55 pages • 1 hour read
The Pact
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Part 3, Chapters 19-23 & EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3: “The Truth”
Chapter 19 Summary: “Now: May 1998”
Chris’s trial begins. McAfee wins approval for Chris to appear unhandcuffed. Barrie Delaney presents the opening statement, suggesting Chris murdered Emily out of anger at her pregnancy. McAfee maintains Emily’s death was by suicide. He insists that Chris, too, intended to die by suicide out of love for Emily.
Detective Anne-Marie Marrone is the first witness for the prosecution. Barrie questions her about the gun. Marrone says Chris’s fingerprints were found there and on the bullets. Emily’s fingerprints were found only on the gun barrel, suggesting she did not touch the butt of the gun or the trigger. Gunshot residue was found on each teen’s clothing, but not on Emily’s hands. Marrone notes that the autopsy report shows the bullet “traveled through the victim’s head at a weird angle” (293). She notes, too, that Chris signed the interview with his left hand; she insists that whoever fired the gun at Emily would have been left-handed.
McAfee cross-examines Marrone. He points out that this is only her second murder trial. He argues that the presence of two bullets is consistent with a double suicide and that the presence of Chris’s fingerprints on the gun can mean that Chris held it at any time previously. Marrone also admits that if Chris touched the gun after Emily, this would have “covered up” her fingerprints. McAfee points out that Emily’s hands were not tested for gunpowder until two days after her death, possibly explaining the lack of gunpowder residue. He points out, too, that Chris’s hands were never tested for gunpowder residue.
A ten-minute recess follows. Chris tells McAfee that reliving the event is difficult.
The county’s medical examiner testifies next. He explains the entrance and exit of the bullet. Barrie tries to show that the exit wound means that Emily could not have fired the gun herself. On cross-examination, McAfee leads the examiner to admit that the skin under Emily’s fingernails could have come about when Chris and Emily had sex and that there is no evidence of violence. McAfee also holds the gun to his own head to demonstrate how Emily—inexperienced with guns—could have held the gun in a number of different ways, impacting the bullet’s trajectory.
The clerk from the jewelry store at which Emily ordered the watch for Chris’s birthday testifies next. The first day of the trial ends after she is cross-examined.
On the second day of the trial, a friend of Emily’s—Heather Burns—is the first witness. She acknowledges that Chris and Emily did break up at one point and says that Emily did not demonstrate any factors that increased her risk of suicide. When cross-examined, she admits she cannot imagine Chris hurting Emily.
Melanie Gold testifies next. She feels the watch is proof that Emily did not intend to die by suicide. Melanie lashes out at Chris, accusing him of killing Emily to avoid the responsibility of raising the baby. A recess is taken before Melanie is cross-examined. McAfee gets her to admit that she had high expectations of Emily, then proposes that Emily did not tell Melanie of the pregnancy out of fear of disappointing her. Melanie also admits that it is possible Chris did not know of the pregnancy either.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Then: November 7, 1997”
This chapter details the night of Emily’s death. Before leaving home, Emily hides her diary in a small hole in the wall inside of her closet. She thinks about writing a note to her parents but does not. Chris picks her up, feeling overwhelmed by his plan to talk her out of dying by suicide.
They arrive at the carousel, and Emily takes a ride. Chris thinks about Emily’s wish to die, unsure why he has brought two bullets. They have sex, then afterward Chris holds Emily while she holds the gun to her head.
Chapter 21 Summary: “Now: May 1998”
The trial continues with the testimony of the physician’s assistant on duty when Emily was brought to the hospital. She testifies that she cleaned the blood from Emily and washed her hands before James entered to ID his daughter.
Dr. Linwood Karpagian—an expert in teenage suicide—testifies next. He feels that Emily’s macabre art and increased time with Chris in the weeks leading up to her death suggest she may have been thinking about suicide. He explains that in the case of a suicide pact, two individuals can become so close that they act and behave nearly as if they were one person. He feels, therefore, that Chris also began to share these thoughts after learning of Emily’s wish to die by suicide. On cross-examination, Dr. Karpagian admits that Emily did not exhibit many of the suicide warning signs.
Emily’s art teacher testifies, showing the skull “self-portrait” to the courtroom. She is followed by an art therapist, who states that her job involves examining artwork to determine the unconscious feelings of the artist who created it. She feels Emily’s early art conveys that Emily was “well adjusted,” but that the skull painting displays symbols of sexual abuse.
Barrie Delaney gets the therapist to admit that not all art of a “disturbing” nature is created by an artist with mental illness or other emotional issues. The therapist is followed by Chris’s English teacher, who feels that the pro-life essay Chris wrote means he is incapable of murder.
At the end of the day, what McAfee terms two of Chris’s “best witnesses” testify. Stephanie Newell of Planned Parenthood asserts that Emily was unwilling to inform the father of her pregnancy. She met with Emily just hours before Emily’s death. Finally, Michael Gold testifies, insisting that it is difficult for him to imagine Chris harming Emily, let alone killing her. Michael also acknowledges that he did not recognize any warning signs from Emily. On cross-examination, Michael acknowledges he also cannot imagine Emily harming herself with a gun, nor does he know whether or not Emily informed Chris of her pregnancy.
When Chris returns to the jail after the trial, he learns that his former cellmate, Steve, has died by suicide. Gus then visits Chris, optimistic that Chris will be found not guilty. Chris, however, reveals to Gus that he shot Emily.
The next day, Gus testifies for the defense, insisting she knows Chris well and that she is certain he would not hurt Emily. Toward the end of McAfee’s questioning of Gus, Chris interrupts, insisting he needs to speak with McAfee. In private, Chris tells McAfee he wishes to testify. McAfee advises against it, but Chris wishes to take the risk. After a brief cross-examination of Gus, Chris takes the stand.
Chris is adamant about his love for Emily and, when asked by McAfee, says that Emily was indeed planning to die. However, Chris explains he was the one who shot Emily. The courtroom erupts, and a brief recess is called so that Chris and McAfee may speak in private. There, Chris tells him the truth of what happened on the night of Emily’s death. He then prepares to recount the same details on the witness stand.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Then: November 7, 1997”
At the carousel, Emily readies the gun to die by suicide. Chris walks away, to not be present. When he returns a half hour later, Emily is still holding the gun on the carousel. Chris picks up the gun, confirming with Emily that she wishes to be shot. After saying he loves her, Chris pulls the trigger with Emily’s fingers on top of his.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Now: May 1998”
Chris finishes recounting what happened at the carousel to the courtroom. McAfee momentarily takes the approach of being hard on Chris. He then causes Chris to admit that he fainted when the trigger was pulled and that there was much confusion in those final moments. Chris acknowledges, to both McAfee and on cross-examination, that it may be possible that Emily actually pulled the trigger and not him.
In his closing argument, McAfee emphasizes that the jury has heard multiple versions of the truth. He suggests that the truth is complex but stresses that Chris’s love for Emily and the manner in which she made him participate in her death means Chris should not be found responsible.
In the prosecutor’s closing argument, Barrie stresses the way in which Chris repeatedly changed his version of the truth, initially insisting he, too, planned to die by suicide, then saying Emily shot herself, and now professing to have pulled the trigger himself. She insists these many versions of the truth mean Chris cannot be trusted. She insists Chris had a choice in the matter and could have chosen not to shoot Emily.
Alone that night, Chris becomes angry at Emily for putting him in this position. McAfee and Selena drink wine, and McAfee remarks on how Chris’s love for Emily is genuine. Before she leaves, Selena kisses McAfee. Meanwhile, Gus lies in bed, pondering why Chris decided to confess. She reaches for James, and they have sex.
At the courtroom the next morning, the jury returns with a verdict of “not guilty”; Chris faints upon hearing it.
Epilogue Summary
A moving truck arrives at the Golds’ home, and separately the Hartes watch as Melanie and Michael vacate the house. It is later rumored that the couple sleeps apart in the new home.
After the Golds have left, Chris finds a slip of paper still inside the tin-can pulley system he and Emily crafted between their houses. He opens the paper, but it is blank.
Chapters 19-23 & Epilogue Analysis
Chris’s trial serves as the novel’s climax. Readers may anticipate that the full truth of Emily’s death will come to light and that the novel will resolve whether or not Chris’s feelings for Emily are sincere. However, in keeping with a key theme of the novel, The Complexity of Truth, the truth is muddy and full of moral ambiguity. Throughout the trial, both the prosecution and the defense provide valid evidence and explanations for their respective sides of the story. Readers are tasked with determining which explanation and set of evidence they find most convincing or logical. In this way, the verdict is certainly not a forgone conclusion.
Though readers are presented with some details from Emily’s point of view, the Golds, the Hartes, and the rest of the courtroom are not privy to Emily’s inner thoughts. Importantly, the art-therapist witness suggests Emily’s art contains signs of sexual abuse. The Golds’ response to this theory is not presented. In this way, it seems the assault Emily endured will remain a secret forever.
The reason why Chris chooses to reveal the truth to his mother about shooting Emily is open to interpretation. Chris grows increasingly frustrated by Gus’s sympathy and her insistence that she understands what he must be feeling. Gus, upon learning of Chris’s culpability, faces a moral dilemma: She must decide, in her testimony, whether to reveal this truth or to keep it a secret, thus potentially committing perjury. Gus’s love for and support of Chris is strong and has remained steadfast throughout the novel. When the time to testify comes, Gus insists that Chris is incapable of hurting Emily. That Gus breaks down, however, might suggest that she feels guilty for keeping what she knows a secret. It could also mean that she recognizes that what Chris did he did out of love for Emily, as complicated and strange as that may seem to some. Regardless, it is clear Gus wishes to protect her son; to an extent, her testimony becomes somewhat moot when Chris himself takes the stand.
Chris has wanted to reveal the truth to McAfee from the beginning and finally can withhold it no longer. In some respects, this comes across as foolish, as McAfee repeatedly underscores that the aim of a trial is not to uncover the truth but to create doubt in the jury members’ minds about Chris’s culpability. Confessing the truth—no matter how detrimental it may prove to Chris’s future—may be Picoult’s way of characterizing Chris as honest and authentic.
McAfee is put in a difficult position—he is legally obligated to concede to Chris’s right to testify, but he still wants to win the case. He himself faces his own moral battle: McAfee appears to genuinely sympathize with Chris, viewing his love for Emily as genuine and his role in her death as noble, despite how strange that may strike some members of the courtroom. Yet his career is important to him; he must prop up his client by insisting Chris is telling the truth and yet do so in a way that will still exonerate Chris. Importantly, McAfee is able to shed doubt on Chris’s interpretation of the events and details of that night. This reinforces the theme about truth being ambiguous and is essential in Chris’s ultimate acquittal.
The final chapters and the Epilogue suggest the Gold and the Harte families are changed forever by these events: The Golds move away, unable to live next door to the Hartes and unwilling to repair the damage done to their friendship. Though Chris struggles with the residual trauma of being imprisoned and Gus mourns both her lost friendship with Melanie and her brief, unmaterialized fling with Michael, the Hartes’ future appears a bit more optimistic.
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