Characters Desperately Killing Suzanne David Wind

Dana Cody: Childhood Friend and Hired Assistant in Killing Stalking

Dana Cody enters the story as both a familiar face from the past and a professional assistant, but her role deepens far beyond typing manuscripts. She serves as Suzanne’s confidante, a sounding board for decades of trauma, and a skeptical witness who gradually becomes convinced that the “accidents” surrounding Suzanne are deliberate. This analysis explores Dana’s motivations, her character arc, key relationships, and her thematic significance in the novel.

Overview

Dana Cody — originally Dana Weiss — grew up alongside Suzanne Barnes in Springvale. They were close friends during adolescence, bonded by their status as overweight outsiders at the Country School. After college, Dana married Greg Cody and became a stay-at-home mother to Paul and Trish. Years later, she responds to Suzanne’s advertisement for an assistant to help record her autobiography. Dana is hired not only for her secretarial skills but also because she already knows Suzanne’s early life, making her a natural partner in the memoir project.

Dana lives an ordinary life in stark contrast to Suzanne’s glamorous but traumatic Hollywood career. She is practical, empathetic, and grounded — qualities that make her both an effective assistant and a reliable emotional anchor. Yet her proximity to Suzanne also forces her to confront the dark undercurrents of Suzanne’s past and the escalating threats in the present.

Plot Role

Dana’s primary function in the narrative is to facilitate Suzanne’s autobiography sessions. She operates the tape recorder, takes notes, and prompts Suzanne to explore painful memories — the death of co-star Buzz Carlyle, a terrifying allergic reaction during a screen test, hate mail from a stalker, and the car accident that killed her husband and son. As Suzanne narrates, Dana listens patiently, offers comfort, and occasionally challenges Suzanne to examine the patterns she has long dismissed.

Beyond the recording sessions, Dana also becomes an informal investigator. After Suzanne reveals that someone cut the brake lines of her car — information Detective Wilson shared — Dana is horrified. She admits she did not believe Suzanne earlier when Suzanne hinted that the accidents were connected. This admission marks a turning point: Dana stops seeing the events as coincidences and starts suspecting deliberate malice.

In Chapter 25, after a firebomb attack, Dana convinces Suzanne to continue recording the autobiography as a way to process fear. Dana understands that the memoir is not merely a career project but a survival mechanism — a means to face the past and perhaps identify the stalker.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Dana’s primary motivation is loyalty. She reconnects with Suzanne not for money or fame — she accepts a modest nine-to-three schedule that fits around her children’s school hours — but because she genuinely cares for her childhood friend. When Suzanne breaks down recounting the loss of her family, Dana grasps her hand firmly. This simple gesture reveals Dana’s empathy and her willingness to provide emotional support without pushing for details.

She is also intellectually curious. Dana does not passively listen; she asks probing questions. In Chapter 13 (as labeled in evidence), she presses Suzanne on whether there was a pattern behind the accidents, even suggesting that an obsessed fan might have contaminated the makeup. She recalls reading an article about fans doing strange things to stars. This shows Dana synthesizing information and actively trying to connect dots.

Dana is cautious and protective. When she reads the typed death threat that arrives at Suzanne’s house, her actions are not described in the text, but her reaction can be inferred from the emotional weight of the scene. The fact that she picks up the letter and reads it suggests she wants to understand the threat fully in order to help Suzanne assess the danger.

Yet Dana also has moments of self-doubt. She admits to Suzanne that when Suzanne transformed from an “ugly duckling” to a swan during high school, Dana felt she was losing her friend. This vulnerability humanizes Dana and explains her initial desire to keep a professional distance — she fears being hurt again.

Chronological Arc

Dana’s arc moves from cautious stranger to trusted confidante to active believer in the conspiracy.

  • Arrival and Recognition (Chapter 1): Dana arrives for a job interview and instantly recognizes Suzanne from the sitcom And Baby Makes Five. Suzanne winces inwardly, anticipating the inevitable fan reaction. Dana’s first impulse is nostalgic excitement, but they quickly transition to business.

  • Building Rapport (Chapters 2–3): Over the first few work sessions, Dana listens to Suzanne’s story without judgment. She learns about the deaths of Jan-Michel and Allan, and she offers sincere condolences. The relationship shifts from employer-employee to friendship.

  • Skepticism Gives Way (Chapter 5 / Chapter 13 in evidence): After a gas leak, Suzanne confides that accidents seem to follow her. Dana dismisses the idea initially. But when Suzanne later reveals someone cut her brake lines, Dana’s face drains of blood. She says, “I didn’t believe you yesterday, when you kept telling me about all those terrible things that keep happening.” This is the pivotal moment when Dana fully changes her perspective.

  • Deepening Partnership (Chapters 18–25): Dana continues to assist with the memoir despite the escalating danger. She attends a concert with Suzanne, greets Arthur, and remains present during the aftermath of the Molotov cocktail attack. Her role becomes that of a witness and support system as the mystery deepens.

Relationships

Suzanne Grolier

The relationship between Dana and Suzanne is built on a shared history that goes back to childhood. They were the “two fattest kids in school,” and this shared experience created a bond that persists into adulthood. Suzanne trusts Dana enough to reveal her deepest traumas. Dana, in turn, offers unconditional emotional support while also challenging Suzanne to confront uncomfortable possibilities — such as the idea that one person might be behind all the “accidents.”

However, the relationship is not without tension. Dana admits she felt jealous when Suzanne became thin and beautiful in high school, fearing she would lose her friend. That fear has been supplanted by a more urgent concern: protecting Suzanne from whoever is threatening her.

Greg Cody and the Children

Dana’s family is mentioned in passing. Greg works as a hospital administrator, and her children Paul and Trish attend school. Her schedule is built around theirs. This ordinary domestic life provides a stark contrast to the chaos of Suzanne’s world and grounds Dana in a reality that Suzanne lacks.

Arthur Grolier

Dana interacts with Arthur primarily as an acquaintance through Suzanne. In Chapter 23, Dana is present at the concert when Arthur picks them up. She does not have a direct role in the romantic subplot between Arthur and Suzanne, but her presence offers Suzanne a safe witness during tense family moments.

Detective Peter Wilson

Dana has no direct relationship with Wilson, but she becomes aware of his involvement through Suzanne. The fact that Wilson informs Suzanne about the cut brake lines is information Dana later absorbs, affecting her own belief in the danger.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  • Decision to take the job: Dana applies for the assistant position out of a need for adult interaction after years as a stay-at-home mother. This decision places her at the center of Suzanne’s unfolding crisis. The consequence is that she becomes deeply implicated in the dangers, both emotionally and potentially physically.

  • Decision to push Suzanne on the accidents: In Chapter 13 (evidence), Dana presses Suzanne to consider whether the events were intentional. This leads Suzanne to recall the stalker from her childhood — Theresa James, the obsessed fan, and the death threat letter she received. Dana’s probing unlocks memories that are crucial to the investigation.

  • Decision to stay after the threats: Dana does not quit after the first death threat or the firebombing. By continuing to help Suzanne record her life story, Dana provides stability and continuity. This decision reinforces the theme that confronting the past is necessary for survival.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Dana embodies several of the novel’s central themes:

  • Trust and Betrayal: Dana is initially a skeptical figure — she does not immediately believe Suzanne’s claim that the accidents are connected. But once convinced, she becomes a pillar of trust. Her arc illustrates how trust must be earned through evidence and loyalty.

  • Family, Betrayal, and Trust: Dana’s relationship with Suzanne in some ways mirrors the family dynamics Suzanne lacks. Suzanne’s stepfather Raymond and stepbrother Arthur have complicated histories with her; Dana offers a simpler, unconditional friendship. Dana represents the family one chooses.

  • Stalking and Obsession: Dana helps Suzanne analyze the stalker’s pattern — the unsealed letter, the obsessive fan, the compromised makeup. Her analytical mind aids in identifying the possibility of a single stalker who has been “haunting me all my life.”

  • Trauma and Survivor’s Grief: Dana witnesses Suzanne’s grief firsthand. When Suzanne cries while recounting the car accident, Dana grips her hand. She does not minimize the trauma; she sits with it.

  • Reality versus Performance: Dana observes the disconnect between Suzanne’s public persona as a star and her private pain. She also recognizes the performance in Arthur’s behavior — after Arthur insists he is happy with his life, Suzanne doubts his sincerity, and Dana’s context of having known him since childhood adds weight to that doubt.

Five Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why does Dana initially dismiss Suzanne’s idea that the accidents are connected?

Dana dismisses the idea because she is a practical person who does not believe in grand conspiracies. She also lacks the evidence at that point. She says, “I didn’t believe you yesterday,” indicating that her skepticism was based on a lack of proof. It takes the revelation of the cut brake lines to convert her.

2. What childhood experience does Dana share with Suzanne that strengthens their bond?

They were the two fattest kids at the Country School. Dana recalls, “we were the two fattest kids in school. Yuck!” This shared experience of being outsiders creates a deep emotional connection that persists into adulthood.

3. How does Dana help Suzanne during the autobiography sessions beyond typing?

Dana listens empathetically, prompts Suzanne to explore painful memories, and asks probing questions. In Chapter 14 (evidence), she asks, “But isn’t that an element of everything else? Isn’t it all tied into why you’re writing your autobiography?” Dana pushes Suzanne to connect the dots between past incidents and present danger.

4. What is Dana’s reaction when she learns someone cut the brake lines of Suzanne’s car?

She is horrified. The text says her eyes widened and the blood drained from her face. She exclaims, “Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. Do you know what you’re saying?” This reaction marks her transition from skeptic to believer.

5. Does Dana ever confront Arthur about his feelings for Suzanne?

The provided evidence does not show Dana confronting Arthur directly. She is present at the concert and later learns of Arthur’s romantic confession and forced kiss. Her role remains that of a supportive friend rather than an active mediator.