Never Lie

The narrative provides a transcript of the recording of EJ that Tricia is listening to in the present day, allowing the reader to “listen” along with Tricia. EJ, age 29, greets Adrienne casually. He tells her he brought her a gift—a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from South Africa (91). However, when Adrienne tells EJ that she can no longer keep treating him because his mother refuses to pay for his sessions, EJ threatens her: “You’re going to be really sorry you kicked me out of here” (95). Adrienne asks EJ to leave her house.

Tricia finishes listening to the recording of EJ, feeling uneasy. She notes that EJ was threatening Adrienne, and wonders if the police investigated EJ as a suspect after Adrienne’s disappearance. Tricia also notes, “There was something creepy about his voice. I can’t put my finger on it. Something creepy and also familiar” (96). Tricia also wonders if the South African bottle of cabernet sauvignon that EJ referenced in the recording was the same bottle Ethan found and opened earlier. Tricia wonders why Adrienne would have taken EJ back as a patient after this uncomfortable session. She goes to get the next EJ tape, wanting to listen and find out—but is interrupted by a crashing sound. Going into the living room, Tricia is horrified to realize the source of the sound: “The painting of Dr. Adrienne Hale. The one that Ethan took down and placed facing away from us. It’s back on the wall. And Dr. Hale’s green eyes are boring into me” (99).

Afraid, Tricia goes to wake up Ethan, telling him there is someone in the living room. Tricia tells Ethan that somebody moved the painting of Adrienne. Ethan replies that he moved it. Tricia is reassured. She convinces herself that the pregnancy hormones are making her anxious. She goes back to sleep.

The narrative flashes back to the past, to Adrienne’s point of view. Adrienne is on her way to a public health clinic where she volunteers, providing free mental health services. She is about to park her car when a man cuts in front of her vehicle with his and steals her parking spot. As the man walks in front of Adrienne’s car, she muses, “[A]ll I would have to do is switch my foot from the brake to the gas, and it would change his entire world. It would wipe that smirk off his face, that’s for sure. But I’m a civilized person. I will not mow down a pedestrian in the middle of a crowded parking lot” (107). Instead, Adrienne parks her car and goes into the clinic.

Inside the clinic, Adrienne speaks with Luke. Luke is a tech guy who works for the electronic-medical-records company that serves the clinic, and he clearly has a crush on Adrienne. Gloria, a receptionist at the clinic, tries to play matchmaker: Gloria says Adrienne is not safe living alone in her remote home and suggests that Luke help Adrienne by installing a home-security system for her. Luke agrees that he would be happy to help. Adrienne politely declines, saying she will “think about it” but, internally, she thinks: “I won’t think about it. I am perfectly fine the way I am” (111).

The narrative returns to Tricia in the present day. Tricia wakes up and discovers that the snowstorm has worsened overnight; she and Ethan will be stuck in the house longer. Tricia finds Ethan in the kitchen, where he is making eggs. Tricia vomits at the smell of the eggs. Tricia realizes that it is time to tell Ethan her secret—although she still hesitates, thinking, “Tell him. Just tell him, you wuss. What’s he going to do—fly into a furious rage, murder you, and bury your body in the snow?” (115). Tricia tells Ethan she is pregnant. His reaction is unexpected, as he is absolutely thrilled. Tricia is relieved and happy.

However, Tricia’s good mood evaporates when she learns that Ethan did not re-hang the portrait of Adrienne the previous night. They had a miscommunication: When Ethan told Tricia he had moved the painting, he had been referring to the initial instance earlier in the evening when he took it down from the wall. Ethan suggests that she is mistaken and did not really know what she was seeing, given that it was three in the morning and she was sleepy. Tricia starts to wonder if Ethan is right: “The more times he asks me about it, the more I wonder. It was the middle of the night. And the house is very dark. It is possible that I could have thought I saw it, like a mirage?” (118).

The book continues in the present day, from Tricia’s point of view. Ethan and Tricia are stranded, with no cell service, no landline phone, and no way to get off the property due to the snow. Ethan goes to the car to get his laptop. While he is gone, Tricia goes to the secret room and takes some more EJ tapes—the ones that were recorded after the red “final session” tape that was not a final session. She also takes the tape labeled “LUKE,” wondering if there might be some evidence on it. The police theorized that Luke killed Adrienne, although they never proved it. Tricia also takes a tape from a patient labeled GW.

The narrative provides a transcript of the recording of GW that Tricia is listening to in the present day, allowing the reader to “listen” along with Tricia. GW is Gail, “a 68-year-old widow who suffers from paranoid delusions” (123). Gail is worried that various people are trying to kill her—including the mail carrier, her pharmacist, and her son. Gail notes that her son will get a big insurance payout if she dies. Adrienne does not give Gail’s worries any credence, dismissing them as delusions. Midway through Adrienne’s session with Gail, Adrienne gets a text message and cuts the session short.

The book flashes to the past, to Adrienne’s point of view. Adrienne has just told Gail to leave because of the mysterious text message she received. The text message was from EJ. EJ has video footage of Adrienne slashing the tires of the guy who stole her spot in the public-health-clinic parking lot. Adrienne realizes that if EJ shows the police the video, her career is over; EJ is extorting Adrienne. Adrienne asks him what he wants from her. He replies, “I’m outside your front door” (128). Reluctantly, Adrienne opens the door. EJ tells Adrienne he wants to resume their therapy sessions, telling her he wants just one hour of her time every week. He says, “I won’t ask for anything else. I promise” (131). However, as he says the words, Adrienne notices a telltale sign that he’s lying—the muscle under his right eye twitches. As an aside, Adrienne describes EJ thusly: “EJ is handsome—that is undeniable, although he's on the shorter side, which gives him a bit of a Napoleon complex” (130).

The narrative provides a transcript of the recording of EJ that Tricia is listening to in the present day, allowing the reader to “listen” along with Tricia. This is EJ’s first session back with Adrienne after she tried to stop seeing him. In the conversation between EJ and Adrienne, it is revealed that EJ’s parents are rich and he is living off their money. Adrienne suggests that EJ would like to earn his own money and become independent, but he is simply waiting for his parents to die so he can inherit their wealth. The following exchange occurs:

‘My mother is a terrible driver. One of these days, she’ll probably be driving with my father in the car, and she’ll just drive right into a Mack truck and they’ll both be killed.’

‘You think your mother would drive into a truck? She’s that poor of a driver?’

‘Well, maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe the brakes would fail’ (134).

During this session with Adrienne, EJ also reveals a fantasy he has: One day, while he’s playing craps at a casino, a pretty girl comes up to him, slides a drink in his direction, and then goes up to a hotel room with him to have sex, without ever even telling him her name.

The EJ recording stops. From the recording, Tricia knows that Adrienne did not want to treat EJ; Tricia suspects that EJ was using something to extort Adrienne, but she does not know what. Ethan interrupts Tricia as he returns from his trek to the car. When Ethan asks what Tricia was doing, she lies and says she was working on her résumé—she is between jobs. Ethan points out that if Tricia is about to have a baby, it may not be the best time to job-hunt—and offers to support her financially if she wants to stay home during the pregnancy. Again, Tricia thinks how lucky she is to have such a loving husband and wonders why her friends do not like Ethan: “Whenever we talk about him, they always say, this is a red flag, or that’s a red flag. But Ethan is a genuinely good guy” (140). Tricia knows that even Ethan’s offer to support Tricia financially will be met with skepticism by Tricia’s friends, who will suggest Ethan is trying to control Tricia financially.

After Ethan leaves, Tricia is eager to continue listening to Adrienne’s tapes. Next, she picks the tape labeled “LUKE.” Tricia wonders, “Will the contents of these tapes reveal the secret of what really happened to Dr. Adrienne Hale?” (142).