The Girl Who Was Taken

Mrs. Delevan, Casey’s mother, reveals to Livia that her oldest son, Joshua, went missing when he was nine years old. Losing him tore their family apart. Her husband abandoned the family soon after he realized that they would never receive closure about what happened to Joshua. When Casey grew up, he also abandoned their family and did not keep in touch with his mother.

Mrs. Delevan is unable to offer Livia any clues about Casey or Nicole, but Livia still leaves with the impression that she learned something. Mrs. Delevan is a heavy smoker and drinker, and as a forensic pathologist, Livia has learned what substance use does to the human body. As she talks with Casey’s mother, she imagines what her organs would look like if she had to examine them in an autopsy. She realizes that losing her husband and sons has destroyed this woman. She drives away promising herself that she will find answers and avoid this type of grief-induced self-destruction.

Chapter 11 switches to Megan’s point of view in the present. Megan visits Mr. Steinman, the man who called 911 and helped her when she escaped. He is a lonely older man, and Megan visits him regularly because she genuinely enjoys his company and wants to thank him for helping her. Over a game of cribbage, Mr. Steinman tells Megan that he knows when she’s trying to fool him. Megan laughs it off as a joke, but he insists that his insight applies to more than just cribbage; he can see through her fake smile during her TV interviews, and he knows she’s struggling. Megan admits that he’s right and confesses that she feels pressured to do the interviews. Her family is so desperate for proof that she’s recovering, and because publishing a book and being on TV makes her look successful, she feels that she must keep up appearances for their sake. Mr. Steinman encourages her to be honest with others and herself, reminding her that her life is her own. Their conversation is interrupted by a loud crash from another room, and Mr. Steinman abruptly—but not unkindly—encourages Megan to leave.

She drives home, and after an awkward interaction with her mother, her publicist calls to announce that Megan’s memoir has made the New York Times Best Seller list. Megan’s mother is ecstatic, but Megan feels numb. As she ponders the disparity between her reaction and her mother’s, Megan wishes that her mother would understand how much her abduction has changed her and how different “normal” is for her now.

Later, Megan drives to a session with her therapist, Dr. Mattingly. Through hypnotherapy, Dr. Mattingly encourages Megan to mentally revisit the moments she spent in captivity so that she can reclaim control over the experience. He asks her to close her eyes and relive each memory while describing the details of the bunker where she was held. They spend some time concentrating on the noises Megan was able to hear in captivity. In this session, Megan narrows down a sound that has eluded her: a train whistle.

Chapter 12 introduces the third-person perspective of a new character: an unidentified male narrator. He makes a journey to visit someone, with the implication that these visits are secret—he has to provide a cover story to an unnamed woman. He tells himself that his story about a fishing trip to Tinder Valley will be plausible enough.

As he advances upon his destination, he reflects on his relationships. He feels pressured to go through the motions with the woman he lives with so that she does not suspect his secret. However, he does not love her, and he believes that she does not love him either. Instead, his real affections lie with the person he is visiting tonight; he feels that “here, with his love, he could play out his wildest fantasies” (121). As he enters a nondescript wooden building and secures multiple locks behind him, he feels a burst of joy and sexual arousal.

As he descends an old and unstable staircase, he anticipates his “love” “waiting, shackled to her bed like a good and wanting servant” (124). He eagerly calls out to tell her that he has returned.

Chapter 13 is set four weeks before Nicole’s abduction and is narrated from Nicole’s third-person perspective. It is late at night, and she is smoking marijuana alone in an empty park. Her friends don’t enjoy smoking, so Nicole feels compelled to hide her habit. As Nicole smokes, she plays on the swing set, enjoying a carefree moment as she surrenders to the swaying of the swing and the heady, weightless feeling brought on by the marijuana.

Nicole thinks that she is alone until a man appears holding a leash and calling for his dog. He approaches Nicole to ask her if she’s seen his dog and offers to show her a picture. Nicole takes a look and realizes that the photograph does not depict a dog—instead, it’s her cousin Julie. Stunned, Nicole blurts out that she recognizes her cousin. The man replies that Julie will never be discovered before pulling a burlap sack over Nicole’s head.

Other people appear out of nowhere, and Nicole can feel many pairs of hands grabbing at her and forcing her into the back seat of a car. After a rough car ride where she attempts to fight back and is aggressively subdued, her captors take her to a shed, where they abandon her overnight. Nicole makes futile attempts to break down the shed’s door and escape. She curls up in a corner, crying and thinking of Julie.

The next morning, Nicole is suddenly surrounded by people. At first, Nicole is confused and afraid until she sees Casey. He hugs her close and says, “You did great, sweet thing. Welcome to the Capture Club! I knew you’d love it” (133).

Three weeks before Nicole’s abduction, she is spending time with Rachel and Jessica on Rachel’s boat in Emerson Bay. Nicole’s friends are wondering again why she has been spending so little time with them. As before, Nicole brushes their concerns aside with vague references to spending time with her “mystery man.” Nicole realizes that she will never feel comfortable telling Rachel and Jessica about Casey’s Capture Club or what they talk about.

Instead, she changes the subject. The three friends laugh about the boys they go to school with until Matt Wellington and a group of his friends pull up on another boat. Nicole flirts with Matt, kissing him and hinting that she would like to go much further. When Matt hesitates, Nicole smugly tells him that he has lost his chance. Nicole takes three beers from Matt’s cooler and leaves his boat to rejoin her friends.

Three weeks before Nicole’s abduction, the Capture Club, including Nicole and Casey, meets in an abandoned brewery. The members proudly reveal that Nicole’s abduction and her night in the shed were an initiation into their club and that she has passed the test for membership.

The members discuss their bizarre club, acknowledging that everyone who is part of this secret society has a strange obsession with abductions. This club gives them a place to discuss their theories about missing person cases and simulate abductions. They discuss differences in abduction strategies implemented by serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer. For example, while some killers take their victims by force, Dahmer lured his victims in nightclubs by inviting them to go home with him. The leader of the club then tells the members that they will need to simulate a similar abduction by picking a new member to initiate and luring them into their car. Casey and Nicole opt to work together and select a prospective female member to abduct. As they make their plan, Casey and Nicole draw close together, kissing and touching each other before giving into their desire and having sex in the abandoned brewery.

Two weeks before Nicole’s disappearance, 19-year-old Diana Wells is partying at a nightclub with her friends and feeling excited because a handsome guy is buying her shots. The guy is soon revealed to be Casey, and he introduces Diana to Nicole, whom he claims is his college roommate. More drinks and flirtation leave Diana drunk, giddy, and susceptible to making questionable decisions. She leaves the nightclub with Casey and gets into his car, even though they both have been drinking. As they leave together, they pass Diana’s friends, who encourage her to reconsider her decision. Diana brushes their concerns aside and happily drives off with Casey.

As they drive, Nicole emerges from the backseat and pulls a hood over Diana’s face. Casey stops to pick up another member of the Capture Club, who binds Diana with plastic wrap. They leave Diana in the abandoned brewery with the implied threat that she will soon be raped and murdered.

Chapter 18 returns to the present and resumes Livia’s third-person perspective. Today, she is participating in a ride along with the county medical examiners as part of her training to become a medicolegal investigator. This training will teach her how to examine deceased bodies at the scene of the crime. She is being trained by two medical examiners: Kent Chapple and Sanj Rashi.

As they ride together, Kent and Sanj’s playful banter reveals that Kent spent the weekend fishing at Tinder Valley due to a fight with his wife. Rashi offers to let Kent stay with him whenever he needs a break from his marriage, but Kent declines, saying that he prefers to be alone when he feels stressed.

Their first case of the day is a man who was reported missing by his landlord after neighbors complained of a foul odor coming from his apartment. A police investigation revealed that the man had been dead for some time. The man reminds Livia of Casey Delevan, and she makes a mental note to follow up on a theory that she is considering.

Later that night, Livia arranges a meeting with Casey’s landlord to learn more about the process of reporting a tenant missing and getting the police involved. Although Casey’s landlord is greedy and unsympathetic, he has followed legal procedure to the letter, and he agrees to answer her questions. He even allows her to look through Casey’s belongings, which are in storage. While examining Casey’s things, Livia finds a folder full of articles about missing girls and feels uncomfortable. She suspects that these articles might be evidence that Casey was involved with Nicole’s disappearance.