Pip records that Sal Singh’s innocence now feels certain rather than speculative: Sal did not kill Andie Bell and did not kill himself. Pip sees the case as two murders, with the town having wrongly turned Sal into a villain, and believes she and Ravi now hold clues that can identify the real killer.

After school, Pip meets Ravi in the park and tells Ravi how Sal’s alibi was destroyed. Ravi is quietly furious that Naomi Ward and Max Hastings avoided punishment while Sal was framed and killed. Pip argues that Naomi acted from fear and never meant to hurt Sal, though Ravi is unsure whether Ravi can forgive Naomi.

Pip admits that Pip exaggerated the strength of Max’s hidden photo as police evidence in order to make Max and Naomi talk. Because Max has likely deleted the photo and Daniel da Silva is on the police force, Pip doubts whether the police would take her seriously. Pip also explains that Pip wants to protect Naomi for Cara’s sake, because exposing Naomi would devastate Cara after Cara has already lost her mother.

Pip and Ravi compromise: they will give themselves three more weeks to find the killer or obtain solid evidence against a suspect. If they fail, they will take the photo to the police despite the damage it may do to Naomi and Cara. Pip feels torn between the Wards, the Singhs, and the truth, and questions whether Pip is still the good person Pip thought she was.

Pip revises the suspect list, removing Naomi because Naomi’s suspicious behavior has been explained by the hit-and-run blackmail. Pip focuses on the killer’s knowledge of the 2011 hit-and-run and access to the phone numbers of Max, Naomi, Millie, Jake, and Pip. Max remains the strongest suspect because Max caused the hit-and-run, may have used it to frame Sal, may have lied about staying home, and may have relied on Pip’s reluctance to expose Naomi.

Pip also considers how other suspects could have learned about the accident: Max might have drunkenly told Nat da Silva, Howie Bowers, or Andie Bell; Daniel da Silva might have deduced it as a police officer; or someone might have witnessed it. Pip acknowledges that access to phone numbers does not narrow the list much, since Max, Howie, Nat, Daniel, or Jason Bell could plausibly have obtained them. With only three weeks left, Pip resolves to pursue every open lead while still facing ordinary schoolwork.