Eight Perfect Murders

Malcolm and Gwen go to a bar, Sevens, and talk about Gwen’s suspension. Malcolm tells her about the other agents that visited him. She explains that she is Steve Clifton’s daughter, but had changed her last name, and she knew Claire. Gwen also knew about the other girls her father molested because he confessed to her before he resigned from his job at the middle school and left their family. When she learned about her father’s death, she believed he deserved to be murdered for traumatizing multiple people. Gwen compares his death—being hit while on a bicycle—to the murder in The Secret History. She was taken off the case due to her conflict of interest and warns Malcolm that he is a suspect. Malcolm agrees to keep their meeting a secret and asks her to look into Nicholas Pruitt. Then, Malcolm decides to stake out Nicholas’s house himself.

The following day, Malcolm stops into the bookstore, then drives to New Essex. While he watches Nicholas’s house, Malcolm thinks about the books on his list. He sees a woman bang on Nicholas’s door and no one answers. Malcolm follows the woman to the university and sits in the back of the classroom she enters.