The Dry

Falk spends the next day combing through the Hadlers' finances, and at night Gretchen meets him at the pub. She warns him to be careful with the investigation, because the town now knows that he has returned, and some people are displeased. Gretchen confides that while she hopes Luke did not do it, it is “a completely different question” (118) of whether he was capable of murder. Gretchen and Falk discuss Luke's personality, and she shares that they still dated for a few years after Falk left. Gretchen thinks that Falk was the only one Luke was consistently loyal to, since he continued to stick to their alibi, even when he was pressured to turn on Falk. Falk is about to tell her the truth about his alibi, but reconsiders when Gretchen says it is the only thing keeping him safe in Kiewarra (124).

Throughout the chapter, there are flashbacks to the night Luke pranked his friends by pretending he fell from a cliff. Falk was furious when he finally found him, and Ellie scolded him for taking advantage of the people that care about him. This night changed the dynamic of the friend group, and two weeks later Ellie died.