I Am Watching You

Matthew and his wife, Sally, have a baby girl. An awestruck Matthew cannot stop staring at his wife and daughter. Now that he is a father, Matthew feels his line of work affects him differently. For instance, now he feels a greater pang when he sees Anna’s pictures on Facebook, and he experiences a twist in his gut every time he thinks of the pain of her mother, Barbara. Back home, he gets a call from Melanie congratulating him on his perceptiveness in the Anna Ballard case. Matthew has no idea what Melanie is referring to but pretends to be in the know so Melanie can tell him more later. They agree to meet at a café; Matthew tells Melanie about his new daughter.

After Henry calls the police demanding to speak to Melanie Sanders, they pay him a visit, find him armed with the shotgun in the barn, and arrest him for suspicious behavior. Henry is locked up in prison and questioned aggressively by the DI from London. The DI also tells Henry that his story of being asleep in the car has fallen apart. The witness who spotted his car near the railway station says the car was empty. When the DI asks Henry about his connection to Sarah, Henry begins to panic.

Sarah reminisces about Anna. Both she and Anna were heavily into musical theater in secondary school, dreaming of being Broadway singers. Their camaraderie over music turned competitive after year nine, as they began auditioning for the same parts at school. Anna was the better singer, and in year 11, she landed the part of Fantine, a heroine of Les Misérables, the theatrical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel. Sarah got a part in the chorus. Anna offered to withdraw from the play, but Sarah hid her disappointment and encouraged her friend to go ahead.

Sarah feels Anna’s casting was a trigger for her to start dating. At first, she enjoyed her newfound sexual powers, but soon she felt humiliated since she was shamed in school for sleeping around. Students spread ugly rumors about her, such as Sarah performing oral sex on two boys at a party. Sarah began to be called a “slag,” an offensive, sexist term, openly. Though Anna defended her friend, Sarah admits to herself that all the rumors were true.

The watcher chooses his targets carefully. He only watches those whom he intensely loves or hates. Right now, he has had to stop watching his target for a bit, which makes him antsy. He is being patient though, pretending to appear calm and above suspicion. He is good at putting on an act.

Emily loses her pregnancy. Luke feels relieved but also sad and guilty. The episode leads to depression, and Ella keeps him out of school till he recovers. Ella goes to the shop at dawn, telling Luke she cannot miss her current assignment, as Tony is away for work. Ella gets into the shop, feeling a sense of trepidation, but soon loses herself in the wedding arrangements, snipping off gerberas into tasteful, simple bouquets. Again, she hears the sound of the door rattling. She asks if it is Luke. When she gets no answer, she says she will call the police. She can hear a car drive away and spots Luke’s plastic map magnifier, which he used during a popular hike, near the door. Fearing it was Luke at the door, she decides against calling the police.

In his cell, Henry becomes obsessed with a lone, annoying fly. He recalls how he has always hated the way the insects bothered the cattle on his farm. Determined to do something, he removes his sock and uses it as a catapult against the fly, aiming to flick the insect dead. The sock flies out of his hand, kills the fly, and lands in the toilet, the splash attracting the attention of the custody sergeant. The sergeant takes away Henry’s sock too, leaving him barefooted in the cold cell.

Lily finally replies to Sarah and agrees to let Sarah stay with her for a few days. She collects Sarah from Tintley railway station and brings her to the large house she shares with other members of her commune. Lily calls their mother to tell her Sarah is safe. Sarah notes that Lily studiously avoids mentioning the message about their father. Lily appears very skinny, buried in her voluminous clothing. She tells Sarah she goes by the name Saffron now. Sarah broaches the subject of their father and his possible involvement in Anna’s disappearance. Just then a large man called Moon walks in and touches Lily possessively, telling her that if she tells Sarah the truth, he might not stay with her. Lily tells Moon she and Sarah are having a private family conversation, but Moon continues to pressure her to end the talk.

Melanie and Matthew meet at a café. Melanie tells Matthew she is fed up with the police force and its bureaucracy. Henry wanted to speak to her, but the DI grew insecure about what he saw as his case, marched over to the Ballard farm without Melanie, and barged in on Henry. He frightened Henry so much that the man accidentally pointed his gun at the DI. Henry was then arrested. The DI is not letting Melanie meet Henry. He has also issued a media blackout on the case. However, the new information that has come in is bound to leak to the press and cause a stir.

Henry meets the hostile DI in the presence of his solicitor. The alibi Henry has given—that he was actually out with his lover April—has checked out. April has corroborated Henry’s version of events. Henry feels relieved, but just then the DI is called away for an urgent call. The DI tells Henry not to relax too soon, as new information has come up in the case. Henry will be told more about it “on the journey” (168) back home.

When Lily finally convinces Moon to leave, Sarah tells her about their father’s abuse. Lily tells Sarah that their father often abused her as well. She told their mother about the sexual violence, but she refused to believe Lily. Sarah and Lily’s parents insisted Lily was lying and needed to see a psychiatrist. Lily told them that if her father did not leave the house, she would report him to the police. This is the reason their father eventually left. Their mother blames Lily for the divorce. Lily wishes she had reported the matter to the police right then, so Sarah could have been protected. The commune members know everything that happened and are protective of Lily. They are wary about her revisiting the topic of the abuse, as it tends to make Lily spiral into sadness.

Sarah tells Lily that the night Anna disappeared, their father texted her suggesting the girls meet him at the swanky hotel at which he was staying for work in London. She showed Anna the text. Later that night, Anna called Sarah saying she was afraid and wanted Sarah’s father to accompany the girls from the club to the hotel.