Into the Water

Helen Townsend cries on the morning of Nel’s funeral, not because of Nel but because Patrick murdered the pregnant cat that was on their property. Helen admits to herself that she’s worried about Sean based on items she found in the car, but she keeps her thoughts to herself. 

Josh finds his mother’s gaiety in getting ready for Nel’s funeral disturbing. He thinks to himself, “It’s bad enough that I’ve already lied to them, and that Mum did too—what are they going to think when they see her turning up dressed like she’s going to a party?” (101). Josh worries that the police will find out that he and his parents lied about where they were when Nel died. When Josh’s family arrives at the funeral, Louise breaks down sobbing. 

Lena gets ready for the funeral and recalls the last time she was in her mother’s room: She got into a fight with Nel, prompted by Lena’s unresolved feelings around Katie’s death. Lena remembers that the “last thing I ever said to her was that it was her fault Katie was dead” (106). 

Jules goes to Nel’s funeral. On the way, she thinks about Libby Seeton, whom she categorizes as unquestioningly “troublesome.” At the end of the funeral, Jules sees “a violent man” and observes: “Men watch girls who look like Lena in all sorts of ways: desire, hunger, distaste. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I didn’t need to. I knew what was in them” (110). Jules identifies him to Erin as Robbie Cannon, Nel’s ex-boyfriend and her own rapist. 

Prompted by Robbie’s appearance, Jules’s narrative jumps back to 1993, the day of her rape. While Jules’s father takes her mother to the hospital for treatments, Jules hears Nel and Robbie having sex. She “couldn’t bring myself to look away” (113). Jules finds vodka in the kitchen and drinks quite a bit. Robbie comes downstairs, finds Jules, and apologizes to her for the soccer ball incident. He kisses her. While not explicitly stated at this point, it is implied that Robbie and Jules have sex, against Jules’s will. 

At the church, Sean runs into Nickie, who tells him that Nel’s death is like his mother’s, not like Katie’s. Sean begins drinking and bringing up lost memories of his mother. A thunderstorm starts, and Sean runs into Jules in the storm. Jules tells Sean that she can’t find Lena and that she’s worried Robbie may have done something to her. Sean tells Jules that she is very much like Nel; Jules responds that she is “the anti-Nel” (123). 

In the fourth excerpt from Nel’s book, Nel talks about Lauren’s death. Nel speculates heavily about what Lauren was thinking and doing on the day of her death. In Nel’s account, Lauren “boldly […] stepped up to the precipice and, eyes wide open, pitched herself forward” (126). Nel also recounts that Patrick and Sean arrived after Lauren’s death. Patrick pulled her body out of the water, and Nickie’s sister, Jeannie, took care of Sean. 

After Nel’s funeral, Erin sees Patrick and comments that he’s a “miserable bugger,” to which a fellow officer tells her to “Show some respect” (128) due to his position and having lost his wife to the river. Erin realizes that the Sean in Nel’s story is the same Sean with whom she’s been working on Nel’s case, and she assumes that Sean’s odd behavior has been because his mother died in a similar way to Nel.