A Stranger in the House

Karen meets with Calvin and Tom. She is stunned to hear about the discovery of the gun. Tom confesses to Calvin and Karen that Brigid has been obsessed with him since he broke off their affair before he met Karen. He tells Karen that he slept with Brigid after Brigid threatened to go to the police with what she had seen the night of the murder. He thinks Brigid picked up the gun from the murder scene and planted it in their house.

They decide to get the door of the restaurant and their house dusted for Brigid’s fingerprints to prove she was in both locations. Karen realizes the scenario creates reasonable doubt in her case. They can argue Brigid is trying to frame Karen “because she’s in love with [Karen’s] husband” (256).

Detective Rasbach talks to Calvin. Calvin tells the detective the gun was planted and that they should check if any of the prints at the house match those at the crime scene.

Karen wonders if she should continue to tell the police the truth—that she does not know what happened that night—or if she should lie that she now remembers arguing with Robert and running away, then insinuating Brigid must have entered the restaurant and killed Robert herself.

The next morning, Detective Rasbach confirms that an “unknown person” was both at the restaurant and had gone through the Krupps’ things. He also learns that none of Robert’s prints were found in the Krupps’ house.

Karen tells the detectives her story. She tells them she used to be married to Robert but that she faked her death to escape his abuse. She tells them she had been frightened he would hurt Tom when he called her the night of August 13th. She admits to taking the gun, but she insists she only threatened him with it, she never fired it. She says she ran out of the restaurant, dropped the gun and gloves, got in the car, and sped away. She accuses Brigid of entering the restaurant after she left and shooting Robert in an attempt to frame Karen for the murder so Brigid could have Tom to herself. She tells the detectives that Brigid blackmailed Tom into having sex with her.

Detective Rasbach is skeptical of Karen’s story. He finds it hard to believe she has suddenly remembered the events of the night of the murder with such clarity. He also does not understand why an abusive man like Robert would let her escape alive.

Later that day, the detectives get a call from forensics confirming the gun they found in the toolbox was the murder weapon.

Brigid is furious that Tom has not been staying at his house since it was searched by the police. That afternoon, the detectives go to Brigid’s house. She lets them in and agrees to talk to them. They ask if she will give them her fingerprints, and she agrees. Her husband, Bob, returns home. He is alarmed to see them fingerprinting his wife.

That evening, Rasbach learns Brigid’s fingerprints were at the crime scene and in the Krupp house. Brigid was the stalker.

The next morning, the detectives bring Tom in for questioning. He tells them that after Karen was arrested, Brigid came over and told Tom she had witnessed Karen at the scene of the crime. She had threatened to go to the police unless Tom had sex with her. Tom insists to the detectives that, despite Brigid’s statements, he does not believe Karen committed the crime. He tells them that Brigid is obsessed with him. He assumes Brigid copied the spare key he had given her while they were having an affair. Tom tells them that on the night of the murder, Brigid had seen Robert Traynor snooping around the Krupp house.

That afternoon, the detectives ask Brigid to come to the police station for a formal interview. She agrees. The detectives ask Brigid about her relationship with the Krupps. She tells them she is friends with Karen. They press Brigid on her alibi for the night of August 13th. They tell her they know she followed Karen.

She admits she followed Karen instead of meeting Tom. She tells them she saw Karen enter the restaurant, followed by the sound of the three gunshots. Then, Karen rushed out, dropped her gloves, and sped away. She admits to entering the restaurant and seeing the dead man. She claims she did not come forward because Karen is her friend. She denies picking up the gun and planting it in the Krupps’ toolbox.

They tell her that they found Brigid’s fingerprints on the public telephone used to phone the tips in about the gun. They accuse her of killing Robert and planting the gun. She asks for a lawyer and the interview ends.

The detectives do not believe either Brigid or Karen are being entirely honest. They worry the district attorney will be forced to drop the charges against Karen, as Karen will be able to convincingly point the finger at Brigid.

Later that day, Rasbach presents his case to D.A. Susan Grimes. He thinks Karen killed Robert, but he admits that Brigid’s obsession with Tom and the planting of the gun creates reasonable doubt, as the defense can argue Brigid framed Karen. The D.A. drops the charges against Karen.

Karen returns home. She feels relieved that her ordeal is over. Tom was initially upset Karen lied to the detectives about remembering what happened that evening, but he soon got over it. They promise each other to make a fresh start.

Brigid still lives across the street. Her husband, Bob, has left her. Tom finds a new job at another accounting firm. Tom and Karen both hope Brigid will soon sell her house and move away.

A few months after the murder, Karen takes the train into New York City. While on the train, she reflects on everything that has happened. She thinks about how much she loves Tom and how much he tries to protect her, even though “she’s the kind of woman from whom men need to be protected” (300).

Karen has remembered what happened that night. She thinks about how she met Robert in Vegas at a casino. He was handsome, rich, and kind. She realized that he used his antique business as a cover for a money laundering operation. She had planned to take advantage of him. She met with the counselor at the battered women’s shelter to provide a cover for her story of abuse. Then, she stole the cash out of Robert’s safe, faked her death, and changed her identity. Karen stashed over $2 million in a bank safety deposit box in NYC.

The night Robert called, she planned to murder him. She left the house with the gloves and the gun. She met him at the restaurant and shot him. She was rattled by the act and dropped the gun and the gloves as she tried to unlock the car door. If Brigid had not planted the gun, Karen would have been convicted of the murder. Brigid continues to watch the Krupps from across the street. She has resolved not to leave the house. She is pregnant with Tom’s child and is determined to “make Karen pay” (305).