Dark Places Chapter 39 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Libby Day—Now

  • Libby calls Lyle from a pay phone and he comes to get her.
  • In the car, Libby tells Lyle everything about Diondra.
  • Lyle has some news, too. Another murderer the Kill Club was fascinated with, the Angel of Debt, has been caught.
  • His name: Calvin Diehl.
  • Calvin Diehl's been killing people at their request since the '80s, so that their families can receive life insurance.
  • One of the notes the police found on Calvin Diehl was from Libby's mother. She hired him to kill her.
  • Diehl confessed to killing Patty and Debby, but not Michelle. He never saw Michelle.
  • Lyle takes Libby to the sheriff's station, but by the time the authorities get to Diondra's house, she's burned the whole place down.
  • Two days later, a detective comes to Libby's house and gives her a note. It's from her mother, and she gave it to Calvin Diehl.
  • In the note, Patty tells her kids to "take good care of each other" (38.35) and never to blame themselves for what happened.
  • Libby is upset, but she knows her mother tried "on that final day, as hard as anyone could have tried" (38.36). And she will try to find peace in that.