Chapter 13 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ 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

The chapter opens with Shea on a nearly empty bus, explaining her telekinesis theory to Michael. She has researched the phenomenon and believes it could explain the taps turning on by themselves and the cupboard doors opening at Beth’s house. Michael dismisses the idea, attributing the sounds to old pipes, and suggests Beth may have rigged a deliberate setup using switches or levers hidden in the house. Shea declines his offer to inspect, worried that bringing someone to dismantle Beth’s home would end their fragile cooperation. Michael warns her about the “carrot and stick” dynamic that works entirely in Beth’s favor.

Michael then mentions that Detective Joshua Black, a retired legend of the Claire Lake PD, worked the Sherry Haines case. The news hits Shea physically—she goes cold, her head light, a thready pulsing in her ears. She hides her reaction and gets off at her stop.

Shea walks to the downtown piers, where Black lives on a trim, tidy houseboat. Though over seventy, he resembles the handsome man from photographs, with white hair and a thinner face. He recognizes Shea immediately and says it’s nice to see her again, though she doesn’t remember him from the aftermath of her abduction. He explains that Beth personally requested this meeting, which piqued his curiosity.

Black recounts the Lady Killer investigation in detail. He met his state police partner, Detective Washington, the day after Thomas Armstrong was shot twice in the face. The taunting note—written in a woman’s rounded cursive—threw the investigation. Black describes the difficulty of processing the idea of a female serial killer in 1977, with no training or precedent. Paul Veerhoever’s murder followed, with a witness placing Beth at the scene. Ballistics later linked the gun to the home invasion that killed Julian Greer when Beth was nineteen.

Black admits he spent months investigating Beth and found nothing connecting her to the murders beyond the witness identification and the ballistics. He investigated Julian Greer thoroughly—the man was clean, with no enemies, and his former secretary Sylvia Bledsoe sobbed at his death, blaming Mariana for ruining his life. Shea realizes Black has been careful never to put Beth and the Lady Killer in the same sentence. When she calls this out, he confirms he doesn’t believe Beth is guilty.

Black gives Shea his phone number, offering to answer any questions. When she asks why he’s helping, he explains that he agreed to the meeting because Beth requested it, but he’s helping because Shea is Girl A—the child witness from the Sherry Haines case. He believes that if anyone can find the truth, it’s her.

Key Events

Shea proposes telekinesis as an explanation for the paranormal events at Beth’s house; Michael counters with skepticism and suggests Beth rigged the effects.
Michael reveals that Detective Joshua Black worked the Sherry Haines case, shocking Shea.
Shea meets Black at his houseboat; he confirms Beth requested the meeting.
Black recounts the Lady Killer investigation, including the note, the Armstrong and Veerhoever murders, and the ballistics match to Julian Greer’s gun.
Black admits he doesn’t believe Beth is guilty.
Black reveals Sylvia Bledsoe’s name and gives Shea his phone number.
Black explains he’s helping Shea because she is Girl A from the Sherry Haines case.

Character Development

Shea’s internal conflict deepens in this chapter. She admits to herself that she doesn’t want to believe Beth is a liar or a serial killer—which is exactly what Beth wants. Her skepticism about the supernatural wars with her growing attachment to Beth. The revelation that Black worked the Sherry Haines case triggers a visceral reaction, showing how raw that trauma remains. She also demonstrates growing investigative skill, pushing back on Black’s interview techniques and noticing the careful way he avoids connecting Beth to the murders.

Black emerges as a complex figure: a retired detective with a cop’s knack for reading people, a paternal warmth toward Shea that contrasts with his professional hardness. He carries the weight of a case that outsmarted him, and his conviction that Beth is innocent—or at least not guilty of the Lady Killer murders—is striking given his decades of experience.

Beth, though absent, looms over the chapter. She requested the meeting, she’s the only person Black’s top suspect has ever called him about, and her influence shapes every interaction.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Skepticism vs. belief: The telekinesis debate frames the chapter’s central tension—Shea’s rational mind versus her lived experience of the strange events at Beth’s house.

Manipulation and the carrot and stick: Michael’s phrase captures Beth’s control over Shea—offering cooperation while withholding the full truth.

Ego and the taunt: Black’s analysis of the note—that it was written by someone with an ego who believed she’d never be caught—contrasts with Shea’s theory that the killer wanted to be stopped. The second note’s “Catch me” was a taunt, not a plea.

Trauma and memory: Shea’s inability to remember Black from the abduction, and her visceral reaction to the Sherry Haines connection, show how trauma blurs and shapes memory.

Gentrification and class: Black’s history of the houseboats—originally homes for evicted homeless people, now gentrified—echoes the novel’s interest in how place and class shape identity.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is pivotal for several reasons. It establishes the ballistics connection between Julian Greer’s death and the Lady Killer murders, making Greer a potential first victim and deepening the mystery. It introduces Black as a key ally and source, one who believes in Beth’s innocence. Most importantly, it reveals Shea’s identity as Girl A from the Sherry Haines case, connecting her personal trauma to the Lady Killer investigation and giving her a personal stake in finding the truth. The chapter also raises the question of Sylvia Bledsoe, Julian’s secretary, as a potential lead.

Study Questions

1. Why does Shea resist Michael’s suggestion that Beth rigged the taps and cupboard doors, and what does this reveal about her state of mind?

Shea resists because she doesn’t want to believe Beth is a liar or a manipulator. She admits to herself that believing in a deliberate setup would mean accepting that Beth has a psychopathic wish to deceive her—and she’s not ready to do that. This reveals how emotionally invested Shea has become in Beth, and how that investment is clouding her judgment. Michael’s “carrot and stick” observation highlights how Beth’s cooperation is a form of control.

2. What does Black’s careful avoidance of connecting Beth to the Lady Killer in the same sentence reveal, and why does Shea pick up on it?

Black talks about the Lady Killer case and about Beth as separate subjects, never putting them together. Shea notices this pattern and realizes it means Black doesn’t believe Beth is guilty. His subsequent confirmation—that he wouldn’t maintain any relationship with a serial killer—shows that his doubt is based on years of investigation and personal conviction, not sentiment. Shea’s ability to read this subtext demonstrates her growing skill as an investigator.

3. How does the houseboat history Black shares connect to the novel’s broader themes about class and place?

The houseboats were originally homes for people evicted by the city in the 1960s, who bought old boats as a workaround to zoning laws. The area has since gentrified, with only “artsy types and retirees” like Black remaining. This history echoes the novel’s interest in how place shapes identity and how the powerful displace the vulnerable. It also parallels Beth’s own story—a woman trapped in a house and a reputation she didn’t choose.