Chapter Two: The First Girl – Summary and Analysis

Warning: This chapter contains detailed descriptions of the murder of a teenage girl, including the discovery of her body, injuries, and autopsy findings. Reader discretion is advised.

Complete Chapter Summary

The narrator, Richard Chizmar, opens by describing his earliest memory of Natasha Gallagher—seeing her at Sunday mass when he was twelve and she was six. Over the years he catches brief, seemingly random glimpses of her: skipping down the sidewalk singing the Scooby-Doo theme, buying lemonade at his stand, and at a high school wrestling match where she hugs her brother Josh. These fragments paint a picture of a normal, happy girl.

Five years later, while away at university, Richard hears on the radio that Natasha Gallagher, now fifteen, has been killed. He learns the details from his father and old friends. On the night of June 2, 1988, Natasha went to bed after watching TV with her parents. The next morning her mother finds her bed empty, the window open, the screen missing, and a small bloodstain on the sill. Police discover Natasha’s body in the woods behind her house, propped against a tree. She has been strangled, her left ear severed, and her hand broken. There is no sign of sexual assault.

Rumors immediately engulf the community. Some blame the local “Phantom Fondler,” but police deny a connection, revealing that their fondling suspect was incarcerated yet incidents continued. Others whisper about Natasha’s father, Russell Gallagher, who behaves strangely and blames himself for refusing to turn on the air conditioning (leaving the window open). A homeless veteran, Lenny Baxter, is also suspected but seems physically incapable. More outlandish rumors mention a hidden diary or a jealous girlfriend, none supported by evidence.

Richard returns home and interviews anyone willing to talk. He attends Natasha’s funeral, noting two plainclothes police officers scanning the crowd. In the weeks after, he repeatedly drives past the Gallagher house, a ritual he half-ashamedly acknowledges might be “budding obsession.” He reconnects with Carly Albright, a young journalist for the local paper, who becomes a source of information and a trusted friend.

One crucial detail never made public emerges: on the morning of the discovery, someone drew a hopscotch grid on the sidewalk in front of the Gallaghers’ house. Instead of numbers one through ten, each block contained the number three. Detectives confirm the Gallagher family neither owned chalk nor played hopscotch, and no neighborhood child admits to drawing it. The grid’s meaning—and the identity of the person who drew it—remains a mystery.

Key Events

Richard recalls four brief encounters with Natasha Gallagher between ages six and fifteen: at church, skipping, at his lemonade stand, and at a wrestling match.
Five years later, Richard hears on the car radio that Natasha has been murdered.
Her mother discovers her missing on the morning of June 3, 1988; police find Natasha’s body in the woods behind the house.
Autopsy reveals strangulation, a severed ear, and other injuries; no sexual assault.
Rumors circulate about the Phantom Fondler, the victim’s father, Lenny Baxter, a hidden diary, and a jealous girlfriend.
Richard attends the funeral, spots plainclothes officers, and begins driving past the Gallagher house repeatedly.
He contacts Carly Albright, a journalist, who later confirms the existence of a mysterious hopscotch grid with “3” in every square.

Character Development

Richard Chizmar: The narrator evolves from a distant observer to an active investigator. His casual childhood memories of Natasha become an obsession after her death. He acknowledges his morbid curiosity and begins following the case, using his journalistic instincts to gather information.
Natasha Gallagher: Although dead before this chapter ends, the reader knows her through Richard’s memories and the detailed obituary. She is portrayed as joyful, clumsy, kind, and fiercely loved by her family.
Russell Gallagher: The father’s grief-stricken behavior and self-recrimination turn him into a suspect in the eyes of some neighbors, though his guilt likely stems from not letting his daughter use air conditioning.
Carly Albright: Introduced as a childhood friend of Richard’s girlfriend, she becomes a crucial ally. Her job at the Aegis gives Richard access to details the police keep from the public.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Voyeurism and invisibility: Richard’s childhood habit of hiding in a tree and watching the world below mirrors the unseen nature of the killer. He also becomes a “watcher” at the funeral, spotting the police detectives.
Rumor vs. truth: The chapter shows how a small town fills a vacuum of information with suspicion, speculation, and fear. Each theory—the Fondler, the father, Lenny Baxter—reflects communal anxiety rather than evidence.
The uncanny recurrence of the number three: The hopscotch grid with “3” in every square is a deliberately strange clue that defies explanation. It suggests a ritualistic or taunting element to the crime, and remains unresolved, deepening the mystery.
Innocence lost: Natasha’s violent death shatters the security of Edgewood. The narrator notes that the beautiful summer weather on the day of her funeral feels “wrong, almost obscene.”

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter introduces the first victim and establishes the crime that drives the entire narrative. It moves the story from personal recollection to investigative journalism, showing Richard’s transformation from a bystander to an active participant in the search for truth. The hopscotch grid is the story’s first genuine puzzle—a detail withheld from the public that signals the killer’s possible signature. The chapter also sets up the community’s fear and the imminent possibility that the murderer will strike again.

Study Questions

What evidence suggests that Natasha might have known her attacker voluntarily?
Answer: No signs of a struggle were heard inside the house, and the window was open. Police and the narrator’s father theorize that Natasha left her bedroom willingly, perhaps because she recognized the person who climbed through her window. The lack of forced entry supports this idea.
How does the hopscotch grid with the number three in every square add to the mystery of the case?
Answer: The grid is clearly not drawn by a child—the “3” repeats in each block. It appears the morning of the discovery, before police arrived, meaning the killer or an accomplice may have left it as a deliberate mark. Its meaning is never explained in this chapter, making it a lingering, unsettling clue.
Why does Richard begin driving past the Gallagher house repeatedly after the murder?
Answer: He admits to feelings of morbid curiosity and a “budding obsession.” He is drawn to the site where a real-life horror occurred, an urge he compares to his professional interest in stories about evil. This behavior marks his transition from a casual neighbor to someone emotionally and intellectually entangled in the case.

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