A Flicker in the Dark

Chloe waves goodbye to Daniel and begins to clean up the mess from last night’s party. Hungover, she resists the urge to take more Xanax or go to her office for painkillers. She reminisces on her choice to become a psychologist, which was born out of her own desire to heal in the aftermath of her childhood trauma. Noting how she is more emotional than Cooper, Chloe remarks on the differences between their coping methods. As Chloe answers emails about her upcoming wedding, the news reports that a 15-year-old girl named Aubrey Gravino has disappeared.

Chloe reflects on the first girl her father murdered, Lena Rhodes, an “outgoing, bubbly” girl who often used vulgar language (59). Chloe recalls her father’s arrest and his parting words commanding her to “be good” (60). In the months prior to his arrest, Chloe’s father would punish her for breaking curfew or leaving her window open as a means of instilling fear in her of the serial killer terrorizing Breaux Bridge.

Anxious, Chloe decides to leave the house. In her car, she attempts to calm herself and resist the urge to retrieve prescription medication from her office. She denies having a substance use disorder and claims that her insomnia, fear of darkness, and anxiety over her health reflect her need for control. Prescription medications offer Chloe “a lifeline” or escape from her anxiety and need for control (65). To avoid her office, Chloe drives to the cemetery where Aubrey was last seen and watches a search party in action. She recalls the search parties in Breaux Bridge that failed to discover the bodies of the young girls who disappeared 20 years ago and how her mother refused to allow her to participate. In the present, a woman in the search party calls out. Chloe moves to assist her and picks up an earring that the woman identifies as belonging to Aubrey.

Chloe flashes back to her last time attending the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge. A shy individual, 12-year-old Chloe plays games with her popular 15-year-old brother Cooper. When Lena appears and flirts with Cooper, Chloe notices her father staring at them in the distance. Chloe unknowingly takes a sip from a bottle of vodka Lena offers to Cooper. Despite her brother’s warnings not to follow in Lena’s footsteps, Chloe admires Lena. Later that night, she captures a firefly like the one featured in Lena’s belly piercing. At the end of the chapter, Chloe reveals that she found the firefly charm from Lena’s piercing in her father’s closet four months later.

Overwhelmed by her discovery of Aubrey’s earring, Chloe escapes to her office and takes one milligram of Ativan. Noticing the blinking light of her office phone, she listens to a voicemail from Aaron Jansen. She recalls the aftermath of her father’s arrest and the toll his arrest took on her mother. One day, her father’s defense attorney arrives at their home and informs them about a plea deal he has arranged for Chloe’s father to avoid the death penalty. As part of the plea deal, Chloe’s father has also “agreed to take the police to the bodies” (85). In the days following the guilty plea, Chloe’s mother’s depression deepens. The last time Chloe sees her father is on the television screen as she watches him confess to the murders. He leads the police to the woods behind their property where they find “hairs, clothing fibers—but no bodies” (87). Chloe remembers seeing a dark figure with a shovel emerging from the woods one night before her father’s arrest.

Out of curiosity, Chloe researches Aaron Jansen. She describes the way the media has misconstrued information she has provided during interviews and blamed her family for driving her father to commit the murders. During one such interview, Chloe recalls the questions implying her mother’s guilt in the murders because of her many extramarital affairs that may have driven Chloe’s father to murder. In the present, Chloe reads an announcement that Aubrey Gravino’s body has been found.

Chloe retreats to her home and does not leave for the entire weekend. On Monday, Chloe struggles to get ready for work. As she showers, she ponders how her father’s crimes affected her dating life. Suspicious of everyone, Chloe spent years avoiding intimacy until she met Daniel. Before their first date, Chloe searches for Daniel’s name on the Internet and discovers nothing suspicious about him. Chloe does not reveal the truth about her family’s history until they begin dating. Daniel does not judge Chloe and shares his own trauma resulting from his 13-year-old sister Sophie’s disappearance. Their similar experiences strengthen their connection. Comforted by a text from Daniel, Chloe heads to work in a lighter mood. Upon arriving at work, she learns from her receptionist that her client from Friday, Lacey Deckler, has disappeared.

Chapter 13 begins with Chloe’s reflections on Robin McGill, the second girl her father killed, whose disappearance amplified the terror that consumed Breaux Bridge. Triggered by the disappearance, Chloe cancels her appointments for the day and watches a news report on Lacey. She learns that she was one of the last people to see Lacey. Two police officers arrive to question Chloe about Lacey.

Chloe recollects going to the police station years earlier with her mother to disclose her discovery of Lena’s belly charm in her parents’ closet. In the present, Chloe speaks with the two police officers in her office. She recognizes one of the officers from the search party but denies their familiarity when he asks. Citing patient confidentiality as Lacey’s psychologist, Chloe dismisses the officers.

In need of guidance, Chloe drives to visit her mother at her assisted living facility after a long absence. Placed in the facility after her suicide attempt, Chloe’s mother cannot speak or walk but Chloe is convinced her mother communicates by tapping her finger. Chloe confides in her mother about the new disappearances and how much they distress her. When a nurse shares that a family friend came to visit, Chloe demands to see the visitor’s log and discovers Aaron Jansen visited her mother without permission.

Enraged, Chloe confronts Aaron over the phone. Reluctantly, Chloe agrees to meet him at a local coffee shop. Aaron admits to visiting Chloe’s mother to get her attention. He also shares that the story he is writing about the 20th anniversary of her father’s arrest has now shifted to include the recent disappearances and that he believes someone is copying Chloe’s father’s crimes.

Chloe returns to the memory of the police station. She gives the jewelry box to the detective who identifies each of the jewelry pieces as belonging to the six girls in the Breaux Bridge murders. Days after her meeting with Aaron, Chloe talks to Daniel about the police officers’ questions about Lacey’s disappearance. Chloe ponders telling Daniel about everything that has happened while he has been away on a business trip, but she decides against it.

The next morning, Chloe recalls her conversation with Aaron five days earlier and his warnings that the copycat killer could be someone close to her. When Daniel wakes, they begin to have sex. Chloe abruptly ends the lovemaking when Daniel begins to choke her. Despite her shock, she dismisses her feelings and apologizes to Daniel. She answers a call from one of the detectives who questioned her about Lacey’s disappearance. The detective informs Chloe that Lacey’s dead body has been discovered in the alley behind Chloe’s office building and that she needs to come to the morgue to review Lacey’s body.

At the morgue, Chloe learns that Lacey died from strangulation and had traces of Diazepam in her system. Chloe reveals that she prescribed Lacey anti-anxiety medication at her appointment. Before leaving, she realizes that the bracelet Lacey was wearing is now missing.

After leaving the morgue, Chloe begins to wonder if the copycat killer is placing the bodies of the missing girls in places where she would find them. She resists the urge to take a Xanax and answers a phone call from Daniel. Evasive about her visit to the morgue, Chloe informs Daniel that she will be home after an errand and calls Aaron to set up a meeting.

Twenty years earlier, Chloe’s mother decides to return home with Chloe and await her father’s arrest, despite the detective’s warning. In the present, Aaron confronts Chloe about not telling him about her participation in Aubrey’s search party. After she tells him the truth about ending up at the search party, Chloe answers questions about her friendship with Lena and shares a memory of Lena teaching her how to break into Cooper’s locked bedroom. Eventually, Chloe reveals the details of Aubrey and Lacey’s missing jewelry with Aaron and the connections to her father’s crimes. Her father’s collection of jewelry taken from the girls he murdered was not released to the public because of his decision to take a plea deal. Aaron clarifies that a copycat killer can “mimic their crimes as a form of respect” or “mirror their crimes as a way to draw attention away from their predecessor and toward themselves” (169). Chloe begins to speculate about whether Lena’s father, Bert Rhodes, who hated her father, may be responsible for the recent killings. Despite Aaron’s suggestion to inform the police of her suspicions, Chloe decides to investigate on her own.

In a memory, Chloe remembers attending a school play the year of Lena’s death. Her family sits next to Lena’s parents. Chloe recalls seeing Bert flirting with her mother weeks earlier. The news of Chloe’s mother and Bert Rhodes’s affair broke after her father’s arrest. In the aftermath of her father’s arrest and her mother’s mental health crisis, Bert would harass Chloe and Cooper at their home out of the belief that his affair with their mother drove their father to murder Lena.

Chloe returns home from her meeting with Aaron and begins researching Bert. She discovers that he works for a local security system company in Baton Rouge. When Daniel interrupts her, Chloe lies to him about her meeting with Aaron and ignores his questions about what she is researching. He informs her that he needs to travel for unexpected business. While they share a tender moment, Daniel aggressively grabs Chloe’s laptop and looks at what she was researching. Mistakenly assuming Chloe wants a security system installed, Daniel comforts Chloe and leaves for work.

After Daniel leaves, Chloe messages Aaron about Bert. Using his skills as a reporter, Aaron researches Bert’s history and discovers that he has been arrested multiple times, including for strangling his ex-wife. He urges Chloe to go to the police, but she refuses. Wary of having the police reinsert themselves into her life, Chloe promises to go to the police if she and Aaron discover any more evidence. When she hears a car pull into the driveway, she hangs up and finds Bert Rhodes at her doorstep.

When Bert informs Chloe that Daniel called him to install a security system, Chloe realizes that he does not recognize her. She invites him into her home and begins to ask him questions about himself as he installs the security system. Eventually, Bert confesses that he recognizes Chloe and accuses her of capitalizing off her father’s crimes to promote her therapy practice. After Chloe apologizes for her father’s actions, Bert asks Chloe if she wonders what it feels like to kill someone.

After Bert leaves, Chloe calls the police and requests a meeting. At the police station, she speaks with Detective Thomas and tells him about her theory about the copycat killer. Wary of Chloe’s claims, Detective Thomas promises to explore her theory.

Back at home, Chloe takes a Xanax and prepares dinner for herself as Cooper arrives unexpectedly to check on her. When Cooper confronts Chloe about the open pill bottle on her counter and blames Daniel, she asks him to leave. He returns the spare key she gave him and exits. For the rest of the evening, Chloe continues to drink and drift in and out of sleep. She dreams of being 12 years old and seeing her father walk back from the woods with a shovel except, instead of her father, she sees herself as an adult. Suddenly, Chloe awakens screaming to the sound of her security alarm. She desperately searches for Daniel’s gun in their closet as she hears footsteps and discovers a jewelry box with Aubrey’s necklace under some clothes.

Chloe shoves the jewelry box into the back of the closet and discovers Daniel has returned home early. She rushes downstairs to turn off the security system. Suspicious of Daniel after discovering the necklace, Chloe pretends to fall asleep while Daniel takes a shower.

The next morning, Chloe searches for the necklace as Daniel makes breakfast. When she realizes it is missing, Chloe begins to question her own memory. She answers a phone call from Cooper who apologizes for their argument the night before and informs Chloe that their mother may be dying.

Chloe rushes off to see her mother, and when Daniel forcefully insists on accompanying her, she acquiesces. At her mother’s facility, a doctor informs Cooper and Chloe that their mother has been refusing to eat, and that, if her condition does not improve, she will be transferred to a hospital. Chloe requests to be alone with her mother. When alone, she asks her if their conversation has contributed to her worsening condition and if her mother knows “something about these murdered girls” (229). Her mother responds with a series of taps.

Using Scrabble tiles, Chloe engages in a conversation with her mother who confirms that the recent murders are connected to Breaux Bridge. When her mother responds to the letters D and A, Chloe believes her mother is alluding to Daniel’s involvement but is unable to receive confirmation as Cooper interrupts their conversation. On their way home, Daniel surprises Chloe by taking her kayaking. Despite her suspicions, Chloe agrees. As they kayak, she reminisces on happy memories kayaking with Cooper as a child and notes how Daniel reminds her of these moments. Daniel brings her to a part of the creek that features a view of their wedding venue. As Chloe observes the scene, she remembers seeing a young girl during their tour of the space. She now realizes that this girl was Aubrey Gravino.

At her office early the next morning, Chloe questions her assistant Melissa about Daniel’s arrival at their engagement party. She informs Chloe that Daniel arrived only shortly before she did. Chloe asks Melissa to block off her schedule later that week for a trip.

Later that week, as Chloe packs for her trip, she notices a scratch on Daniel’s side. Chloe reveals that she has investigated Daniel’s latest business trips and discovered Daniel has lied about his attendance. She lies to Daniel about the purpose of the trip and tells him it is for her bachelorette party. At work, Detective Thomas updates Chloe on Bert Rhodes and his intention to seek a restraining order against her. Chloe attempts to explain the situation, but the detective questions Chloe about someone named Ethan Walker.

Chapter 33 flashes back to the first time Chloe met Ethan Walker at a college party. Her roommate Sarah introduces them. The two talk for four hours.

Back in her office, Chloe answers Detective Thomas’s questions about Ethan. They dated for eight months before she began to suspect Ethan was responsible for the sudden disappearance of her roommate Sarah when she found blood in Sarah’s bed and Ethan began to avoid her. After Ethan broke up with her, Chloe broke into his apartment and discovered him and Sarah together. They had been having an affair for months. Experiencing a miscarriage, Sarah escaped to Ethan’s apartment to heal. Detective Thomas warns Chloe about pursuing her conspiracy theories and suggests she seek out help for her prescription medication addiction. As he leaves, he also implies that Chloe may have planted Aubrey’s earring at the cemetery as none of Aubrey’s DNA was found on it.

After work, Chloe heads to a hotel on the outskirts of town and invites Aaron. When he arrives, she informs him of a possible lead in his investigation. She suggests they interview a woman named Dianne whose daughter’s disappearance 20 years ago did not match her father’s other murders. Desperate for leads, Aaron agrees.

Chloe and Aaron arrive at Dianne’s dilapidated home. Following Chloe’s lead, Aaron introduces himself as a reporter. Dianne agrees to speak with them and introduces herself as Dianne Briggs and shares that her daughter Sophie disappeared 20 years ago.

Dianne Briggs unveils that she is Daniel’s mother and confides in Aaron and Chloe that she has always suspected Daniel was responsible for Sophie’s disappearance. As Chloe examines Daniel’s childhood bedroom, she discovers a copy of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the book she and Daniel bonded over when they first met. In the book, she finds newspaper clippings detailing her father’s arrest.

Upon discovering the newspaper clippings, Chloe realizes that Daniel lied about his ignorance of her father’s crimes. She wonders if Daniel planned their chance meeting. While saying goodbye, Dianne recognizes Chloe’s engagement ring as a family heirloom Sophie was wearing “the day she disappeared” and confronts her (285). Chloe and Aaron escape.

In the car, Aaron confronts Chloe about Daniel. Chloe confesses the truth and begs Aaron to help her. Back at the hotel, Chloe shows Aaron multiple receipts she uncovered in Daniel’s briefcase that show frequent visits to Angola, “the home of the largest maximum-security prison in America” and “the home of my father” (289). When Aaron claims his belief in Chloe, she kisses him. No longer able to deny their attraction, they have sex.

Later that evening, Chloe shares with Aaron her idea to visit her father. She agrees to sleep on her decision. Aaron goes to the bathroom and gets Chloe a glass of water. He gives her the glass and asks her if she wants to take a Xanax to help her sleep. She takes two Xanax and falls asleep while Aaron locks the door behind him.

Chloe’s phone wakes her at 10:00pm the next day. She calls back her friend Shannon who has left a series of frantic text messages. Over the phone, Shannon tells Chloe that her daughter Riley has gone missing and begs Chloe to help look for her. After listening to a voicemail from Daniel, Chloe decides to head home first to stop Daniel from leaving. She is positive about Daniel’s involvement in Riley’s disappearance.

Upon arriving home, Chloe finds that Daniel has already left. Reminded of the security cameras Bert installed, Chloe reviews the recordings and observes Daniel 30 minutes before her arrival. She wonders if Daniel sought out a relationship with her as a way of mimicking her father’s ability to disguise his darkness from her throughout her childhood. Desperate to save Riley, Chloe attempts to identify where Daniel hides the girls before killing them. Finally, the realization hits her. She drives to Breaux Bridge.

Chloe drives to her abandoned childhood home. Afraid of Daniel seeing her in the front yard, Chloe slinks to the back of the house and finds that the back door is locked. Using Lena’s instructions for how to pick a lock with a card, Chloe opens the door with Aaron’s press badge he left behind in her hotel room.

Chloe finds a drugged Riley on the floor of the living room. As she attempts to revive her and escape, Aaron greets her. At first, she believes Aaron’s claims that he has called the police after discovering Riley himself moments earlier. After noticing Aaron’s press badge on the floor, she realizes that it has broken and that it is fake. She questions Aaron about the murders. When he claims that “He made me do it,” Chloe shoots him in the stomach (314).

At the police station, Chloe reiterates the story of what happened to Detective Thomas. He reveals Aaron’s identity as Tyler Price, a local from Breaux Bridge. Chloe recalls a young man lurking around her childhood home in the days following her father’s arrest and realizes it was Tyler. When she blames herself for Aubrey and Lacey’s deaths, Detective Thomas comforts her.

Chloe drives home to Baton Rouge and ponders who Tyler was referring to in his final words. At home, she takes a bath and relaxes until discovering that Daniel has never left the house. She confronts him about his involvement in Sophie’s death. He denies killing Sophie and proclaims, “I saved her” (325).

Daniel confesses to Chloe that he helped Sophie fake her own disappearance to save her from their abusive father. Taking inspiration from Chloe’s father’s murders, Daniel devised the plan. Sophie now lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where Daniel occasionally visits on his trips. Unconvinced, Chloe asks Daniel about his visits to her father. He produces a long silver necklace from his pocket.

Later that evening, Chloe greets Cooper with a glass of wine at her home. As Cooper begins to relax, Chloe asks him about Tyler Price. Cooper denies any friendship with Tyler. Chloe recalls her conversation with Daniel earlier that morning. Confused by Chloe’s father’s protection of her after hearing about the disappearances, Daniel helps Chloe realize that her father’s final words instructing her to behave were really meant for her brother. In the present, Chloe confronts Cooper about his involvement in the murders of the Breaux Bridge girls. Cooper planted Aubrey’s necklace in Daniel’s closet for Chloe to discover and convinced Tyler to murder the Baton Rouge girls.

Cooper confesses that the jewelry box Chloe found in her father’s closet belonged to him. Their father discovered it underneath his floorboards and was deciding how to destroy it. Cooper also admits to killing Tara King. Aware of what Cooper had done, Lena became the next girl he killed. Chloe now realizes that her mother was aware of Cooper’s guilt, leading to her mental health crisis in the time following her father’s conviction. During her last visit, Chloe realizes that her mother was not spelling out Daniel but instead was spelling out Dad to urge Chloe to learn the truth from her father. When she informs Cooper that she needs to report him to the police, he attempts to strangle her but stumbles from the medication that she crumbed into his wine just like Tyler drugged her that night in the hotel room. Watching from a recording on Daniel’s phone, Detective Thomas enters on Chloe’s signal.