The Girl on the Train (2015), a Psychological Thriller by Paula Hawkins: a Summary

I received two fiction books as a Christmas gift from a best friend last year and this thriller is one of them. The 475-page book was printed by Riverhead Book, New York in 2015. Paula Hawkins is a British author. She is a former financial journalist before turning to be a novelist and this novel is her first thriller.

The story follows Rachel, a commuter and a depressed woman, who cracks the real killer of a murdered woman. The book portrays love, betrayal, loss, bitterness, hopeless, crime, mystery, and thriller. The book contains a lot of drama and twists. The mystery element of the book begins halfway, but keeps the reader guessing till the very end. While it is told primarily from Rachel’s perspective, there are some parts which are told from alternating perspectives – Anna and Megan. The thriller already was in cinema in October 2016, but unfortunately I don’t see it yet.

I am huge fan of the optimistic characters and it’s hardly to find them in this book. But since this thriller has some twists, it still is interesting one. The novel is simplistic and easy to understand.

The Girl on the Train (2015), a Psychological Thriller by Paula Hawkins: a Summary

She was no in hurry to get in London in the morning, and she also was no in hurry to get back to Ashbury. Rachel was one of the commuters of London. There were familiar faces on that train, people she saw every week, going to and fro. They probably recognized each other.

The train crawled along, it juddered past ware-houses, water towers, bridges, and sheds, past modest Victorian houses. She knew a house by heart- the brick, that the color of the curtains in the upstairs bedroom, that there was four tiles missing from the section, and that the paint was peeling off the bathroom window frame. The house was much like the other houses along the stretch of the track. She knew it and the occupants of the house. Passengers whipped past Jason and Jess’s place, the train passed in a blur of evening sunshine. They were a perfect couple, golden couple. In her imagination, she named him Jason and the young woman Jesse.

In Ashbury she was not a homeowner, not even a tenant but a lodger who occupied small bedroom in Cathy’s flat. Cathy and Rachel were friends at university. It’s hard to call as a close friend. Rachel never lied by herself, she had gone from parents to flatmates to Tom and it was nearly two years. In Cathy’s flat she felt always like a guest at very outer limit of her welcome. Damien, Cathy’s boyfriend, sometimes stayed.

Megan Hipwell

It was her idea to volunteer as a childminder for the Watsons, the family down the road, the fifty yards along Bleinheim Road to her house. Scott encouraged his wife, he thought spending time around baby will make her broody. In fact, it was exactly the opposite, she didn’t like the baby smell on her. Her job was to watch the child while Anna rested. She quit. Megan just couldn’t be just a wife- waiting for a man to come home and love you.

She had been talking to Dr. Kamal Abdic, therapist, about her husband Scott, all about all the things she had done wrong, her failure as a wife. Kamal said she had to find a way of making herself happiness. She had told all about Ben, her death brother, the whole truth what happened with Mac, the before after. After her brother’s funeral, she ran off from home before her sixteenth birthday, she worked in a pub, then she met Mac.

Her wilderness seemed to have been exacerbated by the death of her brother, Ben, to whom she was very close. He was killed in a motorcycle accident when he was nineteen and she was fifteen. She ran away from home after the funeral. Her relationship with her parents completely broke down, and both her parents died years ago. She moved to a boyfriend older than her, and he was into drugs. She was really happy with Mac, it was three years.

They had a fight, but it was the first time Mac had just gone off and left her. Their baby was just a few months old. She was drinking to warm up, so she decided to get bath. She took the baby on her chest in a tub, felt sleep. The baby died. He didn’t say a word. He wasn’t angry with her, but he left. It was the last time he saw Mac. 

At twenty four worked as a waitress in a restaurant there she met an independent IT contractor. Scott was a self-employed IT consultant. Megan and Scott had been married for three years but now Megan wasn’t happy too, her husband was too possessive.

It’s safe with Kamal – all her dark pasts and secrets, he couldn’t tell anyone because of patient confidentiality. She betrayed Scott and now she tried to seduce her therapist. But Kamal didn’t wanted lose his job and he asked her to go home for her husband. She didn’t want to go home she couldn’t explain the bruises on her arms.

Anna Watson (the current Mrs. Watson)

Everybody told her it was insane to agree to move in Tom’s house, to get involve with a married man. She should let alone a married man whose wife was highly unstable. She was bored and hopeless with her baby. She was just hanging round the house. The fact, she saw Rachel there the night Megan was missing, and stumbling around. She had spoken to the detectives but they say there was no connection between Rachel and Megan. She was lonely and a bit desperate. Anna learned from paper and she was shock to know Megan was child killer. She had entrusted her daughter to her.

Rachel Watson

Rachel still couldn’t move on, she expected Tom Watson to call her. She still remembered their good time but also hard to forget the bad day when she found a message on her husband’s laptop. It was Anna Boyd, an estate agent, Tom was in love with her in. The bitterness and hatred flooded her.

She saw Megan was kissed by another man, she was quite sure it wasn’t Jason.  She blamed Jesse like blaming Anna. Rachel was obsessing that morning about Jess and Jason, about what she had done.

She was drunk even in public place. She hardly remembered the name of single public relation firms, she had no longer working for Huntingdon Whitely. Her plan went to public library. She was just thinking what did feel like, Anna, to live in her house, surrounded by the furniture she bought, to sleep in the bed that Rachel shared with Tom for years, to feed her child at that kitchen.

Rachel loved the house, they couldn’t find a buyer at a decent price when they divorced. The pain was solid and heavy. She spent all day in her bedroom, waiting for Cathy to go out that she could have a drink. She was drunk, she didn’t remember but she planned go to see Jason, she wanted talk about Jesse’s betrayal. She wasn’t sure, Scott didn’t even know her. He was on the station, went to Bleinheim Road. She’d bitten on her check and there was blood on her tongue. She remembered a man there talked to her, but couldn’t find in the black. She also heard Anna called her name, but she was too drunk, hardly distinguished it was real or just a dream.

Cathy was still furious to find the vomit that Rachel made on the stairs. Cathy had warned her to find a place and left her flat. Rachel was depressed and really expected Tom’s call, but Cathy called her back just she was leaving the flat.

Rachel learned a headline in library, a missing woman. It looked like her, first time she finally found Jesse was Megan Hipwell, a twenty nine-year-old woman. Megan had been gone then sixty hours, and the story is becoming national news. A neighbor reported hearing raised voices, Megan and Scott Hipwell had argued the evening before missing. Scott admitted it and he believed his wife had gone spend the night with a friend, Tara Epstein. Megan never got to Tara’s house. She said the last time she saw Megan was at their Pilates class. She was in a good mood, fine, and normal. Megan had no family in the area, both parents were deceased. She was unemployed.

Rachel analyzed and wrote down a list of most likely possible explanations for the disappearance of Megan Hipwell. Her top list was Megan has run off with her boy friend, and possibly harmed her. It was Dr. Kamal Abdic, the therapist, on her list.

Anna Watson has reported that Rachel was in the neighborhood while the evening Megan has gone. Rachel had lied to the police, she admitted that she was there to meet her husband. Anna said she was acting strangely, and she considered called the police. She hardly remembered, she was drunk heavily, but there was blood on her hand. The police thought she was just a rubbernecker, a stalker, a nutcase, and mentally unstable. Meeting and helping Scott was not her sole reason for going to police but the lie about her working for Hunting Whitely. Detective Inspector Gaskill and Detective Sergeant Riley were not impressed with her tale. They just wondered Rachel has lied about her job. She was fired,  she had no longer work for Huntingdon Whiteley. Her flatmates, Cathy, didn’t know that she had lost her job, she went to London, as usual, went to library, to job hunt, to work on her CV.

No doctor has been able to explain to her why she couldn’t pregnant. Rachel was young, fit, she wasn’t drinking heavily when they trying. Her husband’s sperm was normal. She was desperate for being barren. She felt isolated in her misery, became lonely. No one likes being around the drunk, she got lonelier. She couldn’t blame all that for her drinkings- her parents, her childhood, an abusive uncle, or some terrible tragedies.

Detective Gaskill received another report again from Anna Watson. She accused Rachel had bothered her family, had come to the house uninvited. She explained to the police that she never broke her ex-husband house. There was a spare key, she just wanted to talk to Tom. Anna was sleeping on the sofa, the baby was in the carry-cot and was crying, screaming. She could hear the baby crying from the street and that’s why she came to the house. She picked her up to quieten her. Rachel still used her husband last name and kept wearing the wedding band. The police examined Rachel refused to accept her ex had a new family. The detectives suspected she attacked Megan Hipwell, but they found the two woman had no relation. Gaskill didn’t believe when Anna told him that Megan was having an affair. The man was slighter, thinner, darker skin, and possibly Asian.

Rachel investigated Scott’s job. She Googled all about him, and emailed him. She lied to him. She introduced herself as Megan’s friend from the Gallery. After a few mails then they met. It was in the living room like the déjà vu, she recognized all the corner of the room.  She took the train into London from Ashbury every day. She went right past there, she saw a man kissed her. Scott admitted he was at a conference. Finally, she told him she was Tom-ex wife.

A man in her thirties has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Megan Hipwell. They got Kamal Abdic. His picture was on the news, he looked too soft, too beautiful to be killer. He lost his brothers at Srebrenica and came to London. Soon he released without charge. There was insufficient evidence to charge him.

They found Megan's body in the wood, the police thought Scott had killed her. Scott was an emotional abuser, a jealous, controlling husband. Kamal said Megan was afraid of her husband and Megan’s friends also said the same thing.

Rachel thought she should do something to save Scott since they had been close enough to touch him, he couldn’t be a murderer. She tried to investigate Dr. Kamal Abdic, the psychiatrist. Rachel made an appointment to meet the therapist. She had couple sessions. She told him that for four years she had problems with alcohol, that drinking had cost her marriage and job, her health, insanity, and the black out. She didn’t remember things. She longed for a baby. Her husband had an affair. Everything about Kamal was warm, calm, and reassuring. She forgot her sole mission, she betrayed Scott and Megan. 

Anna saw she had been coming from Scott Hipwell’s house. Rachel admitted all to Tom that they had become friendly. He asked her ex-wife to stay away from Scott. Tom was not just worried but he was jealous.

The police wouldn’t release information about the pregnancy, but they told it to Scott. She returned to the scene of the crime to recall the night Megan went missing. She finally remember Anna, Tom’s car, Tom, and Megan.  

Knowing information from Detective Gaskill, Rachel was just a sad little liar with no life for Scott. He found she had no relation to Megan- the appointment with Dr. Abdic- the papers about Megan that she collected. He was angry and unstable, he attacked Rachel. She phoned the police about the bruises and reported Scott as the potential suspect, but the house had been searched, it’s hardly evidence of murder. 

She looked for Tom, but Anna said Tom was with Army’s boys. Tom has lied about everything about his family, army’s friend. Tom had an affair with Megan, then he killed her. All the phone calls were from Megan, not Rachel. In the living room, they gathered, Tom, the adoring father and dutiful husband, a wife, and ex-wife. Tom admitted it was just for fun. She had a bad day with Scott, just be a bit bored. But Megan wanted more, got pregnant. She had started talked about going away, about leaving Anna and his daughter. It was just one hit, she was crying, making horrible noises, he finished it.  He drove a bit farther into the wood.

Tom wanted to kill Rachel, she almost was killed, but Anna was coming out of the house, putting her hands on his throat, and twisting the corkscrew in farther and farther. The wives were waiting for ambulance. The paramedics arrived, too late for Tom. Anna told the police it was self-defense, the police asked Rachel to leave.  There’ been a lot of stuff about Tom in the papers. He was never in the army. The story about his parents was a lie too. He lied all the time, about everything. The wives did not even know who he was. 

Sekapur Sirih

Karya thriller-psikologi fiksi ini adalah salah satu dari dua buku fiksi yang saya terima dari seorang sahabat, juga pembaca thriller, sebagai hadiah Natal pada bulan Desember 2016. Terima kasih banyak kepadanya. Novel yang menjadi bestseller pada tahun 2015 lalu, diterbitkan oleh Riverhead Books, New York pada tahun yang sama, thriller setebal 475 halaman ini telah diangkat ke layar cinema pada Oktober tahun 2016, tetapi sayang saya belum melihatnya.

Paula Hawkins adalah penulis berkebangsaan Inggris kelahiran Zimbabwe, Afrika, ia seorang mantan jurnalis keuangan yang putar haluan menjadi novelist. Dua novel terdahulunya bertema romansa dan kurang diterima pasar, thriller-psikologi ini novel thriller pertamanya dan langsung mendapat sambutan hangat di pasar.

Bertahun-tahun sebagai seorang pelaju (komuter), memudahkan saya memahami tokoh utama karya fiksi ini. Dihadapkan pada kondisi yang sama, trek yang sama, jam yang sama, dan orang-orang yang sama. Terkadang bosan melemparkan pandangan ke kaca jendela, tapi daripada harus bertatap mata dengan penumpang lain yang duduk tepat di hadapan, lebih baik melihat kabel listrik, jembatan, persawahan, rumah-rumah, pabrik-pabrik, orang-orang di persimpangan yang sedang menugggu kereta lewat.

Kisah Rachel, seorang komuter yang sedang depresi, kesepian, dan pemabuk berat memecahkan misteri terbunuhnya seorang wanita. Disampaikan dalam bahasa yang sederhana didominasi narasi Rachel sebagai tokoh utama, dan dua narasi lainnya yakni Anna dan Megan. Awalnya cerita memang lambat (sedikit membosankan), tapi ibarat mesin, perlu pemanasan terlebih dahulu, lama-kelamaan seolah kita dibuat susah meletakkan fiksi misteri ini, dan ingin segera mengetahui siapakah pembunuh sebenarnya.

Walau tidak ada tokoh optimis sepanjang cerita, namun kekuatan plot dan cara penulis memilin cerita dengan bagus membuat karya fiksi ini tetap menarik. Bagi pembelajar pemula novel impor berbahasa Inggris, thriller ini tepat dijadikan sebagai opsi.

Terjemahan (Ringkasan) Bahasa Indonesia: The Girl on the Train (Gadis dalam Kereta), Karya Paula Hawkins

Sebagai pelaju (komuter) kota London, Rachel dua kali dalam sehari melewati trek yang sama. Setiap hari ia menaiki kereta yang sama di pagi hari Ashbury menuju kota London dan kembali sore hari dengan jalur dan waktu yang sama. Wajah-wajah pelaju lain juga sudah tidak asing, ada satu dua yang terkadang memberi senyuman tapi tak satu pun dari mereka saling berbicara.

Kisahnya pada pertengahan 2013, wanita itu berstatus tanpa suami, tanpa anak, dan tinggal menumpang gratis di apartemen kawannya Cathy. Itupun Cathy terkadang tinggal dengan Damien kekasihnya. Tidak juga tergolong sahabat, hanya saja Cathy dahulu adalah teman kampusnya.

Cathy sangat kuatir dengan kebiasaan buruk Rachel meneguk alkohol dan sempat kecewa dengan temannya, hingga memintanya pergi. Tapi beberapa hari kemudian ia tidak tega melihat temannya tanpa tempat tinggal, Cathy meminta maaf. Rachel tetap rutin berangkat seperti jam kerja dan meminta uang dari ibunya, ia sebenarnya nyaris mengaku pada ibunya kalau ia pengangguran dan ingin pulang ke rumah. Tetapi ibunya sudah memberi sinyal, jika ia tidak ingin diganggu, ibunya sedang bersama seseorang.

Setiap hari Rachel, meneguk minuman beralkohol,  ia selalu dalam keadaan mabuk, bahkan di dalam kereta pun. Cathy sudah menyuruhnya mengunjungi sesi terapi, tapi ia tak lakukan. Selain rasa malu, Rachel tidak mau membuat Cathy kuatir, ia sengaja menyembunyikan situasinya,  ia sudah dipecat dari pekerjaan karena mabuk saat bekerja. Ia sebelumnya public relations pada sebuah perusahaan bernama Huntingdon Whiletly.

Sambil sesekali meneguk minuman beralkohol, ia mengamati benda-benda yang dilewati di sepanjang jalan. Terlebih lagi rumah berarsitek Victoria, rumah yang tidak asing baginya. Ia dahulu tinggal di sana bersama suaminya Tom, dan banyak kenangan indah. Kini Tom bersama istri barunya Anna dan putri kecil mereka. Ia sangat hapal dengan cat, gorden, hingga kerusakan pada atap rumah yang dilewatinya setiap hari.

Ia senang memerhatikan pasangan muda yang tidak jauh dari umurnya setiap pagi. Terlintas dan berkhayal kembali kemesaraannya dengan Tom suaminya beberapa tahun silam. Dalam imajinasinya, sang pria diberi nama Jason, dan wanita muda, cantik, berambut pirang, dinamainya Jesse. Ia merasa akrab dengan keduanya, dan memerhatikan kemesraan mereka setiap pagi dari dalam kereta.

Ada keganjilan, suatu pagi Jesse diberi ciuman mesra oleh pria lain, dan Rachel yakin itu bukan Jason. Rasanya ia ingin memberi tahu Jason kalau Jesse berselingkuh. Ia membayangkan Jason sedang tugas luar kota, dan Jesse memanfaatkannya. Rachel kecewa dan marah pada sifat Jesse, wanita pirang yang sudah sempat ia kagumi. Hatinya gundah sama seperti melihat Anna yang menggoda Tom hingga meninggalkannya. Tom beralasan ia meninggalkan Rachel karena perilaku mabuknya. Tapi bagi Rachel itu hanya alasan.

Walau sudah begitu, Rachel masih mendambakan Tom dan susah melupakan kenangan manis mereka. Berawal dari keinginan kuat memiliki anak dan sudah berusaha melakukan upaya medis, Rachel didapati mandul dan ia pun mulai depresi. Ia cemburu menyaksikan kebahagiaan Tom kini memiliki putri kecil, ia sangat sulit menerima keadaannya yang sendiri tanpa anak, tanpa rumah, dan tanpa pekerjaan. Ia semakin depresi tanpa ada teman yang bisa mendengarnya. Setiap hari ia mengunjungi perpustakaan dan mencari informasi lowongan pekerjaan pada usianya yang ketiga puluh lima.

Ia mendapati berita di koran jika Megan Hipwell, wanita yang dinamainya Jesse dinyatakan hilang oleh suaminya Jason, yakni Scott Hipwell. Berita tentang pasangan itupun menjadi sirkus media.

Kediaman Cathy didatangi oleh detektif, karena ada yang melihat Rachel berada pada tempat kejadian malam sebelum Megan hilang. Rachel pun bercerita bahwa ia datang ke alamat itu ingin menemui Tom, mantan suaminya, ingin membahas sesuatu. Cathy sangat marah mendapati Rachel menemui mantan suaminya, padahal ia sudah berjanji tidak lagi memikirkan dan mengganggu Tom. Malam itu dalam keadaan mabuk, tangannya berdarah, ia mengaku terjatuh dan terluka hingga ia sempat ke dokter.

Kepada detektif, ia juga mengaku bahwa ia kehilangan pekerjaan dan rutin pergi ke London untuk mencari informasi pekerjaan di perpustakaan. Merasa ingat sesuatu, Rachel pun keesokan harinya pergi ke kantor polisi dan mengatakan jika Megan dicium oleh orang lain yang bukan suaminya, rupanya seperti Asia, kemungkinan wanita itu berselingkuh. Berita pun merilis jika Megan pernah membunuh bayinya sendiri di masa lalu, ia tidak memiliki pekerjaan, dan istri dari Scott Hipwell, seorang konsultan IT yang bekerja sendiri.

Megan wanita cantik pirang dan lebih muda dari suaminya, memiliki masa lalu gelap dan membuat Scott hampir tidak mengenalinya. Kehilangan saudaranya Ben, pada sebuah kecelakaan membuat Megan tidak stabil dan meninggalkan rumah saat berusia tujuh belas tahun. Ia hidup bersama dengan pria lebih tua darinya dan memiliki bayi. Pria itu pun meninggalkan Megan saat mengetahui jika Megan membunuh bayi mereka. Megan tidak pernah jujur dengan masa lalunya pada Scott dan keduanya bertemu di sebuah bar, Megan adalah pelayan di sana.

Awalnya kehidupan rumah tangga mereka mesra, kesalahan masa lalu menggoncang kejiwaan, Megan tidak stabil sehingga ia mengikuti sesi terapi psikiater Dr. Kamal Abdic, lelaki berdarah Serbia. Megan sempat menggoda pria itu, tetapi ia tidak mau kehilangan pekerjaan dan menyarankan Megan kembali pada suaminya.

Rachel sangat kaget mengetahui jika Megan pernah menjadi penjaga anak Tom dan Anna, sebelum Megan memiliki galery seni. Setelah berminggu-minggu tubuh Megan ditemukan, tetapi wajah dan tubuhnya sudah dalam keadaan rusak. Jasadnya ditemukan di hutan. Tuduhan polisi tertuju pada suami Megan yakni Scott, pada umumnya pembunuhan seorang istri dilakukan oleh suaminya sendiri.

Rachel ingin menolong Scott dan berpura-pura teman Anna dari galery. 

Walau yakin pelakunya pasti berhubungan dengan perselingkuhan tetapi polisi tidak percaya pada Rachel yang sering mabuk, saksi yang tidak layak. Rachel dan Scott akhirnya berteman dan akrab. Anna sempat melihat Rachel keluar dari rumah Scott yang hanya berjarak beberapa rumah dari rumahnya.

Anna sangat cemburu mengetahui suaminya masih menerima telepon dari mantan istrinya Rachel. Walau mengingkari kalbunya, tapi menurutnya Rachel layak ditinggalkan karena kebiasaannya minum. Anna tidak merasa bersalah ia hadir dan merusak pernikahan Rachel dan Tom. Tidak mau kebahagiaannya terganggu, ia pernah meminta Tom agar pindah dari rumah itu, cemburu dan marah dengan sms dan telepon Rachel. Suaminya beralasan, mereka tidak punya dana untuk itu, orang tuanya sudah tidak mau berbicara pada Tom, apalagi meminjamkan uang sejak ia menceraikan Rachel. Setiap saat Anna hendak melaporkan Rachel pada polisi, suaminya selalu menahannya. Suatu hari Rachel pernah mendatangi rumah dan mengambil anaknya yang membuat Anna panik, menurutnya Rachel pemabuk nekat.

Anna bercerita pada detektif, ia melihat Rachel pada malam sehari sebelum hilangnya Megan. Rachel dengan tangan berdarah dan mabuk. Sempat dikabarkan terlibat, Dr. Kamal Abdic pun dibebaskan karena tidak terbukti. Rachel mempelajari psikiater itu, dan menggunakan uang dari ibunya menjadi pasien. Awalnya Rachel menduga bahwa Kamal adalah selingkuhan dan pembunuh Megan, namun setelah mengikuti beberapa kali sesi, ia ragu kalau Kamal pelakunya. Perasaan tertolong dan nyaman muncul setelah terapi Dr. Kamal Abdic.

Hubungannya sudah sangat dekat dengan Scott, hingga mempelajari sifat kasarnya. Kini berbalik, Rachel malah  lebih yakin pembunuhnya adalah Scott. Lelaki itu sangat emosional, mengetahui membela dan menerima terapi dari Kamal, Scott merasa dihianati dan memukul Rachel. Mengetahui kedekatan Scott dan Rachel, sepertinya Tom cemburu, ia meminta mantan istrinya menjauhi Scott yang berbahaya. Pertemuan itu tanpa sengaja diketahui istrinya dan semakin membakar rasa cemburu. Terapi dan pertemuannya dengan mantannya suaminya, membuat semangat Rachel terpompa kembali. Ia merasa senang ada yang mendengar dan memedulikannya.

Dalam sadarnya Rachel berusaha mengingat-ingat jika ia tidak jatuh malam itu, tetapi dipukul oleh Tom. Rachel baru tersadar jika wanita yang masuk ke dalam mobil Tom bukan Anna, tapi Megan.

Di tengah kejenuhannya merawat putrinya, Anna Watson, mantan agen real estate itu, sangat terpukul dengan sikap perselingkuhan Tom. Ia mencium ada sesuatu, dan ia dapati Tom sering berbohong. Anna pun memutuskan bertemu dengan Rachel. Kedua wanita itu baru sadar, jika wanita yang ada ditelepon selama ini bukan Rachel tetapi Megan. Ia mengingat kembali dan menyadari sikap aneh mereka berdua saat Megan menjadi pengasuh putrinya. Rachel semakin yakin bahwa Megan tengah mengandung bayi mantan suaminya.

Tom mendapati kedua orang yang dicintainya, istri dan mantan istri mencium perbuatan sadisnya. Ia pun mengakui bahwa Megan tengah mengandung, mendesaknya meninggalkan Anna dan putrinya. Ia berkelahi dengan suaminya dan Megan mengancam pergi dari rumah. Malam itu ia menemui Tom, mendesak Tom untuk membawanya lari. Tom memukul kepala Megan dan menguburnya di hutan. Selain Anna, satu-satunya saksi yang mengetahui semua kejahatannya adalah Rachel. Mantan suaminya itu menyerang Rachel, dan ia pun nyaris terbunuh. Anna berbalik dan menolong Rachel, dan bahkan kerjasama membunuh Tom.

Kesaksian Anna pada detektif, membenarkan jika Rachel hanya melakukan pertahanan diri, hingga mengakibatkan Tom terbunuh. Akhirnya Rachel terbebas dari bayang-bayang Tom, ilusi, mimpi-mimpi indah, dan baru tersadar jika lelaki itu telah berbohong termasuk tentang masa lalu militer dan keluarganya. Rachel tidak mengenali pria yang sangat diidamkannya selama ini. Ia pun pindah dan ingin memulai hidup di tempat yang baru.