A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Pip studies the girl’s face, and she can see the resemblance to Andie but also knows this is not her. As Mr. Ward is led away in handcuffs, Ravi runs to meet Pip outside the house and tells her he tracked her using the Find My Friends app. Pip breaks down and tells Ravi the entire story of how his brother died. She wonders how Mr. Ward could have confused this girl he has held captive for Andie: “Was it delusion?” (355), she questions, or had he been blinded by fear? Ravi thinks Mr. Ward was in an amplified state of fear, terrified at the thought of his secrets being exposed, and convinced himself this girl was Andie. The nagging question of what happened to the real Andie Bell after she left Mr. Ward’s house plagues Pip’s thoughts.

Ravi and Pip prepare to leave the scene and witness a car approaching carrying Jason, Becca, and Andie’s mother. Becca sees Pip, her eyes holding “a flicker of recognition […] something heavy and urgent, something like dread” (357).

Pip somberly texts Cara the truth about her father, knowing this will be difficult for her to hear. She continuously attempts to call Cara with no answer. Ravi visits Pip’s house with his parents, whom he introduces as Nisha and Mohan. They express their gratitude toward Pip for what she has done for their family. Ravi informs her that the police will be holding a press conference announcing Sal’s innocence, and Pip and her mother and father embrace Ravi and his parents, all six of them hugging in tears.

Pip later tells Ravi that she cannot stop until she gets to the bottom of what truly happened to Andie that night, but Ravi tells her the police have reopened the investigation and that it is their job to figure it out.

Pip promises to herself to throw out the murder board, but she finds herself focusing on it once again. She runs through the facts of the case, realizing that there are two killers involved: one who thought he killed Andie and one who actually killed her.

Pip remembers Mr. Ward’s confusion at her accusation that he killed Barney. She notices that the threatening notes she has received are in two different tones. Mr. Ward’s notes refer to her as “Pippa,” and the threats from the unknown number call her a “Stupid bitch.” She begins to understand: “Then,” she says, “the pieces dropped, falling into place” (367).

Pip feels there is just one piece of information to investigate to confirm her suspicions. She calls Max Hastings and asks him if he raped Becca Bell at a calamity party in March of 2014. Max is evasive but confirms that he did spike Becca’s drink and have sex with her. Pip then realizes that the last person to see Andie alive was Becca Bell.

Pip visits Becca’s house and claims she is there to see if Becca is alright. Becca offers Pip tea, and she accepts. Becca explains that the police identified the girl Mr. Ward had been holding captive as Isla Jordan, a 23-year-old woman with a learning disability who had a history of drug use. Through her mental confusion, the girl came to believe she was actually Andie Bell.

Pip then boldly accuses Becca of killing Andie. She lays out the events as she envisages them: Becca was raped by Max at a calamity party in March of 2014 but did not know who had assaulted her. She began asking around about people buying drugs at calamity parties, and the answers led Becca to Andie.

Becca begins to cry and explains how Andie left the house that night, and Becca found Andie’s second burner phone. She read the texts about the roofies exchanged with Max and figured out he had raped her. Becca says that when Andie came home, she thought she would tell her what had happened, and Andie would be sympathetic: “All I wanted was my big sister. And the freedom of finally telling someone” (372).

Becca says she did not realize Andie had a head injury when she arrived back home. Andie was cruel when Becca told her about the rape, stating she did not care and that Becca was not allowed to tell anyone. The two began shoving one another and shouting. Andie fell to the floor and vomited, and Becca saw her dying and did nothing to save her.

Becca admits that she drove Andie’s car that night and parked it near Howie Bower’s house. She tells Pip that Andie is in a septic tank at the old farmhouse on Sycamore Road—the house Becca has been writing the article about. Becca says she did not actually mean for Barney to die, stating that him drowning in the river was an accident.

Pip’s vision dims, and she realized that Becca has spiked her tea. She attempts to make herself throw up, but the room begins reeling. Pip runs outside into the woods with Becca in pursuit, and Becca tackles Pip and begins choking her but then stops, stating she cannot do it. Suddenly, Pip’s dad and Ravi are at Pip’s side. Ravi tracked her using his phone and called the police. Pip fades out of consciousness.

Two months later, Pip is backstage with Ravi preparing to give her capstone presentation in front of the entire school and the press due to the attention the Bell case has received. Pip narrates that all this occurred amid her interview for Columbia and that she has been accepted to the university.

Pip goes onstage and begins her presentation, stating that “This project began with Sal. To find the truth for him” (383). Pip recounts details of the case to the crowd but then pauses to give recognition to Ravi, stating that she could not have done it all on her own. Ravi joins Pip onstage and talks about what a wonderful person his brother was.

Pip ends her presentation by claiming that the Fairview community also played a role in the case by turning “a beautiful life into the myth of a monster” (387). She urges them: “From now on, we must do better” (387).