Dear Debbie
by Freida McFadden
Contents
Chapter 41
Overview
During a tense family dinner, Cooper learns that Coach Pike has been arrested for a locker-room camera and that Izzy can now rejoin the soccer team. Cooper connects Pike’s arrest to Debbie’s mysterious late-night location and realizes Debbie may have framed or sabotaged Pike to help Izzy.
This realization marks a major shift in Cooper’s view of his wife: Debbie is no longer merely secretive or erratic, but potentially dangerous and capable of calculated retaliation.
Summary
Cooper returns home from the gym to find Debbie cooking dinner. While helping set the table, Cooper learns Debbie has secretly been refilling Lexi’s spring-water jug with tap water for two years, which unsettles Cooper because Debbie has been deceiving their daughter without telling Cooper.
At dinner, Izzy says police were at school all day because Coach Pike was arrested for allegedly placing a camera in the girls’ locker room shower. Izzy reports that a program connecting to the camera was found on Coach Pike’s phone, though he claims innocence. Lexi says Coach Pike was a creep and assumes he is guilty.
Debbie steers the conversation to the girls’ soccer team. Izzy explains that Mrs. Laslo will replace Coach Pike and will let Izzy rejoin after Coach Pike had removed Izzy from the team for not being fast enough. Debbie strongly defends Izzy and frames Coach Pike’s arrest as a terrible event that at least corrected his unfair decision.
Cooper grows increasingly uneasy and cannot eat. He leaves the table with a weak excuse about checking work, goes upstairs, and retrieves the note he made from Debbie’s Findly location. After searching online, Cooper confirms that Robert Pike’s home address matches the location where Debbie had been in the middle of the night.
Cooper concludes that Debbie’s nighttime visit and Coach Pike’s next-day arrest cannot be coincidence. Remembering other suspicious acts, including damage to the neighbor’s fuse box and online revenge against Debbie’s boss, Cooper begins to see Debbie as seriously disturbed and possibly dangerous.
Who Appears
- CooperDebbie’s husband; investigates Pike’s address and realizes Debbie may be dangerous.
- DebbieCooper’s wife; cooks dinner and appears linked to Coach Pike’s suspicious arrest.
- IzzyDebbie and Cooper’s daughter; reports Coach Pike’s arrest and regains a soccer-team spot.
- LexiDebbie and Cooper’s older daughter; comments cynically on Pike and remains distant at dinner.
- Coach PikeArrested soccer coach accused of placing a camera in the girls’ locker room.
- Mrs. LasloReplacement soccer coach who allows Izzy to rejoin the team.