The Good Samaritan

From her booth at the End of the Line suicide helpline, a volunteer named Laura Morris uses two separate phone lines to orchestrate a suicide pact. She is on the phone with a man who has just arrived by taxi at a coastal car park, confirming he is ready. On the other line, she speaks to a hesitant pregnant woman sitting in a nearby car. Laura manipulates the woman’s anxieties about her unborn child, persuading her to proceed.

Laura listens as the man and the woman meet for the first time, embrace, and walk together toward the cliff edge. She hears their final breaths as they jump to their deaths. When her colleague, Mary, approaches to offer comfort, Laura pretends she was trying to save the callers. After composing herself, Laura answers a new incoming call, calmly introducing herself and the helpline.

Four months after the death of David, the man from the Prologue, Laura arrives for her volunteer shift at End of the Line, bringing cupcakes for her colleagues. She greets Kevin and Zoe, fellow volunteers, as well as Mary. After tidying the kitchenette, she settles into her preferred booth, which offers more privacy. She reflects on the office’s unspoken hierarchy and how her secret motivations differ from those of the other volunteers.