Hidden Pictures
by Jason Rekulak
Contents
Chapter 22
Overview
Mallory and Adrian turn Teddy’s drawings into a rough narrative that suggests Anya lost her daughter, was later attacked, and was ultimately buried by a man in the woods. Their biggest breakthrough is not in the pictures themselves but in Mallory’s realization that Anya may be communicating in a foreign language, which could explain the failed séance.
That discovery sends them into Mitzi’s house in search of the written séance notes, where they find troubling signs of drug use but no Mitzi. The chapter ends with a police officer catching them inside, raising the immediate stakes just as Mallory feels close to proving her case.
Summary
Mallory and Adrian rush back to Spring Brook and spread out every drawing they have on the pool patio because Mallory has less than forty-eight hours before Russell arrives. By rearranging the pictures, they build the most coherent sequence they can: a woman they believe is Anya paints a hot-air balloon in an open field while a little girl, likely her daughter, plays nearby. A white rabbit appears, the girl follows it away into a valley, and Anya does not notice in time because she is absorbed in painting.
As Mallory and Adrian continue the sequence, the girl seems lost, hurt, or possibly dead, and an angel leads her toward the light. Anya runs after them in the same white dress, apparently trying to get her daughter back, but she is too late. After a gap in the story, the angel and child disappear from the drawings, Anya is shown being strangled, and later, at night, a man with tools drags her body into the forest and buries it. Adrian assumes the man is the killer, but Mallory points out that the drawings do not prove he committed the murder.
Adrian grows frustrated that Anya communicates through images instead of plain words, and that complaint gives Mallory a new idea. Remembering Teddy’s remark that Anya “talks funny,” Mallory wonders whether Anya does not speak English. Adrian connects that possibility to Annie Barrett’s immigrant background and to George Barrett’s condescending introduction in the art book, and the two of them realize the séance message that seemed like nonsense may actually have been written in another language.
To test that theory, Mallory and Adrian go to Mitzi’s house to retrieve the notes from the séance. When no one answers, Adrian insists on checking inside in case Mitzi is hurt. They find the house open, dirty, and empty, and Mallory notices a tourniquet, rubbing alcohol, and several needle caps that suggest Mitzi has been injecting something. Adrian takes the séance notes and tries to solve them as a code, but Mallory doubts that explanation. Before they can do anything else, a police officer appears at the back door and orders them outside.
Who Appears
- Mallory QuinnReconstructs the drawings’ story, suspects a language barrier, and searches Mitzi’s house for séance notes.
- AdrianHelps sequence the drawings, develops theories about Anya’s background, and tries to decode Mitzi’s notes.
- AnyaAppears through the drawings as a mother who loses her daughter, is attacked, and is later buried.
- MitziAbsent séance host whose house contains the written message and signs of possible injection drug use.
- Police officerArrives at Mitzi’s back door and catches Mallory and Adrian inside the house.