Chapter 56

Casey refuses Nell’s request to give police her house key and directions. Instead, Casey drives past the station toward Massachusetts, intent on confronting Nell’s mother herself. She lies to Lee, believing he would object, and justifies her choice with her experience of systemic failures in child abuse cases and her own upbringing with an abusive mother.

During the drive, Casey replays the incident that cost her a teaching career. After noticing escalating bruises on student Karisa Harrel—including marks on Karisa’s neck—Casey repeatedly reported the abuse. CPS found no wrongdoing, and the school insisted the process had run its course, complicated by the fact that Karisa’s father was a police officer.

When Karisa’s father arrived for pickup and Karisa clung to Casey, Casey tried to refuse releasing the girl, but the principal intervened. Grief-stricken over her own father’s recent death, Casey snapped: she grabbed a baseball bat and smashed Mr. Harrel’s car before being stopped, an outburst that led to her firing. Karisa remained with her parents, a failure that still haunts Casey.

Recalling her father’s belief in vigilante justice—and his acceptance of what she did to her abusive mother—Casey concludes she must be smarter than she was then. She continues toward Nell’s mother, determined to act decisively without repeating past mistakes.