Look Closer

This chapter begins on May 13, months before Halloween. Simon chats in his office at the law school with his friend and colleague, Anshuman Bindra. Anshu gently chastises Simon for not playing the part of a law professor by dressing and speaking more formally. Simon is planning to apply for a full professor position, but so is his rival, the wealthy Reid Southern. Anshu’s warnings prove to be true when the associate dean, Martin Comstock, calls Simon into his office. Comstock warns Simon against applying for the professorship because Reid will also be applying, and his wealthy father is a major donor to the law school.

Frustrated, Simon leaves the meeting to get his hair cut and sees a beautiful blonde woman walking by him on the street. He recognizes her immediately as Lauren Lemoyne—the woman who, years ago, had an affair with his father that led to his mother’s suicide, though this backstory is not revealed at this point in the narrative. He follows her for a while in shock, debating whether to greet her. When she enters a building and speaks to a doorman, he catches her married name: Betancourt. He looks her up on Facebook and sees that she lives in Grace Village, only a city over from his home. He tries and fails to stop thinking about her but does not reveal how he knows her.

This chapter is an entry in Simon’s diary, dated July 4. Simon is excited because he orchestrated a meeting with Lauren at the country club Fourth of July party. He pretends to be surprised to run into her, and they chat briefly about their lives and marriages. Lauren agrees to meet him the next week for coffee. Simon confesses to his diary that he gave up writing because he was in a loveless marriage and had nothing to write about, but now that he’s met Lauren he will begin again.

Simon parks outside Lauren’s house and observes the comings and goings of its inhabitants. He notices that Lauren exercises a lot and that her husband, Conrad, is often gone. He admits that what he is doing is questionable and that Lauren would be disturbed if she saw him outside but feels unable to stop himself.

Vicky, who works at a domestic violence shelter, is waiting in the emergency room to meet with a client. While she waits, she accepts a FaceTime call from her deceased sister’s daughters, Macy and Mariah. She has a close and loving relationship with them and with their father. After the call, she meets with her client and tries to convince her to come spend the night in the shelter, away from her abusive husband. However, she knows that nothing will work unless the woman decides to fight for herself and leave the marriage.

Simon’s diary recounts his coffee with Lauren. They have a long and intimate conversation, during which he confesses that he loves Vicky but is no longer in love with her. Lauren tells him that her marriage is on the rocks as well. At the end of the meeting, Lauren kisses him. They agree to see each other again.

Vicky meets with Roger “Rambo” Rampkin, a former cop who now works as a private investigator. When Vicky was a sex worker, Rambo was one of her clients, but their relationship now is cordial and professional. She has hired him to do a background check on the name she is using: Vicky Lanier. This is not her real name, but her first name is Vicky. Rambo asks her why she doesn’t choose a different alias, and she reminds him that she has her first name tattooed on her ankle and needs to stick close to the truth. He reassures her that Vicky Lanier is still a clean alias. The real Vicky Lanier disappeared from West Virginia at age 17 and has not been seen again.

Simon meets Vicky for lunch near the law school and reminisces about how they met shortly after her sister Monica’s suicide. Vicky was angry but the two of them found healing together. He tells her about his run in with the dean and she encourages him to negotiate and not back down. She also hints that he has “options,” but he sternly tells her no and to leave it be.

Simon writes in his diary that he is guilty of betraying Vicky’s trust. Lauren is in Paris for a two-week trip, and he resolves to end things once she returns.

It is the day after Halloween. Sergeant Jane Burke of the Grace Village Police Department is investigating Lauren’s death. It is her first homicide and, as far as she knows, the first homicide ever in Grace Village. She and her partner, Andy Tate, reconstruct the crime scene over the phone for the chief of police, who is out of town on a work trip. Jane believes that the perpetrator waited outside for a while then kicked at the door until Lauren opened it. From this clue, it seems likely that Lauren knew the perpetrator. Once inside, the suspect killed Lauren by hanging her from the railing after a brief struggle. There was no robbery or other obvious motive, so Jane concludes that the killer came with the intent to murder Lauren and that this crime was very personal.

In August, Simon writes in his diary that he came to see Lauren and end their affair. She agreed and said that his morals made him a good man. The two then wound up having passionate sex, and Simon admits that neither of them can stop.

Simon goes for his morning run—five miles at five o’clock in the morning, just like his mother always did. While running, he remembers a childhood bully named Mitchell Kitchens who used to torture him after school every day. He also thinks about his mother and her distinguished law career.

After his run, he goes to Wisconsin and purchases two burner phones—one pink and one green—at two different stores, paying cash each time. He lies to the clerks at each store, telling them the phones are for his child.

After Simon leaves, Vicky gets up and goes through his drawers to find his passwords. She sees family photos of Simon’s mother and remembers the stories he told her about Glory, who was a feisty and independent woman as well as a loving mother. She logs into Simon’s trust account that was left to him by his father. The account has over $20 million inside. Vicky looks through profiles of financial advisors, lingering on Christian Newsome, who is young and handsome. She begins calling to make appointments.

In his diary, Simon recounts more details of his affair. He meets Lauren at her condominium where they have sex several times. He also gives her the burner phone so they can communicate.

Vicky meets with Christian Newsome and tells him that she is about to come into money and is looking for someone to help her invest it. She explains that Simon’s father set up a trust that could be accessed after 10 years of marriage. Before that, Vicky could not access any money in the trust, nor could any money from the trust be spent on her. She asks Christian if there is a way to spend the money without Simon knowing. The question is a test that the other advisors failed, but Christian tells her that yes, he can make it happen.

Simon sits in the lobby of the building that used to be his father’s office, Chicago Trust & Title. He texts Lauren on the burner phone, and they flirt. Later that day, he texts her at night from the alley by a Mediterranean restaurant. They agree to text at 10 o’clock in the morning and eight o’clock at night, and to leave their phones off the rest of the time.

After Halloween, Jane continues the investigation into Lauren’s murder. Her partner tells her that a little girl across the street saw a man in a Grim Reaper costume standing outside the Betancourt home the night of the murder. They also discover a hot pink burner phone hidden under a table in the foyer that Andy believes is evidence of an affair.

In August, the dean calls a meeting with Simon. Since Simon hasn’t withdrawn his application, the dean vaguely alludes to an incident that occurred 12 years ago in Simon’s past. He says it would be a shame if everyone at the law school learned of it, and that it can stay conveniently hidden if Simon doesn’t apply for full professor.

Vicky returns from work to find Simon drunk on the porch. He tells her what the dean said and reveals that the incident was his father’s murder, of which he was accused but for which he was never tried. Vicky decides to take matters into her own hands and calls Rambo to ask him to help her investigate someone. She knows she is leaving in November and wants Simon to have one less thing to worry about.

On the way to teach his class, Simon thinks about Mitchell Kitchens again. He also thinks about the accusations against him regarding his father’s murder. Simon would have had to drive all night to commit the murder and then return with no sleep to take a law school final. One of the investigators claims it would have been the perfect alibi, and Simon remembers that he made an A. At the end of the day, he texts Lauren again and thinks that their affair is the only thing going well for him.

Writing in his diary, Simon thinks about the thrill of his affair. He also worries that it is a self-destructive impulse, like drug use, and will end with him destroying himself.