The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die

They take off in the Subaru, and Cady gets into the back seat to try and shake off any would-be commuters calling the police as everyone is looking for two people, not one. She hunkers down in back where she has a clear view of Ty while he’s driving. There’s a car seat in back, and Cady knows instinctually how to take it off. She chalks this up to having a baby brother. Ty slows down so that they don’t draw attention to themselves, but they’re in a Subaru, which is a standard car in Oregon. When Cady queries Ty about his perfect recitation of what flight attendants say, he mentions that he spent a lot of time visiting his dad when his parents divorced. He then reveals that his father died. His father went from poor and unreliable to making custom furniture and making something of himself, only to die in a tree well while skiing. Ty’s mother later married her boss, and Ty wrecked the man’s brand-new BMW. He was kicked out, which is how he ended up homeless. Then he met James and got a job at McDonald’s and was able to start getting his life back together. He helped Cady because if people like James and Audrey hadn’t helped him, he might still be homeless. Cady then dozes off and has a dream about the bowling alley. In it, the boy in her picture (presumably her brother) is in danger from the man in the blue Lexus who’d been waiting outside the bowling alley. She picks the kid up as he cries and screams, and she tries to get him to safety. She’s awakened from the dream by Ty, who indicates that something is wrong.

Ty turns up the radio as Cady awakens. The news is reporting on a fire at the cabin where Cady was tortured. The firefighters were able to contain the blaze, but there is mention of human remains being found at the scene. Cady is horrified to hear this news and wonders if this is why her fugue state is so bad. The report then delves deeper into the fact that the Scotts are missing, and that Cady is still wanted in connection to Dillow’s homicide. She’s painted as a troubled teen again, with even her parent’s workplace, Z-Biotech, mentioning that the two had talked about family problems right before they disappeared. Specifically, that Cady was using and selling drugs. Although everyone seems to believe she is a suspect, the news then mentions that one person, her aunt Elizabeth Quinn, believes that Cady is innocent. Elizabeth Quinn has flown in to Portland to try and find her niece and help with her innocence. She’s staying at the Winchester Hotel and won’t leave until she finds Cady. Although Cady is still horrified about the human remains that were found, she feels certain that she checked all the rooms. She hopes the body is that of Brenner. The chapter ends with Cady mentioning that they are only 30 minutes away from Portland and that her aunt Elizabeth is there at the Winchester Hotel.

When they reach Portland, they eat at Burger King and find a payphone. Ty calls Elizabeth Quinn, as Cady reasons it’s better for a male to call. Ty returns with good news. Elizabeth is overjoyed at knowing Cady is okay. She wants them to meet at the Winchester Hotel. Cady is relieved at the thought of an adult taking over and figuring things out from this point on. She and Ty drive to the hotel and park in the underground garage as instructed, then go to room 312. Aunt Elizabeth opens the door quickly and ushers them in. She’s elated to see Cady, but Cady feels embarrassed because she can’t remember Elizabeth. Elizabeth seems taken aback and hurt that Cady can’t remember, especially as Cady used to call her “Liz.” She suggests that everything’s fine now and that Ty can go, but Ty—to Cady’s delight—refuses to leave. Elizabeth warns him that things can get dangerous, but he refuses to budge.

Elizabeth reveals that Cady’s mom called her the previous morning and confessed that she and the family—minus Cady—were on the run. Elizabeth held the press conference as a way to reach out to Cady and help her. The three then settle down to put their pieces of the puzzle together. Cady and Ty explain what they know. Then Elizabeth fills in the blanks. She starts by telling Cady that her parents are virologists who work at Z-Biotech. A few weeks back, a girl on a farm died mysteriously. Then her boyfriend, who was on the way to her funeral, also died, practically choking on his own blood.

Continuing her explanation, Elizabeth relates how field mice spread the hantavirus that infected the two and how Cady’s parents discovered the connection. The mice’s excrement was drying out and causing the hantavirus to be carried in the air, and eight people got infected. All eight people died. It’s the deadliest strain of hantavirus to date. Cady’s parents then began working on a vaccine, but the company was sold to people who aren’t scientists. These people simply saw the potential for a biochemical weapon. Ty and Cady are in disbelief, and Elizabeth answers all their questions. She tells them that the federal government doesn’t keep track of all the labs around, and that the virus isn’t spread from person to person, so it can be used at the user’s discretion. Moreover, the person wielding it can decide who gets sick and who doesn’t. Elizabeth explains that ultimately, people would pay a lot of money for a vaccine if they realized they were going to die, both on the individual level and on the level of an entire country—as in a country’s leader meeting a demand to ensure the safety of his people.

Ty and Cady realize that they would pay anything for a vaccine in the situation mentioned. Elizabeth then explains how her parents began to suspect something was wrong and began taking photos and documenting what was happening. They wanted to protect themselves with this information, even though doing so was extremely dangerous. The vaccine takes weeks to make, and Cady’s parents are the only two who know how to make it, adding another reason Z-Biotech wants to find them so badly. This is why they fled and left a strange message for Cady, and why she was kidnapped and tortured by the two men. Elizabeth reassures Cady that the human remains in the cabin are not her family; they fled and are on the run. Elizabeth thinks that the men decided to kill Cady because they realized that she in fact did not know anything. Elizabeth, however, thinks that Cady does know and has just suppressed the trauma, including the formula to make the vaccine. She implores Cady to remember so that they can give this information to Z-Biotech and save her family. Cady, however, still can’t remember anything.

Elizabeth suggests that they return to Cady’s house. She thinks that being back in a familiar environment will jog Cady’s memories. Cady and Ty don’t think so, especially as the men already questioned her earlier, but Elizabeth says she trusts that Cady will remember once there. Cady doesn’t have a key, but Elizabeth produces a key that she’s had since the family took a vacation to Hawaii and she houses at for them. She then tells Ty that he shouldn’t come along because he will be in even worse trouble than stealing a car if they get caught. Ty, however, insists that he will not leave Cady’s side.