The day after Barney’s burial, Pip tries to distract herself by teaching Josh chess, but Ravi unexpectedly arrives at the house. He brings food from his mother for Pip’s family, then asks to speak to Pip privately in her room.

Ravi tells Pip that he thought about her cruel rejection all night and realized there was only one explanation: someone threatened her by taking and killing Barney. Pip breaks down, confirms the truth, and shows Ravi the Unknown texts and earlier printed threats. Pip explains that she hid the threats because she feared Ravi would make her stop, and that she pushed Ravi away to keep him safe.

Pip insists the investigation must end because the killer has entered her home, watched her, and could harm Josh, Ravi, or others. Ravi argues that Sal still deserves justice and that Pip’s family will never truly be safe while the killer remains free. Pip reveals she secretly kept the photo proving Sal was not where the official timeline said he was, but she and Ravi agree it is not strong enough to take to the police, especially with Daniel da Silva among their suspects.

Ravi reframes their only option as a secret investigation: they will stop interviewing people, pretend Pip has abandoned the project, and work only from what they already know. He gives Pip his laptop, and Pip reveals she emailed her research to herself, so the killer’s forced deletion did not destroy everything. Pip accepts Ravi’s plan, deciding they still have a double homicide to solve.

Pip and Ravi print their evidence and build a murder board, organizing suspects, timelines, threats, photos, planner pages, drug information, hit-and-run reports, and connections between Andie and Sal’s cases. Naomi calls to offer condolences about Barney and to help Pip prepare for her Cambridge exam through a contact who studied English there.

Returning to the board, Ravi suggests their strongest definite leads point toward Max Hastings: the hit-and-run knowledge, Sal’s friends’ phone numbers, the Ivy House photo, Rohypnol, and his likely role in drink spiking. Pip complicates that theory by noting Nat and Howie also had her number, and Max was giving a police statement when Sal disappeared. They map the wider links between Max, Howie, Nat, Daniel da Silva, and Jason Bell, realizing the suspects form a tangled web rather than a simple answer.