Pip visits Max Hastings at his house, which still resembles the setting shown in old Facebook photos from the night Andie Bell disappeared. The familiarity of the place makes the visit feel like a reconstruction of the events that changed Little Kilton.

In the interview, Max describes Sal Singh and Andie’s relationship as shallow and unremarkable, beginning with a drunken hookup at a Christmas party. Max says Sal was perhaps quiet on 20 April but did not mention Andie or any argument with Andie, contradicting Naomi Ward’s earlier claim that Sal told the group he and Andie were having a disagreement.

Max says Sal left the gathering early and quietly, rather than announcing that he was not feeling it as Naomi had said. Max also recalls spending much of the night playing video games with Jake and Millie, while Naomi was absent upstairs for an unclear amount of time.

When Pip asks about the following evening, Max confirms that Sal asked the group to adjust the times and give him an alibi, though Max frames it as a small favour for a friend rather than a formal request to lie. Max says he believes Sal must have killed Andie because of the blood evidence and Sal’s suicide, despite not thinking Sal seemed capable of murder.

After the interview, Pip compares Max’s account with Naomi’s and focuses on the inconsistencies. Max’s comment that Naomi was missing for part of the night makes Pip wonder whether Naomi left the house and whether Max is covering for her.

Pip struggles with the idea of suspecting Naomi, whom Pip has long admired like an older sister. Still, Ravi’s suggestion that Naomi may have loved Sal, Naomi’s dislike of Andie, and Naomi’s tense interview push Pip to imagine a possible scenario in which Naomi killed Andie and Sal helped conceal it out of loyalty. Pip admits she may be overreaching, but adds Naomi Ward to the persons of interest alongside Jason Bell.