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Summary

PART VII: Self-Reliance (continued)

Louise, August 1975: Day Four– Judyta, August 1975: Day Four 

Louise, August 1975: Day Four

Louise returns home but is immediately worried when she cannot find Jesse. Her mother reassures her that he was in the kitchen the previous day, but Louise knows she cannot trust anything her mother says. Suddenly, Jesse walks through the door completely fine.  

She asks where he was, and he explains that he was at Neil’s house. When she turns to their mother, clearly frustrated that she didn’t mention this earlier, her mother confirms she knew all along. Louise apologizes to Jesse for overreacting and admits she worries about him. She reflects on their childhood and how she once held him in her arms, but now he is taller than her. 

The two watch television together and there is a  knock at the door. When Louise answers, she finds a gray-haired woman standing at the door.  

Judyta, August 1975: Day Four 

Judy is pacing anxiously when she spots Hayes and demands an update on Sluiter. Hayes tells her that after she left, Sluiter stopped talking completely. He admits that it was LaRochelle, not Sluiter, who ended the interview because LaRochelle believed Sluiter was manipulating Judy and wanted to take over, though Hayes says he would have let her continue. 

Hayes reminds her that the conservator from the Hyde Collection is arriving to remove the pink paint from Barbara’s room. When Judy asks how the Van Laars feel about it, Hayes replies that they seem indifferent. This reaction leaves her questioning whether they are innocent, or there is nothing important on the walls. 

Anna, the conservator, begins working, revealing patches of green and black beneath the paint. Before she can uncover more, Judy is called to the phone. LaRochelle is on the line, and this time, he is in the interrogation room with Sluiter, who wants to speak directly to Judy, again. Sluiter surprises her by insisting that he knows nothing about Barbara Van Laar. When she presses him, he claims he only knows her name from the news. Eventually, Sluiter offers new, important information: he knows where Bear Van Laar is, and he will show her. 

Louise, August 1975: Day Four 

At Louise’s door is Mrs. Maryanne Stoddard, the wife of Carl Stoddard, who was framed for Bear’s disappearance. Louise recognizes her because she was the mother of Antonia Stoddard, one of her childhood classmates. Once a well-known Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Stoddard has disappeared from the public eye since the deaths of her son and husband, the latter having died in police custody. Rumors about her have circulated for years, with many believing she had a nervous breakdown and became a shut-in. 

As they talk, Mrs. Stoddard reveals that she mortgaged her house to bail Louise out, showing her determination to right past wrongs. Louise is incredibly grateful for this gesture. Mrs. Stoddard continues, confessing to spending years searching the woods around Hunt Mountain for evidence to clear her husband’s name. Louise begins to realize that Mrs. Stoddard is the person behind the camp legend “Scary Mary”—a ghostly figure who walks around the Preserve that campers speak of with fear. Instead of being a haunting presence, she is a grieving widow who is desperately searching for the truth. 

Mrs. Stoddard acknowledges her nickname, revealing that she is aware of the legend but unbothered by it. 

Judyta, August 1975: Day Four 

Judy crosses Lake Joan in a canoe with two rangers, while Hayes, the medical examiner, Sluiter, and an armed guard follow in separate boats. They had to fight for legal permission to include Sluiter, as his history of manipulation and escape attempts make him a risk. He is shackled at the ankles and wrists and requires help stepping onto the rocky shore. 

The group follows Sluiter into the dense forest and little sunlight filters through. He claims they are searching for a cairn, a stack of rocks marking a grave. Judy doubts his intentions, suspecting he only wanted a final glimpse of the outdoors before being locked away again. When they reach a rock face, Sluiter gestures downward, and at its base sits a small pile of stones. He tells the investigators to start digging there, and they will find the boy.  

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