Final Girls: A Novel

The news story reports that Quincy and Sam met in the wake of Lisa’s death. Quincy sees Jonah Thompson’s byline and is furious. Despite Sam’s protests, Quincy goes to Jonah’s newsroom. She confronts him, claiming that potential stalkers and killers will know where she lives. Jonah regrets this, admitting that he had overlooked that possibility. Jonah tries to tell Quincy that Sam is lying to her. Quincy shoves Jonah away, forcing him to drop a file of clippings related to Pine Cottage. Quincy vomits all over them.

Janelle wants Joe to stay through the party, though both Quincy and Joe seem concerned about his presence there. Janelle urges Quincy not to worry. She mixes a drink for Joe, which he doesn’t seem to enjoy because of its sweetness. She tries to fix the drink by adding lemon but accidentally cuts her finger. Quincy administers first aid. Joe has a foreboding reaction to the knife.

Jeff picks Quincy up from the newsroom. He and Sam have talked about letting her stay. Since Jeff needs to devote his attention to the case, Sam can keep Quincy company. They are about to have sex when Coop calls. Coop has learned about Sam and Quincy’s meeting, concerned that Quincy didn’t tell him the news herself. Quincy invites him to meet Sam.

Quincy visits Sam’s room to debrief over the day’s events. Quincy tells Sam about Coop’s visit. Sam promises to behave. Quincy will then take her wherever she wants afterwards. Sam floats the idea of going to Central Park before the meeting instead, before it gets dark. She hones in on Quincy’s anger and suggests that she can do something about it at the park.

Quincy hesitates to follow Sam into the park. They find a bench where Sam can smoke. Sam and Quincy watch a man walk up behind a woman. When the man reaches out for her, Sam runs up and attacks the man. They fight while Quincy tries to console the woman. When the man runs off, Quincy pursues him with pepper spray. The man slaps Quincy back and escapes. This triggers a memory of Pine Cottage. Bleeding, Quincy regroups with Sam and the woman before sending the latter off with cab fare.

The next morning, Quincy is surprised when Sam cleans up for their meeting with Coop. They go to the café, where Sam momentarily excuses herself to get coffee. Quincy tells Coop about the tension between Sam and Jeff, hoping he won’t notice her bruising on her fingers.

Sam bumps into the table of another café patron before reuniting with Quincy and Coop. She explains why she came to see Quincy. Coop shares that he had served as a Marine in Afghanistan. He copes with the trauma of his experience through outdoor activities, inviting Sam and Quincy to join him.

In the bathroom, Quincy tells Sam not to act too friendly because it seems suspicious. Sam senses that Quincy is attracted to Coop, but Quincy acts as though she isn’t. Before they return to their table, Sam gifts Quincy with a Montblanc pen she’d stolen from the café patron she bumped into.

Quincy worries about being perceived by Craig as a virgin. Janelle lets her wear a white silk dress to balance it out with sex appeal. She reassures Quincy’s worries about sex, trying to get her to think less about making it feel perfect. Janelle then signals her attraction to Joe, whom Quincy finds creepy. Quincy asks if sex will hurt. Janelle answers it will feel good and bad at the same time.

Reporters wait outside Quincy’s apartment, flocking to Quincy and Sam once they see them approaching. Coop tries to clear a path to the door while Sam yells expletive-laden comments at the reporters. Jonah finally explains that they are there because Lisa Milner’s death has been officially ruled as murder, not suicide.

Lisa’s toxicology report included large traces of sedatives, which the police couldn’t find among her medications. Upon closer inspection, the police found two wineglass ring stains on the dining table and realized that Lisa’s wounds were not consistent with suicide. This re-contextualizes her 911 call, as well as her email to Quincy, as an attempt to report the killer.

Coop, Quincy, and Sam speak to Nancy, the state trooper who supported Lisa through her survivorship, about the forensic discoveries. Coop does not think that Lisa’s death has anything to do with being a Final Girl, which forces Quincy to reveal the email she’d received before Lisa died. Coop is upset because it could have helped with the investigation. He references a threatening letter that Quincy had received two years ago. Without any further evidence as to who might be threatening them, the group reaches a dead end in the discussion, upsetting both Quincy and Sam. Coop consoles them one at a time. Seeing Coop embrace Sam, Quincy takes a Xanax and bakes to calm down.

Coop reassures Quincy that he will look after her. Jeff arrives and thanks Coop for being part of Quincy’s support system.

That night, Jeff and Quincy watch the 1945 noir film Leave Her to Heaven, followed by a news report related to Jeff’s case. Jeff senses that Quincy must be angry and tries to distract her by announcing he will return to Chicago to interview a new witness. Quincy points out that Jeff will likely lose the case and asks him if he thinks his client is guilty of killing a police detective. Jeff maintains the defendant’s right to prove his innocence. Thinking of the killers the Final Girls faced, Quincy challenges Jeff’s ideals.

Later that night, Quincy sees Sam stuffing paperback books into a purse. Sam indicates that she wants to use the purse as baits for assailants. They leave for Central Park.

Quincy and Sam wait for someone to attack them. Sam confronts Quincy about Lisa’s email, worrying about the danger they’re in. They plan around using the bait to draw someone to Quincy.

Quincy bumps into a man who asks her for money. Quincy accuses him of threatening her, which scares the man away. She catches the man calling her a “cold bitch,” which provokes her into antagonizing him. She shoves the man over and over, forcing him to drop to his knees. He retrieves a pocketknife that has fallen from his person. Quincy intensifies her assault, remembering the Pine Cottage killer and saying her dead friends’ names with every strike. Sam stops Quincy’s assault when the man is no longer conscious.

Quincy worries that the man she attacked is dead. When Quincy realizes that Sam had been watching their fight the whole time, she gets mad at Sam. Sam explains that she didn’t think Quincy needed any help. She discourages Quincy from calling 911 because she can’t argue that she was acting in self-defense.

Back at the apartment, Quincy realizes the assault brought back another repressed memory of Pine Cottage. Sam comes to take Quincy’s soiled clothes, indicating that she knows what to do with them. This remark, along with her calm behavior, bothers Quincy. Quincy then realizes that they had left the purse in Central Park.

Sam does not think the purse will incriminate them. Quincy returns to the park to retrieve it. The purse and the man are gone now that the location has been sealed off with police tape. A bystander indicates that the man Quincy beat up is in a coma.

Quincy returns home to a concerned Jeff. Quincy pretends that she had gone for a run and reassures Jeff that she would tell him if something were wrong. Later, Quincy uses the stolen Montblanc pen to write the word “survivor” on her wrist, mimicking Sam’s tattoo. While baking, Sam reiterates that they shouldn’t tell anyone what they did, including Coop. Quincy realizes that Coop won’t approve of the real her.

A police detective named Carmen Hernandez calls Quincy to ask her to come to the police station to answer questions about an assault in Central Park. Quincy accepts the invitation and breaks down.