The Coworker Chapter 26 (Chapter 25) 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

Natalie returns to the office break room for coffee and finds Kim already there, scrolling on her phone. Kim casually mentions that Dawn’s remains have been found, making an offhand comment that some people at work had wanted to strangle Dawn. Natalie asks Kim about her conversation with Detective Santoro the previous day. Kim admits she told the detective that Natalie had bullied Dawn. Natalie denies bullying her, insisting it was just jokes that everyone made. When Kim refuses to change her story, Natalie threatens to reveal a secret from Kim’s bachelorette party—an incident involving a man at a bar. Kim panics and agrees to stop making Natalie look bad. Natalie feels confident Kim will stay quiet, but she realizes she has even bigger problems than Kim.

Key Events

Natalie returns to the break room and finds Kim drinking coffee.
Kim mentions the discovery of Dawn’s remains with a flippant tone.
Natalie asks what Kim told the detective.
Kim says she told the detective that Natalie bullied Dawn.
Natalie denies bullying and confronts Kim.
Natalie threatens to expose a secret from Kim’s bachelorette party.
Kim backs down and promises to stop.
Natalie reflects that her problems go beyond Kim’s behavior.

Character Development

Natalie

Shows a calculating side: she immediately thinks of using Kim’s secret as leverage.
Demonstrates anxiety about the murder investigation and her own possible involvement.
Reveals that she documents compromising moments (the bachelorette party photos) for future use.

Kim

Comes across as shallow and unconcerned about Dawn’s death.
Easily manipulated by the threat of her secret being exposed.
Shows that she values her marriage and reputation over honesty about Dawn.

Dawn (mentioned)

Even after death, her presence looms; the bullying she endured becomes a point of contention between Natalie and Kim.

Detective Santoro (mentioned)

Offstage but driving the tension; both women are wary of what he might uncover.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Bullying

This chapter makes clear that multiple coworkers mocked Dawn, not just Natalie. Natalie tries to deflect blame by saying “everyone did it,” but the guilt weighs on her now that Dawn is dead.

Secrets and blackmail

Natalie uses a hidden secret to control Kim. This introduces a motif of hidden knowledge and the power it gives—a thread likely to continue as the investigation progresses.

The investigation as a mirror

The murder probe forces characters to examine their own behavior. Kim’s offhand remark about wanting “to strangle” Dawn now carries a darker echo.

Why This Chapter Matters

It reveals Natalie’s manipulative skills—she is willing to blackmail a coworker to protect herself.
It shows that the bullying of Dawn was widespread, not just one person’s actions.
It deepens the mystery: Natalie says she has “worse problems than Kim,” hinting at something bigger she is hiding.
It sets up a potential future conflict where Kim might retaliate or where Natalie’s secret-keeping could backfire.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Natalie threaten Kim?

Natalie threatens Kim to stop her from telling the detective that Natalie bullied Dawn. Natalie realizes that such testimony makes her look like a suspect, so she uses a secret from Kim’s bachelorette party to silence her.

2. What secret does Natalie hold over Kim?

During Kim’s bachelorette party, Kim was involved with a man at a bar. Natalie took photos of the incident and now uses the threat of revealing this to Kim’s new husband as leverage.

3. How does this chapter affect the overall murder investigation?

It shows that multiple people at the office had motives to harm Dawn, at least in terms of hostility. It also reveals that Natalie is willing to go to great lengths—including blackmail—to protect herself, making her a more complex and potentially unreliable narrator.