In the Woods

Rob is so disgusted with his own inept performance on the Devlin case that he gets completely drunk that night. He’s troubled by strange dreams, but the morning brings clarity. He realizes that he needs to retrace his steps to the beginning: “I was the one person who beyond any doubt knew at least some of the answers, and if anything could give them back to me, it was (right back to the beginning) that wood” (368).

Armed with this conviction, he arrives at work in a buoyant mood. He buys Cassie an espresso machine as a belated Christmas present and an antique copy of Wuthering Heights as an apology gift. He asks for another week to get himself sorted out. She agrees and tells him that Jonathan’s involvement in Sandra’s rape has one silver lining. It gives them an excuse to pull the medical records on all the Devlin children.

Cassie isn’t convinced that Jonathan is their killer, but he’s definitely hiding something. Sam bursts in and insists that Jonathan is in his good books because he was able to pick Andrews’s voice out of a line-up in less than five seconds.

Sam can now charge Andrews with harassment and hold him for further questioning. He may even be able to tap his phone to see what other relevant facts emerge.

The three detectives celebrate their successes with a jubilant dinner and game of Cranium at Cassie’s flat. After Sam leaves, Cassie teaches Rob how to swing dance. Rob falls asleep that night feeling assured that everything will be all right.

Rob makes a camping trip to the woods on Saturday night. He brings a sleeping bag, a flashlight, a thermos of coffee, and sandwiches. As he enters the forest, Rob feels a sense of uneasiness. He realizes he is “an intruder here, now, and I had a deep prickling sense that my presence had instantly been marked and that the wood was watching me” (378).

He makes camp at the spot that Mark had previously used and then walks slowly through the woods. Rob doesn’t have a plan besides gathering impressions of the place. As it grows darker, he becomes nervous and thinks about leaving. Steeling himself with the thought that Mark has camped here regularly, he settles into his sleeping bag for the night. He drifts off to sleep.

Rob awakens with a start as he hears a voice asking, “What’s that?” This fuses with his memory of the day Peter and Jamie disappeared. When Jamie tells them that she’s being forced to attend boarding school, the three escape into the woods to concoct a plan to run away.

Peter pauses and asks, “What’s that?” He hears a sound like music or a voice up ahead. Jamie urges them to move forward. Rob’s memory fades as he tries desperately to keep up with the other two running ahead of him. He recalls that “somewhere across the clearing something breathed; something big” (392).

Rob snaps back to the present moment. The woods have become a frightening place, and he needs to leave. He races for his car. Too shaken to drive, he calls Cassie to come and pick him up. While he waits, he holds his gun, terrified by the night sounds emanating from the darkness. Cassie arrives on her Vespa, and they ride it back to her apartment. She prepares Rob a meal and gives him some whiskey to steady his nerves.

When she asks what happened, Rob breaks down and cries. He can’t remember anything useful and keenly feels the loss of his two friends. Once he calms down, they prepare for bed. Rob asks if he can sleep in Cassie’s room. He fears staying alone on the sofa, so they climb into bed together. Rob kisses Cassie, and she kisses him back. He confesses to himself, “I have always been a coward, but I lied: not always, there was that night, there was that one time” (399-400).

When he wakes up the following afternoon, Rob realizes his sexual encounter with Cassie was a colossal mistake. In his mind, it has completely changed their dynamic. Rob makes an excuse that he needs to retrieve his car. Cassie senses his emotional withdrawal and seems hurt but says nothing. When they say goodbye, Rob thinks, “I knew something had passed between us, something alien and slender and dangerous. We held on to each other for a moment, hard, at the door of her flat” (402).

Rob ponders what to do about the situation. In the past when he’s slept with the wrong person, he has either cut ties or started a relationship. He can’t cut ties with Cassie; she’s his partner. He’s also in no mental state to begin a romantic relationship with her. He spends the rest of the weekend in emotional turmoil.

At work on Monday morning, Rob is withdrawn and moody even though Cassie appears untroubled. The Devlin girls’ medical records distract them from their personal issues. Cassie observes that nothing in the records suggests abuse. Rob shoves the papers aside and declares that the whole investigation is pointless.

The blood sample results come in for the old bloodstain found at the crime scene and on Adam’s sneaker. The samples are too badly degraded for a DNA match. This means no connection can be made between the children’s disappearance and the Devlin case.

With every other lead dissolving, Rob calls Rosalind and asks to meet her. She cuts class and arrives at the station on Thursday. They take a walk in the garden. Rosalind is convinced Cassie doesn’t like her. Rob changes the subject and asks if Rosalind has been hurt by either her father or mother. She seems shocked by the suggestion and protests that it isn’t true.

Rob apologizes for pushing her. Rosalind says she trusts him. She slowly interlaces her fingers with his. She smiles at him, “an intimate little smile with a dare lurking in the corners” (414). When Rob resists the urge to kiss her, Rosalind leaves in a huff.

Later, Rob thinks about his behavior in the woods, with Cassie, and then with Rosalind. He excuses himself to the reader by stating that he wasn’t in his right mind: “I think it’s important to reiterate that, no matter what I may have claimed at the time, for most of Operation Vestal I was not in anything resembling a normal frame of mind” (415).