The Night She Disappeared

Drew Lyle is one of the novel’s two deuteragonists. He is Gabie and Kayla’s classmate and is the last person to see Kayla on the night of her disappearance. Drew lives with his mother, who is addicted to meth and frequently in trouble with the law. Because she cannot hold down a job, Drew works at Pete’s Pizza to keep food on the table. Drew is smart, brave, and compassionate, but his circumstances force him to sell marijuana to supplement his income. He worries that people see him as a “straight-C stoner” (112) and that his mother’s addiction reflects badly on him in the eyes of his community, so he keeps to himself. His reserved nature allows him to bond with Gabie after Kayla vanishes.

Drew is drawn into the search for Kayla through his budding friendship with Gabie. He is the only one who understands the guilt she feels as well as the only one who entertains her belief that Kayla is still alive. They form a close connection despite their different upbringings, discovering that they share common interests and anxieties. Their bond empowers Drew to share more about his circumstances. As he digs deeper into Kayla’s case, Drew’s experiences with the manifestations of drug use help him deduce that Cody Renfrew isn’t guilty. Thayer threatens to send Drew to foster care if he and Gabie continue to interfere with the case, but even with this possibility hanging over him, Drew prioritizes Kayla’s survival over his own security.

At the end of the novel, Drew leads the climactic charge into Robertson’s house and shoots Robertson before he can attack Kayla and Gabie. For his heroism, Drew is awarded a medal by the Portland police department. He emancipates himself from his mother and plans to become a paramedic, showing that he’s worked through his self-doubt and uncertainty about his capabilities.

Kayla Cutler is the novel’s second deuteragonist. Athletic, beautiful, and beloved by her peers, Kayla is a golden girl. Her disappearance ripples through her community, causing paranoia and distrust. Because of her age and appearance, Kayla’s abduction also drums up morbid speculation. She fits the general public’s idea of a tragic victim, so people are primed to anticipate the worst about her fate.

As rumors that she is already dead swirl around Portland, Kayla fights to stay alive in Robertson’s basement, warding off potential assaults by sleeping upright and being highly combative. She displays sharp wits when she deduces that Robertson has killed in the past and plans to kill her. She hides her real personality to give herself the best chance of survival, pretending to be resigned to her fate while secretly fashioning weapons to aid her escape. As days stretch on without rescue, Kayla resolves to kill either Robertson or herself rather than dying on his terms.

When Robertson attacks Kayla with the intent of killing her, she fights back with her makeshift weapons. She buys herself enough time for Drew and Gabie to arrive and kill Robertson. Kayla is reunited with her family after her escape. Her survival subverts the usual ending to stranger-abduction stories, particularly those involving an adolescent girl.

“John Robertson” is the persona assumed by Ronald Hewett, the novel’s antagonist. To the public, Robertson is a meek, bespectacled vegetarian who builds architectural models. Behind closed doors, however, Hewett is a sociopathic murderer. He abducts girls for a vague and sinister project, seeing them as disposable pawns for his enjoyment. Though the nature of his project is never revealed, his actions hint at a repressed sexual motive.

Hewett sets out to abduct Gabie but accidentally takes Kayla instead. Kayla frustrates him because she is wily and battle-ready instead of the quiet and submissive victim he expected in Gabie. Hewett plans to kill Kayla, then try again to take Gabie. Throughout the novel, he observes Gabie and plans out his second attempt.

As the narrative progresses, Henry slowly reveals Hewett’s identity. From the start, the police believe that he is someone Kayla knows, which casts suspicion on most of the novel’s male characters. While the police chase down Cody Renfrew, Hewett hides in plain sight, even entering Pete’s Pizza and interacting with Gabie at the register. To Gabie, he is just a friendly regular, and she assumes he is harmless.

Hewett thinks of himself as a cunning criminal, espousing his own “[P]atience, persistence, and precision” (198). His inflated ego and sexist views lead him to underestimate Kayla. He never considers that she might be fashioning weapons, nor that she is brave enough to carry out an escape attempt. He assumes that it will be easy to dispose of Kayla when the time comes, and as a result he’s caught off guard when Kayla fights back. His moment of hesitancy provides Gabie and Drew an opportunity to interrupt their struggle, and Drew shoots Hewett with his own gun, killing him.

His identity is posthumously revealed, and investigators find the body of his previous victim buried in his front yard. Hewett’s socially acceptable facade almost allows him to get away with murder. His successful deception emphasizes the importance of looking past superficial judgments and thinking twice about whom to trust.

Sergeant Thayer is the police officer who heads up the investigation into Kayla’s abduction. Thayer conducts himself with authority, but he and the Portland police botch the case due to their bias against working-class people and their unwillingness to accept help from Drew and Gabie. Thayer is the primary character through whom Henry explores The Fallibility of Authority Figures.

Drew and Gabie are initially hopeful that the police will crack the case, but as the narrative progresses, Thayer leads officers in the wrong direction. He displays prejudice against those with low socioeconomic status, and this informs his police work. He fixates on Cody Renfrew as a prime suspect despite scant evidence linking him to the crime, in part because Cody has a past of drug use and petty theft. He pushes Cody hard for a confession, and the resultant stress drives Cody to suicide. Even after Cody’s death, Thayer maintains that he did the right thing and threatens to send Drew’s mother to jail if Gabie keeps proclaiming her belief that Kayla is alive.

At the end of the novel, Thayer watches angrily from the crowd as Drew and Gabie receive their medals. His mishandling of Kayla’s case is a cautionary tale about the cost of unexamined biases and a reminder that people in power can’t always be trusted.