Tell No One

Not having a criminal lawyer, David calls Shauna from a payphone. She supplies the TV-famous Hester Crimstein, who takes charge of the situation, telling Carlson and Stone that they “trampled” (86) her client’s constitutional rights and that she will publicly humiliate them on her show, Crimstein on Crime. Driving David back to the clinic, Crimstein asks repeatedly about whether Elizabeth truly got her bruises in a car accident because the police will discover the facts. She decides to make some calls to find out about the situation and to question why David is being implicated eight years after his wife’s death.

The third-person narrator cuts to the perspective of Jeremiah Renway, a radical student who set off an explosion at Eastern State University’s chemistry department in 1970. While his three accomplices were incarcerated and died, Jeremiah escaped into the Pennsylvania woods and became a recluse. He hiked around until he found Lake Charmaine, which he made his home. Renway knows about the FBI finding the bodies. He remembers the night of their death eight years ago—“the sudden gun blasts, the sounds of the shovels ripping into the earth, the grunts from the deep dig” (92). Jeremiah thinks about telling the authorities anonymously, but in the end cannot do it. Still, he thinks about the night of the murder, remembering it down to “the young woman in the nude” and “the man left to die” (92).

Wondering about the pictures of a bruised-up Elizabeth, David calls Rebecca Schayes, a photographer and Elizabeth’s closest friend, and asks her about who was driving when Elizabeth had the car accident. Rebecca is so disturbed by David’s inquiry that she hangs up. When David turns up at her studio, Rebecca begrudges that he did not get in touch with her for the eight years following Elizabeth’s death. However, when he gets her to talk about the accident, she explains that Elizabeth came to her, full of bruises and saying that she had been in a car accident. Elizabeth had instructed Rebecca to say that it had been her car, if anyone asked. Elizabeth would not say what really happened, nor would she allow Rebecca to take her to the hospital. Rebecca is suspicious about why David wants to bring this all up now and does not accept his excuse that he merely wants closure on the situation.

Shauna and Hester are sat in the latter’s office. Hester says that Carlson and Stone think that David killed his wife. The alleged killer, KillRoy, is on death row for killing 14 women, but now the authorities are unsure that Elizabeth was one of them. Hester says that they have to assume the feds are tracing David’s every step. When Shauna thinks about what David has told her about Elizabeth appearing on the webcam, Hester senses she is holding something back. However, Shauna says nothing, quietly comes up with an idea, and decides to go.

Meanwhile, Carlson and Stone have come to the Parker parents’ house. They ask about Elizabeth and her relationship with David. They are especially obsessed with the idea that David hit Elizabeth. They show the Parkers the pictures of the bruised Elizabeth. Apparently, Elizabeth never reported a car accident. Hoyt and the men dismiss Kim Parker from the room so that they can speak plainly. The agents say that they think David murdered Elizabeth. Hoyt asks for an explanation.

Nervous about the fact that Elizabeth had lied to him about the car accident, David becomes “nutsy paranoid” (107), convinced that a man in a tan coat is following him.

At home, David goes through Elizabeth’s things and finds her daily planner. He also calls Briggs Penitentiary and asks for an interview with Elizabeth’s alleged killer, KillRoy. If KillRoy agrees, David can visit him. Inside the planner, Elizabeth has written down an appointment with a person going by the initials P.F., Peter Flannery. David pretends he is suffering from medical malpractice and makes an appointment with Flannery. He gets one for the next day. Shauna rings David and tells him to come over straight away.

Carlson tells Hoyt how he thinks that David murdered Elizabeth and “pinned it on a serial killer” (113). Carlson thinks that Elizabeth’s $200,000 life insurance policy would have been a strong motivation for David to kill her. He does his best to persuade Hoyt that this is the case. Carlson says that David inflicted the head injury on himself to give his story credibility, as well as hiring two thugs to brand Elizabeth with the letter K. Hoyt does not immediately buy the story. Carlson also reveals that he received a phonecall from Briggs Penitentiary where David has set up a meeting with KillRoy. Hoyt “now looked openly stunned” (117) and regards David’s actions as suspicious. However, Hoyt insists on knowing where Carlson got the photographs, and Carlson replies that they were sent by Elizabeth’s alias, Sarah Goodhart, and kept in a safety-deposit box belonging to her, which she hid from David. Finally, Carlson says that David’s hiring of Hester Crimstein is further evidence of his guilt.

Meanwhile, Gandle and Wu consider the day’s developments. They think that it is suspicious that David has contacted Flannery, Briggs Penitentiary, and Schayes. They say they will go to Schayes and talk to her.

Shauna and David meet at a high-rise building on Park Avenue, Manhattan. On the 23rd floor, Farrell Lynch, an acquaintance of Shauna’s, shows David how he could have been taken in by manipulated digital photography and age progression software. Shauna thinks that the feds are so desperate to get David that they are playing mind-games with him and sending him pictures of Elizabeth. David is devastated by the idea that the re-found Elizabeth could be a hoax.

Gandle and Wu are at Rebecca’s studio, waiting for her to finish work. They are willing to use force if that is what is necessary to restrain her. Meanwhile, they follow David on the Bigfoot website. He is about to enter the site with Shauna at his side. Despite using the passwords that Elizabeth gave him, all he keeps getting is an error message. 

Larry and Eric are still waiting for Rebecca. The chapter cuts to Rebecca’s point of view. When Elizabeth died, Rebecca tried many times to contact David about his wife’s alleged car accident, but he would not return her calls. Rebecca wonders if Elizabeth’s bruises were related to her murder and feels guilty about not insisting on finding out the truth, in case it could have saved her friend’s life. When she enters her studio, she is taken down by Wu, who causes her immense pain and insists on knowing where she thinks Elizabeth is. 

Drunk, Shauna gives up staring at the empty computer screen, as does David. As he walks Chloe the dog, David considers Shauna’s hypothesis and thinks it could be true, were it not for “those eyes” (136), which no digital manipulation could replicate. David thinks back to Elizabeth’s warning that “they’re watching” (137) and knows that someone, perhaps Elizabeth, is serious about keeping their communications secret.

Meanwhile, Rebecca is still strapped to a table. Larry Gandle takes a gun to her head and shoots her.

At Kinko’s computer terminal, a place where he can hopefully avoid being traced, David keys into his latest message from Elizabeth. It is an invitation to meet him at Washington Square Park at 5 o’clock, and Elizabeth tells him she loves him. David feels hopeful about seeing Elizabeth again.