What Lies in the Woods

Naomi goes to her father’s house, where Naomi’s father admits for the first time that Jim Green gave the family $30,000 to help Naomi with her recovery and education. To Naomi, this implies that Jim Green was providing additional incentive for the family to stick to the story that Stahl attacked Naomi. Naomi’s father admits that based on this money, he thought that Oscar might have attacked Naomi and that Jim was protecting his son. He shrugs off Naomi’s anger that he might have colluded in a coverup, explaining, “You were alive, and…well, that money could give you more of a future than I ever could” (262).

Naomi is alone in her father’s home when Ethan startles her by abruptly turning up. Ethan has figured out that Naomi has learned his true identity and tries to rationalize deceiving her: “We both lied, Naomi. You’ve been lying all along, to everyone” (265). Ethan saw Stahl at his home on the day that Naomi was attacked; he could have come forward as an alibi and proved that his father was not the one to attack Naomi, but he had previously been privy to evidence strongly hinting that Stahl had attacked and killed other women.