38 pages • 1 hour read
Tana FrenchThe Trespasser
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 17-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 17 Summary
Breslin confronts Conway and Steve about interrogating McCann. Breslin tells them they don’t have all the facts. In Breslin’s version, McCann walked into Aislinn’s place shortly after she was murdered. He cleaned up any fingerprint evidence so that he wouldn’t be implicated. He turned off the cookstove to prevent the smoke alarm from alerting someone to trouble. He then contacted Breslin to explain the situation. Breslin began damage control by anonymously calling in the tip and getting Conway and Steve assigned to the case so he could watch their every move. Conway thinks ruefully:
It plays; of course it plays. Just like McCann’s story does, and Rory’s, and Lucy’s. All these stories. They hum like fist-sized hornets in the corners of the ceiling, circling idly, saving their strength. I want to pull out my gun and blow them away (412).
Conway and Steve then explain their theory pinning the murder on McCann. Breslin pokes holes in their argument and says they would never get a conviction. He then confiscates the interview video and leaves. Even though the detectives may never be able to charge McCann, Conway has another way to call attention to his behavior. She and Steve meet Crowley at a pub. Conway presses the reporter to find out who has been leaking information about her cases to the press. Crowley says it was mostly Roche and Breslin only once. In exchange, Conway offers Crowley a scoop about a married detective on the Murder Squad having an affair with Aislinn. She believes this may be the only way Aislinn will receive any justice at all. Steve suggests that he and Conway should now have a talk with O’Kelly.
Chapter 18 Summary
O’Kelly listens as Conway and Steve give him their version of Aislinn’s murder. Once they finish, O’Kelly says that Breslin never told him it was McCann, only that Breslin was covering for a friend who simply left a crime scene. Breslin never said the man had actually murdered his girlfriend. O’Kelly seems saddened that two detectives he trusted would lie to him this way. He calls McCann into his office to hear his version of the story. Conway and Steve are allowed to stay as long as they don’t interrupt.
McCann is subdued and quietly reveals all the missing facts. He’s convinced that he and Aislinn were in love, and he did promise to leave his wife for her. When he arrived unexpectedly on a Saturday night, he found that Aislinn had prepared dinner for someone else. She abruptly told him that their affair was over. McCann begged her to tell him why. Aislinn laughed bitterly and replied, “You keep on wondering. Now fuck off” (445). That’s when McCann hit her, and she struck her head. He tells O’Kelly it was an accident.
Conway is about to interrupt to say that Aislinn was already down when she was struck. That would mean it was homicide, but she decides to keep quiet. O’Kelly tells McCann that his career is over. Breslin will also be fired. There may be an internal investigation. The chief says he’ll take McCann’s formal statement himself. As they leave to find an interrogation room, O’Kelly tells Conway and Steve to go home. Outside, the two detectives discuss the case. Steve points out that they’re unlikely to have another day as difficult as this one. He apprehensively asks if Conway still plans to resign. Steve is relieved when Conway says she’s decided to stay. She looks up at the lights of the Murder Squad offices: “I take one more look up at the rest of my life, waiting for me inside those neat sturdy squares of gold light. Then we start off across the courtyard, arguing, to get a few pints and a few hours’ kip before it’s time to head back and find out what’s in there” (449-50)
Chapters 17-18 Analysis
The final chapters of the novel present more internal stories. They all contain an element of fantasy and indicate the degree of self-deception that motivates the major characters in the novel. Breslin is first to explain his version of events on the night Aislinn died. He wants to convince Conway and Steve that McCann showed up at Aislinn’s house after Rory had killed her. The detectives counter with their version of the story in which McCann killed Aislinn out of jealousy because he caught her preparing a romantic dinner for Rory. Breslin discredits their story as pure fantasy. After he leaves, the detectives speculate that Breslin may believe the version he’s telling. Breslin needs to perceive himself as a good guy rescuing a friend in need.
The detectives then go to O’Kelly and hear a different version of the story. Breslin told O’Kelly that an anonymous friend had found his mistress injured and fled the scene. Breslin’s only intention was to save his friend some embarrassment by keeping his name out of it. McCann’s final confession contains the version of the story that comes closest to reality, but even he doesn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle until Conway and Steve reveal that Aislinn is the forgotten girl from his Missing Persons case.
Conway recognizes the dangerous nature of internal stories when they become tangled with fantasy and play out in the real world. Working Aislinn’s case gives Conway a chance to recognize self-delusion for what it is and break free from a destructive fantasy of her own. Conway’s paranoia regarding her colleagues is simply a variation on the theme of abandonment. When she understands the nonsense that she’s been projecting out into the world, she’s able to dismiss her useless nightmare and get on with her life’s work as a top detective on the Murder Squad.
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By Tana French
