The Therapist

Alice searches online for Thomas Grainger, discovering he has a website advertising his investigative service and offices. Conducting more research on the murder, she learns that Nina died at 9:00 p.m., and Oliver called the police at 9:20 p.m.

Leo is due to return that evening, and Alice goes back to the house to confront him. As soon as he arrives, Alice asks who he really is. Shocked, Leo asks Alice how she found out. She lies, claiming a neighbor told her about the murder. Looking relieved, Leo explains that he kept the information from her because he loved the house and hoped they could make happy new memories there. He admits that he wanted to avoid socializing with the neighbors to prevent Alice from learning about the house’s history. Furious, Alice insists on sleeping in her study.

The next day, Alice interrogates Leo about why he bought the house. He explains that the security of the Circle was attractive, as clients sometimes pester him. Alice changes her story, claiming that a female reporter called her and told her about the murder. Alice does not know what to do. She cannot move back to Harlestone, as tenants are living in her cottage. Leo offers to return home every night if she stays at the house.

Alice wakes in her study in the night, convinced someone is in the room. She checks on Leo, who is asleep. Downstairs, she sees a white rose on the windowsill near the front door. Assuming Leo has left it there as a romantic gesture, she throws the flower in the garbage.

The next morning, Eve invites Alice for coffee. Although Alice does not know if she can forgive Leo, she feels that Nina Maxwell would have wanted her to stay. She is relieved when Eve offers to tell the other residents she did not know about the murder. Alice invites Eve, Maria, and Tamsin to lunch.

Eve, Tamsin, and Maria arrive at Alice’s home. Tamsin is nervous and admits the house makes her think of her dead friend. Tamsin describes Nina as happily married and is defensive when Alice points out that Oliver murdered his wife. She also questions Alice intently about the reporter who contacted her. However, Tamsin softens when Alice shares a photograph of her late sister. Once her guests have gone, Thomas Grainger turns up unexpectedly.

Alice allows the private investigator inside but keeps her phone at hand, aware he may not be trustworthy. Thomas warns Alice that the Circle’s residents are careless about security and should change the code on the gates. He explains he followed someone else in and could clearly see the code they entered.

Thomas explains that he gatecrashed the party, hoping to see the location of the murder. He thought it might help him prove Oliver’s innocence. His client, Helen, is an old friend and is terminally ill. Helen wants to prove her brother’s innocence before she dies. Thomas asserts that Nina was having an affair with a mystery man who was most likely the murderer. He claims that he tried to speak to the other residents at the beginning of his investigation, but they closed ranks. Thomas suggests Alice can help by feeding back any relevant information she picks up from her neighbors. Alice insists that she is not prepared to do so.

Alice believes that the spirits of the dead may linger if the individual responsible for their death has not been brought to justice. After the tragic deaths of her family, she felt her sister’s presence until the case went to court. Alice was unhappy with the outcome of the trial, but she assumes that her sister felt differently.

Searching Leo’s study for a pen, Alice finds a cash box key taped to the underside of a drawer. She tries the filing cabinets, looking for the corresponding cash box, but they are locked.

Alice goes to see Lorna, who comes to the door after a long delay. Lorna anxiously explains that Edward is out. When Alice asks about Nina, Lorna describes her as a “lovely” person, adding that Oliver was “like a son” to them (132). Nina and Oliver seemed blissfully happy until Lorna overheard them arguing one evening. The next day, Nina admitted to Lorna that Oliver had discovered she was having an affair.

Lorna claims that Oliver lied to the police about the night of the murder. He arrived home at 9:00 p.m. when she saw him go straight inside. However, Oliver told the police he sat in the square for 20 minutes before entering the house and finding his wife’s body. Before Alice leaves, Lorna hugs her and whispers something. When Alice asks her to repeat it, Lorna claims she was just saying goodbye.

Alice is almost certain that Lorna said, “Don’t trust anyone” (137). She also cannot understand why Lorna whispered when they were alone in the house. Shortly after returning home, she receives a visit from Tamsin. Tamsin criticizes Alice for upsetting Lorna, warning her she will alienate herself if she continues asking questions about the murder. Looking out the window, Alice sees Edward emerge from the garage wearing gardening clothes. She wonders if Lorna lied about being alone.

When Leo returns from work, Alice shares her theory that Nina Maxwell’s lover killed her. Leo drops his wine glass, which shatters on the floor. Suggesting that her interest in the murdered woman is unhealthy, he retreats to his study. Alice hears Leo open his filing cabinet and guesses he must carry the key around with him.

Alice spends the weekend with her best friend, Debbie, who runs a riding school in Harlestone. Debbie sympathizes with Alice’s complaints about Leo lying to her. However, she warns Alice not to become fixated on Nina Maxwell’s case. Debbie witnessed Alice’s earlier obsession with a friend’s daughter, also called Nina. Alice bought the child expensive presents until her mother politely asked her to stop. Debbie advises Nina to concentrate on making a new life in the Circle. She tells her not to be drawn into spying on the residents on behalf of a private investigator.

Alice returns to the Circle intending to make a new start, but her anger with Leo continues. She tells him to stay away during the week, and she will let him know whether to return for the weekend.

After Leo leaves on Monday morning, Tamsin comes by and apologizes to Alice for her previous hostility. Tamsin invites Alice to come over with Eve on Friday morning for coffee. Later, while gardening, Alice discovers a missing panel in the fence that borders her house and Eve’s.

In the evening, Alice goes for a walk and bumps into Eve. Eve tells Alice that Tamsin took Nina’s death particularly badly because there had been a change in their friendship before she died. Tamsin and Nina were best friends until Nina started excluding her from social gatherings. Before then, Nina had helped Tamsin with depression, although she was not her therapist.

Eve dismisses the idea that Nina’s lover could have killed her. She reveals that they all considered moving from the Circle after the murder. Tamsin was desperate to leave, but Connor refused to consider it. Lorna was also very distressed and planned to stay with her sister in Dorset, but Edward’s sudden heart attack stopped them from going. Once Oliver was arrested, the residents felt safe again.

When Alice mentions the gap in the garden fence, Eve explains that Oliver used it as a convenient way to lend Will his lawnmower. She adds that there is likely another gap on the opposite side, as Oliver mowed Lorna and Edward’s lawn. Alice begins to wonder if Eve can be trusted and if Nina was as nice as she initially believed.