What Lies in the Woods

A police officer named Bishop tells Naomi that Liv’s death is officially being declared a death by suicide. However, Bishop is convinced that Liv was murdered, suspecting that the gun was planted since it was not found until the pond was searched multiple times. Bishop tells Naomi to come to the police office the following day; Bishop makes it clear that she is suspicious of Naomi.

The next day, at the police station, Naomi is blindsided when she is questioned by an FBI agent. He expresses curiosity about some inconsistencies in the case against Stahl and questions how Naomi could be sure that she saw him. He mentions that Liv referred to lying in her suicide note and wonders what she could be lying about. Naomi shares her theory that Liv wouldn’t have taken her own life, and, surprisingly, the agent agrees: “I think it’s clear that someone murdered Olivia Barnes. And I think it’s because she was done covering up an old lie” (204). The agent posits that Oscar Green might have attacked Naomi and that she lied about it being Stahl to protect Oscar. The agent knows that Naomi and Oscar have had a sporadic relationship spanning several years. Naomi storms out, refusing to share any information.

Naomi is shaken by what the FBI agent said; while she certainly didn’t lie to protect Oscar, she wonders if someone else could have. Cass certainly would have a motive to protect her brother. Naomi runs into Cody Benham, who has come back to town to attend Liv’s funeral; Cody seems suspicious about Naomi’s new relationship with Ethan.

Naomi thinks back to the summer when she and her friends discovered the skeleton and were eventually attacked. At that time, Cody and Oscar were close friends; Oscar often taunted and harassed Naomi in sexualized ways, and Cody would sometimes intervene. One day, Oscar cornered Naomi alone and began to fondle her; Cody interrupted them and forced Oscar to stop. Cody and Oscar got into a violent fight, and Cody told Oscar never to go near Naomi again. However, a few years later, Naomi and Oscar began a sexual relationship that went on sporadically for years.

Back in the present, Naomi prepares to speak with Oscar, wondering if he could really have been the one to attack her. She can’t fully believe that both Liv and Cass would have lied to her all these years. Naomi goes to the family business where both Oscar and his father work; she briefly talks with Jim Green, who tells her that his son was indeed infatuated with Jessi Walker but that he blames Jessi for creating drama in Oscar’s life.

Naomi confronts Oscar, telling him that the FBI suspects he may have been the one to attack her. Naomi explains, “I’m giving you a heads-up. In return, I want some information” (221). She questions Oscar about Jessi; Oscar says that he and Jessi briefly hooked up but that she was involved with an older, married man and was preoccupied with this relationship. He also says that Jessi left Chester in search of a better life; he has never questioned that she simply moved away. Naomi leaves the conversation disturbed, but with no information as to whether Oscar could have hurt her or Jessi.

Naomi tells Ethan that she questioned Oscar; she also admits that she and Oscar have had sex multiple times: “Every couple years when I was in town and feeling shitty enough that Oscar seemed like an improvement” (225). Naomi has never told anyone about these encounters before. Ethan is caring and compassionate toward Naomi, although he sometimes questions why people seem to find him so trustworthy.

Cass confronts Naomi, angry that Naomi spoke with the FBI agent. When Naomi explains that the FBI is suspicious of Oscar, Cass lashes out but then concedes that she is increasingly unsure about what she saw in the woods. Naomi tells Cass that Jessi Walker is the woman who became the skeleton that they named Persephone; she also explains that she and Ethan have been working together. Cass wonders, “What makes you think you’re going to be able to find [the truth] if no one else has?” (231).

Naomi attends Liv’s funeral. Cass speaks during the service, describing Liv’s lifelong mental illness and how she thinks it is time for everyone to move forward and focus on the positive. Nonetheless, Naomi admits to herself, “I couldn’t let go. I couldn’t stop. I was going to see this through to the end, even if it destroyed me” (235).

After the funeral, Ethan comments on Cass’s speech, arguing that it sounded like Cass was preoccupied with her own and Liv’s experiences, barely caring about Naomi at all. Naomi defends Cass: “Liv and I were both falling apart, and Cass held us together with her bare hands and sheer force of will” (238). Naomi drops off Ethan and goes alone to Cass’s family home, where the Green family is hosting a gathering.

During the gathering, Cass and her father, Jim, pull Naomi aside. Jim became suspicious of Ethan and tracked down name change records that confirm that Ethan is actually Alan Stahl Junior—the son of the man Naomi’s testimony convicted. Naomi is shocked and horrified that Ethan has deceived her. Naomi admits that she has told Ethan everything about their past and that Liv may also have told him things. Cass and Naomi wonder if Ethan could have killed Liv and whether he is a threat to them. Cass urges Naomi to come to stay at her home, away from the motel, but Naomi declines.

Before Naomi leaves, Oscar confronts her. Naomi alludes to how both Oscar and Cass suffered while growing up with an abusive father since this is what Cass has always told her. Oscar denies that their father ever hurt them and says that Cass would purposefully injure herself and lie about it. After the conversation, Naomi also finds a stack of old photos—one of them is an image of Jim Green kissing Jessi Walker. Naomi realizes that the older married man Oscar described Jessi having an affair with was his own father. She wonders what this could mean about who killed Jessi: “Oscar kills her out of jealousy. Big Jim kills her out of self-preservation. Whichever one of them does it, though, he has to cover it up” (255). If Cass’s father or brother was the man who stabbed Naomi, that would also explain why Cass lied and blamed Stahl for the attack. The photo also means that Cass knew her father was in a relationship with Jessi, although it’s not clear whether she knew that Jessi was the skeleton.