The Family Remains

About a year previously, Rachel Rimmer wakes to an early-morning phone call from a detective in Nice, France. The detective informs her that her husband, Michael Rimmer, was discovered dead in his house in Antibes that morning.

Forty-two-year-old Henry Lamb contemplates the next phase of his life. He used to live alone in his London apartment, but for the past year, his sister, Lucy, and her two young children, Marco and Stella, have been living with him. Lucy and Henry had a terrible childhood. A con man and his family moved into Henry and Lucy’s family home and deceived their parents, controlling them and taking their money. Lucy became pregnant at 13 by Phineas Thomsen, the son of the con man. She had the baby at 14, and only recently regained contact with her now 25-year-old daughter, Libby. When Henry’s parents died, he and the other children in the house ran away.

Recently, Lucy and Henry inherited money from the sale of their parents’ house, which causes Henry to think about the next part of his life. He plans to find the man he loves, Phineas (known as Phin). Henry hasn’t seen Phin since Henry was 16, but Libby’s boyfriend, Miller Roe, tracked Phin down. Phin has been using the name Finn and he works on a game reserve in Botswana. Libby and Miller have plans to go to Botswana so that Libby can meet her father; Henry will join them. However, Lucy expresses misgivings about Henry accompanying Libby and Miller on their trip.

Three years earlier, Rachel meets Michael in a Martha’s Vineyard pharmacy. Upon hearing Rachel’s British accent, Michael asks where she is from. Two months later, Rachel receives an email from Michael explaining that he will be living in London for a few months and asking for her suggestions of areas to explore.

Henry learns from Libby that Phin left his post on the game reserve in Botswana. Phin heard that Libby, Miller, and Henry booked a stay there and got spooked, telling his employer he had a family emergency. Henry takes this hard, blaming Miller for not being more discreet when booking their trip. Phin likely recognized Miller’s name from a magazine article Miller wrote about the Lamb family four years ago. Henry decides to take matters into his own hands and books a four-day stay at the game lodge for himself.

A week after receiving an email from Michael, Rachel meets with her friend Paige for a drink. Paige makes jewelry and rents the studio next to Rachel's jewelry studio. Rachel has her own jewelry-design business, but is dependent on her father to pay her expenses since her business is not yet making a profit. It bothers Rachel that, at 32, she still isn't financially independent. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Paige saves money by living with her mother; although Paige's business is still getting off the ground too, Paige is financially responsible. Rachel tells Paige about Michael and his email, and Rachel decides to pursue a fling with Michael, since, based on his photo, she and Paige do not think he looks like marriage material.

Lucy meets a real estate agent at a house outside of St. Albans that she is interested in buying. The house needs some updates, but Lucy loves that the floor plan is irregular. The house in which Lucy grew up was symmetrical, and Lucy likes that this one is different. She plans to make an offer on this house, which is near where her daughter Libby lives in St. Albans. Lucy is particularly excited at the prospect of giving Marco and Stella, her other two children, a home. They moved from place to place throughout Marco and Stella’s childhood, and lived on the streets for a while too, so having a permanent home will be life-changing.

Rachel replies to Michael's email, giving her phone number and offering to show him some places in her neighborhood. When Michael arrives 10 days later, they go out for cocktails. Rachel learns that Michael is divorced, with a 10-year-old son named Marco that he doesn’t see. His ex-wife, Lucy, disappeared with their son when Michael returned to France after a business trip, and he never sought custody.

Lucy returns to Henry’s apartment after viewing the house and finds Marco and his friend Alf playing video games. She is constantly policing her children to make sure they comply with Henry’s high standards of cleanliness and privacy. She emails the real estate agent and makes an offer on the house. The next morning, Lucy notices that Henry’s bedroom door is still closed, which is unusual. She checks inside, finds that Henry is gone, and determines from the dry shower and missing cell phone charger that something is amiss. She suspects that Henry left during the night for the airport, and that he is likely headed to Botswana to find Phin.

Henry sits on a plane, anticipating Lucy’s reaction when she finds he isn’t home. He knows Lucy will think he is going to Botswana, but he is actually headed to Chicago. He looked at Tripadvisor reviews for the Chobe Game Lodge, where Phin works, and found a review from a chatty woman that mentioned several of the staff by name. Henry messaged her asking for recommendations for a specific guide, and when the woman mentioned Phin, she revealed that she thinks Phin has family in Chicago. Henry isn’t sure whether this is true, since he and the children he grew up with (Lucy, Phin, and Phin’s sister Clemency) have all changed their names and invented histories. Even so, Henry is following this lead, hoping to find Phin in Chicago.

Over cocktails with Michael, Rachel learns about Michael’s many houses: one in Martha’s Vineyard, a ski-resort chalet, and a house in Antibes, France. They return to Rachel’s apartment and have sex. The next day, Rachel meets her dad for lunch and tells him about her date with Michael, and they go over her business account together. When she opens the account, she notices a new order for £54,000 worth of jewelry. Upon checking the customer details to see who placed the order, Rachel finds that Michael made the purchase.

Lucy bakes for a sale at Stella’s school, but her mind is on Henry. She feels out of place at the bake sale, since she doesn’t usually socialize with other moms. She also feels strange in her expensive shoes; Lucy isn’t used to having money, so thinking about the £2 million in her bank account feels foreign and somewhat disgusting to her. She donates several pounds to the fundraiser when buying a fairy cake for her daughter Stella, who is in year one. As they leave for home, Lucy gets a photo from Henry in which he is on a plane and sipping champagne. She feels a sense of dread at the thought of Henry finding Phin.

In Chicago, Henry checks into his hotel in the Northalsted district, known as an inclusive LGBT district. He doesn’t know for sure that Phin is gay, but assumes that he is, and thinks this area will be a good starting place for his search. Upon seeing several texts from Lucy asking about his whereabouts, Henry realizes that he sent her a photo from the plane when he was drunk. He blocks Lucy’s number.

Henry studies the only photo he has of Phin, taken from the safari website. Phin’s face looks much older and more lined than the last time Henry saw him, although Phin is still handsome. Henry has had several cosmetic surgeries to make himself look more like young Phin. Henry leaves his hotel in the evening and visits several bars in the area, showing around the photo of Phin and asking if anyone knows him. He doesn’t have any luck.

Rachel confronts Michael at his apartment. She is angry about his large jewelry purchase, interpreting it as his way of paying for sex. Michael apologizes profusely, saying he did not think about the purchase in that way. He cancels the order and Rachel agrees to give him another chance, so they make plans to meet for dinner that night.

Lucy learns from her best friend, Phin’s sister Clemency, that Clemency told Phin about the upcoming visit from Henry, Libby, and Miller. Clemency was worried about how Phin might react to Henry showing up, given the way Henry was obsessed with Phin when they were children. Lucy searches Henry’s room for clues about his whereabouts, and thinks back to last year, when she first saw Henry as an adult—he looked like Phin. Lucy now worries what Henry might do when he finds Phin.

After two months of dating, Rachel becomes Michael's official girlfriend. At a party at Rachel's friend Dominic's house, Rachel secretly asks Dominic's husband, Jonno, to find out information about Michael's past, specifically about his ex-wife and his son. When Rachel finds Michael talking to a girl at the party named Ella, she is overcome by jealousy upon seeing Ella's flirtatious behavior toward Michael. Rachel hates acting clingy, but can’t help it; Michael reassures her that she is "the only one" (63) for him.

Henry gets the photo of Phin printed and walks several miles around Chicago, asking people if they recognize Phin. After a fruitless day of searching, he sees a voicemail from someone he met last night named Lyle. Lyle has a friend who rents an apartment from a guy named Finn who lives in Africa.

Lucy hears from the real estate agent that the house is hers if she adds another 50,000 to her offer. She immediately agrees, longing for a safe home for her family.

Rachel and Michael leave Dominic’s party with Rachel feeling emotions of love for Michael. She is surprised with how smitten she is, as she’s never fallen this hard for a man before. As she and Michael walk home together along the river, Michael proposes, and Rachel accepts.

On Monday, Rachel shares the happy news of her engagement with Paige. Paige expresses some concern that Rachel and Michael have only known each other for two months, but Rachel reassures Paige about her decision. Their celebration is interrupted by text messages from Dominic, with information on Michael that Jonno discovered at the party. Michael described his ex-wife Lucy as “a freak” and said they met when he “picked her up off the street” where she played violin (72). Furthermore, Jonno found from internet research that Michael’s business looks like a cover operation for suspect activities. Rachel considers this news from Dom, but ultimately finds excuses for each red flag and moves forward with the engagement.

Samuel receives a report from Saffron about forensics findings on the bones. They were in the water for only a short period, but the bones are 20 to 25 years old, meaning they were stored somewhere for many years before recently being moved. Bunions and wear in the knee joints of the bones suggests the person may have been a dancer, and fabric fibers found in the plastic bag are being tested. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the skull, which confirms to Samuel that this is officially a murder case.

Henry visits Joe, the young man renting an apartment from Phin. Upon seeing the décor and style of the apartment, Henry realizes that it is nothing like his own apartment, which he designed “with Phin in mind” (78). Joe doesn’t have much information about Phin, only a few photos of him that were left in the apartment and an email address, which he shares with Henry.

Two months after Michael’s proposal, Rachel and Michael marry and honeymoon in the Seychelles. They have sex often, but it is somewhat tamer than Rachel expected, so she wants to add variety. One day, she lays out objects on the bed while Michael is in the shower: “The silken ropes. The switch. The underwear that didn’t come from Victoria’s Secret” (85). When Michael emerges from the bathroom and sees the items, she asks tentatively how he would feel about using them. He reacts with surprise and anger: If this is what Rachel is into, he married a stranger. He is especially angry about Rachel’s admission that she used sex toys like these in the past with other men. Upon Michael’s reaction, Rachel quickly asks him to “[f]orget this ever happened” (87) and regrets bringing it up. The remainder of their honeymoon is ruined. Although they still talk and enjoy the days, they don’t have sex again, and Rachel feels rejected and lonely. When they return to London, Rachel leaves to stay at her apartment, and Michael hardly acknowledges her leaving.

Saffron reports that the fibers found in the plastic bag with the bones are from towels, and remnants of the towel label are currently under scrutiny. Also promising is that traces of blood and hair were found on the towel fibers. Saffron expects to learn more from the lab soon.

Henry uses the background of one of the photos of Phin that Joe showed him to determine where the photo was taken: a bar called the Magdala. While at the bar, Henry notices a woman who looks like the woman in the photo with Phin. Henry shows the photo to the woman, named Mati, but at first, she denies knowing Phin. Mati’s boyfriend, seated next to her, looks at the photo too, and recognizes another man in the photo—Kris Doll.

Based on forensics results, Samuel now knows that the remains belong to a woman between 27 and 33 years of age. The towel fibers turn out to be from an expensive designer towel made between 1988 and 2001. Furthermore, leaves in the bag belong to two common London trees, as well as one rare tree called the Persian silk tree. Samuel knows that with all the information they have gathered so far, it is only a matter of time before they are able to identify the woman from missing-persons records.

Rachel stays at her apartment for three days without hearing from Michael before deciding to text him. He responds immediately, inviting her for dinner. When she arrives, he acts as if everything is normal between them. When Rachel brings up the miserable last half of their honeymoon, Michael blames Rachel for going “cold” on him (101). They clearly had different interpretations of each other’s behavior on the honeymoon, and Rachel expresses regret for bringing the sex toys that made Michael angry. After eating dinner, they go to the bedroom to have sex, but when Michael can’t get an erection, he screams and throws a handful of books against the wall. He blames Rachel, telling her that he can’t stop thinking about her engaging in sex acts with other men and that she isn’t the person he thought she was when they met. He calls her “damaged goods” (105), and then orders her to turn around and get on all fours. She complies, thinking maybe this will “fix things” between them, but “[w]hat happen[s] next [i]s hard and fast and brutal” (106). Rachel sees a dark side of Michael.

Henry easily finds Kris Doll online. Kris gives tours of Chicago on his motorbike. Henry calls and books a tour with Kris for the following evening, identifying himself as Joshua Harris. That night, Henry goes out to a bar and brings a young man named Nicholas back to his hotel room. When he tells Nicholas about his childhood, Henry pretends to be Phin, calling David Thomsen, the con artist, his father.

Samuel’s team finds a possible identity for the remains: Birdie Dunlop-Evers, reported missing in 1996. He gets in touch with Birdie’s brother, Philip, and asks Philip to come to London to answer some questions about his sister.

Marco, Lucy’s son, notices his mom’s strange mood surrounding Henry’s disappearance. He tries messaging his uncle, but Henry immediately blocks his number just as he blocked Lucy. Lucy explains to Marco that Henry is “complicated” (116). He used to be obsessed with Phin when they were young, and was violent toward Phin at times. He pushed Phin into a river; later, on the night all the children escaped, Henry tied Phin to a radiator. Marco understands the urgency Lucy feels to find Henry, and offers to have his friend Alf hack into the iPad and laptop that Henry left behind.

Henry meets with Kris for his motorbike tour. When they stop to take in the sunset, Henry finds himself tearing up. He feels overwhelmingly alone and incomplete, and more desperate than ever to find Phin, hoping finding Phin will “fix” him (121). Henry steers the conversation to learn what Kris may know about Phin. Kris is bisexual, and used to be in a relationship with Phin, who is also bisexual. Phin told Kris a little about his childhood, including his desire to stay removed from the people from his past, including “some guy who handcuffed him to a radiator” (123). Kris also learned from a mutual friend that Phin is currently in Chicago at an Airbnb. Henry tries not to show his excitement at this revelation, and as the tour concludes, Henry leaves his watch in the motorbike’s saddlebag.

Samuel interviews Philip and learns that Birdie was in a pop band. Birdie had a turbulent relationship with her parents, and didn’t have contact with them in the years leading up to her disappearance. Philip remembers that Birdie had a boyfriend named Justin who was also in the band; in 1988, they moved into a large house owned by someone Birdie knew.

Rachel visits her father at his house. Although the two of them are close, she deflects his questions about Michael and hides her marriage problems from him. It has been over a month since Rachel's honeymoon with Michael, and she feels she is constantly tiptoeing around him, trying not to set off the darkness she can sense inside of him. Michael's business recently lost a shipment worth about $1 million, so Rachel has been paying for everything. Their sex life has not improved, which Michael blames on his stress over money issues. He tells Rachel she has no idea how he is feeling, and she swallows her desire to lash out at him, offering comfort instead.

Henry contacts Kris the day after the tour to let him know that he left his watch in Kris’s bike, and they agree to meet up once Kris finds it. Henry then returns to the Magdala, and learns from the bartender that he just missed Phin. When Henry leaves the bar, he sees Phin leaving the supermarket across the street.