The Girl Before

In the opening of Chapter 9, Emma tells Carol about “thinking about being overpowered” (198) and talks about the positive feelings about her new relationship with Edward. Carol asks “whether these are healthy choices” (198). Emma leaves after asking Carol, “if I told you [about a crime] would you have to tell the police?” (199).

After two weeks of waiting for Edward to return to One Folgate Street, Emma sends him “a selfie” (202) of her new tattoo, which she knows Edward will hate. He immediately responds that he’s “coming back to London. Angry” (202). When he returns, he says, “you deserve every bit of what you’re about to get” (203) and they have rough sex. That night, Emma gives him a letter “to explain [herself]” (203) and tells him to read it later.

Later that week, DI Clarke calls Emma back to the station. A Specialist Prosecutor, Patricia Shapton, and the Chief Superintendent, Peter Robertson, sit in the meeting with her. The prosecutor explains that they have received evidence that proves that Deon Nelson did not commit any act of sexual violence against Emma. In fact, the recording on Emma’s phone is of “a recent sexual relationship” (208) with Saul Aksoy, who is Emma’s coworker and Simon’s friend. Emma feels like her “whole world implodes” (208).

Emma cries to her lawyer as she tries to work through the implications of what has happened, including Deon Nelson’s release and the new charges against her for “attempting to pervert the course of justice and wasting police time” (210). The lawyer explains that she could possibly “reduce the sentence” (212) if she was “frightened of telling Simon” (212). She makes a statement that Simon has been violent towards her. Emma explains how she is able to make men think she is “fragile when actually [she’s] a person of iron determination” (219).

Emma doesn’t know what to do next; as she cleans the house, she finds a kitten, and walks around the neighborhood to return it. She meets a neighbor named Maggie Evans. Later that day, Emma files a complaint with the HR department against Saul Aksoy. At the closing of the chapter, Emma watches a teenager throw paint on One Folgate Street, damaging the stone exterior.

Jane gets a blood test and confirms that she is pregnant. She questions whether or not she should keep the baby, and decides that she will, but isn’t sure how to tell Edward. Jane goes to her first maternity appointment with Dr. Gifford and gets medical advice. When she gets home, she keeps thinking about “what really happened to Emma” and feels that it is now “more urgent” (206) because of her pregnancy.

Jane meets with DI Clarke at a bar and interviews him about Emma. He explains the difficulties of Emma’s case: “Young woman alleges rape, then admits lying but claims her boyfriend’s a Jekyll and Hyde character who’s violent toward her. Soon after, she’s found dead” (215). When Jane asks DI Clarke how he thinks Emma died, he says it might have been Deon Nelson. Towards the end of the conversation, he also brings up Saul Aksoy, who made the statement about Emma having a sexual relationship with him. DI Clarke also tells Jane that all of the data had been wiped from One Folgate Street from the night of Emma’s murder.

At the end of Chapter 9, Jane meets with Saul Aksoy, who is “pushy and brash and loud” (224). Saul talks about his relationship with Emma, and says “we had sex a couple of times, that’s all” and that Emma “definitely liked the fact that we were doing it behind Simon’s back” (225). During the conversation, Jane feels her “skin crawl” (225) and leaves shortly after.