The Husband's Secret

John-Paul finds Cecilia after she’s read the letter. The letter was written when Cecilia was in the hospital after having delivered their first daughter, Isabel. In the letter, John-Paul confesses to having killed Janie Crowley when he was 17. He strangled her because she’d just told him that she’d chosen another boy over him and then she’d laughed at him. John-Paul’s new parental love for Isabel makes him realize the depth of what he’s done to Ed and Rachel Crowley. He also writes that he cannot confess because of his severe claustrophobia and that to be locked up in jail would be unbearable. The murder, he explains, is also the cause of his suicide attempt at age 18. In the letter, he implores Cecilia to tell the Crowleys how sorry he is and how, now that he’s a father, he “[understands] exactly what [he’s] done” (192). He apologizes profusely to Cecilia in the letter and claims that he’s writing it because he knows she’s strong enough to handle what must be done.

Cecilia, having read the letter, is furious. She struggles to believe that it’s possible for John-Paul to have done this thing and struggles even more with what should be done about it.