What Have You Done (Adler and Dwyer, #0.5)

Brad is called down to the police station that afternoon. The detectives ask him to explain what happened between him and Diana. Kelly told them that Diana reported being uncomfortable with the way Brad touched her. Brad insists that he would simply pat her back or put his hand on his shoulder and dismisses the accusations as “teenage-girl dramatics” (129). He tells the detectives that he apologized to her for making her feel uncomfortable and, afterward, he did not touch or get too close to her. He also admits that he was home alone on Thursday night when Diana died.

Joe Prior drives over an hour to a 7-Eleven. He watches the cashier, Josie, while staying away from the cameras and hiding his face. There are several girls he watches at work, all in different towns, going “over his fantasies in his mind” as he does so (131).

Riley and Evan decide to put up a cross where Diana died. They paint it white and put flowers with it at the entrance to the field. Diana watches, hoping that someone will figure out what happened to her so her memories can be filled in.

At the police station, Cameron’s attorney arrives. He speaks with Cameron alone, and then he, Cameron, and his parents go back into the interview room with the police. Cameron admits that he lied about sitting in his truck—he got out, knocked on her door, then went around back and threw rocks at Diana’s window, but she never came out. He texted her several times, and she didn’t answer, which he shows to the police on his phone. When he finishes, the police act as though they don’t believe him, pointing out that they believe the killer entered Diana’s house from the back.

The detectives visit Brenda. They inform her that Cameron has a lawyer and then ask her about Brad. Brenda knew nothing about Diana’s accusation that he was inappropriate—which adds “another layer to her grief” that she was not as close to her daughter as she thought (139). They also tell her that there were no signs of sexual assault, and they were unable to find any DNA evidence in her house or where the body was found; they are still searching for her missing clothes and phone. As they speak, Brenda notices that her daughter’s jump rope, which always hangs on the door, is not there, making all three assume it was used as the murder weapon.

In his journal, Evan writes that Diana’s mom told them about the accusations against Brad—“something she probably shouldn’t have” told them (142). Both he and Riley are also surprised that Diana never told them about it. He thinks about the murder and how it likely happened in Diana’s house with her jump rope, then she was taken to the field. Diana’s street is a dead end, and there is a back road that runs to the field, which would have allowed the killer to take her out of the back of her house and to the field. He wonders if he will ever be able to get through his grief because he would like to write about her death as a story to honor her.

The next morning, Riley and Evan decide to go to Joe Prior’s house to look at his truck. In the car, they talk about Coach Turner and how there has been nothing in the news about Diana’s complaint about him. They become angry that he faces no repercussions and are concerned that it is not being investigated properly. Riley decides to call the local news and tell them about Diana’s complaint. She does not tell them her name but lies and says that Diana told her about Brad’s inappropriate behavior. She suggests that the news speak with Principal Kelly about it.

On her third cup of coffee Sunday morning, Shelby worries about her son. She begins to wonder if she really knows him; after he lied to the police so easily, she wonders if he could have gone into Diana’s house that night and fought with her and even lost control. Thinking back on their relationship together, she realizes that she missed many of the signs of how controlling her son was toward Diana.

Brad goes over to Kelly’s house. Kelly admits that he gave a “simple” version of Diana’s accusation instead of the whole story to avoid questions about how he handled it. He is surprised that Brad does not have an alibi for the night of Diana’s death and begins to wonder if Brad could have killed her. Brad informs Kelly that he knows he had an affair with another teacher. He threatens to tell his wife if Kelly gives any more information to the police about Diana’s accusation.

As Brad walks home, he thinks of how much damage it will do to him if Kelly tells the whole truth. He admits to himself that he took it too far with Diana, how he used to watch her bend over and find excuses to touch or stand close to her. He gets “pleasure” out of being a girl’s gym teacher and watching them grow, but lately, he struggles to “know when to stop” looking at and touching them (154). He knows that Ellen is starting to realize something is wrong, and he must figure out what to say to her.

At Joe’s house, Evan and Riley look over his pickup truck. They take photos of it with their phone and notice that it is black—just like Cameron’s. However, they don’t find anything incriminating inside it.

Graham Kelly rejoins his wife in the living room after Brad leaves. He contemplates telling her about the situation with Brad, but a knock on the door interrupts him. It is Jennifer Wiley with KCVS News. She asks Kelly about the allegations against Brad, but he closes the door on her.

Ellen goes to Brad’s house and lets herself in without telling him. She has been worried about him and has not seen him since Saturday. When he comes in, she notes the initial “dismay” in his eyes. She asks him what’s wrong, and he grows nervous, but Jennifer Wiley’s knocking on the door interrupts them.

Before Brad can tell her to leave, Ellen invites her in. Jennifer begins by asking general questions about Diana and then asks Brad about Diana’s complaint—shocking Ellen. Brad considers how to respond, wondering if Kelly told her anything more about the complaint or stuck with the story he told the police. He decides to repeat that it was just a “misunderstanding,” and then he makes Jennifer leave.

Evan and Riley sit and watch Joe’s house. They see him come out carrying a duffle bag and get into his truck; then they decide to follow him. They follow his truck onto the highway and then stay behind him for well over an hour. Eventually, he makes it to the Canadian border. Riley is convinced that he is trying to flee, certain that “Joe Prior is the man who murdered her best friend” (164).

After Jennifer leaves, Ellen confronts Brad, but he insists that it was all exaggerated by Diana. Initially, she is unsure, but as he defends himself and insists that they need to stay strong, she decides that she believes him and understands why he has been so upset since Diana’s death. Brad brings up the police and admits he has no alibi, making Ellen consider for the first time that he could be a suspect in Diana’s death.

At home, Cameron paces around his room repeatedly, thinking over his interaction with the police. They questioned him for a long time and looked through his phone. He regrets telling them he got out of his truck, and his lawyer is worried about them knowing that.

Joe drives to Quebec to watch a girl who works in a store there. He guesses that she is about 16. He likes to watch the girls, learn their mannerisms, and will often follow them home. He fantasizes about ways to get into their homes, where he would leave his truck, how he would get out, and considers it “all part of the fun” (170).

Brad tries to get Ellen to stay with him, telling her that everything is fine between them now that she knows what is wrong with him. However, she finds it all “overwhelming” and is not sure she believes him. He had spent all afternoon coaching her on what to say to the police, which makes her wonder why he is putting so much effort into things if he has nothing to hide.

Kelly calls Brad, and Ellen insists that he put the phone on speaker. Kelly informs him that another girl has come forward with new allegations, then hangs up.

Ellen goes into the bathroom and vomits after hearing the news of another girl. She splashes water on her face. She thinks of what to do now, as she is convinced that Brad is hiding things from her. She leaves the bathroom and ignores Brad’s pleas for her to stay, telling him that she needs time alone.

Evan gets home, and his father is drunk and angry that Evan was gone all day. Evan admits to following Joe, which causes his mother to scold him for doing something so dangerous. Evan writes in his journal about how unhelpful the police were, as the detectives were unavailable, and a uniformed officer simply wrote down their information.

Back at home, Roy attempts to talk to Ellen about what is wrong with her, but she simply says she is fine and goes up to bed. On television, Jennifer Wiley reports that new information has come forward about a teacher being inappropriate with Diana, and Roy and his wife realize that it is likely Brad.

Paula sees the report on the television as well. She is relieved that Principal Kelly spoke with the police and that Brad will be investigated properly.

Cameron’s parents watch the news report and are happy that there is potentially another suspect other than their son. Cameron comes out of his room and asks to borrow the truck to get food. They are hesitant to agree—worried that he might talk to his friends about the case—but relent when Cameron points out that he can’t go out during the day because everyone stares at him.

Brad continues to chain smoke in his home as the news report comes on the television. He has the urge to try to explain himself to Ellen, so he leaves to drive to her house. However, when he comes upon the white cross on the road, he is “plainly, horribly” reminded “that Diana is dead” (181). He decides that he needs to give Ellen space and that there is no real evidence against him, and then he turns around.

Riley is at home, angry that the police did nothing about Joe and convinced that he is Diana’s killer. She checks back through her phone at her last message from Diana, then the ones that she has been sending Diana since she died. She writes her a new text about how “empty” the world is and assures Diana that they will find her killer. She is shocked when she gets a text back that reads, “No you won’t” (183).

Riley’s mother comes to her room when she hears Riley’s screams of surprise. They call Detective Stone, who comes over and reveals to them that they never found Diana’s phone; he assumes that the killer sent the text.

Monday morning, Principal Kelly lies in bed, not wanting to go to work because of the chaos the news report will create. He decides that he needs to stick with the version of events he told the police—the “much milder version” (187)—because that is what is in Diana’s file, and he is afraid of his wife finding out about his affair.

At breakfast, Roy speaks to his daughter. He tells her that they saw the report and asks her if the teacher is Brad. She admits that it is and that she initially believed him—but now that another survivor has come forward, she isn’t sure.

Shelby gets a call that the police would like to speak to her son again, this time about what he was doing last night. She runs up to Cameron’s room and demands to know what he did. However, he insists that he just got food and then drove around.

Brad is suspended from his teaching job while the accusations are investigated, which does not surprise him. He is called down to the police station. Detective Stone informs him that Zoe Simpson told them that he went into the girl’s locker room while she was alone in there and looked at her, half-dressed, making her uncomfortable. Brad vehemently denies it, even though he knows it’s true.

Stone then asks him what he was doing at around 11:00 pm the night before—when the text was sent to Riley. He tells them that he went to see his fiancée but decided against it. Stone is surprised to learn that Ellen is his fiancée, given that Diana’s body was found on her parents’ farm. Stone continues to question him for a long time, asking him over and over what he did to Diana.

Diana watches the interview with Brad. She does not think that he killed her, especially since her accusations were never followed up, and she never told anyone else. However, she thinks back to the incident where he went into the locker room while she was showering. When she got out, he was just a few feet away, holding her towel. He told her not to tell anyone, then left. Now she wonders if he was more “dangerous” than she thought.

Edward comes home and angrily goes into Cameron’s room, demanding that Cameron tell him what happened last night. However, Cameron insists that he just drove around and then sat at a place where he and Diana used to go. He reveals that the spot is near Roy’s farm, which makes Edward believe “for the first time” that “it’s actually possible that his son is a murderer” (197).

Edward comes downstairs and tells his wife what he learned from Cameron. She says that she wishes Cameron would be honest so that they could “help” him. Edward asks what she would help him with, and she admits she would have gone with him to destroy evidence, then asks Edward if he would do the same.

Riley and Evan skip school to talk with Diana’s mom about the funeral and then walk around the park. Riley asks Evan where he thinks Diana is if she is gone or still around, unable to rest until her murderer is caught. Evan dismisses her, but Riley insists that ghosts are real. She tells him about a time when she, Diana, and their friend Sadie made a Ouija board.

Riley tells Evan that they asked the Ouija board if there were any ghosts, and a boy named Simon started spelling on the board. He tells them that he was born in 1861 and died at 12, spelling the word “sick” when they asked how he died. Before they could ask him anything more, the glass started moving wildly about the board, scaring the girls and causing them to stop.

Evan insists that one of them must have been moving the glass. However, Riley knows that none of them did it—that it was moving in a way that none of them could have done. She angrily leaves Evan and walks to the cemetery. The two of them search the older sections for a Simon, born in 1861, but find none.

At work, Ellen ignores Brad’s attempts to contact her. She constantly goes back and forth between believing him and thinking he is a victim, then deciding that the girls would not lie. In her heart, though, she is convinced that Brad did not kill Diana. She finally decides that she can never be certain of Brad’s innocence and, therefore, she can never marry him.

On Monday afternoon, Evan types in his journal about his experience with Riley. He is convinced that the Ouija board was not real but can tell that Riley is bothered by the thought of Diana as a ghost, as well as the text from the killer to her phone. When Riley took her home, the two of them searched her entire house and made sure everything was locked.

Paula goes to Kelly’s office to check on him, and he is distraught. He tells her about the new allegations but won’t tell her who the survivor is. He also reveals that when Diana made her allegations against Brad, he suggested she go to the police—but she refused. He admits to mishandling the situation and now partially blames himself for Diana’s death.

As Paula leaves, she thinks of how upset Kelly is and how he is mostly responsible for his current situation. She also notes how, before Kelly told her, the allegations against Brad were nothing serious—but now, he is admitting that he tried to get Diana to go to the police—making Paula wonder what exactly Diana accused Brad of.

The police come to search Cameron’s house with a warrant but refuse to tell his family what they are looking for. His dad takes him down to the police station while his mother stays behind.

In the car, Edward asks his son if there is anything he should know about last night, realizing that, like his wife, he would do what he can to protect Cameron. Cameron repeats that he did nothing, and Edward suggests that Cameron not tell them that he went and parked in the field.

During the interview, Cameron lies and tells the police that he went to the graveyard instead of the field. Edward thinks that if Cameron is guilty, the phone could be in the field. He decides that if he can find it or get Cameron to tell him where it is, he will destroy it. Throughout the interview, Cameron insists that he does not have Diana’s phone and did not kill her.

The police come to Brad’s house with a warrant and search for the phone but refuse to tell Brad what they are looking for. After they leave, Brad calls an attorney.