Pip concludes that the unidentified person who took the hidden photo at Max Hastings’ house must have been Sal Singh. Pip downloads Photoshop, enlarges and sharpens the image, and confirms that Naomi’s phone shows 00:09, proving the four friends were together after midnight. Since someone else took the picture, and Pip sees a faint blue reflection in the window matching Sal’s shirt, Pip believes Sal was still there long after his friends claimed he left.

Pip prints the original and cropped evidence, then calls Ravi Singh and urgently asks him to meet her. In Pip’s car, Ravi studies the photo and understands its meaning: Sal did not lie about leaving Max’s house at 12:15; Sal’s friends lied and destroyed his alibi. Pip insists they must test the theory before accepting it.

Pip and Ravi reenact the prosecution’s version of Andie Bell’s murder, giving Sal the fastest and most favorable possible timeline. Starting at Max’s house, they time a route in which Sal leaves around 12:10, is supposedly intercepted by Andie, kills her in a secluded spot, loads her body into the boot, drives to Lodge Wood, hides and buries the body, abandons Andie’s car near Howie Bowers’ street, and walks home.

Even using the closest locations and rushing every step, the reenactment takes fifty-eight minutes and nineteen seconds. Because Sal had only about forty-five minutes to get from Max’s house to home, Pip and Ravi conclude that Sal could not have murdered and hidden Andie in that time. Ravi reacts with stunned joy and grief, realizing his brother is innocent.

Ravi asks whether the photo is enough to take to the police, but Pip says they still need answers first. Pip wants to know why Sal’s friends lied and took away his alibi. Ravi tells Pip to question Naomi alone, explaining that Naomi will not be able to talk if Ravi is present, and Pip leaves to confront her.