Phoebe returns to the library. She’s supposed to be writing the chapter on Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood but feels drawn to other topics. She finds a gritty, sensationalist paperback about the Sunrise Slayer and reads it in the library to avoid another conversation with Allison. She’s surprised by what she finds: The Sunrise Slayer’s daughter inadvertently helped the police convict him. She was burglarized, and a necklace taken from her house was found on one of the victims. Phoebe thinks this is a huge piece of information for this woman to have omitted from her memoir and wonders if she still lives nearby and might agree to an interview. When she leaves, her car won’t start. She goes back inside and runs into Allison. They end up chatting. Allison acknowledges how strained the end of their friendship was and asks if Phoebe wants to hang out. Phoebe surprises herself by agreeing. As they’re exchanging contact information, Phoebe sees Sam walking up to the library and wonders if he’s following her.

Phoebe approaches Sam as she leaves the library. She doesn’t want to ask Allison for help with her car, so Sam seems like the best option. She startles him when she walks up and says, “Hi,” and he drops his books: a novel (the kind of book described as “sweeping” and “epic” that she finds appalling) and a soldering manual. She asks if he can help with her car. He responds that he has jumper cables, but his car is parked at the music store where he teaches lessons during the summer. She accompanies him there and observes how interested the woman behind the counter seems in him. She learns that the white button-downs and khakis he wears all the time are part of his work uniform. She assumed that he, a cold-blooded killer, was “cosplaying” normal. However, she admits that maybe Conner is right that Sam is just a “regular dude.” They have a pleasant conversation about his job as a music teacher, and she finds herself increasingly attracted to him. After he jumps her car, she thinks about inviting him to lunch to thank him but quickly jettisons the thought. She finds life easier when she doesn’t get too involved with other people: It’s harder to be disappointed that someone didn’t call you when you don’t give them your number in the first place.

Phoebe can’t make progress on her dissertation. Although she loves In Cold Blood, she has writer’s block. Searching for ways to procrastinate, she decides to make a no-bake Nutella pie. After she finishes, she decides to give half of it to Sam to thank him for helping with her car. She takes the pie to him, he invites her in, and they engage in a conversation she finds comfortable and witty. She admits to him that she initially wondered if he was a serial killer, and he’s obviously shocked. She presents all her “evidence” to him (like the ice, the loud noise she heard, and his odd schedule) and, one by one, he explains them all.

Talk turns to her dissertation, and he seems genuinely interested. She explains that she’s interested in society’s fascination with true crime, specifically the relationship authors have with their subjects and their writing: The way that cases are presented to the public or their readership impacts how they’re perceived. Even the kinds of questions that authors ask their subjects (the killers) shape perception and create narratives about killings. She also notes how the true crime genre has morphed over the last 60 years or so. Each era brings its own conventions and focal points to true crime: During the 1980s, true crime was gritty and sensationalistic. Now, it tends to favor in-depth investigations into killers’ identities and motives, revealing a society that approaches crime from a more rehabilitative than punitive position. As the conversation winds down, Sam asks Phoebe about her long hair. When she takes it out of its bun to show him how long it is, he comments that it is beautiful, and her heart flutters.

Conner shows up unannounced at Sam’s place because he called Phoebe repeatedly and got no answer. When he arrives, Phoebe’s hair is disheveled (she took it down only because Sam asked her to), and Conner’s interest is obviously piqued. He and Phoebe leave so that he can take her to the local roller rink: He’s thinking of proposing to Shani there because it’s the site of their first date. Phoebe finds this both cringe-worthy and cute, and the two chat amiably as they skate in circles. Conner tries to skate too quickly and falls. He thinks his wrist is fractured, so they head to an urgent care facility. His wrist is indeed broken, and the doctor explains what the next steps will be. Phoebe and Conner head to his house. Shani, who is a nurse, is already home and takes charge of the situation. Phoebe is touched by how happy the two are together and even more touched when Shani invites her to stay for dinner. She decides not to interrupt their night, however, and returns home to work on her dissertation.

Now that Conner’s wrist is broken, he can’t help Phoebe clean their father’s house. The increased amount of work she must do is an excellent way to put off writing her dissertation, and she throws herself wholeheartedly into the task. As she works, she listens to the audiobook of Michelle McNamara’s account of the Golden State Killer, I’ll be Gone in the Dark. During one of her trips out to the dumpster, a stray cat runs into the house. This one has a tipped ear, meaning that it has been spayed, and often hangs around in her father’s yard. It runs under her bed, and she isn’t sure what to do. She doesn’t know how friendly it might be or how to get it out from under her bed. She texts Allison, who advises her to feed it a can of tuna and then pick it up and take it outside. She has no tuna, so she goes next door to ask Sam. He has a can and brings it over.

As the two wait for the cat to take the bait, they talk about their childhoods. Sam grew up in a big family, and his siblings are still close. Phoebe explains her own complicated history. She feels comfortable talking to Sam. It’s easier to open up to him than to most people. She’s accustomed to remaining emotionally distant from everyone but might make an exception for Sam. Finally, the cat comes out and eats the tuna. Sam scoops it up and takes it outside. At that moment, however, Phoebe realizes that she might want to keep the cat, whom she calls Lenore (after the beloved in Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “The Raven.”)

Phoebe and Sam head to the library. Phoebe knows nothing about cats and wants to get a better sense of what owning one would entail. Allison greets them at the door. Phoebe introduces Allison as her friend, even though she knows that the story is more complicated than that. Allison and Sam have an easy rapport, and Phoebe again observes that Sam is a nice guy. Allison clearly hopes that Phoebe adopts the cat, directing her to the section of books on animal husbandry. Phoebe and Sam chat more about their childhoods as they browse. He asks if she’s ever considered moving back and seems disappointed when she explains that her childhood memories aren’t exactly happy and she doesn’t foresee staying after she and Conner sell their father’s house. She checks out a book, and they leave. At home, the cat is nowhere in sight. She contemplates Sam further and decides that a relationship is out of the question because she’ll be leaving soon. A fling doesn’t seem like a good idea either. She might be attracted to Sam, but there’s no chance that they’ll get together.