What Lies in the Woods

Naomi cross-references the numbers Liv wrote down, creating a short list of missing women. Naomi investigates them and finally comes across a woman named Jessi Walker, who had a niece named Persephone. Naomi realizes that Jessi could have been wearing a bracelet with her niece’s name on it and that she could be the skeleton. Jessi went missing about two years before Naomi was attacked, which matches with the fact that her body decomposed and with the possibility that Stahl killed her during the summer when he had no known victims.

Naomi is overwhelmed by finally learning the identity of the skeleton and wants someone to confide in. She goes to Ethan’s room because “he [is] beautiful, and he [is] alive, and he ha[s] been kind to [her], and that [is] more reason than [she’s] ever needed” (137). Naomi and Ethan have sex.

Naomi decides to confide in Ethan. She tells him that she, Liv, and Cass knew about a body hidden in the woods; that Liv uncovered the identity of the body; and that now Naomi has done so as well. Naomi explains why it felt impossible for the girls to tell anyone about the body, especially after they initially kept it a secret: “Everyone kept telling us how important it was that we be believed. That our testimony was found reliable. They told us that it was up to us to keep Stahl from killing more women” (140). She also admits that she never saw Stahl but felt pressured to say that she did.

Naomi explains her theory to Ethan: Stahl killed Jessi, periodically visited the body in the woods, and attacked Naomi when he unexpectedly ran into her near where the body was hidden. Ethan agrees that the theory is plausible but points out that Naomi is biased and wants it to be true.

To learn more about Jessi, they ask Naomi’s father if he recognizes the young woman. Naomi’s father confirms that Jessi worked as a waitress at a local diner and eventually left town. He also recalls that Jessi was known to spend time with Oscar Green, Cass’s older brother.

Ethan suggests their next step is talking with Oscar, although Naomi is somewhat reluctant. Naomi wonders if Cody Benham might know something about Jessi since he was close friends with Oscar at this period. Naomi calls Cody, who confirms that he sometimes spent time with Jessi when she lived in Chester, about 25 years earlier. Jessi arrived in Chester abruptly and shared little about her background, so Cody wasn’t surprised or alarmed when Jessi suddenly left town. He is shocked when Naomi tells him that Jessi is dead and may have been one of Stahl’s victims. Cody also confirms that Jessi and Oscar had some sort of relationship, although he isn’t clear on the details.

When Naomi relays the conversation to Ethan, Ethan points out that the dates don’t line up: Cody is sure that Jessi didn’t leave Chester until at least late August, whereas Stahl spent August and September caring for his mother on the other side of the country; she would have had to vanish months earlier if Stahl was the one who killed her. Naomi is increasingly fearful that if Stahl didn’t kill Jessi and visit her body, then he also wasn’t the one who attacked her. Nonetheless, Ethan is insistent that he and Naomi keep pursuing the truth: “You caught the wrong monster twenty years ago. That means there’s another one still out there. And you’re going to find him” (155).

In light of increasing evidence that Stahl may not have been the one to attack her, Naomi begins to question whether Cass and Liv actually saw Stahl. Naomi goes to see Cass and insists that Cass share exactly what she saw during the attack. Cass describes the events, confident that she and Liv were correct. However, Naomi realizes that Cass and Liv were shown a photo of Stahl before they identified him and thus would have been strongly predisposed to confirm it was him: “His face could have imprinted itself over any genuine memories” (159).

Naomi is increasingly convinced that Stahl did not attack her and that she sent a man to prison on false grounds. She begins to wonder if Stahl was actually guilty of the other murders, so she asks Ethan more about the clues tying Stahl to these other crimes. Naomi panics: “I put a man in prison because of coincidence and gut instinct” (163). Increasingly fearful that AJ (Stahl’s son) might be seeking revenge for her false testimony against his father, she shows Ethan the letter she received.

Naomi abruptly leaves Chester since she has a contract to photograph a wedding; on her way, she receives a call from the police confirming that they found a gun belonging to Liv’s father in the pond where the body was found. The police feel assured that this confirms that Liv died by suicide, but Naomi is still unsure.

As Naomi drives back toward Seattle, another driver alerts her that a car has been following her. Naomi must board a ferry, and as she waits to drive on, she becomes frightened about being trapped on the boat with whoever is following her. Naomi gets out of her car and goes to confront the driver, but a security guard intervenes and ushers her away before she can see who was following her. Panicked, Naomi calls Ethan, explaining her fear that AJ Stahl might be stalking her. She gives him the license plate number of the other car so that he can try to trace it; at the last minute, Naomi declines to get on the ferry.

Naomi arrives back at the Seattle apartment that she shares with Mitch. She is wary, but Mitch is caring and concerned when she explains that Liv is dead. Mitch tries to reconcile, but Naomi lashes out, telling him that she recently had sex with someone else. When Mitch asks about who, Naomi mistakenly responds, “Oscar.” Mitch storms out, and Naomi reflects that Mitch’s overtures triggered traumatic memories: “[W]hen he’d touched me, all I could feel was Oscar’s hands” (183). Naomi alludes to a sexual history with Oscar, which she pursued as a way of punishing herself in the aftermath of the attack.

Naomi goes to stay in a hotel to avoid being with Mitch; after she finishes photographing the wedding, she gets a call from Ethan. Ethan tells her that the license plate from the car following her is from a rental.

Naomi hangs up and enters her hotel room only to discover a man inside the room, who lunges at her. Naomi immediately tries to defend herself; the two of them struggle, and the man runs out of the room with Naomi’s phone. Naomi considers calling the police, but she no longer trusts anyone to help her. She rushes to her car.