Cooper searches the second floor of Ken’s house after tracing Debbie’s presence there. He checks an open bathroom, two teenage bedrooms, and an unused-looking guest room, finding nothing suspicious and briefly considering that Ken may simply be away.

Cooper enters the final room, which he assumes is the master bedroom. The drawn curtains make the room feel ominous, and when Cooper opens the door fully, he collapses in shock at the sight of Ken’s body on the bed.

Ken is dead with a bullet hole in his forehead, and Cooper realizes Ken has likely been dead since at least the previous morning, when Ken failed to appear at work. Cooper struggles with nausea and horror while recognizing that Ken has been murdered.

Cooper initially tries to find explanations that do not involve Debbie, including Ken’s possible marital trouble or a burglary. But as Cooper prepares to call the police, Cooper remembers that although Debbie does not own a gun, Cooper does—and it is registered to Cooper with Cooper’s fingerprints on it.

This realization changes Cooper’s understanding of the danger. If Debbie killed Ken, Cooper now suspects the motive was not a failed plea for Cooper’s job but something more calculated, possibly involving Cooper’s gun and an attempt to frame him. Cooper decides he must leave immediately and check his garage.