Local Woman Missing

Josh sends Carly to sleep upstairs in her room. Rowlings arrives and comforts Josh, who expresses his gratitude to her for finding Carly.

Leo visits Carly in her room. He coaches her to say his name and then gives her his favorite blanket, hoping that it will help her sleep. 

Kate and Bea pick up Leo from Charlotte’s, where Leo is lonely, ignored by the other children. Later, Josh picks up Leo from Kate and Bea’s house. He tells them that the police searched his house and found trace amounts of blood in the garage. They tell him about Dr. Feingold.

Over breakfast, not wanting to alarm Josh, Meredith chooses not to tell him about Shelby’s text the night before. Walking Delilah to school, Meredith is surprised when Cassandra pretends not to see her and barely returns her greeting. Leo cries as Meredith drops him off at Charlotte’s.

Meredith checks on Shelby. Shelby doesn’t invite Meredith inside and minimizes the significance of her text from the night before, saying that Jason yelled at her for spending too much money. Before she leaves, Meredith hears a man’s voice in the background.

Brushing aside reporters, Josh and Leo take Carly to a psychiatrist. After, they visit the police station, where Rowlings tells Josh that the DNA test confirms that is his daughter. Rowlings meets with Carly, who reveals that her captors were named Eddie and Martha.

In the evening, Meredith and Josh celebrate Josh finalizing an important deal at work. While Meredith helps Delilah bathe, Delilah tells her that Piper is now friends with Lily Morris, whom Delilah doesn’t like. While Leo bathes, Meredith notices a bruise on his bottom. She calls Charlotte to see if Leo got into an accident that day, but Charlotte doesn't know anything about it.

After a sleepless night, Kate schedules an appointment with Dr. Feingold, pretending she is pregnant. She suspects he may have something to do with Meredith’s disappearance. Bea disapproves but insists on accompanying Kate.

One of Meredith’s clients goes into labor on a Saturday while Josh is meeting with clients. Meredith takes her kids to the Hanakas’ house to see if they can babysit. Cassandra’s husband, Marty, answers the door. Marty and Meredith attended the same college and briefly dated; when they ran into each other with their spouses a few months ago at a neighborhood barbecue, Marty pretended not to know Meredith, and she followed his lead. Seeing that Marty and Cassandra are busy, Meredith leaves her children with Bea, who welcomes them enthusiastically.

On the way home after her client’s birth, Meredith receives a text from the unknown number saying: “I haven’t forgotten about you” (191).

At Dr. Feingold’s office, Bea poses as Kate’s supportive friend. Feingold, whom Kate finds to be “businesslike, clinical,” informs Kate that her initial pregnancy test was negative but proceeds to administer a pelvic exam, which Kate reluctantly agrees to. The inconclusive exam leaves Kate feeling violated. She asks about local doulas, including Meredith, but Feingold claims not to know Meredith.

Shelby goes into labor, and Meredith meets her and Jason at the hospital. Meredith realizes that the man’s voice she heard at Shelby’s house was not Jason’s. Feingold administers a rough cervical exam and speaks dismissively about Shelby to Meredith. When a nurse asks to do another cervical exam only an hour later, Shelby refuses under Meredith’s guidance.

Meredith also helps Jason remain calm. She realizes that, under his rough exterior, he loves Shelby. Jason confides his fear that Shelby, whom he knows to be cheating, will leave him.

As Shelby’s labor drags on, Meredith suggests a C-section. Instead, without waiting for Shelby’s consent, Feingold performs an episiotomy and uses forceps to remove the baby, ignoring Meredith’s warnings about possible consequences.

After their visit with Feingold, Kate is confident that Feingold has something to do with Meredith’s disappearance, but Bea suggests that they leave the investigation to the police. Driving home in the rain, Kate almost gets in an accident. An unknown car follows close behind them until they turn into a police station, then zooms away.

Three days after Josh takes her home, Carly mentions Gus in passing. Alarmed at the possibility that another child is still trapped, Rowlings again questions Carly. Leo recalls researching missing kids and wonders how Carly ended up in the rural area five hours away where she was found.

Shelby’s baby is diagnosed with a brain bleed due to Feingold’s use of forceps. Shelby decides to sue, and Meredith offers her support. Upon receiving the complaint, Feingold calls Meredith and threatens to “ruin” her.

At home, Delilah begs to schedule a playdate with Piper and, if necessary, Lily. Meredith does not tell Josh about the lawsuit, fearing he would push her to change her work.

Leo addresses Carly. He explains that the police first thought Shelby’s disappearance was linked to Meredith and Delilah’s disappearance, but abandoned that theory when Jason was convicted of Shelby’s murder. Rowlings calls Josh to tell him that the police located the house belonging to Eddie and Martha Cutter, where Carly was kept, but that it was abandoned.

On Carly’s third day at home, Leo visits Carly in her room. After some coaxing, she teaches him to play a game she played in the basement, which involves walking from one wall to the other with your eyes closed, trying to stop as close as possible to the other wall without looking.

Sensing strain in their relationship, Meredith visits Cassandra. Cassandra reveals that she realized Marty and Meredith knew each other in college after stumbling across a photo of them together. Meredith tells the truth: She and Marty dated in college, but they haven’t been romantically involved since. Cassandra doesn’t believe her and admits that she has been sending the anonymous texts.

Meredith forbids Delilah to play with Piper. Leo cries each time Meredith leaves her at Charlotte’s. Feeling guilty, Meredith considers reducing her work.

Leo returns to school, where he endures teasing for the publicity surrounding his family. Piper, whose family moved across town after Meredith’s death, is now a senior, and Leo has a crush on her.

As Kate and Bea arrive home, they run into Josh, who is returning from looking for Meredith and Delilah; they encourage him to spend time with Leo and offer to take care of Wyatt, Josh's dog.

Over dinner, Bea suggests that that Feingold, while despicable, may not be the murderer. Kate and Bea call the police and report what they learned from their visits with Cassandra (back in Chapter 12) and Feingold (Chapter 24).

When the power goes out, Kate panics, fearing someone cut the power deliberately. Going outside to check on the circuit breaker, Kate runs into Josh, who explains that all the houses on their side of the street lost power. He mentions that the blood the police found in the garage is not a match for Meredith or Delilah.