42 pages • 1 hour read
Gilly MacmillanWhat She Knew
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 2 Summary: “Day 2: Monday, October 22, 2012”
This chapter takes place the day after Ben’s disappearance. Rachel and John wait tensely while the search teams scour the woods. The teams discover items of clothing, which Rachel identifies as Ben’s. The police reclassify the case as an abduction.
Rachel and John are driven to Criminal Investigation Division headquarters in Bristol where they meet Detective Constable Emma Zhang. She will be their family liaison officer. Rachel and John are led to separate interview rooms because the police want to see whether their stories tally independently. Jim introduces himself to Rachel and explains that he will be the lead investigator on Ben’s case. As Rachel is being questioned, she can’t shake the thought that this tragedy is all her fault.
When she returns home later, Rachel finds a horde of reporters waiting outside. Her sister Nicky and best friend Laura arrive to help take care of her. Rachel is disturbed to be surrounded by all of Ben’s things while her son, himself, is missing. “I looked at everything, took it all in, but felt only blankness. All of it was meaningless without Ben. Without him, my home had no soul” (98).
The police have informed Rachel that she’s to be filmed at a press conference the following morning, so Laura helps Rachel pick out an appropriate dress. When Laura leaves for the evening, Nicky stays alert during the night in a futile attempt to keep Rachel calm.
The narrative now switches to Jim’s point of view as he recollects the first day of the investigation. The morning begins in a relaxed mood. Emma has stayed overnight at his apartment. Because they’re involved in a relationship, they leave for work separately to avoid gossip. When Jim arrives at headquarters, his boss, Detective Chief Investigator Corinne Fraser, puts him in charge of the Finch investigation. Jim chooses Emma to act as his family liaison officer.
Jim then goes to the interrogation room and introduces himself to Rachel. After he conducts a detailed interview, Rachel grasps his hand as if she’ll never let it go. Jim recoils from her anxiety. “If you live every emotion with them, you can’t do your job. For a moment or two, for me, Rachel Jenner had jeopardized that rule” (82). At the team briefing that afternoon, Detective Fraser announces that the department has issued a Child Rescue Alert. She wants to get the parents in front of cameras the following day to heighten public awareness of the case.
The narrative point of view switches a third time as the reader is given a glimpse of Manelli’s interview notes. She asks Jim about his relationship with Emma. He praises his girlfriend’s high expectations in life. Manelli then questions him about the impending press conference. Jim says he decided to put Rachel in front of the camera because she would appear less arrogant than John. He thought a mother’s warmth would be more appealing to the public. Manelli’s final question to Jim implies that things didn’t go quite as planned.
Chapter 2 Analysis
This chapter focuses on the theme of appearance and its ability to determine credibility. Rachel spends a good deal of time obsessing about her ex-husband’s new wife Katrina because Katrina devotes time and attention to her appearance. She always looks attractive and poised. In contrast, Rachel is less put-together and has let herself go physically. This becomes an issue because the media has now camped outside Rachel’s door. Every photo they take confirms Rachel’s impression as a wild-eyed, crazy woman.
The upcoming press conference puts even more emphasis on Rachel’s appearance. Her friend Laura tries to tell her how important her style of dress will be. Rachel dismisses much of this advice because she doesn’t yet understand that appearance matters more than truth in establishing her credibility with the public.
Jim, too, is concerned about the impression that Rachel and John will make in front of the camera. He wants the public to perceive them sympathetically. To accomplish this goal, Jim needs to manipulate their appearance to boost their appeal. He rejects John as a spokesman because of his arrogance and assumes that Rachel would be better in front of the camera because she will convey an image of warmth. He prepares a script to match the maternal image he wants Rachel to convey. Manelli hints that this attempt to manipulate perception carried unseen danger.
To a lesser extent, this segment emphasizes a motif that will recur in later chapters—Ben’s possessions. When Rachel returns home, she keenly feels the absence of her son and transfers her attention to his objects. She actually sleeps in his room so she can be surrounded by scents and sights that will keep her connected to Ben. Toys, games, and a security blanket become Rachel’s lifeline. Their physical presence convinces her that Ben is also still physically present somewhere in the world.
