The Reappearance of Rachel Price
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Chapter Twenty
Overview
Bel uncovers a strange clue about the documentary’s origin: a blank account named Lucas Ayer appears to have prompted Ramsey Lee to take on the Rachel Price case. At home, Rachel installs a double-sided lock on her room, which Bel interprets as proof Rachel knows Bel searched the room and took the baby sock.
Bel’s concern shifts from suspicion to strategy as Charlie grows more withdrawn from the house. Bel decides she must expose Rachel as a liar and protect Charlie before Rachel’s return permanently drives him away.
Summary
On Thursday evening, Bel searches Director Ramsey Lee’s old Twitter posts and finds the October tweet Ash had pointed her toward: Ramsey wrote that letting go of a beloved project was hard and suggested he might never make another documentary. In the replies, Bel finds a comment from an account named Lucas Ayer recommending the Rachel Price case as Ramsey’s next subject. The account has no profile photo, no followers, follows no one, and appears to have been created only to post that suggestion, making the origin of the documentary feel suspicious.
A sudden drilling sound interrupts Bel. Bel follows it upstairs and finds Rachel outside the spare room, installing a new door handle with a lock that works from both sides. Rachel says she has not been sleeping well because her kidnapper is still out there and claims the lock will help her feel safe.
Bel notices that the lock also uses a key from the outside and suspects Rachel chose it so she can secure the room when she is gone. Because Bel searched Rachel’s room the day before and took the pink baby sock, Bel concludes Rachel may know Bel went inside and may realize Bel suspects Rachel is lying.
Bel retreats downstairs to Charlie, who is watching baseball and drinking beer after coming home late again. Bel sees his growing distance from the house as a consequence of Rachel’s return and privately decides that Charlie and Rachel cannot both remain in their lives. Bel resolves to prove Rachel is lying and force her out before Rachel drives Charlie away.
Bel asks Charlie whether he kept any of her baby clothes or toys. Charlie says he gave everything away to Goodwill or to Jeff and Sherry for Carter, which makes Rachel’s possession of Bel’s baby sock more suspicious. As Rachel’s drill and Charlie’s television both grow louder, Bel feels the pressure in the house intensify.
Who Appears
- Bel PriceInvestigates the documentary’s origin, suspects Rachel, and resolves to protect Charlie by exposing her.
- Rachel PriceInstalls a double-sided lock on the spare room, claiming fear of her abductor.
- Charlie PriceBel’s father; withdrawn, working late, and quietly affected by Rachel’s return.
- Lucas AyerMysterious empty Twitter account that suggested the Rachel Price case to Ramsey Lee.
- Ramsey LeeDocumentary director whose old tweet led Bel to the suspicious Lucas Ayer comment.