Ask for Andrea

In Utah, Meghan watches as Domanska reacts angrily to the news that the Idaho police have already released the car; Domanska hurriedly sends them Meghan’s fingerprints so that they can check to see if there is a match.

Brecia and Skye watch as James comes to retrieve his car; while he doesn’t know that the police from Utah have been in contact about Meghan’s murder, the women can tell that “he kn[ows] the net [i]s closing” (175). Skye goes home with James and his family to monitor him, while Brecia stays at the police station.

The police in Utah confirm that the fingerprint found in James’s car is a match for Meghan and issue a warrant for his arrest. Meghan accompanies the Utah police who are going to make the arrest, with assistance from authorities in Idaho. Meghan is hopeful not only that this will lead to James being convicted of her murder but also that the search of his home and computer will lead to the discovery of his other identities and crimes.

James hastily drives away from the police station and calls someone named Marjorie, telling her that he and his family need to secretly get away to the cabin owned by her. He tells her, “I damn well kept quiet all those years. Now it’s your turn to return the favor” (181). Marjorie confirms that he can use the cabin. Skye slips out of the car and heads back to the police station.

Meghan and Domanska arrive at the Idaho police station; Meghan begins to explore the station and runs into Brecia. Brecia explains how she was present at Meghan’s murder and unable to intervene; the two women embrace. They are interrupted by Skye, who rushes in to tell them that James is fleeing.

Meghan, Skye, and Brecia rush together to James’s house; a combined group of Utah and Idaho police officers will be following soon after. The three women arrive as James and his family finish packing their van to leave; they try to damage the car or communicate with April but are not successful. As James and his family drive away, all three women climb into the van along with them.

In the car, James’s daughters fall asleep, and April begins to question why they are running away. She points out, “[S]ince you’re innocent, why can’t we just talk to [the police]?” (191). She also questions why they are going to Marjorie’s cabin, implying that Marjorie is James’s stepmother and may have abused him when he was a child. James is angry and tense, and the three women increasingly worry that he may harm his own family. James and his family arrive at the isolated cabin and begin unpacking.

Meghan is anxious and uncomfortable watching James; she realizes that Brecia and Skye don’t know that they have the option to pass into another realm and leave the world of the living behind. She explains to them about “people [she]’d never met, places [she]’d never seen, an expanding universe of connected consciousness” (196). Brecia is excited, but Skye is worried since she doesn’t know anyone who has already passed away. The other women comfort her, explaining that she will find generations of family she has never met.

The women watch as James inspects the supplies that have been meticulously loaded into the van; the family has enough canned and prepared foods to potentially last for months as well as many other survival tools. However, James realizes that the rations were calculated before the girls were born and that there isn’t actually enough food to last the entire family for more than a month. As the three women watch in horror, James seems to be pondering the possibility of killing his family. They are desperate to communicate with April and decide to try to communicate with her while she’s sleeping.

Meghan and Skye watch as Brecia whispers to April as she sleeps: “[Y]ou need to find a way to take the girls and get the hell out of here. You can’t wait” (206). April jolts awake and goes to check on her daughters; it is not clear what the effects of Brecia’s words have been.

Every night, the three women whisper to April in her sleep; she wakes up in a panic each time but seems to dismiss the events as nightmares. A few days pass, and James is visibly growing more impatient. One night, after April and the girls are asleep, James slips out into the woods; as the three women watch in horror, he begins digging graves.

The women rush inside and manage to wake April up. Noticing that James is absent, April goes out to the porch; she sees that the shovel is missing. When she hears James returning to the cabin, she hurries back inside and pretends to be asleep. The women watch as James enters the cabin: They now know that “if he d[oes]n’t do it tonight, he w[ill] do it tomorrow. Or the next day” (217).