Dark Places Chapter 34 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Ben Day—January 3, 1985 1:11 a.m.

  • Ben takes Diondra to his house, but he leaves Trey behind.
  • Ben takes Diondra to his room, where he tells her he has a present for her.
  • Into a bag, he packs some clothes, a hundred dollars (he thought he had four hundred), and a notebook full of girls' names, names he thinks he'd like for their baby.
  • But Ben can't find the present: the sack of clothes he's been collecting for his daughter. He doesn't know his mom found them and burned them. He wonders if one of his sisters took them.
  • When Ben tells Diondra he doesn't have as much cash as he thought he did, she complains. He's the father of her baby, he got her pregnant, he needs to raise the kid, etc., etc.
  • Michelle, Ben's sister, is awake, and she hears Ben and Diondra.
  • Michelle tries to hide in her bed, but Diondra grabs her and strangles her.
  • Ben puts his hands on Diondra's shoulders to pull her off… but decides not to.