Lock Every Door: A Novel

Greta stops at Jules’s apartment to thank her for her help during the fire and invite her to lunch. Jules guesses that Greta is lonely and accompanies her to a nearby restaurant. Over lunch, Greta agrees to answer Jules’s questions. She confirms some stories about the Bartholomew, including those about servants’ deaths during the 1918 influenza epidemic and Dr. Bartholomew’s death by suicide.

Greta asks about Jules’s response to the smoke during the fire, and Jules confides about her parents’ deaths. When her mother was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, her father couldn’t provide for the family and care for his sick wife. He committed arson, burning down the house and killing them both. Jules’s father left her his car, three keys, and two insurance policies. Greta expresses sympathy for Jules’s story and recommends she look for Ingrid at the local shelters.

Jules looks for Ingrid at the YMCA, where she meets a woman named Bobbie who promises to keep her eye out for Ingrid.

Andrew is in the lobby when Jules returns to the Bartholomew. He tries to apologize to Jules, then asks her for rent money. Nick appears, and Jules kisses him to deter Andrew. They go to Nick’s apartment, where Nick asks about Jules’s search for Ingrid. Jules considers telling him about Ingrid’s gun and note, but doesn’t. Nick promises to help her again if Andrew returns. Jules returns to her apartment, happy.

Jules returns to the Bartholomew after checking the local hospitals for Ingrid. In the lobby, Charlie gives her a bouquet of flowers from Marianne in thanks for saving Rufus. Jules asks Charlie about Ingrid, but he corroborates Leslie’s story that he was in the basement when Ingrid left. However, he encourages Jules’s efforts.

Jules knocks on Marianne’s door to thank her for the flowers. She asks Marianne about Ingrid, but Marianne doesn’t have any information. When Jules gets pushy, Marianne tells Jules to “stop asking questions” (190). Leslie overhears the conversation and reprimands Jules for bothering the tenants.

Nick agrees to help Jules search Ingrid’s apartment. In 12A, he lowers Jules into 11A on the dumbwaiter. The only thing Jules finds is Ingrid’s copy of Heart of a Dreamer with a personalized note from Greta in the front cover. Nick texts her that Leslie is coming and Jules ducks under the bed.

Jules lies under the bed listening to Leslie give the prospective new sitter a tour. After they leave, Jules exits through the door and meets Nick back in his apartment. They kiss and have sex.

Jules continues her story to Dr. Wagner, trying to stay calm so he takes her seriously. She admits believing several people were recently murdered at the Bartholomew.

Jules wakes up in Nick’s bed and hurries back to her apartment. She doesn’t want Leslie to find out she spent the night away from 12A. Nick urges her to stay, asking what she found in 11A. Jules insists they’ll talk later and leaves. Back in 12A, she accidentally drops her keys down the grate. She unscrews it and digs around, discovering someone’s phone inside, too. The phone’s background image is a picture of Erica Mitchell, the same woman on the missing poster she saw by the grocery store.

Jules brings a missing poster back to 12A and studies Erica’s photo. She calls the number on the flier and Dylan picks up. When she mentions Erica, he hangs up. Via text, they agree to meet at the Museum of Natural History to talk in private.

Jules meets Dylan, who reveals that he and Erica were dating before she disappeared. Neither he nor Erica have family and both needed the money from the sitting job. Jules and Dylan realize the similarities between their stories. Dylan says that another apartment sitter disappeared last year and theorizes that there’s a serial killer in the building. Jules and Dylan make a plan. Jules hires Zeke to hack into Erica’s phone, though she can’t afford the fee.

Jules and Dylan find a private spot to scroll through Erica’s information after Zeke hacks the phone. They find a series of worried messages from her friends and a video of Erica sitting alone in fear and panicking when an intruder enters her apartment.

Jules repeatedly watches Erica’s video to determine who entered her apartment. Greta comes for a visit, interrupting her. Greta starts reminiscing about when she lived in 12A. She and Jules discuss Heart of a Dreamer, the strange wallpaper, and Greta’s relationship with Erica. Greta says she didn’t really know Erica, but after Greta leaves, Jules recalls Erica’s signed copy of Heart of a Dreamer.

Jules doesn’t think Greta is being honest with her. After she leaves, Jules reviews Erica’s messages, reads more articles about the Bartholomew, and texts Ingrid again. Ingrid finally responds, saying she went to Pennsylvania for a waitressing job. Suspicious, Jules asks Ingrid what Jules’s nickname is. Ingrid’s answer convinces Jules that someone other than Ingrid is texting her, likely Nick, the only one who knows that Jules is not a nickname, but her given name.

Nick knocks on Jules’s door. When she doesn’t answer, he stands outside, giving a lengthy apology for the night before. He leaves.

Jules goes to the park, unsure what to do. She texts Chloe that she might be in danger, but Chloe doesn’t have service. Jules tries Dylan next, but he doesn’t respond either. Back in 12A, Jules sits with Erica’s phone and Ingrid’s gun, watching the wallpaper.

Dr. Wagner questions Jules’s theory about the murders. Bernard and the nurse enter. Their odd behavior makes Jules realize she’s in danger. She begs to call Chloe, but Bernard and the nurse sedate her.