Two Can Keep a Secret

Malcolm wakes from a bad dream; in it, he and Mia are watching coverage of Lacey’s funeral, talking about how the killer might have been there in the room with them. It’s close to three o’clock in the morning, and he hears someone going downstairs—most likely Katrin—and decides to follow. Katrin heads toward the school, and Malcolm follows, texting Ellery as he does so. Malcolm records Katrin as she hangs up a threatening sign at the high school; he sends the video to Ellery, and they decide it’s time to take what they have to the police.

In the morning, they take the car repair receipt to Officer Rodriguez. Ellery has told Malcolm about the possibility that Rodriguez is her brother, and Rodriguez agrees to treat the receipt as an anonymous tip and look into it. He’s less ready to pursue Katrin as a suspect, and he encourages them both to stay clear, as they are possibly tipping off the culprit, putting both themselves and the investigation in danger.

Ellery agrees to leave it alone and asks Rodriguez about his relationship to Lacey. Rodriguez says he was impressed by how much she cared about others; her murder is part of the reason he became a cop. Just then, he gets a text that alarms him, and he tells Ellery to go home and stay there while he rushes out the door.

Ellery is sitting at home thinking about everything that’s happened when she decides to send the photo of Rodriguez’s father to her mother in an email. She’s antsy, so she decides to walk to Fright Farm. When she arrives, she encounters Officer McNulty, who tells her repeatedly to go home.

Running into McNulty makes Ellery realize that his family, and Liz in particular, has a grudge against everyone involved in Lacey’s death, and now in Brooke’s disappearance. She begins to believe Liz may be involved, and she’s ready to text Officer Rodriguez about her new theory when Nana finds her. She’s worried sick, and not just because Ellery disappeared so early in the day: Brooke’s body has been found in the woods near the Canadian border.

Malcolm’s mother is trying to get the kids to go to school, and Katrin is insisting on staying home. She says her father, who is out of town, would understand. Malcolm wants to get away from Katrin, since she’s likely behind at least some of the ugly incidents that have happened. As he’s leaving, Katrin hints that she knows he followed her the night before.

Malcolm arrives at school early, and he dozes off in the parking lot. He is woken by Kyle and Theo, who start to beat him up before Declan arrives to stop them. Declan knocks out Kyle and scares off Theo, and then he and Malcolm drive away. They stop at a corner store, where Declan buys frozen peas for Malcolm’s black eye, and then head to Declan’s apartment. While there, they see a news report about the discovery of Brooke’s body.

Malcolm is with the twins and Nana, watching the news coverage. Ellery regrets not pressing Brooke harder the last time they were together; she feels as though she could have changed things if she had known what was going on.

Sadie calls, and Ellery confronts her about Officer Rodriguez’s father. Sadie admits she was filled with regret over sleeping with a married man, so she told the twins their father was a stuntman whom she had also slept with around the same time; she “wanted that to be true, and so […] I convinced myself that it was’” (276). Then, when Ellery mentioned Officer Rodriguez, the possibility rattled her, so she told a lie.

While she is arguing with her mother, Officer Rodriguez arrives, and she gives the phone to Ezra. Ellery tells Rodriguez her new theory—that Liz, Kyle, and Katrin were working together on everything. Rodriguez grows frustrated, telling Ellery that not only do Liz and Kyle have alibis but that the police has run down every possible lead that Ellery has thought of already. He also tells Malcolm that he should stay with friends for a few days but won’t tell him why. Rodriguez is determined to keep the kids out of it, and there’s clearly something happening that they aren’t aware of.