Summary

In the chapter titled “Friday, July 17th,” Cassandra (Cass) Anderson is anxious to go home and see Matthew, her husband of almost a year, after attending a get-together for fellow teachers. As she leaves, a storm begins. In spite of her promise to Matthew not to, she takes a shortcut through the woods on Blackwater Lane. Along the way, she sees a stopped car on the side of the road. Cass realizes that there is a woman in the car and weighs the moral duty against the dangers of stopping to help the woman. She decides to stop ahead of the woman’s car and waits to see the woman’s reaction. The lady does nothing to imply that she needs help, so Cass drives on. There is no cell phone signal in the woods, so Cass does not...