When the Stars Go Dark

Readers learn the facts about Cameron’s disappearance. After studying with her friend, Gray Benson, Cameron returned home and had dinner with her mother, Emily. Her father was away in Malibu. Before Emily went to bed at 10, she set the home alarm system. The next morning, Cameron was missing and the alarm system deactivated. The police found no evidence of a break-in and nothing on home surveillance footage. Anna suspects that Cameron disarmed the systems, dodged the surveillance cameras, and left of her own will. An adopted child, Cameron might have felt ignored by her busy celebrity parents. Anna’s identification with Cameron deepens.

Anna recalls the Christmas morning when she was eight when her mother disappeared and how she tried to maintain the house for her siblings. The morning after Christmas, Anna tried to make eggs for breakfast but instead triggered the fire alarm. The police arrived and discovered the three kids without any adults.

Will and Anna now head to the Curtis home to talk with Cameron’s adoptive parents and to check Cameron’s room for clues. Troy, the girl’s adoptive father, describes Cameron as a “nerdy bookworm,” an idealist who dreamed of changing the world. Emily admits that she and Troy had begun fighting more and that turmoil might have upset Cameron.