Chapter Fifty-One: Two Years Earlier
Contains spoilersOverview
Two years earlier, Jonathan/Al reeled from news coverage of an unidentified dismembered victim, Woman X, reliving his role in Tara’s murder and his bond with Amanda during the cover-up. While maintaining a relationship with Martha and funding their lifestyle through paid companionship work, he took her to dinner at Paddy’s in Whitstable. There, he recognized chef-owner Paddy Swann from a humiliating encounter years before, grew inflamed with jealousy at Martha’s admiration, perceived Paddy’s flirtatious behavior, and felt something dark and decisive shift within himself.
Summary
In the aftermath of national headlines about “The Body in the Woods,” labeled Woman X, Jonathan (also known as Al/Nick in other timelines) felt sick and on edge. He fixated on Amanda, recalling the intense connection forged while they dismembered Tara’s body and disposed of the remains. He framed the event as an awakening, linking the violence and his stalking impulses to a charged sense of sexuality and control. He resolved to delay proposing to Martha until he was certain Tara’s case was cold and unconnected to him.
Jonathan woke in the bed of a client, Marie, a sixty-year-old woman who paid him £500 for companionship. After leaving her home and returning to Enderford, he used part of the money to take Martha to a much-praised seafood restaurant in Whitstable called Paddy’s. Martha’s sons were with their father, and the evening promised time alone afterward.
At Paddy’s, Jonathan and Martha enjoyed an elaborate seafood meal and local sparkling wine. Jonathan oscillated between pride in their appearance and shame about how he financed the evening. The room’s energy shifted when chef-owner Paddy Swann appeared; Martha reacted with awe.
Jonathan recognized Paddy as a chef who had once humiliated him behind a Mayfair restaurant years earlier, telling him to get back to work when Jonathan was a dishwasher. The memory stoked deep resentment and envy. Seeing Martha take in the restaurant’s aesthetic and praise Paddy intensified Jonathan’s sense of inferiority and rage.
When Paddy stopped at their table, Martha gushed about the food and the space. Jonathan observed Paddy’s body language toward Martha—hand on her shoulder, pelvic proximity to her chair, and a tone Jonathan read as lustful—while feeling erased by Paddy’s focus on Martha. Martha promised they would return, and Paddy moved on after another intimate-seeming touch.
Jonathan confronted Martha, saying Paddy’s behavior was inappropriate. Martha downplayed it, reassuring Jonathan of her love. Still, Jonathan remained consumed by Paddy’s presence and laughter nearby. As Paddy and Jonathan locked eyes, Jonathan sensed a dark transformation within himself, the moment crystallizing his jealousy, humiliation, and hostility toward Paddy.
Who Appears
- Jonathan (Al/Nick)
narrator; recalls dismembering Tara with Amanda, works as a paid companion, takes Martha to Paddy’s, recognizes Paddy from a past humiliation, grows possessive and enraged.
- Martha
Jonathan’s girlfriend; admires Paddy’s restaurant, reassures Jonathan after he objects to Paddy’s behavior.
- Paddy Swann
chef-owner of Paddy’s; recognized from Jonathan’s past; engages warmly with diners, appears flirtatious toward Martha; becomes the focus of Jonathan’s resentment.
- Amanda
Jonathan’s former accomplice in covering up Tara’s death; strongly remembered and mentally addressed by Jonathan.
- Tara
victim of Jonathan’s killing; her dismembered remains are in the news as “Woman X.”
- Marie
new; sixty-year-old client who pays Jonathan £500 for companionship the night before the dinner.