The following morning, Conway and Steve visit Rory at his bookshop. He tells them he saw a man lurking around Aislinn’s house on the night of the murder and for weeks before. He was afraid to admit this fact during interrogation because the man is a detective. Steve shows him a picture array, and Rory immediately identifies McCann: “And there it is: a solid link. […] It shakes the air as it thuds down between me and Steve, dense and tarnish-black and too heavy to move” (323).

Sophie calls Conway to say that she’s sending the decrypted files on Aislinn’s computer. Most of them turn out to be photos of post-it notes with dates and times. The detectives conclude that this is how Breslin made his assignations with Aislinn. The files also include a fairy tale that Aislinn wrote for Lucy. It tells of a maiden held prisoner by an evil wizard, but she has a plan to break his spell. Conway and Steve go back to the car and discuss the implications of what they’ve discovered. They give each other the chance to back out of this tricky, controversial case. Conway decides that letting McCann and Breslin walk would corrupt her soul: “I owe this case.