Eight Perfect Murders

Gwen and Malcolm meet a detective, Laura Cifelli, who lets them into Elaine’s house. Laura mentions that a neighbor was the one who noticed her mail piling up, but was never questioned since her death was considered natural. After Laura leaves, Malcolm looks through Elaine’s books, noting a few valuable editions. Gwen finds handcuffs and a painting in a scene that references Deathtrap. Malcolm wonders if Elaine had a pet, but Gwen doesn’t think she did. Then, Malcolm finds a bookshelf with all the books on his list, and thinks the bookstore carried at least one of them, judging by the spine. Gwen wants them fingerprinted and photographed before Malcolm looks through them.

They go to eat at a place Gwen’s grandfather liked. He has a house in Megunticook Lake, which is nearby. They order his favorite dish, the baked oysters. Malcolm talks a bit about his wife’s death, which was five years ago. He admits that he would have killed Eric, but he didn’t. Then, Gwen asks about the store’s co-owner Brian. Brian has an alcohol addiction and spends more time drinking than writing, but manages to put out a book a year. Gwen says Brian’s books influenced her decision to go into law enforcement. After dinner, in their hotel lobby, they share an awkward moment before going to their separate hotel rooms. Malcolm feels his emotional wall go up between them.

That night, Malcolm rereads Malice Aforethought and remembers the first time he read it. The wife of the owner of the Redline Bookstore gave Malcolm a list of her favorite books, which included Malice Aforethought, as well as Rebecca, The Nine Tailors, and others. While Gwen conducts interviews, Malcolm walks into town, goes to a bookstore, buys The Hawk in the Rain, and reads it while eating at the same restaurant as before. Marty calls Malcolm and tells him that Norman probably killed his wife in a house fire. Norman’s brother-in-law, Nicholas Pruitt, was the main suspect in Norman’s death, but he had a solid alibi. Norman also laundered money and had a variety of enemies. Nicholas is an English professor, which makes Malcolm think he is Charlie. When Marty asks if Malcolm is in trouble, Malcolm says he worries that there is a connection between Claire and Norman.

After Malcolm walks around a bit more, Gwen picks him up and they drive back to Boston. She tells him that some local police officers will collect forensic evidence from Elaine’s house. Malcolm hopes to get a chance to look inside the books to see if they were priced by him or someone else in the store. Gwen mentions that one of the bird name murders had a weapon, a baseball bat, left at the scene. The victim, Jay, was charged with attempted rape and worked as a carpenter.

Gwen drops Malcolm at the bookstore, where he says hello to Brandon and Nero before grabbing a meal at R. F. O’Sullivan’s. Then, Malcolm goes to the Somerville Public Library and searches for Nicholas Pruitt on a public computer. There are a few pictures, as well as information about the creative and academic careers of Nicholas, online. A professor-rating site mentioned that he was “FAR too into Lady Macbeth” (144). Malcolm imagines him as the murderer and decides to read Nicholas’s book of short stories.

The next day, Malcolm starts rereading The Secret History at the bookstore. On his lunch break, he goes to the library that has Nicholas’s book, Little Fish, and starts reading it. Malcolm takes note of who the book is dedicated to, and then sees that Nicholas, in his author photo, is wearing a hat like the one Malcolm saw on the man who followed him. He takes the book out of the building without checking it out and goes back to work at the bookstore, but leaves early.

Malcolm walks to the Beacon Hill Hotel where Brian, his co-owner, is drinking. Brian’s wife is, surprisingly, also there. They usually live apart, but Brian broke his arm, and Tess, his wife, is in town to take care of him. The couple remembers Elaine from various readings at the bookstore. Tess confides in Malcolm that she can’t take care of Brian for much longer, and asks Malcolm to try to convince Brian to hire someone. They kiss and hug goodnight. After Malcolm gets home, he texts Gwen and reads more of The Secret History.

The next day, two FBI agents—Berry and Perez—come to Malcolm’s apartment. They question him about his interactions with Gwen, and he shares with them what he shared with her. The agents also ask about Eric, and Malcolm again shares what he shared with Gwen. He denies knowing the name Steven Clifton, but he acknowledges to the reader that this is the name of the teacher who molested Claire. The agents tell him Gwen has been suspended and isn’t allowed to contact him.

Malcolm comes into the FBI office and repeats this information a third time in his official statement. Perez says that all she can say about Gwen’s suspension is that she “didn’t comply with those procedures” (160). Next, Perez asks Malcolm for alibis for the other murders, giving him a list of exact dates and times. After he gets home and eats, Malcolm goes online and finds Jillian Nguyen’s contact information, as well as reads some of her poetry. Then, he calls Jillian, calling himself John Haley (the previous owner of Old Devils) and claims that he is potentially hiring Nicholas Pruitt, but needs more information. Jillian agrees to meet at a coffee shop, Ladder Cafe, to talk about Nicholas.

Jillian and Malcolm meet, the latter pretending to be from a publisher who is interested in having Nicholas edit an anthology. Jillian admits that she filed a restraining order against Nicholas, but his behavior wasn’t violent, just obsessive. She believes that if Nicholas got sober, he would be a good editor. She says he has a collection of antique guns from old mystery movies.

Later that evening, Malcolm meets Marty at Jack Crow’s Tavern. As they drink, Marty tells Malcolm about Nicholas’s history of DUIs and restraining orders, as well as his solid alibi during the murder of Norman. Malcolm tells Marty a little about the FBI’s investigation, and Marty is very interested, especially since he is reading Agatha Christie because Malcolm recommended her. Right before Malcolm leaves, Marty wonders if there’s a connection between Nero and Norman’s orange cat. When Malcolm gets home, Gwen is waiting at his stairs.