Cat and Mouse: Chapter 32 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 on Wednesday 21 December with Harriet pausing a recording—Robert's tape—and transcribing five names into her phone: Lucy Belson (2002), Alison Montgomery (2004), Gianna Scaccia (2004), Aliza Masri (2020), and Melissa Brown (2021). She is struck by the sixteen-year gap between the two clusters of deaths and by the fact that she met Edward around the time of Melissa Brown's death. She also notices that Alison Montgomery is a name Robert has never mentioned before, and she wonders whether Robert gave Melissa a tape of her own.
Harriet is interrupted in the gym changing room by another member who asks if she is nearly done. Realizing she came in and did nothing, she quickly changes into a swimsuit and heads to the pool, reasoning that leaving without swimming would raise suspicion if anyone were watching her.
On the subway home, she researches Gianna Scaccia and finds the expected story: death by accidental overdose. But an interview with Gianna's mother, Marion Scaccia, reveals something unexpected—Gianna was processing the suicide of her close friend Alison Montgomery and blamed herself for not seeing the warning signs. Since Alison is on Robert's list, Harriet reasons that Alison could not have actually committed suicide; Gianna must have worked out the Holbecks' involvement and let them know.
Harriet searches Alison Montgomery and finds she was an MIT undergraduate who died in 2004—the same year Edward was at MIT. She recalls Edward mentioning a girlfriend at MIT whom he broke up with after the first year. The realization makes her physically ill, and she has to sit down on a platform bench to recover.
She reasons through the timeline: Edward must have been seeing Alison, Robert did not like it, Edward broke up with her at the family's behest, and Alison died—or so Edward believed. Gianna, guilt-ridden, overdosed shortly after. Edward would not have had a tape to explain any of it, and the deaths were made to look innocent.
Harriet then researches Aliza Masri, a visual artist with Lebanese roots whose whereabouts have been unknown since January 2020. Searching Aliza's name alongside the Holbecks, she finds an Instagram photo of Matilda with Aliza at a gallery opening—the two were clearly together, with Matilda's hand placed on Aliza's back. Harriet wonders if Matilda could have killed Aliza, but dismisses it: Matilda was only sixteen when Lucy disappeared.
She turns to Melissa Brown, finding only a LinkedIn account. Melissa was a personal assistant to the CEO of Lefroy Henshaw since 2014. Lefroy Henshaw turns out to be part of the Laurence Group, owned by the Holbeck family, with Stuart as CEO. Melissa was Stuart's personal assistant. Harriet wonders whether Melissa and Stuart were having an affair, or whether Melissa simply saw too much.
Despite Robert saying Melissa died in 2021, she has not been removed from the Lefroy Henshaw website. Harriet calls the firm, posing as a dental office (Morningside Dental), and obtains Melissa's address and phone number, which she scrawls on the back of her hand.
Key Events
- Harriet transcribes the five names from Robert's tape and notes the sixteen-year gap between the two clusters of deaths.
- She avoids suspicion at the gym by swimming, even though she came only to listen to the tape.
- She discovers Gianna Scaccia's death was tied to Alison Montgomery's suicide, and that Alison is on Robert's list.
- She learns Alison was an MIT student who died in 2004, the same year Edward was there, and connects Alison to Edward's MIT girlfriend.
- She finds photographic evidence that Matilda and Aliza Masri were romantically involved.
- She discovers Melissa Brown was Stuart Holbeck's personal assistant at Lefroy Henshaw, a firm owned by the Holbeck family.
- She obtains Melissa's contact details by posing as a dental office.
Character Development
Harriet shows her investigative skills sharpening in this chapter. She is methodical, connecting dots across years and locations, and her physical reaction to the Alison revelation—dizziness, nausea, needing to sit down—shows how personally invested and vulnerable she is. The reminder that she is twelve weeks pregnant adds to her sense of being trapped. She is also becoming more deceptive herself, lying convincingly to the Lefroy Henshaw receptionist, which mirrors the very behavior she is investigating.
Edward, though not present, is reframed. Harriet now suspects he knew about Alison and possibly the family's involvement, which raises questions about his rift with the family and his motives for reconnecting with them now.
Matilda gains a new dimension through the photograph with Aliza, suggesting a romantic relationship that complicates the question of who is responsible for the deaths.
Stuart is connected to Melissa Brown, suggesting that each Holbeck sibling may have lost someone close to them—Edward lost Alison, Matilda lost Aliza, and Stuart may have lost Melissa.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
The chapter title, Cat and Mouse, captures the game of surveillance and evasion at the heart of the novel. Harriet hides in the changing room, swims to maintain cover, and lies to a receptionist, while the Holbecks' reach extends into every corner of her investigation.
Hidden connections drive the chapter: every name on the list links to a Holbeck family member, forming a web of relationships that Harriet is only beginning to map.
Deception and identity concealment are central. Harriet's lie about being a dental office mirrors the Holbecks' own deceptions, blurring the line between investigator and participant.
Vulnerability and entrapment are underscored by Harriet's pregnancy and her physical collapse on the platform, reminding the reader how exposed she is.
The pattern of deaths—the sixteen-year gap and the clustering around family members—suggests a systematic design rather than random violence.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point in the investigation. Harriet moves from passive recipient of Robert's tape to active researcher, and the connections she uncovers reframe the entire family dynamic. The revelation that Alison Montgomery was Edward's MIT girlfriend—and that Edward may have known more than he has said—casts doubt on Edward's innocence and on his motives for reconnecting with his family. The chapter also introduces the possibility that each Holbeck sibling lost someone close to them, which complicates the question of who is responsible for the deaths and deepens the mystery of what the tape is really trying to tell Harriet.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Harriet decide to swim at the gym even though she came only to listen to the tape?
She realizes that leaving the changing room without doing anything would raise suspicion if anyone were following her. The swim is a cover to maintain her normal routine and avoid drawing attention to herself.
2. What does the discovery about Alison Montgomery reveal about Edward's possible knowledge?
Alison was an MIT student who died in 2004, the same year Edward was there, and Edward had a girlfriend at MIT. Harriet reasons that Edward must have been seeing Alison, that Robert did not like it, and that Edward broke up with her—after which Alison died. Edward may have believed it was suicide, but Harriet now suspects he knew more than he has revealed.
3. How does the Melissa Brown discovery connect to the pattern of the other names?
Melissa was Stuart Holbeck's personal assistant at Lefroy Henshaw, a firm owned by the Holbeck family. Like Alison (connected to Edward) and Aliza (connected to Matilda), Melissa is connected to a Holbeck sibling—Stuart. This suggests each sibling may have lost someone close to them, and that the deaths follow a pattern of eliminating people who got too close to the family.