Long Time Gone

“Sloan swallowed hard. Preston and Annabelle. She was entering a portal to her past she had never intended to explore and couldn’t fully comprehend the emotions that came with discovering her birth parents’ names. She blinked several times to corral the tears that had welled in her eyes.”

As Sloan mentions, she never thought about her biological family before this event, but she now has to deal with their disappearance. The introduction of her parents’ names, Preston and Annabelle, adds a personal element to this mystery, forcing Sloan to make a connection to a past she never truly experienced. Her visceral reaction of swallowing and blinking illustrates the deep and instant connection she feels.

“We were still on the list with the agency, but it had been such a long and laborious process with lots of leads that ended up in disappointment, that we started to look for other options. We’d heard of other couples finding birth parents on their own and working directly with them instead of going through an agency. Many of those stories had happy endings, and the process of private adoption was much faster when the middleman was removed.”

Though Todd and Dolly did not do anything wrong, this passage shows how they took a chance on private adoption because they were frustrated with going through the normal adoption channels. The promise of “happy endings” was too tempting to deny, and this passage implies that Todd and Dolly may not have looked too hard into Wendy and Guy before adopting Sloan.

“‘It’s also complete bullshit. My father was no junkie. Christ, the man never took a sip of alcohol in his life. I don’t believe for a second that he was a heroin user.’ […] I think my dad was close to figuring out what happened to Charlotte Margolis and her parents. Someone didn’t want the truth to come out, so they killed him and made it look like a heroin overdose.”

Eric’s total rejection of his father’s reported cause of death is a testament to his love and respect for both Sandy and the sheriff’s office. However, the purpose of this passage is to raise questions about the credibility of official reports within the novel, which could be manipulated by the Margolis family. Eric’s theory sounds like a conspiracy, but his perspective sets the stage for the novel’s many twists and turns.

“‘The family has a code—as strong as the Kennedys, or maybe stronger. The family doesn’t talk to outsiders.’ Sloan raised her chin slightly, Eric’s plan finally dawning on her and the reason he had come across the country to find her. ‘But I won’t be an outsider.’ ‘Nope. You’re a Margolis pureblood. They’ll welcome you with open arms.’”

With his reference to the Kennedys, Eric frames the Margolis family as a powerful dynasty. Terms like “pureblood” and “outsider” contrast one another to give the impression that Sloan is both a fellow Margolis and a spy, when, in reality, she does not see herself as a Margolis at all. This introduction to the family establishes the novel’s exploration of The Limits of Small-Town Influence and Power as Eric conveys their seemingly omnipotent presence in Cedar Creek.

“Sandy’s pulse quickened. An ugly situation had just gotten messier. Annabelle was the newly minted wife of Preston Margolis. Sandy walked a fine line when dealing with the Margolis family. For the last century, the Margolis clan had acquired such a stranglehold on Harrison County that the family believed they were above the law. There was no problem that could not be solved with influence and money.”

The involvement of the Margolis family in a criminal matter makes even the honest sheriff Stamos nervous, since he knows how the family manages to manipulate and control events within the town. He specifically identifies money and power as the means by which the Margolis family stays “above” the law, implying that the family has had illegal business in the past. By returning to the past, the novel highlights the ongoing influence of the family and how long it has had its grip on the town.

“Sloan glanced again at her parents and felt sorry for what they were learning, and for what she had accidentally dragged them into. She also, for the first time in her life, felt detached from them. Sloan was no longer just their adopted child whom they loved unconditionally. Now she was the product of fraud and deceit. Dolly and Todd Hastings had not plucked a child from the world to give her love and a wonderful life; they had unknowingly participated in a crime that stole a child from loving parents.”

As Sloan tries to navigate the effects of the mystery on her identity, she takes a moment to reflect on how her parents feel. However, the key terms “product of fraud and deceit” are not targeted at Todd and Dolly, but at Sloan. Sloan sees herself as a “product,” stolen from Preston and Annabelle and shipped to Todd and Dolly like a commodity, detaching Sloan both from her parents and herself.

“They’ll start with phone calls, but they’ll also show up at your home, your place of employment, the health club. Anywhere they think you’ll be, they’ll be.” Sloan never thought of that possibility. She questioned whether the country would still be interested in her after three decades. But this was America, Sloan remembered. Of course the public would still be curious. Hers was a sensational true crime story the tabloids would be happy to salivate over a second time.”

John’s warning about the media comes true later in the novel, but Sloan’s use of the term “salivate” is the key element in this passage. Salivation implies a preparedness for consumption, again framing Sloan and her journey as a commodity to be consumed greedily by the public. This phrasing continues the novel’s trend of condemning an overzealous and exploitative media through the development of the theme of The Problematic Ethics of the Profit-Driven Media.

“She looked at the mountains to the west, which cast long shadows over the town as the sun began its descent behind their peaks. At once she felt small and insignificant standing in this valley in northern Nevada, but also like she was meant to be there. Like the universe had brought her to this exact place, at this exact time, to somehow right an injustice from decades earlier.”

The novel periodically hints at a supernatural connection between Annabelle, Sloan, and Cedar Creek, and this passage highlights that connection by simultaneously framing Sloan as a minor part in an ongoing drama and a critical element in fixing the illness of the town. Sloan is only one person in a widespread conflict between the Margolis family, the media, law enforcement, and a mysterious antagonist, but she is also the key to unraveling everything.

“Nora plastered a fake smile onto her face. ‘We’re not allowed anything else. Since the house was purchased through my husband’s trust, it had to match all the other Margolis homes. All Victorians, all constructed by the same builder, and all designed by Tilly and Reid Margolis. My in-laws. God forbid we build our own home.’ Nora rolled her eyes.”

The fact that the Margolis family has such severe restrictions on the lives of its members serves to expose the darker truth behind the façade of wealth and power. Though Ellis and Nora have all the money and influence they could dream of, they cannot make basic decisions for themselves, such as choosing a style of house. This passage hints that more than just homes are regulated by Reid and Tilly.

“Not only was Zoë in a position to break a new lead for Ryder Hillier and Unsolved, if she played her cards right she could continue to follow the case secretly from behind her desk and without her boss knowing about it. In her excitement, she considered ripping off an email to Ryder Hillier, but reconsidered. The FBI did not tolerate leaks, so she’d have to be careful. She shouldn’t use her work computer to reach out to a well-known journalist. She’d wait until she was at home. Or better yet, she’d go to a coffee shop and log in through their free Wi-Fi using a secure VPN.”

Zoe’s consideration of the benefit of betraying the FBI against the possible consequences of being caught leaking information highlights the dangers of fame and the media. Zoe wants the fame and acclaim that would come with breaking a hot story, but she knows that leaking the story is criminal. In this moment, though, Sloan, Sloan’s family, and the Margolis family are absent from Zoe’s considerations, highlighting The Problematic Ethics of the Profit-Driven Media.

“He needed help figuring out who it was and didn’t dare ask anyone inside the Nevada State Police for assistance. He was hesitant to mention the lead to anyone in his own department for fear that somehow it would leak to a Margolis family member. His plan was to stash the files in a safe place until he could recruit some trusted help.”

This passage highlights Sandy’s struggle to investigate when he knows that those under investigation have outsized power and influence in the state. The mention of state police and government officials should inspire trust and confidence, but for Sandy, they are unknowns. He knows that if he does his job too well, he risks the same fate as Baker, which ultimately does come to pass.

“She’d spent twenty-nine years as Sloan Hastings, never once thinking of herself any other way. Yet now, in just the last couple of weeks, her identity had morphed. She’d become a part—small or large, she wasn’t sure—of another family. Acceptance was not what she was after. She was looking for answers. But some part of her understood that to the grandparents she was about to meet, Sloan was something more than a stranger.”

Sloan consistently emphasizes that she does not want to become part of the Margolis family and doesn’t feel incomplete without knowing more about her biological family. However, she also understands that she has an obligation to Preston, Annabelle, Nora, Reid, and Tilly to at least try to fulfill the role of the long-lost child. In playing this role, Sloan unwittingly discovers more about herself, even if it does not change who she is in the end.

“If Ryder could capture the first baby Charlotte sighting, it would have her ravenous audience salivating. The stakes were high to make something happen, and make it happen soon, which was what brought Ryder to Hastings Family Dental & Orthodontics Center under the ruse of a molar gone rotten.”

Just as Sloan thought of the media serving stories to a “salivating” audience, Ryder, too, sees her viewers as hungry to consume this story. The additional term “ravenous” adds a violent layer to this desire to exploit and expose other people, framing both the media and those who zealously consume it as harmful and inconsiderate. This phrasing is then exacerbated by Ryder’s decision to lie to and harass Dolly, further developing the theme of The Problematic Ethics of the Profit-Driven Media.

“She had a vivid dream about her birth mother during the night. Annabelle was snapping photos of her infant daughter and then moving to the darkroom to develop them. When Annabelle emerged from the darkroom, photo in hand, baby Charlotte was gone. In the fog of the dream, Annabelle looked at Sloan and asked where her daughter had gone.”

Sloan’s dream follows an expected sequence of witnessing the event of her own disappearance, but a critical element in this passage is that, in the dream, Sloan and Charlotte are separate people. Charlotte goes missing, but Sloan remains, allowing Annabelle to ask where her daughter is. This dream highlights how Sloan is her own person, even if she was Charlotte 30 years earlier, engaging the theme of The Impact of Buried Truth on Identity by reasserting Sloan’s core identity outside the Margolis family.

“She looked for the inner peace that should have been on the other side of three decades of lies. But none of those emotions were there with her. The only thing present in that hotel room was fear. She didn’t know much about the law, but it was hard to imagine that she wouldn’t be in some kind of trouble for what she had done all those years ago.”

Margot’s story is brief, but it underpins a broader issue with guilt and crime that Donlea brings up through the Golden State Killer. Even when a long period has passed since a crime was committed, it does not lessen the severity or impact of that crime. Margot, like the Golden State Killer, is just as guilty today as she was 30 years prior.

“The weight of the situation was beginning to dawn on her. Baby Charlotte Margolis had dominated the news and tabloids for nearly a year after she and her parents disappeared, and even this many decades later the American public was obsessed with her story. And now they were desperate for the sequel—the return of baby Charlotte Margolis.”

Terms like “salivating” and “ravenous” transform into “desperate” in this passage, transitioning from a malicious hunger to a desperation. Thirty years earlier, everyone wanted to know what happened to the Margolis family, and much like an anticipated sequel to a film or novel, they now want to know about Sloan. This desire continues the novel’s exploration of Sloan’s commodification by the media, while her recognition of the “weight” of her situation underscores that it is a burden that she has to bear.

“It was, excuse me, a goddamn mess. Accusations, conspiracy theories, rumors, and flat-out lies. We’re not going to allow that same thing to happen again. We’re going to control the narrative this time around, and the best way to do that is to address the media on our terms. We’ve bought a few days by coming here, and we’ll take the weekend to figure out the best approach.”

Reid’s recollection of the media onslaught of the past presents a different side to the Margolis family. Though both the media and the Margolis family have been framed as antagonistic up to this point, Reid reveals how, in this case at least, their manipulation of the town and government was aimed at protecting them from outsiders, not hurting others. The family is mostly concerned with preventing misinformation about them, complicating their portrayal and humanizing them.

“‘Sure. I bet you know what you’re doing. Just like Annabelle.’

‘I can try. As long as you don’t let me ruin anything.’

‘You won’t ruin anything,’ Nora said, handing Sloan the film roll. A sensation came over her when Sloan took the film in her hand, as if some personification from the past had reached across time, hurtling three decades in the blink of an eye, to place the film in her hands. Sloan shook her head to dispel the sense of déjà vu that came over her.”

Sloan’s interest in photography allows another brief glimpse into a near-supernatural connection between her and Annabelle. Sloan’s feeling of déjà vu, much like Nora’s assurance that Sloan will naturally understand photography, highlights the genetic connection Sloan has to the Margolis family. This scene highlights the fact that although Sloan’s core identity remains intact, it has been augmented by this new information about her biological parents.

“Preston’s plan—to act as normal as possible and get through the Fourth of July and the Cedar Creek Gala without tipping anyone off about their impending escape from Cedar Creek—had her both giddy with excitement and paranoid at the same time. She wanted nothing more than to get away from this crazy town that Preston’s family controlled, but she knew it wouldn’t be as easy as packing up and leaving.”

Annabelle’s excitement and paranoia are mirrored in Preston’s plan. Even though Preston is Reid and Tilly’s son, he knows that they need to leave quickly before his parents have a chance to confront them. This disparity between the power of being a member of the family and being limited by the family’s control presents the critical conflict all members of the Margolis family face.

“‘And you think Preston wants to leave Cedar Creek?’ Now it was Annabelle’s turn to laugh. ‘You think you control everything that goes on, but you know so little. And when you find out, your perfect little world with all your money, and the cookie-cutter houses you make your kids live in, and your country-club lifestyle, it’s all going to crumble. And the sad thing is, you don’t even know it’s about to happen.’”

Annabelle’s confrontation with Tilly emphasizes how Tilly’s power is only useful if she can control each person’s behavior. Annabelle asserts that she and Preston can simply leave Tilly, thus removing their power, and she foresees a time when Tilly will regret interfering in her children’s lives with her money and threats. However, until that happens, Tilly will still be convinced that she is in control.

“‘My child?’ Annabelle said with a laugh. ‘You mean your son’s child, too, right? And your granddaughter?’

‘I’m under no illusion as to what that child represents. She was a way for you to trap Preston into a life of servitude. And I admit, you’ve won. Reid and I will readily grant you the victory and give you what you want. You’ll see that the package we’ve put together is more than fair.’”

Sloan is dehumanized in the novel through the media, law enforcement, Guy and Wendy, and even Todd and Dolly, but the origins of the idea of Sloan as an object to be used are in this passage and in her family. Tilly accuses Annabelle of using Charlotte as a tool to tie Preston to her, but Annabelle never considered using Charlotte this way. Instead, this passage reveals how Tilly dehumanizes those outside the family, including Annabelle, and sees them as objects to be manipulated, reflected in her belief that Annabelle was taking that same approach, using Charlotte to trap Preston.

“He wanted to put an end to it all, call the police, and tell them what he’d discovered—that Lester Strange, the family’s loyal employee, had brought bloodshed to the very family that had supported him over the years. The only explanation, Ellis knew, would be that with the emergence of Sloan Hastings, Lester went on a killing spree to cover his tracks from decades earlier. Ellis would emerge as the lone survivor and fill in any holes the authorities had trouble understanding.”

Though Ellis is guilty of multiple murders, he wants to call the police because he knows that his word will be taken over Lester’s. Just like 30 years before, being a member of the Margolis family will absolve him of any suspicion, and he knows that he can get away with everything so long as he spins the story correctly. Ellis’s plan adds a layer of malice to his character, transitioning him from a desperate criminal to an actively evil antagonist.

“Sloan had decided to give her exclusive interview to Avery Mason and American Events. The decision came after a long conversation with Dr. Cutty, who knew Ms. Mason and promised she’d be fair in both her questions and the inevitable spin that Sloan’s story was generating.”

Though this passage highlights Avery as a trustworthy journalist, the terms “inevitable spin” demonstrate the characters’ understanding that even with an honest representation of the story, there is a degree of manipulation. No matter what, some degree of influence and manipulation is inevitable in such a complex story, and Sloan trusts Avery not to present the total truth, but to spin the truth in a more favorable direction.