34. July 27, 2021

Hol­ly Gib­ney is on a some­what aim­less inves­ti­ga­tion into a series of dis­ap­pear­ances, sus­pect­ing a con­nec­tion between the vic­tims and a local bowl­ing team, the Gold­en Oldies. After con­tem­plat­ing the lack of progress and the improb­a­bil­i­ty of Rod­dy Har­ris, a mem­ber of the team, being involved, she decides to fol­low up on anoth­er lead instead, divert­ing her trip to check on her Uncle Hen­ry at a care cen­ter.

Hol­ly’s inves­ti­ga­tion inter­twines with per­son­al reflec­tions and inter­ac­tions, includ­ing a dri­ve-thru meal at Burg­er King and a phone call to Pen­ny Dahl, who is anx­ious for updates on the search for her miss­ing daugh­ter. Hol­ly’s con­ver­sa­tion with Pen­ny is strained; she promis­es a full report with­in 24 hours while feel­ing the weight of Pen­ny’s expec­ta­tion and threat to fire her.

Amidst inves­tiga­tive dead-ends and calls to and from fam­i­ly, Hol­ly learns from her broth­er, Jerome, about a sig­nif­i­cant advance­ment for a friend, Bar­bara, in the lit­er­ary world. Jerome also shares an insight about a van seen in secu­ri­ty footage, which could be cru­cial for the case.

The nar­ra­tive shifts to Bar­bara, who is in a hos­pi­tal wait­ing with a friend for news about a poet she admires, reflect­ing on the fragili­ty of life and bal­anc­ing per­son­al grief with pro­fes­sion­al achieve­ments.

Simul­ta­ne­ous­ly, Emi­ly Har­ris, who appears con­nect­ed to the case Hol­ly is inves­ti­gat­ing, is depict­ed in a domes­tic scene with Rod­dy. They dis­cuss Hol­ly’s inquiries with a mix of dis­dain and cau­tion, hint­ing at their own secre­tive and poten­tial­ly sin­is­ter activ­i­ties.

This chap­ter blends Hol­ly’s pro­fes­sion­al endeav­ors with her per­son­al life, offer­ing insights into her char­ac­ter and rela­tion­ships while advanc­ing the nar­ra­tive of a com­plex inves­ti­ga­tion. Each sec­tion reveals lay­ers of intrigue, from the pro­ce­dur­al aspects of detec­tive work to the emo­tion­al dimen­sions of Hol­ly’s inter­ac­tions with those around her, all set against a back­drop of unre­solved dis­ap­pear­ances and dark sus­pi­cions.