We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Dark Places Chapter 36 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Patty Day—January 3, 1985 2:03 a.m.

  • Patty wakes up at 2:02 a.m. and goes to the front door, ignoring the sounds coming from her daughter's bedroom, because they're noisy sleepers. Plus, "Calvin Diehl didn't seem likely to put up with late" (35.1).
  • Who's Calvin Diehl? Oh, he's the guy waiting to stab Patty outside the front door.
  • Calvin opens the door, and he stabs Patty in the chest.
  • As she falls to the ground, Debby comes down the stairs, yelling that someone is hurting Michelle.
  • Patty is helpless, bleeding to death on the ground, but she sees Calvin Diehl grab a nearby axe and kill Debby with it.
  • Patty pulls herself up and moves toward her daughter, but Calvin grabs the shotgun from above the fireplace.
  • Just before Calvin blows her head off, Patty thinks, "I wish I could take this back" (35.7).