If Something Happens to Me

Five years later, Ryan is a law student. He is on a trip in Italy with other student staff from the Georgetown Law Journal. Nora Watanabe, his classmate with whom he has a simmering romantic tension, asks him why he wants to be a lawyer. That seemingly innocuous question sends his thoughts spiraling back over the problems he encountered following Alison’s disappearance. The police doubted Ryan’s account of that night and suspected him of killing her. His parents hired a defense lawyer, who rescued him from police interrogation but couldn’t stop the public suspicion and harassment. Amateur true crime podcasts sought to prove him guilty. Basketball fans chanted the taunting nickname “Killer” whenever he tried to play at college. Ryan even went to a hypnotist to try to recover his memories of that night, but all he could recall was a man with a nondescript face and no pinky fingers, and this failed to help his case. Finally, Ryan changed his last name to Smith and transferred colleges to try to create a new life for himself.

Then, a year ago, DNA evidence tied Alison’s disappearance to the recently caught Missouri River Killer (or MRK). That serial killer, however, denied killing her, despite admitting to other murders. His death at the hands of fellow inmates closed off the possibility of further questioning.

Back in the present day, Ryan’s roommate, Eddie, interrupts his conversation with Nora, saving Ryan from having to talk about his past. As the rest of the law students go out to party, Ryan turns in for an early night alone. In his room, he finds an anonymous note asking for a meeting the next day. The note concludes with an ominous claim: “I know who you are” (12).

Poppy McGee wakes up in her childhood bedroom and dresses for work. She is a new deputy sheriff, a job that she doesn’t particularly want but one that allows her to be in her hometown. Her father is battling cancer, her mother just died of a stroke, and her older brother, Dash, is not very responsible.

Poppy heads into work, where the sheriff, Ken Walton, greets her. He says he’s excited to have someone like Poppy, who has experience as an Army MP; however, Poppy suspects he hired her only because he served in Iraq with her father. Ken announces that she’s chosen an exciting day to start work. Amateur sleuths have just posted a video on YouTube announcing that they’ve discovered Alison Lane’s car in Suncatcher Lake.

Ken and Poppy drive out together to Suncatcher Lake. There, they find a pair of YouTube content creators who call themselves the Cold Case Company—they use sonar equipment to look for evidence in cold cases. The YouTubers are embroiled in an argument with another deputy. Ken intervenes, calming the situation, and explains that the deputy is the uncle of Laura Palmetto, another young woman who recently went missing. The Cold Case Company’s initial video about Alison’s car has raised that family’s hopes and worries as well. The other surprise that the video reveals is there are two bodies in Alison’s BMW—both are unidentified men.

The events of the novel that are set in Philadelphia—as in Chapter 4—take place four years before Alison’s disappearance, though the novel doesn’t reveal this until later. Shane O’Leary, who is the head of the O’Leary criminal organization, is out on a boat with his henchman Chaz Donnelly when Shane’s wife, Gina, calls. The couple has been worried about their son, Anthony, who has had a rough time adjusting to a fancy, new private school. The O’Learys have enough money to build the school a gymnasium, but the other families still treat them as social pariahs. Gina is elated to report that the other students have finally invited Anthony to a party.

After hanging up, Shane and Chaz talk about their children. Shane is proud of the opportunities his son has. Shane himself was kicked out of school in the 10th grade for physically assaulting a gym teacher who harassed the girls and touched Gina inappropriately. Shane describes his son as a “gentle boy” and hopes Anthony escapes the violent life that Shane leads. Chaz commiserates. His own son, Patrick, is a hothead, but his grandson is a gentle child who Chaz hopes can be insulated from their life. As they finish talking, they pick up a chained and gagged man from the bottom of the boat and toss him in the lake to drown. Chaz warns Shane that their victim’s friends will try to hit them back.

Poppy returns home and finds that the Cold Case Company has posted more footage, even though Alison’s father hasn’t been found or notified yet. The YouTubers have even posted about the information that they found Alison’s handbag. Although Poppy went to the same high school as Alison, she never really knew the older girl. Her brother, however, was in the same grade as Ryan and Alison. Browsing online, she discovers that Alison had almost no online presence except a single viral video. In it, two boys are tormenting a younger student, and the bullying turns violent. Alison intervenes and easily takes down both boys.

Poppy hears a noise in the house and goes to investigate. She finds Dash in his old bedroom, crying as he looks through a shoebox. He pretends that everything is fine when he spots her.

Shane returns home late and finds Gina waiting for him. She says she is worried about Anthony. Their son came home from the party early and looked upset but wouldn’t talk. Shane and Gina have been having a long-standing argument about whether Anthony needs therapy, and Shane finally gives in and agrees that Gina can look for a therapist for Anthony. Shane also promises to talk to their accountant about the school. The accountant originally connected them with the school and has a daughter who goes there. Shane says he will ask the accountant to talk to his daughter to see what she has heard about Anthony.

Ryan wakes to Eddie pounding on his door. The group has planned a wine tour and hot air balloon ride for their last day in Montepulciano before heading to Rome. Ryan thinks about his mysterious rendezvous in town at 10:00 am and tries to back out of the plan. However, Eddie reminds him that their rental van has a stick shift, and Ryan is the only one among them who knows how to drive a manual car. So, Ryan reluctantly agrees to come along. He ruminates on the mysterious note and his memories of Alison rather than enjoying the day. In his wallet, he keeps a sketch Alison made of her grandparents’ house in a small French town. He pulls it out and looks at it, recalling how she loved art and all things French.

While waiting to go from lunch to the balloon ride, Ryan’s father calls. He wants to warn his son about the discovery of Alison’s car.

Poppy arrives at work to find a voicemail from Ken. He asks her to take responsibility for sorting through tips people call in about Alison Lane. He says they will likely be useless. He also designates her as the contact person for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). Finally, he warns her not to speak to Jane Fincher, one of the FBI agents who was on the case five years before.

Ken gives a press conference, and Poppy wanders around in the back. A tall woman stands next to her and proceeds to make disparaging comments, claiming the sheriff never searched Suncatcher Lake and implying that he is up in front of the room only because he is a man who looks the part. At the end of the conference, the woman gives Poppy her business card: She is Jane Fincher, FBI. She says that Poppy should talk with her, even if the authority figures warn her otherwise.

As the group of law students waits to take off in the hot air balloons, Ryan struggles with a whirlwind of thoughts. How is it possible to reconcile the two dead bodies in Alison’s car with the serial killer MRK, who always worked alone? He knows the internet is already ablaze with rumors. As the hot air balloons take off, Ryan notices a small car he had seen earlier in the day. The driver exits the car and takes off his glove to wave to Ryan. He is missing his pinky finger. Ryan grips the edge of the hot air balloon basket as he recognizes the man: This is the man the hypnotherapist had helped him remember, the one who attacked Ryan when Alison disappeared.

Poppy begins to sort through the tips the police received; most of them are obvious fakes from pranksters and conspiracy theorists. She decides to review the old case files to bring herself up to speed and finds that the two evidence boxes are surprisingly sparse. They include a recording of the interview with the Missouri River Killer (MRK) about Alison after a strand of her hair was found in his sleeping bag. The MRK appears greasy and dirty in the video, though he shows hints of the elite background that allowed him to create a falsely charming personality to trap his victims. In the taped interrogation, he denies any knowledge of Alison. Afterward, when the other inmates murdered him, the sheriff’s department closed Alison’s case. However, Poppy worries that Alison doesn’t fit the MRK’s usual MO, especially given the two other bodies discovered in her car.

Ryan stands alone as his group clinks champagne glasses together at the end of their hot air balloon trip. He had a panic attack during the balloon ride, and most of his companions attribute it to his being suspended in a basket in the air. However, Nora realizes that Ryan’s panic came from seeing the man below. She confronts him about this, and he promises to explain later, though he wonders how he will be able to explain his false identity and life of pretense. Upon returning to their lodging, Ryan finds another note from the man with the missing fingers. It once again asks Ryan to meet him at 10 o’clock the next day.

A pretty woman knocks on Poppy’s door, humorously declaring that she just had to see what a Poppy McGee looks like. She introduces herself as Chantelle Luna from the KBI lab. She says KBI has had no luck in identifying the two dead men. All Chantelle knows is that both men died from gunshot wounds to the back of their heads before the car went down in the water.

The KBI did, however, discover a note in Alison’s handbag preserved in a watertight makeup case. The outside of the envelope reads: “If something happens to me” (68). Inside, there is a piece of paper with a series of numbers. Chantelle explains that it is a book cipher, a code that is extremely difficult to crack without the book that serves as the key. They’ve been trying to find Alison’s father to see if he knows any book that was special to her, but so far they have had no luck. As Chantelle leaves, she invites Poppy to join her and some friends for drinks after work. Poppy decides she needs to focus on the case and asks for a raincheck.

Shane sits in O’Leary’s Tavern in the neighborhood he controls, listening to grievances from people in the neighborhood. He knows the custom baffles young hotheads like Patrick Donnelly, who don’t realize they have to give back to the community. Shane promises to protect an exotic dancer from unwanted advances from her boss, who is a minor figure in the O’Leary organization, but he declines her implied offer of sex as repayment. Next, he speaks privately with Michael Harper, his accountant. Michael is nervous until Shane reveals that Gina is worried about Anthony at school and wants Michael to see if his daughter can help. Michael agrees to talk with her. Shane is grateful and thinks that Michael is too nice a man to be mixed up in this business; however, he’s not the only nice man into whom the O’Leary crime family has sunk its hooks.

Although Poppy is not authorized to do so, she decides to follow up on Chantelle’s information by interviewing Alison’s high school friends. She hopes they can help identify the book used for the cipher or explain why Alison thought something might happen to her. She texts Dash for help, and he provides her with three names. She finds the phone number for Ruby, one of the friends, in the case file. Ruby’s mother answers and says that all three friends are at an outdoor yoga class.

Poppy finds the three young women, but they have very little information to contribute. They say Alison kept to herself, didn’t drink or do drugs, stayed off social media, and disliked having her picture taken. In their opinion, only Ryan really knew her. As Poppy leaves, Ruby approaches her and quietly says that if Poppy wants to know a secret about Alison, she should ask Dash.

Poppy calls Dash to confront him over Ruby’s tip. Dash denies knowing anything, although he admits a deputy named Buckman interviewed him after Alison disappeared. Poppy thinks Dash sounds like he is lying. After hanging up, Poppy wonders why the evidence boxes don’t contain any notes from Buckman interviewing either Ruby or Dash. Margaret, the woman who works the front desk for the sheriff, isn’t surprised. She tells Poppy that Buckman was lazy and simply wanted to hang out at Fatheads Bar. That gives Poppy an idea. She grabs her keys and heads out.

Michael drives home, regretting ever getting involved with the O’Learys. His 14-year-old daughter, Taylor, is in fact Alison, though the novel doesn’t reveal this until much later. He asks her about school and gets only monosyllabic answers in response. So, he suggests they go out to a restaurant for dinner and offers to let her drive. This is not only illegal but also terrifying for Michael as a passenger, but he figures it is the least of the crimes he has abetted. Sitting down for dinner with Taylor, Michael thinks how much she looks like her mother before cancer weakened and killed his wife.

Taylor becomes more talkative as the evening goes on. She says she doesn’t really know Anthony. Under pressure from her father, she agrees to help Anthony connect with other kids. Later that evening, Michael reports the conversation to O’Leary, who is grateful. Then, Taylor nervously approaches Michael and shows him a video on her phone.

Poppy finds former Deputy Buckman at Fatheads. He is drunk and belligerent, and he insults Poppy in front of his friends. He tells her that he can’t discuss the case because of a lawsuit with the department that included a nondisclosure agreement. Poppy finds this very odd. When she presses him, Buckman privately gives her a single tip for why the investigation went nowhere, telling her to “look in [her] own house” (90). Poppy is unclear about whether he means the sheriff’s department or her family.

Michael places an urgent call to the school’s headmaster, Pendleton, who adopts a dismissive attitude toward his concerns about bullying until Michael sends him the video Taylor shared with him. It shows Anthony at the party. He is lured into a back bedroom where a bunch of his classmates ambush him and wrap him in cellophane. As he flops helpless on the floor, they jeer at him, call him a seal, and throw sardines at him. Taylor denies any involvement in the incident, but Michael is doubtful.

Pendleton tries to escape confronting the incident, because it happened off school grounds; he says that, most importantly, no faces except Anthony’s appear in the video. Michael directs his attention to a split second when the video captures a mirror containing the reflection of four perpetrators: three children of powerful political figures plus Taylor. Pendleton says he will handle the matter discreetly. Michael reluctantly accepts this, though he reminds him about the dangers if O’Leary ever finds out.

As Poppy eats lunch, Fincher interrupts her. Poppy initially obeys Ken’s orders and ignores Fincher’s questions about the case. Then, Fincher asks if Poppy knows the Russian tradition of the Holy Fool. Baffled by the non sequitur, Poppy finally engages with Fincher. Fincher explains that the Holy Fool is an outsider who, by virtue of being an outsider, can speak the truth others ignore or hide. In other words, a Holy Fool is like a whistleblower. She hopes that Poppy might prove to be one. Poppy is uncertain what to make of Fincher, but Fincher does offer one concrete tip that catches her attention: Fincher somehow knows that one of the dead men had a high-quality tailored suit. A tailor, she suggests, would keep records, and the man might be traceable through his clothes.

Ryan looks out at the vineyards, and Nora sits quietly next to him. He fills her in on his past, from that fateful night with Alison to the reappearance of the man who is missing a finger. Nora pleads with him not to go meet the man. She points out that he will miss the train to Rome for an essential meeting with the donor who is sponsoring the trip. When Ryan insists that he will go to the meeting, Nora declares that she will accompany him. The rest of the law students arrive and interrupt them, and the conversation shifts.

Shane and Gina O’Leary pull into their driveway after a dinner out. Shane is feeling confident, though he does worry for a moment that the Sabatino crime organization might try to take revenge for the lieutenant he killed. Anthony is supposed to be at karate practice with a friend’s mother. Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot rings out from inside the house. Shane cautiously enters, but Gina bursts in behind him. She frantically tells him that she texted the friend’s mother and discovered that Anthony chose to stay home that night. Shane breaks down the locked door to Anthony’s room to discover the body of his son, dead by suicide.