A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Nine
Overview
Pip interviews Emma Hutton and gains a more complicated view of Andie Bell. Emma reveals that Andie and Sal had been fighting before Andie disappeared, and that Andie was supposed to be home caring for her vulnerable sister Becca that night.
The chapter shifts Andie from a simple victim in Pip's mind to someone whose charisma and cruelty may have created resentment and conflict. Emma's testimony strengthens the official motive against Sal while also opening new questions about Andie's relationships and family life.
Summary
Pip overhears her parents arguing downstairs about her summer project. Pip's mother worries that Pip is becoming unhealthily absorbed in Andie Bell's case, while Pip's father argues that Pip should have space to make her own choices. Pip leaves the argument alone and prepares for an interview that could move the investigation forward.
Emma Hutton, one of Andie Bell's best friends, has agreed to answer a few questions by phone. Pip records the call and frames the interview as part of a school project about Andie's disappearance and the media. Emma explains that Andie's parents called her and Chloe Burch around one o'clock on the night Andie vanished, and Emma later tried to call Sal Singh, who did not answer until the next morning.
Emma says the police interviewed her that Saturday and asked about Sal. Emma told them Andie and Sal had been arguing at school on the Thursday and Friday before Andie's disappearance, which was unusual because Sal normally did not fight back when Andie bickered with him. Emma does not know what the argument was about, but Andie dismissed it as Sal overreacting.
Pip then learns that Andie was supposed to stay home that Friday night. Emma reveals that Becca Bell, Andie's younger sister, had recently been hospitalized for self-harm, and Andie's parents had told Andie to look after Becca while they went out. Andie's decision to leave anyway reframes the night of the disappearance and adds strain to the picture of Andie's family life.
Emma becomes more emotionally honest and describes Andie as magnetic but destructive. Emma says Andie made friends feel chosen and special, then used their insecurities to hurt them; Emma now sees how damaging that friendship was for herself, Chloe, and Becca. Emma insists Andie did not deserve to be murdered, but says she can understand why someone like Sal might have snapped under Andie's cruelty.
When Emma begins crying, Pip ends the interview. Emma adds that she and Chloe drifted apart after Andie's death because both wanted distance from who they had been. After the call, Pip reflects that Andie's public image as beautiful and popular may have hidden a darker, manipulative side that affected everyone close to her.
Who Appears
- Pip Fitz-Amobiconducts Emma’s recorded interview and reassesses Andie’s personality and relationships.
- Emma HuttonAndie’s former best friend; reveals Sal arguments, Becca’s situation, and Andie’s cruelty.
- Andie Bellabsent murder victim; remembered as popular, manipulative, cruel, and neglectful of Becca.
- Sal SinghAndie’s boyfriend; Emma says he argued with Andie shortly before her disappearance.
- Becca BellAndie’s younger sister; had recently been hospitalized for self-harm and needed supervision.
- Chloe BurchAndie’s other best friend; mentioned as drifting from Emma after Andie’s death.
- Pip’s parentsargue over whether Pip’s focus on the Andie Bell case is unhealthy.