The Likeness

Rafe reappears the next day in the library still drunk, and Justin, Abby, and Daniel express how worried everyone had been about him. Abby speaks to him coldly, so Rafe curses at Abby and another group shushes them. Cassie pulls Rafe over to sit with her and talk, which inspires Rafe to get sentimental about leaving her and starts to touch her in an intimate way. The other group calls the security guard over, and he asks Cassie if Rafe is harassing her, but Cassie tells the security guard he is her husband and she used to have a restraining order, but she has now changed her mind and wants to go have sex with him, which makes Rafe laugh. Daniel leads Rafe aggressively out of the library, and the rest of the roommates follow them.

The group decides to leave the college early and paint the sitting room, and everyone is in better spirits after completing the task. Rafe apologizes to the group for his behavior and says he left because was very angry about Naylor getting off without any repercussions. Rafe postulates that Ned paid Naylor to attack the house, and at the mention of the name the group goes silent. Cassie figures out that Ned must be Slow Eddie and also that Ned must also be the “N” in Lexie’s journal. Rafe suggests inviting Ned over for dinner so he can see that the house is being taken care of, but the rest of the group refuses. They all discuss how Ned wanted to convert the house to luxury apartments, and Daniel sharply denies that Ned truly loves the house. The conversation goes silent, and Cassie wants to say something but can’t contribute to the conversation without giving away her identity as “[t]hat dark electric cloud had come down over the room again” (302). The subject of Ned is disturbing to the roommates, but Cassie cannot figure out why. Cassie thinks Lexie met with Ned three or more times based on the journal calendar, but she is still confused as to why and why Ned is such a taboo topic in the house.

Cassie speaks to Frank, and he says Naylor is still missing, and he does not buy Rafe’s idea about Slow Eddie paying Naylor for the attack. Frank tells her Daniel had split the ownership of the house equally between the five roommates, and Cassie, taken aback by the bold move, thinks about “the passion of trust it would take, to put your future where your mouth was, no half measures, scoop up all your tomorrows and put them so deliberately, so simply in the hands of the people you love best” (304). The news destroys the antique underground theory because selling her portion of the house to Ned would have been far more lucrative and faster than selling trinkets one at a time. The timing of the meetings and Lexie discovering she was pregnant also supports Cassie’s theory that Lexie was planning on leaving. Cassie withholds her theory from Frank, and he knows she is keeping information from him. Frank says the new information establishes a clear motive for murder by one of the roommates, but Cassie is defensive of them and angry that Frank still sees them as suspects. He reminds her to stay objective and watch her back, but Cassie cannot see how anyone in the house would murder another friend because they all love each other deeply.

Walking home, Cassie realizes she has missed a key detail. Lexie’s nightly walks were the only time she was alone, so it must have been the time she used to contact Ned and they were leaving each other paper messages in a secret drop location between town and Whitethorn. Cassie finds an antique cigarette tin from Whitethorn hidden near the stone sign marking the establishment of Glenskehy with a note inside from Ned telling Lexie he is still interested in their agreement. Cassie burns the note and replaces it with one of her own asking to meet on Thursday.

Cassie goes to the cottage for the meeting with Ned, and being back in the place Lexie died unnerves her. Cassie observes Ned is a generic carbon copy of every man in the city physically, he is dense and dim witted, and Cassie hopes Lexie was not involved with him sexually. Ned is frustrated she has not contacted him, and Cassie reminds him that she was stabbed and was in a coma. Ned was questioned about the incident, but he claims he was not involved and didn’t appreciate being questioned about it. She tells him he will have to remind her of the terms on which they had agreed because she has amnesia from the stabbing. He states they were at one hundred, and Cassie still is unsure of the significance of the number. Ned says Lexie had countered at two hundred, and now Cassie understands him to mean hundreds of thousands of dollars. The details crystalize, and Cassie realizes Lexie was not bargaining for abortion money but instead for enough money to escape and raise her child. Ned says two hundred is his final offer, as he still must negotiate with two other roommates to own a majority of the property. He cannot understand why they love the old, decrepit house so much, and he plans to turn it into a spa hotel or golf club, whatever will be most profitable. Cassie decides that “[w]hat had him salivating wasn’t the house but the thought of wrecking it, the chance to rip its throat out, scrape its ribs hollow and lick up every last taste of blood” (315). Cassie tells him she needs more time to think, and they agree to talk later though Lexie’s personality and choices continue to confound Cassie.

Abby rushes out to meet Cassie as she returns to Whitethorn. The roommates have decided to have a party and get drunk to shake off all the stress of the last few weeks, so Rafe makes a strong punch, and they spend the night drinking, dancing, and laughing. The revelry and camaraderie make Cassie wish she could take off the wire and be rid of Frank forever. The more Daniel drinks, the more philosophical he becomes, and he goes into a long speech about Henry V, monarchies, and war. Daniel believes modern governments are not that different from kings and that the only difference is the kings of old went into battle with their subjects and modern leaders are not willing to make that sacrifice. Cassie, drunk, thinks Daniel is more handsome when he drinks, and the two wind up alone in the garden kissing. Just as Cassie and Daniel are getting closer, she remembers her wire and her relationship to Sam and stops the physical progression. There is a crashing noise and Rafe and Justin emerge from inside in an argument. Abby has passed out asleep in the grass, and Daniel tenderly checks on her before going to deal with Rafe and Justin. Realizing she is very drunk, Cassie pauses a moment on the garden bench to gather herself but passes out asleep and awakens at dawn to the house in a disaster. The broken glass on the piano and the gash in the wall indicates that someone has thrown something against the wall in a rage, but she quietly goes to her room and goes to sleep.