Driving home from Thousand Oaks, Jodie gets lost and runs out of gas. Stranded, she realizes she left her purse, phone, and wallet at home. After three men help push her car into the gas station, she meets a woman in the bathroom named Erin.

Erin is upset because her fiancé left her for another woman who is now pregnant. Jodie offers sympathy and advises her to sell her $25,000 engagement ring. Erin gives Jodie $50 to buy gas, insisting that “girls have to stick together” (80). Jodie accepts the money on the condition that she can pay it back and gives Erin her phone number.

Jodie returns home to find Roy in his office. In the kitchen, she notices a package of Oreos is missing from Deborah’s snack shelf. The housekeeper, Marie, denies taking them, citing her diabetes, and Roy also says he didn’t eat them.

Jodie asks Roy if Deborah ever had cosmetic surgery, specifically mentioning Thousand Oaks. Roy reacts with anger and suspicion, warning her not to consider getting any work done herself. His intense reaction convinces Jodie that she has uncovered an important lead. Later that night, she sneaks into his locked office and searches his files. She finds a love letter to Roy from a woman named “Vee,” dated about a month before Deborah’s death. While reading it, she is startled by the sound of the back door creaking open. As she hastily puts the files away, she discovers a spare key to the office on the floor. Believing the creaking door was a sign from Deborah, she writes a note to her sister and places it in a jar of homemade cookies on Deborah’s snack shelf.

Jodie arranges to meet her new acquaintance, Erin, for coffee to repay her. While getting ready, she notices a new blemish on her face: a wrinkle that causes the corner of her mouth to droop. She then calls and makes an appointment with Dr. Kowalski, who was also Deborah’s doctor.

At breakfast, Jodie tells Roy about her doctor’s appointment and her plan to meet a new friend. Roy seems suspicious until he learns the friend is a woman. After Roy leaves for work, Jodie discovers that the note she left in the kitchen cookie jar has vanished, and one of the cookies is also gone. Marie again denies touching anything on the shelf. Jodie feels a growing sense that Deborah’s spirit is present in the house.

Jodie meets Erin for coffee and repays the $50. Erin reveals she is a yoga instructor. Jodie, who has never had a close female friend before, feigns enthusiasm for yoga. She confides in Erin, telling her that Roy is obsessed with his dead wife, Deborah, and secretly takes out her wedding dress when he thinks no one is around.

Jodie continues by sharing a traumatic childhood story: Her abusive mother locked her in a cellar when she was six as punishment for cutting pictures out of a magazine depicting perfect homes. She explains that her sister sat outside the door all night, talking to her to keep her calm. Jodie concludes by casually stating that her entire family later died in a house fire, leaving Erin horrified.

Back at the house, Jodie uses the spare key to enter Roy’s office. She rereads the letter from “Vee,” in which the writer asks Roy how much longer it will be until they can be together. Jodie realizes Roy was having an affair and identifies Vee as Veronica, a woman Roy admitted to briefly dating after Deborah’s death. She recalls lying about being pregnant to trap Roy into marriage, which pushed Veronica out of the picture.

Jodie rereads Vee’s letter, fixating on the line “How much longer, my darling Roy, before we can be together?” (110) and concluding Roy must have made promises to Veronica about removing Deborah from the picture. In Roy’s office, she takes his rifle from its cabinet and tests whether it is physically possible to shoot oneself with such a long weapon. Roy walks in and catches her holding it. She claims she was cleaning the rifle and that the key was already in the lock, a lie Roy accepts. 

Later, over dinner, Jodie asks if he and Deborah had a prenuptial agreement. Roy confirms they did not. This convinces Jodie that Roy’s motive for killing Deborah was to be with his mistress, unencumbered by divorce.

On Friday morning, Jodie anticipates the charity luncheon at Meredith’s home next door. She arrives on time with a homemade cheesecake and champagne, only to discover she was not invited as a guest: Meredith hands her an apron and expects her to cook the entire lunch for 12 attendees. Humiliated but determined to question Deborah’s friends, Jodie stays.

Jodie and Dolores bond quickly, working together seamlessly to produce an impressive spread. Dolores mentions that she and her deaf son Mikey, who live on the premises, were both very fond of Deborah.

After the food is served, Jodie joins the luncheon. While most of the women are cold, Eileen is friendly. Jodie questions the group about the Laurel-Westlake Institute of Plastic Surgery, but none of them have heard of it. Meredith recalls that Deborah became a recluse in the week before her death. The women admit they never personally witnessed Deborah’s depression; they only believed she was struggling because Roy had told them so.

Jodie then asks about Veronica, whom they describe as “a dear friend” (129). When Jodie alleges that Roy and Veronica had an affair, they dismiss the idea. Jodie confronts them with the suspicious circumstances of Deborah’s death, questioning how someone could shoot themselves with a rifle given the length of their arms.

Meredith asks Jodie to leave the party. On her way out, Dolores stops her, thanks her for her kindness, and gives her a delicious miniature cupcake. Before leaving, Jodie notices a gold brooch with pearls in the shape of a dove on a narrow table in the hallway and pockets it.

Back home, Jodie tries to talk to Marie, questioning her about Deborah’s death. Marie clarifies that she was not present when Deborah died—she was visiting her brother and arrived home to find Deborah already dead at the bottom of the stairs. Marie tearfully accuses Jodie of being a poor replacement for Deborah, claiming Roy was a much happier man with his first wife. Later, Jodie sits on the spot where Deborah died, trying to feel her presence.

On Monday, as Jodie prepares for her appointment with Dr. Kowalski, Roy announces that after speaking with Marie, he has decided Marie will take over all cooking duties. Jodie interprets this as an act of hostility and silently declares war.

At his office, Dr. Kowalski tells Jodie he was surprised by Deborah’s suicide and was not aware she was seeing a psychiatrist. He reveals that in her last visit, Deborah’s primary concern was “what was happening to her face” (142). He refuses to elaborate further, citing patient confidentiality. 

Returning home, Jodie searches Roy’s office for Veronica’s letter but cannot find it. Marie, returning from shopping, finds Jodie on her knees in front of the cupboard drawers. Later, Jodie attempts to open the office safe by guessing combinations but fails. While searching Roy’s desk, someone enters the room and demands to know what she is doing.