42. August 18, 2021
Summary
- Holly is on her balcony of her apartment having coffee and reflecting on her life since quitting smoking.
- She should be working but is in pajamas. She's not sure if her business, Finders Keepers, will reopen after a long closure.
- Pete, her colleague, is considering retirement with a good pension and Holly contemplates offering him a severance package if she sells the business.
- Holly, now a millionaire, has escaped a harrowing situation with the Harrises and is considering early retirement.
- She reflects on humanity's capacity for evil, comparing supernatural forces she's encountered to the Harrises' more mundane but sinister nature.
- Holly has learned from diaries why the Harrises acted as they did towards their victims. She is disgusted by the evil recorded within.
- As she reflects, Barbara calls Holly to share that she has won the Penley Prize and plans to publish her poetry. They discuss the horror Barbara has previously experienced.
- Despite Barbara referring to Holly as the one who stopped the evil, Holly believes many were involved.
- They both express their love for each other before ending the call, after which Holly contemplates answering a persisting ring on her office phone.
- The persistent call may draw her back into the world of investigating evil, and she hesitates between retirement and answering the call.
- Holly finally decides to pick up the call, potentially abandoning thoughts of retirement to continue her investigative work.