All the Missing Girls

This is Nic’s second day in town, and she has relaxed after the long drive. The house is empty, and as she wanders, she sees someone moving in the forest, “her blond hair caught in the moonlight” (306). The back door begins to open, and Annaleise Carter steps inside, holding a box. She dumps the contents onto the kitchen table. In these photographs full of trees and darkness, Nic can make out the back of her house. On the porch is a girl, “bronze hair spilling out of a dark blanket” (307). It’s Corinne’s body. Annaleise explains that after Corinne’s disappearance, she wanted to test out her new camera. She’d always been attracted to the haunted atmosphere surrounding the Farrell house. Upon uploading the images to her computer, she noticed the body. 

“You look sick. You really didn’t know?” Annaleise asks Nic (308). Annaleise says they have an agreement: that Patrick Farrell has been paying her to remain silent. For $10,000, she won’t alert the police. For $20,000, she will destroy the flash drive containing the photos. Nic doesn’t have that kind of money, and Annaleise suggests she get the money from Everett, who is wealthy.