The Girl On The Train

This chapter covers two days, March 7 and 8, in 2013. On the afternoon of March 7, Megan describes pillow talk about running away to beach towns with her lover in the Swan hotel room. It is later revealed that the lover is Tom, and he is talking about Rachel to Megan. He leaves the room after Megan falls asleep.

On the morning of March 8, Scott asks Megan how therapy is going and if she wants to continue. She says it’s helping and she wants to keep going. As he gets ready for work, she has mixed feelings about her affair.

This chapter covers July 19 and 20, in morning and evening sections. On the morning of July 19, Gaskill calls Rachel and asks her to come in to look at some pictures. While taking the train to the police station, Rachel thinks about the lists she made, including possibly contacting Scott again and/or trying hypnosis to recover her lost memories. Cathy is excited about Rachel’s few days of sobriety and goes to spend the weekend with her boyfriend. That evening, Rachel drinks and thinks about how she identified the man she saw Megan kissing in the police photos. She also saw Scott in the station and likes Gaskill.

The following morning, Rachel wakes up and tries to remember what she did while drunk. She sees on her laptop that she sent Tom an unkind email about Anna talking to the police about her. Rachel, mortified, thinks about when she took the baby out into Tom and Anna’s yard, and how Tom threatened her afterwards. Resisting the urge to drink, Rachel finds an email from Scott—a reply to a second email she sent while drunk. Rachel calls Scott back, and he asks her to come to the house. On the train to see him, she thinks about Megan.

This chapter looks at July 20 from Anna’s perspective. It’s her birthday, and Tom brings her breakfast in bed, as well as presents. Tom tells her that Rachel sent an email, around the time Rachel realizes she sent one. Anna sometimes wants to harm Rachel, and Anna believes she saved Tom from Rachel during their affair. While Tom bathes the baby, Anna sees Rachel walking to Scott’s house, number 15.

This chapter covers July 21 and 22, and the latter day only has a morning section. On July 21, Rachel thinks about her conversation with Scott the night before. Rachel lied about knowing Megan from the gallery but truthfully told Scott that she saw Megan kissing another man from the train. Rachel found Scott physically intimidating as she identified Megan’s therapist—Kamal—as the man she kissed.

That evening, Rachel notes that the papers have stopped reporting on Megan’s week-old disappearance. She reflects on Cathy taking her out to lunch and offering to help her become addiction-free. After Cathy goes to see her boyfriend, Rachel gets a phone call from Scott. Scott thanks her and talks about his argument with Megan the night she disappeared. He confesses he feels guilty about going to the bar instead of going after Megan, and looking for her at Tara’s place the next day.

On the morning of July 22, Rachel can’t get the news to load on her phone on the train. She sees a headline about Megan on the tablet being used by the man next to her, and he lets her borrow it so she can read the story. It says a 30-something man was arrested. Rachel gets off the train at Witney and runs to Scott’s house. She hesitates at the door, but Scott opens it and pulls her inside.

On the morning of March 21, Megan is upset about not hearing from her lover (who is later revealed as Tom). She considers calling him at home instead of just on his cell. Scott asks her to cancel her therapy session to have dinner with some friends instead. Megan refuses, despite Scott’s threatening tone and touch. She throws a coffee cup at the wall after he leaves.

That evening, Megan goes to therapy. She tries to embrace Kamal, and he says her attraction is transference. He says it has gone too far already between them. She screams at him. He holds her arms back (leaving bruises), and she kisses him, biting his lip, and he pushes her away.

Picking up in the evening of July 22, Scott pulls Rachel inside but lets her arm go quickly, and he explains there have been journalists and photographers. Rachel asks if they arrested Kamal, and Scott confirms this. Rachel then meets Scott’s mother, who escorts her to and out the door. On the street, Rachel sees Tom and Anna with the baby in a buggy.

This chapter covers the events of July 22 from Anna’s perspective. Tom takes Anna and the baby to the cafe where Anna and Tom met during their affair. On their way, they see Rachel leaving number 15, who smiles and walks away. Later that day, they hear that Megan’s therapist was arrested. Anna suggests they tell the police that Rachel was in the neighborhood the night of Megan’s disappearance, but Tom does not want to get the police involved.