Confronted by Daniel, then Sara, John reveals what happened with Sara’s dad. He is shocked when they accuse him of murder on the basis of the letter they found. What in fact happened, he says, isn’t that he murdered Sara’s dad, but that he helped escort him, and persuaded him to move out, from Sara’s mom’s and his house to a hotel. This was because Sara’s mother, Michelle, had asked for his help when things had gotten bad between them. Sara’s dad was deeply depressed, drinking heavily and taking a lot of prescription pills at this stage. Finding out about the affair between John and Michelle had been the tipping point. John had also agreed to write the goodbye note alleging to be from Sara’s father because he was in no state to do it himself.

Two days after he left the house Sara’s dad then killed himself from an overdose of drink and drugs. Sara’s mother and John then went to the police, to ask them to hush it up, so Sara didn’t find out. John explains that they did not tell her because Sara had the same thing her dad had: depression, and the “Same meds even” (275).