Pip waits in her car at the station car park after dark, watching for Howie Bowers while pretending to read. When a man in a dark parka arrives and lingers by the fence, Pip hides low in the car and tests his identity by calling the number she has for Howie.

The man’s phone rings with a distinctive quacking ringtone, confirming that he is Howie Bowers. Pip hangs up quickly, but Howie calls back, forcing Pip to silence her phone and wait out the danger of being discovered.

Stanley Forbes then arrives and meets Howie by the fence. Stanley hands Howie a thick envelope and angrily says this is the last time, while Howie appears to threaten that he could tell someone something. Pip photographs the exchange, recognizing Stanley as both a Kilton Mail employee and the man Becca Bell said she was seeing.

After Stanley leaves, Howie remains in the car park and meets a younger schoolboy Pip recognizes as Robin. Robin gives Howie cash, and Howie gives him a rolled-up paper bag; Pip photographs the drug deal and realizes she now has leverage against Howie.

When Howie leaves on foot, Pip overcomes her fear and follows him through Little Kilton. The route leads to Romer Close, the same road where Andie Bell’s car was found abandoned after her disappearance. Pip watches Howie enter number twenty-nine.

Outside Howie’s house, Pip notices a faded maroon car and immediately recognizes it. Shocked by the implication, Pip steps back and calls Ravi, telling him to come to Romer Close at once.