Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door

Eighteen days before the high-speed car chase, Riley gets ready to leave for Sullivan, Hartfield, Aster, Reynolds, and Tuffley (SHART), the marketing firm where she works. She rents a room from Lily Bogdanovich, an acquaintance of her mother’s, in a palatial home on Front Street, where she moved after her divorce. She shares a floor with a slovenly, middle-aged bachelor named Dickie Frick. On her way to work, she stops at Little Amps for coffee. She gets a message from the beyond about the barista’s health, and tells her to get her lymph nodes checked. Riley has had psychic powers since she was a child, but has tried to ignore them. Today, she gives in to her vision.

At work, Riley procrastinates on her assignments. She has worked for SHART ever since she lost her job at the television station after divorcing her TV-news-host ex-husband, Griffin Gentry. She stalks Griffin and his new girlfriend (his fellow anchor, Bella Goodshine) online. Griffin cheated on Riley with Bella. A call from her best friend, Jasmine Patel, interrupts her. Jasmine warns her about the engagement video Griffin just posted.

Riley ignores Jasmine’s warning and watches the engagement video. Her younger sister, Wander, sees it, too, and calls Riley to check in. Wander encourages her to stop brooding and striving for normalcy.

Back at home that evening, Riley holes up in her apartment. She’s eating pizza and watching reality television when a vision of an attractive man visiting interrupts her. Then the man (Nick Santiago) actually appears at her door, looking for Jorge Alvarez and asking questions about Dickie. Riley brushes him off.

Since leaving the police force, Nick has run his own investigative service, Santiago Investigations, with his cousin Brian and Brian’s wife, Josie. At the office, he reviews case files. A client wants him to check on Dickie Frick again, which he doesn’t mind because then he can see Riley again. On the way, he runs into his unhoused friend, Perry, who notices Nick’s funny demeanor and guesses that he’s interested in a new woman. Nick dismisses him.

Riley visits her parents, Roger and Blossom, at their home in Camp Hill, a town outside Harrisburg. Blossom divines that something is going on with Riley and urges her to embrace her psychic powers. Riley’s sister, Wander, her three daughters, and her ex (Raphael) join the family for dinner. They encourage Riley to forget Griffin and embrace her true self. Riley wonders if they’re right.

Back at home later, Riley runs into Dickie, who is scantily clad, in their shared bathroom. Afterward, Riley has a powerful vision of Dickie’s murder. She panics and goes to check on him, pressing her ear against his door. Dickie whips open the door and accuses her of spying. Blossom calls Riley, having received a telepathic signal that Riley is in trouble. Riley assures her mother that she’s fine.

Nick camps out in his car at the end “of the gravel lot behind Dickie Frick’s place” (50). Riley pulls up in her Jeep and approaches Nick, confronting him for spying. He admits that he’s a private investigator and accuses her of blowing his cover. Another Front Street resident, Mrs. Penny, approaches and demands to know if Nick is bothering Riley. The two pretend that they’re dating. Afterward, Nick admits to Riley that he’s investigating Dickie for trademark infringement. Dickie works for a bar called Nature Girls but has been polluting the brand. Riley is skeptical but drops the issue and lets Nick help her carry her things inside.

Riley can’t help noticing Nick’s looks as they walk up to her apartment. On the way, they run into other neighbors, who are delighted that Riley has a new boyfriend. Using her psychic powers, Riley hears their thoughts about Nick’s attractiveness. She agrees with their assessments but is reluctant to let Nick hang around.

A few hours later, Nick returns to Riley’s apartment with pizza. Riley agrees to let him hang out with her until Dickie returns home so that Nick can confront him. Over food, they chat about their love lives. Riley admits that she made bad relationship choices in the past, which is how she came to live on Front Street. Nick admits that he doesn’t date monogamously because he doesn’t want to settle down. He can’t help feeling attracted to Riley, but tries to ignore his feelings. When Dickie fails to show up, Nick and Riley say goodnight.

The next morning, Riley watches a local news report about the barista at Little Amps, whom she told to get her lymph nodes checked. The barista is thrilled because Riley’s message from the beyond helped her doctor catch her thyroid cancer. Riley feels embarrassed and upset. Blossom calls to congratulate Riley for accepting her clairvoyance. She insists that Riley’s grandmother, Elanora Basil, would be happy to help her learn more about her powers.

Riley realizes that if her lymph-node vision was correct, her Dickie vision must be correct, too. She drives to the police station and tells an officer that her neighbor will be murdered. The officer thinks she’s mentally unstable, but Riley reads his mind to convince him that she isn’t bluffing.

Riley stays up all night to keep an ear out for Dickie. In the morning, Dickie is still alive and well. She runs into Lily and Mrs. Penny, who interrogate her about Griffin and Nick. Before leaving for the day, Riley writes Dickie a note, warning him that he’s in danger. She later finds the note crumpled up.

That night, Riley wakes up to the sound of gunshots. Hearing an intruder, she grabs her hockey stick for self-defense and then alerts her neighbors and calls Nick. She races into the hall as the intruder runs out. Nick arrives, and the two inspect the scene. Dickie is dead, and the perpetrator is gone. They call 911 and report the crime.