The Last to Vanish

Like Abby, details about Celeste’s dark history in Cutter’s Pass are revealed slowly and in tandem with new evidence about the missing people. A respected member of the insider group in Cutter’s Pass, Celeste demonstrates a protective nature over the people and things she loves, including Abby. Celeste teaches Abby, “[M]ost people have one thing they try to protect. One thing they value most of all—and once you find out what it is, you know how to work with them. How to work them” (108). Celeste’s strong people skills and attention to detail make her a successful business owner, and the Passage Inn is what Celeste feels most protective of. Celeste kills Brian in self-defense and has Patrick and Vincent help her cover up the crimes to protect her business and the other establishments in Cutter’s Pass. In making Abby a joint owner of the inn and to bequest her the business upon her death, Celeste reveals how deeply she cares for Abby.

Celeste’s relationship with Abby demonstrates how one can find Closure Amid Loss and Grief. Having recently lost her husband while Abby recently lost her mother, Celeste and Abby come to love each other like family. Abby thinks of all that Celeste has done for her: “I sucked in a breath, and this time, I pictured everything I had always believed her to be: a parent figure, when I had no parent left. Someone who loved, most of all: this mountain, this place, and me” (266). Celeste rediscovers companionship while also regaining a business partner. Moreover, Celeste is traumatized by Brian’s massacre of his friends, particularly when she hears Neil confess to parenting a child. Celeste regrets being unable to save Neil, especially knowing his child will grow up without him. Providing Abby with a home and job later in life helps Celeste recover from an incident that has haunted her for most of her adult life.

Trey and Landon West’s experiences in Cutter’s Pass provide a detailed account of being an outsider in a close-knit community. Many outsiders pass through the town, hoping to find answers about the missing persons cases. While the locals profit from the business the “trauma tourists” bring to town, they maintain guarded boundaries with the outsiders to protect the town’s secrets. The Secrets Connect and Divide Small Communities like Cutter’s Pass, but Trey and Landon care about the missing people because they exhibit a genuine Desire for Human Connection. Abby relates to Trey, and she gets to know him personally. Trey expresses regret at not coming to search for his brother: “Trey sitting on the edge of that four-poster bed, head in his hands, finally processing everything that had happened. The not knowing leading him down too many paths, dredging up too many memories” (93). He comes to Cutter’s Pass to find Closure Amid Loss and Grief for his brother. Not feeling like an insider herself, Abby understands the problematic emotional journey Trey embarked on when he decided to travel to Cutter’s Pass to look for Landon. Trey’s presence causes Abby to reflect on her own wearisome journey to Cutter’s Pass; moreover, she recalls feeling pushed away by the townspeople. Abby understands Trey’s frustration in hitting a secretive, closed-off community while he searches for answers and closure from the loss of his brother. Trey’s character demonstrates compassion and humanity when the locals see gawking, heartless people passing through town.

As an investigative reporter, Landon also illustrates how outsiders care for those who disappeared. Although Landon had no family ties to the missing people, his careful consideration of the facts and evidence surrounding the cases leads Abby in the correct direction to solve the mysteries. Abby initially disliked Landon’s dishonesty, and she appreciates being able to read Trey: “‘I’m not good at pretending. It’s a relief.’ It was his brother, Landon, who was good at that. We didn’t know he was a journalist when he came to stay” (12). However, as new evidence about Landon’s disappearance emerges, Abby understands why Landon and Georgia had to protect themselves. Even though Landon did not personally know any of the people who went missing from Cutter’s Pass, he knew he was in danger by investigating their disappearances. He chose to stay and continue his investigation; he sacrificed his life while trying to uncover the truth.

Born and bred as an insider of Cutter’s Pass, Cory exemplifies how Secrets Connect and Divide Small Communities. The taciturn, protective nature of the community guards Cory from any potential investigation involving the disappearances, even when Cory seems guilty. Cory is the novel’s red herring, distracting readers from suspicion surrounding Harris. Abby realizes, “I’d been wrong about Cory before, who was maybe not so harmless, who saw this bag as something that could implicate him” (211). Cory becomes an invasive presence at the inn, where Abby believes Cory might be disconnecting the inn’s phone lines. Harris warns Abby, “This town isn’t gonna let anything happen to him. I’d be careful who you ask that question” (184), illustrating how loyalty wins over honesty in Cutter’s Pass.

Cory is innocent. He can sense the lack of confidence in his morality from his own parents, which harms his psyche. He feels obligated to maintain the secrets of Cutter’s Pass, politely shutting down any genuine investigations into the disappearances on his walking tours. His lack of transparency destroys his relationship with Abby, someone he loves. Even though the people of Cutter’s Pass want to protect Cory by placing a certain amount of blind trust in him, their failure to uncover the truth results in Cory being a permanent suspect, never able to clear his name. Harris, another insider of Cutter’s Pass, uses this blind trust to his advantage. He knows the people of Cutter’s Pass have things they want to keep hidden, so they will not make too much effort to search for the truth.

Even though Abby relates to her, Georgia falls definitively into the outsider group. Her character assists in developing the theme of Closure Amid Loss and Grief. Abby notices, “Georgia seemed to process everything by sharing, expecting me to do the same. She said whatever she was thinking, airing her insecurities, and her fears” (20). Although Georgia and Abby retreated to Cutter’s Pass after losing a loved one, Abby’s presence is more intentional (she seeks answers about Neil’s disappearance). In contrast, Georgia runs away from the realities of her loss and grief. Though Abby is a stranger, Georgia feels comfortable speaking with Abby about her emotional experience, with the same personal disconnect as one might speak with a therapist.

Georgia holds no proper ties or connections to Cutter’s Pass, so the people in town, Celeste included, maintain a lengthy distance from Georgia. Their instincts about Georgia’s loyalties are correct. When Georgia discovered Farrah’s camera, she turned to Landon (another outsider) instead of trusting Abby, Celeste, or Patrick. Georgia runs away again, back to her family, when Abby uncovers Georgia’s locker at The Edge. Georgia admits, “This was an escape. This was only ever an escape. Something to prove to myself” (318), revealing how Georgia never truly saw herself as a part of Cutter’s Pass.