Chapter 87 Summary, Analysis, and Key Takeaways
⚠️ 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 Mike Waghorn scrolling through his email inbox on the anniversary of Bethany's death. Each year, viewers send him condolences, though the volume has dwindled over time. This year, only four messages arrived: three from regular correspondents and one from an unidentified no-reply account that Mike has never been able to trace.
The anonymous message contains only a single red rose — a pattern Mike now recognizes has repeated every year since Bethany's death. In earlier years, the message was lost among the flood of condolences, but with fewer messages arriving now, it stands out clearly.
Mike reflects on the unresolved nature of Bethany's case. Her body was never recovered. Authorities initially explained this with theories about tides and currents, which Mike accepted and researched. Later, officials claimed Bethany had been buried in Heather Garbutt's garden, but extensive digging there produced nothing. Andrew Everton, the man convicted in connection with the case, continues to maintain his innocence.
This leads Mike to entertain a possibility he has never fully allowed himself to consider: what if Bethany is still alive? He searches back through his email history and confirms the same no-reply address has sent a red rose every single year. He considers what the rose might signify — love, certainly, and perhaps a private joke between them. Bethany was known for stretching things and teasing him.
Mike acknowledges the fantasy is unlikely — the emails are probably just from a well-wisher. But the idea that Bethany might be alive, perhaps living comfortably on the proceeds of the VAT fraud, is a comforting one. Notably, the money from that fraud was never recovered; even Henrik has admitted the funds seemed to vanish at a certain point. Mike wonders whether the money vanished with Bethany.
He asks himself whether Bethany would really have left without saying goodbye. For ten million pounds, he reasons, perhaps she would. He reflects on his own history of foolishness and greed, acknowledging that he was foolish his entire life until Bethany showed him the truth. He wishes she had stayed long enough for him to return the favor.
Mike decides he can choose to believe the emails are from Bethany if he wishes. If they are, he hopes she saw the broadcast tribute he paid her recently. He hopes she knows, wherever she is, that he loves her.
The chapter closes with Mike pouring himself a cider straight from the plastic bottle and raising his glass to absent friends.
Key Events
-
Mike receives only four condolence emails on the anniversary of Bethany's death
-
He identifies a recurring anonymous message containing a single red rose
-
He confirms the same no-reply address has sent a rose every year
-
He revisits the unresolved details of Bethany's case: no body, no remains found in Heather Garbutt's garden, and Andrew Everton's continued claims of innocence
-
He considers the possibility that Bethany faked her death and is living on the missing VAT fraud money
-
He reflects on his relationship with Bethany and his own past failings
-
He hopes she saw his recent broadcast tribute
-
He raises a glass to absent friends
Character Development
Mike Waghorn — This chapter shows Mike in a reflective, vulnerable state. His grief has softened into something more complicated: a blend of hope, longing, and self-examination. He acknowledges his own past foolishness and expresses regret that Bethany didn't live long enough for him to repay the wisdom she gave him. His willingness to entertain the fantasy that she is alive — even while acknowledging its unlikelihood — reveals a man who has learned to hold contradictory feelings at once. The decision to believe what he wishes to believe is a quiet act of self-compassion.
Bethany — Though absent, Bethany looms large in this chapter. She is characterized through Mike's memories as someone playful, teasing, and fond of stretching the truth. The red rose emails, if they are from her, suggest a woman who might be watching from a distance, maintaining a thread of connection without revealing herself.
Andrew Everton — Mentioned briefly, but his continued protestations of innocence add weight to Mike's speculation. If Everton is telling the truth, then the official account of Bethany's death is incomplete.
Henrik — Referenced in connection with the missing VAT fraud money, confirming that the funds vanished at some point, which fuels Mike's speculation.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
The red rose — The recurring symbol of the chapter. Roses traditionally signify love, and the anonymous sender's choice of a single red rose each year suggests a persistent, quiet devotion. Mike's interpretation of the rose as potentially a private joke between him and Bethany adds a layer of intimacy to the symbol.
Absence and unresolved grief — The chapter is built around the absence of a body, the absence of closure, and the absence of answers. Mike's grief is complicated by the possibility that Bethany might not be dead at all.
Hope as a choice — Mike explicitly decides he can choose to believe the emails are from Bethany. This frames hope not as something that happens to a person, but as an active decision.
The toast to absent friends — A traditional phrase that carries extra weight here, since Bethany's absence is ambiguous. The toast honors her whether she is dead or simply gone.
Money and disappearance — The missing VAT fraud money is a motif that connects Bethany's possible survival to a practical motive. The ten million pounds is the only concrete reason she might have left without saying goodbye.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens the mystery at the heart of the novel by keeping Bethany's fate genuinely open. It also humanizes Mike Waghorn, showing him as a man processing grief in a way that is both realistic and poignant. The chapter plants a significant question — could Bethany be alive? — that may pay off later in the narrative. It also ties together several threads: the unresolved investigation, the missing money, and Mike's personal connection to the case.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Mike begin to take the anonymous red rose emails seriously this year?
Mike takes the emails seriously because the volume of condolences has dropped dramatically — only four arrived this year, making the anonymous rose message stand out. He searches back and confirms the same no-reply address has sent a rose every year. Combined with the unresolved details of Bethany's case — no body, no remains found in Heather Garbutt's garden, and Andrew Everton's continued claims of innocence — the recurring rose becomes a thread worth pulling.
2. What evidence does Mike consider that might support the idea Bethany is alive?
Mike considers several pieces of evidence: Bethany's body was never found; digging in Heather Garbutt's garden produced nothing; Andrew Everton continues to protest his innocence; and the VAT fraud money vanished at some point, with even Henrik unable to account for it. The recurring red rose emails from the same anonymous address add a personal, deliberate quality to the mystery.
3. How does Mike's reflection on his own past shape his response to the possibility that Bethany left him?
Mike acknowledges he was foolish his entire life until Bethany showed him the truth. This admission makes him more sympathetic to the idea that Bethany might have been foolish and greedy too — leaving without saying goodbye for ten million pounds. His self-awareness allows him to hold the fantasy without bitterness, and his wish that she had stayed long enough for him to return the favor shows a desire for reciprocity and closure.
Navigation
-
Book hub