Reluctantly, Murdoch decides that his next move to ensure his safety should be to visit the Bradleys to access the evidence they have about his real self. Murdoch, contrary to his training, begins regularly socializing with the couple and consulting occasionally on Bradley’s cases. It’s during this time that he is summoned to the crime scene from the novel’s opening. Murdoch works to maintain his sobriety.

Continuing in this timeframe, back at the hotel, Murdoch investigates the manager’s office and realizes that the killer began her secret life of disguises on September 11, 2001. Murdoch decides to visit the wreckage of the Twin Towers. He imagines the killer walking nearby, and, briefly subsumed in her perspective, is also struck by the testament to survival and endurance that the memorial represents, in contrast to his own character. He finds a handmade plaque commemorating Ben Bradley’s courage and rescue of multiple people at great personal risk.

Stunned by his friend’s courage and modesty, Murdoch decides he owes it to him to participate in his forensics seminar. Murdoch decides that his current case, the mystery of the Eastside Inn, is likely to both engage an audience and assist in his current perplexities.