Chapter 15 Summary: Cassie, 2017

⚠️ 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

Cassie's chapter opens with a familiar ritual: she searches for Gabriel on Facebook. Gabriel and Brenda have cut off all direct contact, but they freely share their lives online—photos of their children, their outings, their sentimental captions about fatherhood. Cassie finds this perversely comforting, a way to stay connected to people who refuse to speak to her.

She has also taken a practical step in her investigation: she rents a VCR for two dollars a day to watch the videotaped police interviews of Fabian Rivera, which came with his case file. On Duke's night off, she invites him to watch with her, framing it as a fun evening. Duke is reluctant but eventually agrees, and they settle in with wine and popcorn.

The first interview features Detectives Ben Cortez and Manuel Zamora questioning Fabian. Zamora is the lead, soft-spoken but commanding. They establish Fabian's relationship to Lore and then turn to the affair. Zamora asks when Fabian learned about it. Fabian says Friday, when a man named Russo knocked on the door. The detectives press, suggesting he must have known earlier. They mention a neighbor who witnessed Fabian shouting at Andres. Fabian admits to shouting, saying he told Andres to get off his property, and that was the last time he saw him. He denies any involvement in Andres's death.

As the interview continues, the detectives harangue Fabian about the timeline, noting he was home all night after returning from his brother-in-law's ranch. They also bring up the affair again, with Zamora making pointed comments about Lore's intelligence and travel. Fabian grows defensive, insisting he didn't kill anyone.

Cassie watches closely. When Fabian says, “I had nothing to do with that man's death. Neither did Lore. She was with the cuates all evening, and then we were all home together the rest of the night,” Cassie rewinds the tape. She notices that Fabian volunteered Lore's alibi before his own—a detail that strikes her as odd. She shares this observation with Duke, then opens a timeline she has constructed of the last day.

Cassie points out a gap in Lore's alibi that doesn't appear in the police report. She explains that Andres left a note for Lore at the bank that afternoon, which was never found. Lore claimed it said “I'm sorry I missed you,” but Cassie finds that unconvincing. She theorizes that Andres, desperate to talk to Lore, might have gone back to his hotel, looked up the Riveras' address in a phone book, and gone to their house to confront her. But then she raises a key question: how did Fabian know Andres's room number at the Hotel Botanica? The neighbor overheard Andres tell Fabian which hotel he was at, but not the room number. The hotel clerk said Fabian never asked at the front desk, and no one else reported Fabian knocking on doors.

Cassie proposes a solution: what if Andres told Lore in that note where he was staying, and Lore went to see him directly after leaving the bank? Then, intentionally or not, she told Fabian how to find him. This is the first time Cassie has voiced this theory aloud, and it excites her.

Duke challenges her. He points out that Fabian confessed, and the evidence—Fabian's print, his presence at the hotel, the timeline—all points to him. He asks why Cassie is digging into this when Lore doesn't want to talk about it and the outcome won't change. Cassie insists she has a duty to find the truth, even as she acknowledges that duty feels a lot like excitement.

Key Events

• Cassie searches for Gabriel on Facebook, a habit she finds comforting.

• She rents a VCR and invites Duke to watch Fabian's police interview with her.

• In the interview, Detectives Cortez and Zamora question Fabian about when he learned of the affair and about a neighbor who saw him shouting at Andres.

• Fabian denies involvement and provides an alibi for Lore before his own.

• Cassie rewinds the tape and notices the order of Fabian's alibi statement.

• She shares her timeline with Duke, highlighting a gap in Lore's alibi and questioning how Fabian knew Andres's room number.

• Cassie theorizes that Lore told Fabian where to find Andres.

• Duke challenges Cassie's motives, suggesting she is willing to hurt families for her career.

• Cassie insists she has a duty to find the truth.

Character Development

Cassie is increasingly consumed by the case. Her Facebook stalking of Gabriel shows her need to maintain a connection, even a one-sided one. Her decision to rent a VCR and watch the raw police footage reveals her dedication—and her discomfort with her own excitement. When she spots the alibi discrepancy, she becomes animated, pacing and theorizing. But Duke's challenge forces her to confront the ethical implications of her pursuit. She frames it as duty, yet the chapter hints that her drive is also personal and thrilling.

Duke serves as a counterweight. He is skeptical of Cassie's obsession, questioning whether her investigation will change anything or only cause pain. His comment about her career—that she's writing a book with Lore's permission but shaking things up about the murder is different—highlights his concern that Cassie might be crossing a line. He is not unsupportive, but he is wary.

Fabian is portrayed as young, defensive, and under pressure. The interview shows him struggling to maintain composure as the detectives probe his knowledge of the affair. His insistence on Lore's alibi before his own is a subtle but telling moment that Cassie latches onto.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

• True crime obsession: Cassie's habit of checking Facebook, her excitement at watching the tapes, and her hunger for answers reflect the addictive pull of true crime.

• Social media surveillance: Cassie's Facebook stalking of Gabriel and Brenda is a form of surveillance that substitutes for direct contact, highlighting the paradox of public intimacy.

• Ethics of true crime writing: Duke's challenge forces Cassie to consider whether her pursuit of truth justifies the potential harm to real families.

• Alibi timeline analysis: Cassie's close reading of the timeline—the gap in Lore's alibi, the order of Fabian's statement—shows how small details can unravel a narrative.

• Comfort of certainty: Cassie reflects on the comfort of knowing everything, even as the raw footage unsettles her.

• Journalistic duty vs. personal cost: Cassie frames her work as a duty, but Duke questions whether that duty is worth the pain it might cause.

• Questioning the confession: Cassie's doubt about Fabian's guilt, despite his confession, introduces the theme of unreliable narratives.

• Anger displacement: Duke's comment about taking anger out on the other person rather than the loved one resonates with Cassie's theory about Andres as a surrogate for Lore.

• Missing evidence: The unfound note, the unaccounted-for room number, and the gap in Lore's alibi all point to missing pieces of the puzzle.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is pivotal because it shifts Cassie's investigation from documenting Lore's double life to questioning the official account of Andres's murder. Cassie's observation about Fabian's alibi order is a small but significant clue that opens a new line of inquiry. Her theory that Lore may have directed Fabian to Andres's room introduces a potential alternative narrative, one that could implicate Lore or at least complicate the story.

The chapter also deepens the conflict between Cassie and Duke. His challenge forces Cassie to articulate her motivations, and her response—that she has a duty to find the truth—reveals her commitment, but also her blind spots. The tension between them sets up future conflicts as Cassie pursues this new angle.

Finally, the chapter reinforces the novel's central themes of obsession, ethics, and the slippery nature of truth. Cassie's excitement, which she tries to justify as duty, underscores the moral ambiguity of her work.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Cassie rewind the tape when Fabian says, “Neither did Lore”? What does she notice?

Cassie notices that Fabian volunteers Lore's alibi before his own. He says, “She was with the cuates all evening, and then we were all home together the rest of the night,” which implies he is alibiing her rather than himself. This order strikes Cassie as unusual and suggests that Fabian might be more concerned with protecting Lore than with clearing himself.

2. What is Cassie's theory about how Fabian knew Andres's room number, and what evidence supports it?

Cassie theorizes that Andres told Lore in the note where he was staying, and that Lore went to see him directly after leaving the bank. Then, intentionally or not, she told Fabian how to find him. Cassie notes that the neighbor only heard Andres mention the hotel, not the room number, and that the hotel clerk said Fabian never asked at the front desk. This gap in the official record suggests Lore may have been the source of that information.

3. How does Duke challenge Cassie's motives, and how does she respond?

Duke argues that Cassie is willing to hurt two families for the sake of her career. He points out that Fabian confessed, the evidence points to him, and Lore doesn't want to talk about it. He asks what the point of shaking things up would be. Cassie responds that she has a duty to find the truth, even though she privately acknowledges that duty feels like excitement.

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