18. July 24, 2021

Summary

• The chapter begins on July 24, 2021, with Holly arriving at the crowded Kanonsionni Campground, where she parks some distance away and arranges to meet Lakeisha Stone, a friend of the missing Bonnie Rae Dahl.
• Holly reflects on her past financial struggles after her husband Bill's death and the stress of starting her detective agency, Finders Keepers. She expresses hope that investigating Bonnie's case will distract her from the loss of her mother and her turbulent emotions.
• As Holly walks to meet Lakeisha, she observes the visitors at the campground engaging in various activities and feels a sense of normalcy despite the ongoing pandemic.
• Holly meets Lakeisha, who is dressed in a bikini and summer attire. They discuss vaccinations, and Lakeisha expresses her condolences for Holly's recent family loss due to COVID-19.
• The conversation shifts to Bonnie's disappearance, which Lakeisha believes resulted from foul play because she cannot fathom Bonnie leaving without contact, especially given her close friendship with Lakeisha.
• Lakeisha criticizes the local police for their lack of effort in both Bonnie's case and in the judicial treatment of Maleek Dutton, a Black young man shot by the police over a minor infraction.
• Holly begins officially recording their conversation, in which Lakeisha shares her insights into Bonnie's troubled relationship with her mother, Penny, and the conflict over Bonnie's choice of working at the library.
• Lakeisha dismisses the idea of the head librarian, Matt Conroy, as a suspect in Bonnie's disappearance, despite his inappropriate behavior at work.
• The discussion explores the possibility of Bonnie having left town of her own accord, as well as her financial situation, with Lakeisha assuring Holly that Bonnie had no secret funds and had not left any possessions with her.
• Keisha shares her perspectives on racial inequality and the difference in the level of investigation and attention given to Bonnie, a white woman, compared to Maleek Dutton and another Black woman, Ellen Craslow, who also disappeared.
• After leaving the campground, Holly ponders the possibility of a serial offender being involved in the disappearances, noting that both Deerfield Park and Bell College locales relate to the potential victims.
• Holly books a room at a Days Inn and continues to contemplate the case. She purchases fresh clothes and makes calls to Pete and Barbara Robinson for assistance in researching Ellen Craslow.
• Holly informs Penny of her progress without revealing the full extent of her suspicions. She reflects on her past and her relationship with her deceased mother and questions the concept of "closure."
• After a conversation with Keisha, Holly learns that Ellen Craslow did not have a car and sometimes rented a bike. This information relates to Bonnie's and Peter Steinman's modes of transportations, noting a pattern that none of the potential victims used cars for their daily commute.