The House Across the Lake

Resuming a “Then” section, after Wilma confides in Casey and Boone that Tom is being investigated for murder, they struggle to process what they’ve learned. Boone suggests that they go to the store that Megan Keene’s parents own to see what they can find out. Casey suspects that Boone is still motivated by his old profession as a police officer, but goes with him anyway. In the store, they meet Megan’s sister, and Boone asks her if Tom ever comes into the store, prompting her with a photo. However, the girl seems confused. Casey interrupts the conversation, feeling sorry for the young girl, and she claims that Boone is her boyfriend and they’re out for ice cream. He plays along, taking her hand as they leave.

As they eat their ice cream, Boone reveals that he had been put on a six-month suspended leave after responding to a call while drunk and nearly shooting a man. They tentatively discuss alcohol, and Boone points out that Casey hasn’t had a drink the entire day they’ve spent together, telling her it means that sobriety is possible. Casey realizes, with surprise, that he’s right.

While driving back home, Boone and Casey pass the Royces’ house and see Detective Anson having a conversation with Tom. Tom makes eye contact with Casey, and she feels frightened by the look he gives her. Itching for a drink, Casey briefly considers sleeping with Boone but decides to go home alone. Thoughts of the missing girls weigh heavily on her and remind her of Len. She begins binge drinking, claiming she does so to forget the ghosts that inhabit her life.

Fully intoxicated, Casey watches Tom from her porch as he makes dinner. But after she gets up to refill her glass, she notices he’s vanished. She spots him again on the edge of the dock, holding his own pair of binoculars and staring straight at her. When he gets in his Bentley and heads out, Casey realizes he’s headed her way. Fumbling to lock all the doors and turn off the lights in her inebriated condition, Casey finally crouches behind the locked door and waits to see if he’ll turn back. But Tom knocks loudly on the door, telling her he knows she’s spying on him, that she broke into his house, and sent the detective. He tells her that her idea of what happened is wrong and demands she leave him and Katherine alone.

Afterward, Casey passes out for a bit until Boone arrives to check on her, having seen Tom drive up to her yard. He asks her if she’s okay, and when she says no, he comes inside and carries her to bed. The next morning Boone makes her breakfast, and she fills him in on what she remembers from the night before. He tells her he doesn’t want to leave her alone, worried about Tom’s aggressive behavior. Brainstorming on the next step to take, Casey tells Boone about finding Katherine’s phone in a drawer and the number that called it. She decides to call the number, reasoning that if someone else is worried about Katherine it may be enough to have her officially declared missing. As soon as she dials the unknown number, Boone’s phone lights up and begins ringing.

Back in a “Now” section, Casey continues her interrogation of the individual she has kidnapped. When she asks if he dumped the girls he killed into the lake, he replies yes. Casey tells him she wants to know both what happened to the girls and where Katherine is, but he asks her, “What if only one of those things is possible?” (218) Continuing to skirt her questions, the man tells her there is one thing he wants to know, which is what she plans to do with Tom.