The Lake House

After finishing speaking with Nancy, Sadie rejoins the others by the stream. Clive is still there. He says he couldn’t leave until he found out what Nancy had to say. Sadie informs them all that Nancy received a call from the new owners of Maggie’s flat. They told Nancy they found some words written in pen behind a table that read “It was him” (426). Sadie tells the others about Steve, Maggie’s ex-husband, how he and his new wife have been taking care of Caitlyn since Maggie went missing. Sadie remembers something Clive said earlier about how the guilty typically behave—they either steer clear of all police or they are overly helpful and cooperative. She also remembers a slight semantic mistake Steve made about Maggie writing notes, which reignites Sadie’s belief that Steve was behind Maggie’s disappearance all along. With Bertie’s encouragement, Sadie dials the superintendent at the Met.

The others go back to the village but Sadie remains behind. When she called her boss, she admitted to being the leak and revealed that she had new information about the case. This made him furious. However, she had threatened him, saying that if he wouldn’t follow up with her new lead, she would be tempted to go back to the press.