The Good Girl

Gabe releases the image of John Doe, and they get hundreds of mostly useless tips. He worries that the John Doe might be more experienced than he anticipated. Gabe reflects on what leads people to become criminals—“I can guess that at least once, someone forgot to pick him up from school […] And I can guess that he’s been smacked across the face by someone who should’ve known better, someone he trusted” (131). Flipping through TV channels that night, Gabe sees a press conference with the Sergeant and James. Gabe wasn’t invited. James feigns grief.

Colin ties Mia up so he can go to the store to get supplies. He thinks about his childhood, and how he didn’t have it in him to shoot a buck. His friend Jack Gorsky shot a fawn between the eyes and ended up in a juvenile detention center a few years later. He thinks about running but can’t stand the thought of Mia starving to death, lost until tourists return in spring. When he comes back, he unties Mia. She is raging. He hands her the gun, forcing it into her hands. She shakes, uncertain. He tells her to shoot him if she wants.