The Pact

The narrative moves back in time to when Melanie and Michael move to Bainbridge so that Michael can practice veterinary medicine for farm animals. Melanie recalls meeting him when she worked at a Tufts University library. It is through her job at Bainbridge Public Library that she befriends Gus Harte, their neighbor. Both women are in the early stages of pregnancy. The two couples have dinner, though the men do not become fast friends as the women do.

Months later, when Melanie goes into labor while Michael is working, it is Gus who takes her to the hospital. The Hartes’ new son, Chris, was born just a few months prior. When Emily is born, the four parents toast in Melanie’s hospital room.

Detective Marrone questions Chris about Emily’s death. Chris explains that both he and Emily had planned to die by suicide. Chris falls asleep again, and the detective leaves. When he wakes, Gus tries to speak with him, but he refuses. James plans to carry out his scheduled surgery and resume “life-as-usual.” Later, Chris will be discharged to an adolescent psychiatric unit.

Meanwhile, Michael and Melanie meet with funeral-home personnel to attend to the details of Emily’s funeral. Michael makes all of the decisions, and Melanie is numb. Back at home, she attempts to choose clothing for Emily to be buried in but cannot bring herself to do so. Gus arrives, offering to help. She tries to assure Melanie that Chris loved Emily.

When Gus is pregnant with her second child, Kate, she has a recurring dream that her car is hijacked and that she must choose which child to save. Meanwhile, Michael diagnoses the family dog, Charlie, as diabetic. When the dog’s care becomes difficult to manage, Michael recommends the dog be euthanized. Instead, one morning James, under the guise of taking Charlie hunting, shoots Charlie. Later, he and Gus argue as to whether this was a humane approach. The rift leads Gus to stay at the Golds’ home for a while. Michael, however, insists that James made the right decision.

Subsequently, the moms take the children to the pond. Emily slips off a rock and Chris, after jumping in to help her, must be rescued by a lifeguard. Chris is not harmed, insisting he saw Charlie when he was unconscious. That night, Gus moves back home.

Gus and James argue over whether Chris needs a lawyer. The next day, Chris’s sister, Kate, visits Chris in the psychiatric ward and tells him—after Chris’s prodding—of the date of Emily’s funeral. When Gus and James arrive to visit him on the morning of the funeral, Chris is dressed to attend it. He attempts to run out of the hospital and is tranquilized to prevent him from leaving.

After the funeral, well-wishers arrive at the Gold home, but Melanie stays alone upstairs. Michael briefly interacts with the guests but then unexpectedly exits. He goes to see Chris, asking him to reveal details about the night of Emily’s death, but Chris refuses.

Meanwhile, Detective Marrone reads Emily’s autopsy report. In her estimation, the trajectory of the bullet suggests Emily was shot by “someone standing in front of [her]” (54). She discusses the report in person with the Golds, telling them she has “reason to believe that [their] daughter’s death was not a suicide” (54). Marrone believes it was Chris who shot Emily and that the state plans to present a case of murder before a grand jury. Michael is adamant that Chris would never hurt Emily. Marrone also informs the Golds that Emily was 11 weeks pregnant.

When they are nine, Emily and Chris play pranks together, making prank phone calls and stealing The Joy of Sex from the library. One prank call, in which Emily pretends to be the school secretary and phones Gus to tell her Chris has gotten into trouble at school, leads to Chris being grounded. Gus is concerned, but does not punish Chris, when she finds The Joy of Sex hidden under his mattress. She and James offer to answer questions Chris may have about sex instead of punishing him.

Emily and Chris also play Truth or Dare. Most of the game is carried out in good fun. When Chris asks Emily to tell truthfully him what she has written in her diary, Emily refuses and chooses a dare. Chris reads the diary while Emily is off completing the dare and finds his name written on many pages. On another occasion, Chris dares Emily to use the men’s bathroom at a local McDonald’s. Emily does, though she lies to Chris afterward when she tells him she was not bothered by doing so.

Detective Anne-Marie Marrone discusses Christopher’s case with Barrie Delaney, the assistant attorney general, to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to charge Chris with murder. The DA believes there is. Anne-Marie questions Chris—who has just been released from psychiatric care—at the police station. Chris explains that both he and Emily had planned to die by suicide that night. Later, the Harte family meets with defense attorney Jordan McAfee, who explains that Chris may indeed be indicted for murder.

Melanie returns to work at the library. Initially, she wants to be useful, but she finds herself compelled to purposely provide patrons with incorrect information, in hopes that it will upset them.

James is surprised to find that he has been named a top ophthalmological surgeon by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Chris convinces Gus to take him to the cemetery to visit Emily’s grave. Before leaving, Chris lies down on the ground and kisses it.

The chapter, presented from Chris’s point of view, focuses on a holiday ski trip taken by the two families. Chris becomes annoyed with Emily as she accuses him of cheating at a video game during the drive. On Christmas Eve day, he accompanies James on a hunting trip. Though Chris has shot other animals previously, he is unexpectedly sickened when he kills a hare. Late that night, still bothered, Chris sneaks some alcohol. Emily joins him but accuses Chris of forcing the liquor on her when James catches them. That night, Michael and Melanie can hear James and Gus having sex.

On Christmas Day, Chris remains in his bedroom as punishment while the others ski. In the late afternoon, Gus ends the punishment. Chris is upset with Emily for blaming him for the drinking and purposely leads her down a challenging ski trail. Emily takes a hard fall and breaks her leg.

Chris, guilty over Emily’s injury, silently vows to protect her going forward. In the days that follow, he keeps her company while the others ski. On New Year’s Eve, the adults head to a party, and Chris and Emily are left alone. James runs back to the condo for a forgotten bottle of champagne and witnesses the teens kissing.

Melanie continues to live numbly, not really interacting with anyone, though she finds herself paying closer attention to objects and their details. On Sunday morning, Michael offers to ride with her to the grocery store. When their car passes Chris walking along the street, Melanie veers nearly too close to him.

Chris visits a psychiatrist, Dr. Feinstein, and returns to school per James’s insistence but against Gus’s wishes. His school holds a memorial for Emily. Chris attends but runs out abruptly when he is invited to speak about her, then dives into the swimming pool. He discusses the incident with Dr. Feinstein, explaining that he did not plan to kill himself that night with Emily. He admits to bringing his father’s gun per Emily’s request but says he planned to change Emily’s mind about using it.

Someone repeatedly phones asking for Emily. Finally the caller tells Melanie that they have something belonging to Emily that they are trying to return. Melanie discovers it is a salesperson at a jewelry store, calling to inform Emily that a watch she had purchased and engraved for Chris’s upcoming 18th birthday is ready. Melanie picks up the watch, wondering why Emily purchased it if she had planned to die by suicide. When she returns home, she receives a call from Barrie Delaney informing her that Chris has been indicted by a grand jury and that a hearing will take place the following day. Meanwhile, the Gold family is celebrating Chris’s birthday when he is arrested for murder and taken into custody.