yellow hills and live oaks.

“I can reach out to Gray,” I try again, “and Steve Gonzales, too. The kids at the high school have all been traumatized. This might help. They could feel more active and empowered. We can’t just leave them wrestling with those feelings. You know how bad it can get. They need to do something.”

“I guess it’s worth a try. Troy and Emily might not like this angle, though.”

Screw them, I want to say but manage not to. “Maybe they’ll come around.”

—