Look Closer

Christian tells Gavin everything, using names instead of the usual number aliases he gives his mistresses. Gavin comes up with two scenarios that Christian dislikes: injuring Simon so that he is out of commission until after November 3, or coming between Lauren and Simon. After Gavin agrees that neither plan is practical, he asks Christian how badly he wants the money and what he would do for $20 million.

Vicky meets Christian at his apartment, and he dramatically announces to her that they might need to kill Lauren. She is secretly relieved that he came up with the idea but thinks it is ridiculous that it took him six hours to think of it. Christian tells Vicky that he will have to do it since she and Simon will look guilty. Vicky acts reluctantly pleased but thinks to herself that she has known about Lauren all along and that she knows Christian’s real name. She chose him so that he would kill Lauren and has never loved him or thought of him as anything but a swindler.

Christian is pleased with himself and his plan and tells Vicky that he will commit the murder on Halloween. He also suggests that they set Simon up to take the fall. Vicky seems initially reluctant but finally agrees, telling him that she knows exactly how to do it.

The day after Halloween, Jane goes to the Betancourt house and speaks to the forensics expert. She tells Jane that the burner phone found under the table was gently slid into place by someone after Lauren’s death—probably the perpetrator. Jane realizes that this is suspicious since there is no reason for the phone to be left unless someone wanted it to be found. She wonders if this might be the wife of the affair partner who is setting him up for murder.

In a diary entry for October 27, Simon worries that Vicky is onto something since she is being more affectionate than usual.

Vicky walks past Lauren’s house as she has done for several weeks. She knows that a woman walking in workout clothes is invisible, whereas a man lingering outside would be suspicious. She looks at the house and decides where the best place would be to break and enter, then continues home. At her house, she looks through Simon’s closet and finds an old Grim Reaper costume and a pair of size 13 boots. She has purchased identical ones for Christian to use.

At Christian’s office, he tells Vicky that he has scrubbed all traces of her from his apartment and life, and that she needs to do the same. He asks her if she paid cash for the boots and costume and reminds her that they will need to cut off contact with one another for a few months. Later, he tells his receptionist Emily that he is relocating and gives her money for severance.

Vicky finds out that Conrad has been staying at his condominium downtown rather than the one he shares with Lauren. Pretending to be a journalist, she asks the doorman when Conrad will be home. He tells her that Conrad will be gone for several days, and she is pleased, since this means he will be out of town for Halloween.

Simon texts on the burner phone from his usual spot, but Lauren seems strange and distracted. He wonders what is going on but tells her he can’t wait to see her on Halloween.

Vicky tells Christian he needs to practice with his gun. He promises her that he will. They agree to meet at the apartment on Halloween just in case something comes up.

Gavin meets Christian outside the city for some target practice. He is still skeptical of the scheme and thinks Vicky is untrustworthy, but Christian says he has it under control. He tells Gavin that all Vicky is thinking about is the money and the sex, and that she is crazy about him.

Christian struggles to make the shot, even at 10 feet. Gavin spots a rope hanging from a tree and tells him that should be the backup plan since it is bloodless and better than a knife.

The day before Halloween, Vicky power walks outside Lauren’s house, having a fake phone conversation. She notices that the window by Lauren’s kitchen has been open for over a week, meaning it will be the easiest way into her house.

At his usual texting spot, Simon receives a series of breakup texts from Lauren. She tells him he was just a fling and that she can’t marry him. He is furious and tells her that it isn’t over.

In Grace Village, Vicky has the pink burner phone and is on the other end, texting the breakup texts to Simon. When he tells her it isn’t over, she thinks that he is correct, but that it will be soon.

At three o’clock in the morning, Simon goes downstairs to the basement. He burns the diary and opens a safe that contains Vicky’s gun and a $1 million in cash. He briefly contemplates killing himself but decides that he can’t let Lauren off that easily.

Vicky visits Christian and finds him nervous and shaky. He tells her he threw up and isn’t feeling well. She gives him a pep talk and tells him everything will be fine, but internally she is annoyed that he is showing so much weakness.

The day of Halloween, Simon hands out candy to trick or treaters and watches the clock. He is alone and increasingly anxious. Finally, he turns his phone on to stream House of Cards and leaves the house dressed in his costume. He makes it to Grace Village a little before seven o’clock at night.

In the days after Halloween, Jane continues the investigation. Jane still feels that the phone is strange and that the text messages on it might be fake since they are so over the top. Andy disagrees with her theory that the affair partner’s wife might have done it. They discover that the offender wore size 13 men’s boots.

The president of Grace Village meets with them and complains that the investigation is taking too long, and that people are worried. The chief reassures him that Jane is their best investigator and that the case is going well. She tells him that they believe it was personal and have several leads, including Simon Dobias. Andy tells her to tell them what she knows about Simon and Mitchell Kitchens.

Jane tells the story of Mitchell Kitchens, the bully Simon has been thinking of throughout the novel. Mitchell bullied Simon constantly in school and would always steal his Gatorade. He was also an all-star wrestler. However, the day of the biggest wrestling meet of the year, Mitchell was disqualified because he tested positive for drugs. He claimed that Simon spiked the Gatorade on purpose, but this was hard to prove and would require him admitting that he had been bullying Simon.

The day after the meet, Mitchell jumped Simon and began beating him badly. When a police officer intervened, he punched the police officer. He was arrested and received a felony conviction since he was 17. Meanwhile, no one could prove that Simon had done anything wrong. Jane thinks Simon masterminded the entire thing. She also has a complaint that Simon filed with the Grace Park Police Department that she believes ties the entire case together.

Jane tells the police about Glory’s stroke and Ted’s affair and explains that Simon filed a complaint saying the money was stolen by Lauren, who was his father’s lover. She was never charged since Ted put her name on the money market account and there was technically no crime. The chief agrees that this is enough of a motive for murder.

Jane and the others call the former St. Louis police department officers who worked the Ted Dobias murder case. They agree that Simon seems guilty, but they had no hard evidence at the time. The main issue was that they could never understand why Simon waited so many years to commit the murder, and why he did it the night before his law school exam. They say that it is likely Simon murdered Lauren, but he would have manipulated someone else to do the dirty work for him.