The Locked Door

Content Warning: This section contains graphic depictions of violence.

As Nora drives home, she notices headlights in her rearview mirror and determines Henry Callahan is following her again. Rather than returning to the police station, she turns off her regular route to a windy road she knows well.

When she makes a last-minute turn, the car following her crashes into a tree. She calls in the accident but does not attempt to help the driver. Nora reflects that her father would never help anyone and that, as his daughter, she is similar to him in many ways.

When Nora arrives home, her large house feels more empty and frightening than usual. She feels guilty about leaving the scene of the accident, thinking that it’s something her father would have done. When she goes into her unfinished basement, she thinks that her father would have loved the space, which feels like a dungeon. She runs back upstairs quickly, disturbed at the growing similarities between her and her father. She feeds the stray cat and reluctantly pets it. She considers letting it sleep inside but decides against it.