Hidden Nature

Sloan discusses her interest in the missing persons cases with Travis and drives to Uniontown to interview Zach’s coworker. She’s convinced these cases are abductions. As she drives, Sloan reflects that she feels a buzz around Nash, but she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to date the brother of her sister’s romantic interest.

While interviewing Zach’s coworker, Sloan receives confirmation that Zach was looking forward to spending the weekend with his young son and gave no indications of sadness or distress. The coworker mentions the van that pulled up beside Zach’s car.

When she returns home, Sloan finds Nash working on her house. They chat, and Sloan suspects he is attracted to her, too. She invites him to stay for dinner to talk through her investigation with her. She tells him upfront they shouldn’t sleep together. As they eat, Sloan tells Nash what she knows about the three cases, and he discusses with her how the abductions might be carried out. They wonder about the woman Zach’s coworker talked to. Impulsively, Sloan kisses Nash, and he kisses her back.

Despite her earlier insistence that it’s a bad idea, Sloan takes Nash into her bedroom, and they have sex. Sloan feels slightly nervous when he sees the scar on her chest. She reminds him she’s not fragile and enjoys the escape into feelings, rather than thoughts. For her, the sexual climax is “bringing back to life what she’d feared had died while the rest of her survived” (246).

Afterward, Nash reflects on how he saw her walking by the lake and admired how she kept going forward. Sloan tells him about her out-of-body experience when her heart stopped beating, how she remembers seeing herself from a distance, and seeing Joel. As she talks about how she was zapped back, she makes a connection: Janet and Zach were brought back to life after an injury as well.

She does some research and finds the same thing happened to Arthur Rigsby, the dentist. Sloan is convinced this is the reason the victims were targeted—this is the motive for the killers. Sloan says, “[T]hey stole that second chance, wiped out all the pain and effort of healing and moving on. Killed the joy and relief of the families at having their loved ones alive” (252).

Nash reflects that while he enjoyed the sex, he also enjoys talking to Sloan. She’s logical, beautiful, and determined.

Theo returns home and confides that he wants to find an engagement ring for Drea. Theo is convinced she is the girl for him. He doesn’t plan to involve his and Nash’s parents in his wedding.

After Clara recovers, Sam gets sick. She is delighted when he recovers enough to make them dinner. They praise each other, then turn to discussing their next target, as they’ve fallen behind in their “work.” Clara has two options, a man and a woman, both of whom were brought back using medical intervention.

Drea wakes Sloan up in the morning to show off her engagement ring. She declares she’s in love and they want to get married in the fall. Sloan is happy for her sister but feels she needs a minute to process, to weigh the pros and cons.

As she talks over the ongoing investigation with Travis, he reminds Sloan that she fits the victim profile of people who received medical interventions after clinical death.

Sloan stops by Nash’s house and is impressed at the sophistication of his kitchen. They discuss Theo and Drea’s engagement. Sloan thinks they shouldn’t continue to sleep together, fearing it will become awkward for the rest of the family. Nash says she’s overthinking things. They talk about the cases, about their house renovations, and their previous romantic partners.

Clara and Sam watch Lori Preston’s shop. A nearby shop is a tattoo parlor, and Clara comments that she doesn’t understand why people would want to mar their bodies. Clara thinks Lori is wasting her stolen life. She says they’ll send Lori to a better place.

March arrives. Sloan talks to Arthur Rigsby’s wife and lover. She notes that Karen Rigsby is still hurt by her husband’s betrayal. Karen feels his infidelity made a mockery of their life and a fool of her. In contrast, Rigsby’s lover has moved on to her next boyfriend and is “neither grieving, angry, nor humiliated” (273), as Sloan notes. She mainly appreciates what her lovers can give her in the way of material comforts or luxuries.

On her way home, Sloan runs into Nash at the take-out place, and they decide to have dinner together. Sloan thinks that winter isn’t quite over, but spring is near. Nash comes to her house and sees that she has a dog bowl. He asks if she’s looking for something. Sloan takes exception to this, but they work things out, deciding they’ll continue their relationship but let the other know when interest wanes.

They eat, and Sloan describes her interviews that day. She realizes that Karen Rigsby still loves her husband, which is why his infidelity hurt so much. Sloan reflects that in her line of work, she confronts hard things, but in this case, “Someone’s stolen three lives—that we know of—upended the world of three families. And not for gain” (281).

As they walk together outside, letting the dog roam, Sloan takes Nash’s hand and looks at the stars. She considers his earlier question of what she’s looking for and thinks she might have found it.