Unspeakable Things

The girls sneak out of Lynn’s house. Cass volunteers to touch the door of Mr. Connelly’s house. Lynn instructs her to grab one of the flowers near the front door. Cass peers in the windows of Mr. Connelly’s home and sees him with his hands on Clam’s shoulders. Cass grabs the rose and runs back to her friends.

Cass does not want to tattle on Mr. Connelly to her friends, so she tells them that she did not see anyone. Her mom notices the marks on her hand from the rose’s thorns. As her mom tends to her wound, Cass prepares to tell her what she saw at Mr. Connelly’s house but is interrupted by her dad, who walks into the bathroom in a terrible mood.

Cass goes inside and overhears her dad on the phone. He is discussing the price of something in the basement. Cass and her mom try to work quickly and quietly. Cass evaluates his mood and envies Lynn for being able to sleep in her own bedroom without fear. Cass tells her dad that she wants a lock on her bedroom door; he responds that if he wanted to get in, he could just break it down.

Cass calls Frank and asks if he wants to go biking. He says that he can’t because he has to do chores, but he can go the next day. She hangs up before her dad can realize she was talking to a boy. She lies and says that Mr. Connelly asked her to sell popcorn. Their parents head into town to go to the liquor store and pick up Sephie.

Cass has the house to herself for the first time in a while. She showers and uses her mom’s razor, which she is not supposed to use. When she hears a helicopter, assuming that it means another boy was attacked, she cuts herself shaving and panics. Cass realizes that she still does not know where Sephie went the night of their parents’ party.

Sephie did not want to talk after returning home with their parents. Cass asks her where she was the night of the party. Sephie is clearly lying about her whereabouts. Cass is hurt that Sephie is lying.

Cass tells Frank that she does not think Mr. Gomez likes her. Franks thinks that Cass cares too much about what other people think of her. Cass is jealous of Frank’s new bike, a Hutch BMX. Cass asks him to join her in finding out what happened to the Hollow boys. Frank says that the Lilydale boys are weird, as if they were bitten by werewolves. Cass asks if that also happened in Rochester; he tells her that he was preoccupied by his parents fighting. She tells him about Mr. Connelly and Clam.

As they ride around, they encounter Evie on the playground. They head to Mr. Connelly’s house. Cass introduces him to Frank. A loud scratching noise alarms Cass; Mr. Connelly tells her it is just his cat, but she is not convinced. Cass sees his metronome, which makes a clicking sound. Mr. Connelly tells her that the metronome is set up in preparation for Gabriel’s music lesson.

Frank and Cass bike to the river and jump in the water. Frank does a cannonball and slices his foot open on a rock at the bottom. Cass picks off a bit of her scab from the shaving incident, asking to become blood brothers. She asks him what he would do if he learned that his dad was a criminal. Frank says that he would turn his dad in.

Cass sees Clam, Ricky, and Wayne. She tells Clam that she saw him at Mr. Connelly’s house. Ricky and Wayne seem surprised by this; Clam denies it. Cass asks what the man who attacked him looks like. The boys become more aggressive. They notice Frank’s bike. Clam touches Cass’s scar and asks her if she is like Sephie. Clam flicks her breast. Cass hits the boys, and she and Frank flee as the bullies yell after them.

Frank compliments Cass on her fighting abilities. He thinks that the boys were werewolves who now want to bite Cass. A police car pulls up next to them. The house that they are in front of is being rented by Sergeant Bauer; he and his wife are separated. Cass suggests stopping by Goblin’s house. They debate how best to secure the perimeter. Goblin catches them and grabs them by the neck. They tell him that they are trying to pet his dog. He does not believe them and threatens them.

her dad is waiting for Cass outside the house. He tells her that she is going to town with him. He’s in a terrible mood, but she is excited to explore. Her dad drops Cass off at the library and tells her he is going to a meeting for half an hour. She watches a little girl drop her candy and cry. Cass decides to go steal candy. As she approaches, the door of the bar opens, and her dad emerges with Sergeant Bauer.

That night, Cass worries that she has brought bad luck, and fears that her dad will get closer to her. She believes that her writing acts as a kind of talisman, deterring him. She listens to him climb to the sixth step. She decides that tomorrow she will tell her mom what is happening.

Cass sleeps in her closet and wakes up wishing she could sleep on top of her bed. She wonders if telling her mom about what her dad does at night will give her mom the courage to get divorced. Sephie tells her that their parents are packing for a trip. They are going to a party in Duluth. The family watches as Goblin’s car pulls up in front of their house.

Cass reflects that her parents’ van looks like that of the Joads, a poor family from The Grapes of Wrath, when they are taking off for California. Goblin tells her dad that he is looking for his dog. Cass suspects that her dad murdered the dog. Goblin asks her dad if he has heard about the Hollow boys. Her dad asks Goblin to leave. He makes a gross clicking sound at the back of his throat. Her dad says he needs to make a phone call.

Cass is happy that Frank is coming over to her house. She invited him under the guise that he would be helping her make birthday invitations. He tells her that his dad is hiring him to pick up rocks. She wonders if she could get a job as well. Frank cannot attend her birthday party on Friday because he has to work. They talk as they decorate, and Cass is pleased to feel herself becoming closer to him. He misses his friends in Rochester. She tells him that her parents are gone, and he asks if they have any ice cream he can eat. When they arrive at Frank’s house, his parents are drinking ice-cream drinks. Cass loves Mrs. Gomez. Mr. Gomez offers to give her a ride home. She asks him why they moved. He tells her that he wanted his kids to grow up on land that he owned.

Sephie does not want to watch TV with Cass after doing their chores. Sephie puts makeup on and tells Cass to stay out of her way. Sephie says that if Cass interferes with her plans, she will tell Gabriel that Cass sleeps in her closet.

Wayne and Ricky appear in the living room. Sephie says she is going to show Wayne her room. Ricky watches TV with Cass. She asks him if Clam got attacked again. He says that most of the boys in the Hollow have been chased. Ricky reveals that his mom deserted him. He shares that he was first grabbed near the park where she saw him the previous day. Clam and Teddy were taken in a car. Ricky asks if her dad can teach him how to weld. He tells Cass that Sephie has been hooking up with all the Hollow boys. Ricky adds that they are sure that Connelly is the one attacking the boys because they hear the clicking of the metronome.

Cass begs Aunt Jin to come visit her.

When Cass goes downstairs the next morning, her parents have returned. Her mom looks happier and lighter. Sephie says that she would like to get a summer job to save up for college. Her dad says that he can help her pick up applications. Cass is happy that her family is getting along. Cass requests devil’s-food cake with chocolate frosting for her birthday. The phone rings. Her dad reveals that Gabriel has been abducted.

Cass thinks it is her fault, believing that she was too selfish because she was excited to have a friend over and feel like she had a normal family for a few hours. Her dad says that Mr. Connelly was arrested. Cass hops on her bike and rides to Bauer’s house.

Cass runs up to Bauer’s house and tries to look inside. He is hiding on the porch and startles her. Cass tells him about the bus, and he says he has already made the connection. Bauer tells her that no one will believe anything she says because she stole the compact at school. She hears the clicking of his dog tags and thinks that this is the sound Ricky was discussing.