Chapter 35: Pamela – Retrieving the Past

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Pamela reflects on her 1996 FOIA request for the recording of The Defendant’s alleged Lake Sammamish confession. She was told the file did not exist, but later learns it was withheld because it was part of an active investigation. After the case closed, the recording was obtained and destroyed by Rebecca Wachowsky, Ruth’s sister-in-law. Pamela visits Rebecca in Issaquah in 2021, pretending to be an attorney for a victim’s family. Rebecca shows her a box of Ruth’s belongings that includes items from another victim. Pamela reveals she is acting for Martina Cannon, Ruth’s registered domestic partner, and presents an affidavit. Rebecca, who had hidden a relationship with Ruth, reluctantly surrenders the recording. Pamela returns to Tina, who is waiting anxiously, and the two share a moment of relief.

Key Events

Pamela describes her initial 1996 FOIA request and the government’s denial.
She recounts listening to a tape of The Defendant’s interview, which revealed allegations of sexual abuse by his grandfather and a product-of-incest theory.
Pamela explains that this discovery prompted her to leave family law and start a mediation practice.
In 2021, she receives a tip that Rebecca Wachowsky obtained and destroyed the Lake Sammamish confession tape after the case closed.
Pamela drives to Rebecca’s home, posing as a lawyer for a victim’s family.
Rebecca shows her a box of Ruth’s items mixed with those of another victim.
Pamela produces an affidavit from Martina Cannon, Ruth’s domestic partner, demanding the recording as inheritance.
Rebecca reveals she had a secret relationship with Ruth and tears up the original tape; Pamela secures it.
Pamela returns to Tina at a convenience store, and they celebrate together.

Character Development

Pamela: Her backstory solidifies her moral purpose. The trauma of the 1978 murders drove her to mediation, where she focuses on preventing cycles of violence. In this chapter, she demonstrates strategic cunning—she manipulates Rebecca’s fear of exposure to retrieve the tape. Her final tears show she is still haunted by the past but finds release in helping Tina.
Tina: She is present only at the very end, waiting in a car. Her stoic fear and eventual relief underscore how the case has consumed her life. The sound she makes—a trapped noise from decades ago—shows the emotional burden she has carried.
Rebecca: A complex figure: she loved Ruth but remained closeted, living a life she never wanted. Her hoarding of Ruth’s belongings reveals how she kept her grief hidden. Ultimately she is a tragic collaborator who must let go of the past.
The Defendant: Though not physically present, his childhood trauma is explored through Pamela’s research. The chapter presents the idea that violent offenders are shaped by broken homes.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Mediation as Redemption: Pamela’s career choice directly stems from the sorority tragedy. She sees mediation as a way to protect women and children, intervening before family systems create new offenders.
Incest and Inherited Trauma: The Defendant’s alleged background—his mother’s helplessness, his grandfather’s abuse—positions him as a product of a failed system, not a monster born in isolation.
Secrets and Belongings: The box of Ruth’s mixed items symbolizes how victims’ lives are jumbled after death. Rebecca’s secret relationship parallels the hidden trauma of the Wachowsky family.
Contested Evidence: The confession tape becomes a contested object—a piece of the past that multiple people claim. Pamela’s legal maneuvering shows how evidence can be weaponized to control narratives.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens Pamela’s character arc by revealing the origin of her lifelong commitment to mediation. It also provides a crucial plot advancement: the recovery of The Defendant’s confession tape, which Martina Cannon (Tina) will now use to seek justice for Ruth. The revelation that The Defendant was likely a victim of incest and childhood abuse complicates the portrait of the serial killer, reinforcing the novel’s critique of how society creates “All-American Sex Killers.” The chapter also resolves a mystery from earlier in the book—why the government denied Pamela’s FOIA request—by showing how Rebecca’s intervention kept the tape hidden for decades.

Study Questions and Answers

What prompted Pamela to shift from family law to mediation?
Pamela heard a tape on which The Defendant described his childhood abuse—his mother’s failure to protect him, beatings from his grandfather, and likely incest. This convinced her that violent offenders are not born but created by broken homes, and she wanted to help disrupt that pattern.
Why does Rebecca refuse to surrender the tape at first, and what changes her mind?
Rebecca initially reacts with terror, clutching the box and threatening to call the police. She changes her mind when Pamela shows her the affidavit proving that Martina Cannon is legally entitled to the recording as Ruth’s domestic partner. More importantly, the affidavit reveals Pamela knows about Rebecca’s secret relationship with Ruth, forcing Rebecca to cooperate to keep her secret from her husband.
What does the sound Tina makes at the end of the chapter represent?
The vicious, devoted sound that comes through her teeth is described as a sound trapped inside her since the 1970s. It represents decades of suppressed rage and grief over Ruth’s murder and the inability to hold The Defendant accountable. When Pamela returns with the tape, Tina finally releases that pent-up emotion, suggesting she is beginning to heal.