I Have Some Questions for You

In 2016, an unnamed friend sends Bodie a link to the videotaped last staging of Camelot at Granby, leading Bodie to begin informally investigating Thalia’s murder by becoming acquainted with the content of several YouTube conspiracy theorists who post their interpretations of the case’s details. Bodie, who worked backstage on the school’s production of Camelot, scours the decades-old tape for clues, making notes and interpreting the footage anew. Noticing the appearance of a flask belonging to Thalia’s friend Beth on stage, Bodie also has new questions when she sees additional footage of Thalia mouthing something to an unseen person offstage. Faced with these images of her life at school, Bodie recalls deeply buried memories of her time at Granby.

In 2018, Bodie returns to Granby as an instructor on the invitation of her friend, Fran, with the goal of teaching classes on film and podcasts. A graduate of Granby just like Bodie, Fran is also the daughter of retired school faculty and now works at Granby herself. As Bodie recalls the few times she has come back to visit the area and also thinks about her lover, Yahav, an Israeli law professor at UCLA who is teaching temporarily at Boston University Law School. In the cab ride to Granby, Bodie discusses her old high school with the cab driver, who views it as a place catering only to privileged elites and claims that the administration has no control over the students. Bodie refrains from mentioning her alum status and pretends to take a phone call to end the conversation. This tactic prompts her recollections of collecting details and secrets about her fellow students with the aid of a gym lobby phone that allowed her to eavesdrop on phone conversations from other phones in the dorms.

Bodie reflects on how strangers follow Thalia’s murder case without knowing anything else about her and decides that such interest is very similar to her own: She runs a successful podcast called Starlet Fever that focuses on exposing the murders, violence, and abuse that occurred in old Hollywood. Bodie reunites with Fran and Fran’s wife Anne and confesses to them that she has decided to separate from her husband, Jerome. While technically still married, Jerome and Bodie reside in neighboring units of a duplex, choosing not to live together. Instead, Bodie is having an on-again, off-again affair with Yahav and using her meetings with him as an excuse to visit New England at the same time.

Walking across campus and slipping in the snow and ice, Bodie recalls her time as a student, realizing that in her present adult life, she is nowhere near as stable as she has imagined herself to be. Before she meets her fellow houseguest Oliver who’s also teaching in the “mini-mester” between longer terms, Bodie remembers Dorian Culler, a Granby student who sexually harassed her repeatedly in the 1990s. Later, Bodie and Oliver discuss Granby, and Bodie tries to explain the nature of the school.

The next morning, Bodie texts Jerome to ask about their children and then texts Yahav to suggest a meeting. She later meets Petra, who teaches journalism, and Priscilla Mancio, a French teacher whom Bodie remembers from the 1990s. As Bodie scans the school newspaper, she reads about a pending lawsuit against Granby. Priscilla compliments Bodie’s appearance and confesses to being worried about her while she attended Granby. Petra and Priscilla discuss the newest lawsuit and remark that Granby, like all other schools, is constantly being sued. In a discussion about which Granby classmates and faculty the women still keep in touch with, Priscilla tells Bodie that she is in contact with former instructor Dennis “Denny” Bloch and raves about his improvements to the music program before his departure from the school. In an enigmatic aside, Bodie’s narration states that although she isn’t angry about Bloch yet, she will be soon.

During this mini-mester, Bodie meets several students who become invested in Thalia Keith’s murder, among them Britt and Alder. The students discuss various topics for their podcast projects and learn how Bodie will help them to create several episodes. Originally, Alder imagines creating something akin to Orson Welles’s infamous radio show on The War of the Worlds. Britt, however, wants to focus on Thalia’s murder and ask questions about justice from the perspective of Omar Evan, a former employee of Granby who is currently in prison for the crime.

In the library, Bodie does research for her next Starlet Fever episode, which will discuss the work of Rita Hayworth and map out the tragic events that dogged the actress’s life. Recalling that her co-host Lance wanted to organize the Hayworth episodes around Hayworth’s father and her five husbands, Bodie confesses that Lance’s organization would be an unjust portrayal that would silence Hayworth’s perspective and focus instead on those who dominated her. Texting with Jerome, Bodie answers questions about their son Leo’s costume for school. As she walks through the library, she also reminisces about her brother Ace, who died before she came to Granby.

In Chapter 8, Rebecca Makkai provides information on Bodie’s background, framing the narration as a monologue in which Bodie addresses Mr. Bloch, her former drama and music teacher at Granby. In this section, Bodie recalls her own journey in 1990s Indiana, before her years at Granby, particularly an incident in which her teenage brother pushed their father and caused him to die from the injuries he sustained in the resulting fall. After the incident, her brother later succumbed to grief and died, possibly by suicide. As Bodie relates her personal history, she notes that her mother experienced extreme mental anguish and was hospitalized for symptoms of depression. Because of these events, Bodie went to live with a nearby Mormon family, the Robesons. As Granby alumni, Severn and Margaret Robeson assisted Bodie in improving her grades and enrolling in Granby.

Chapter 9 introduces Bodie to her current film students, most of whom choose The Godfather as their favorite film. Distracted by her phone, Bodie settles into the task of observing her students as they watch films. A sophomore transfer student from South Africa reminds Bodie that Thalia Keith was a rare junior-year transfer. In between class-focused discussion, Bodie reminisces about Thalia, remembering her physical appearance, friendship circles, and mesmerizing effect upon boys in general. Bodie also recounts how Thalia became her roommate after Thalia’s former roommate stole her bra. Bodie recalls these memories in between discussing which actors and movies her students are studying.

After class, Bodie meets Alder, whom she advises quickly about his podcast before having lunch with other young faculty members and her former geometry teacher, Mr. Levin. Bodie discusses Dorian Culler, a boy who got away with bullying and sexually harassing her during her time as a student. School officials and teachers seem bemused at her characterization, and Bodie begins to reappraise Dorian’s actions. Back at her on-campus apartment, Bodie discusses Granby with her temporary housemate and fellow visiting faculty member, Oliver Coleman, telling him that one of her students wants to cover Thalia’s murder in her podcast.

Bodie finally tells Fran that Britt is planning a podcast on Thalia’s murder. Bodie explains that she doesn’t want people to blame her for the potentially incendiary nature of Britt’s work. Fran dismisses the idea that Bodie would be blamed, and she, Bodie, and Oliver discuss Thalia. Oliver remembers the Dateline special about Thalia’s murder, and Fran relates how Omar Evans was quickly arrested and convicted. Bodie denies the rumor that Omar and Thalia were dating, and Fran admits that Bloch and Thalia spent a lot of time together, describing him as a “creeper” (60). Bodie disagrees, and Fran tells Oliver that Bodie is very loyal. Oliver turns on the television and listens to Anderson Cooper reporting on a new case of grooming and abuse.

Rethinking Bloch’s interactions with her and other students in the context of Fran’s characterization of him as a “creeper,” Bodie gets little sleep that night. She catalogues the evidence from her memories—the number of students who idolized Bloch, the she made with him, and their sharing of personal information and history. In Bodie’s memories, Bloch talks about his own high school in Missouri and promises the young Bodie that her future will be bright after Granby. As she lies in bed in the present day and remembers her interactions with Bloch, she also recalls Bendt Jensen, an international student who had never seen fireflies and showed up late to rehearsal, describing them as tiny UFOs. When all the students went outside to explain the concept of fireflies to Bendt, Bodie noticed Bloch wiping lip gloss away from his lips. Now in the present day, she wonders about the truth of the rumors surrounding Thalia’s supposed affairs with a past teacher and then another one at Granby.

The students present their first work on their podcasts, and Britt focuses on the weakness of the case against Omar Evans, arguing that the police investigated poorly and that the case against Omar rested only on circumstantial evidence. As Britt discusses these points, Bodie argues with her, remembering that the case was stronger than Britt alleges. Alder, one of the other students, asks Britt who killed Thalia if Omar is not to blame. Britt suggests Thalia’s boyfriend, Robbie Serenho, as a possible suspect. As the class continues, Bodie continues thinking about the case and some of the circumstantial evidence against Omar, such as the Faces of Granby ’94-95, a student directory with Omar’s notes about individual students. (Allegedly, Omar drew a noose around Thalia’s picture.)

In her film class, Bodie again concentrates on her phone as she waits for Yahav to text her. After class, but before dinner, Bodie goes to the weight room to work out. Finding it crowded by male students, Bodie retreats to the pool, where authorities originally found Thalia’s body more than two decades earlier. As she swims, Bodie rehearses what she knows of Thalia’s final resting place and the case against Omar, including the fact that his DNA was found on her swimsuit. Bodie recalls Lester Holt discussing the evidence against Omar on Dateline, including theories about his drug dealing and anger.

Britt asks Bodie to watch Diane Sawyer’s interview with Omar’s mother, Sheila Evans. Sheila describes her son in opposite terms to those of the prosecutors and authorities, emphasizing his strong ties to his family, especially his younger brother, Malcolm. Sheila disputes the accusations that Omar is a drug dealer, stalker, and murderer. She portrays Omar as a victim of false allegations and describes how both Omar and his brother, having already lost their father, must also live with the repercussions. Watching the interview, Bodie feels a connection to Sheila, who confesses that Omar’s presumed guilt has torn her family apart, estranging Sheila from her sister and pushing Omar’s grandmother to a premature death.

“#1: Omar Evans” is the first of several interludes in the novel. Bodie speculates how Omar would have murdered Thalia and why. Imagining Omar as being jealous of Thalia and angry at her for resuming her relationship with fellow student Robbie Serenho, Bodie pieces together what she knows of the evidence to create a speculative, sensationalized version of events that results in Omar throwing Thalia against a wall, leaving her in the pool, and cleaning any blood from the pool surface.

After Bodie imagines this chain of events, Britt asks to interview Bodie for her podcast. After canceling her planned meeting with Yahav, Bodie reluctantly agrees to discuss Thalia’s murder. In the meantime, he reminisces about meeting Yahav at a faculty potluck at UCLA. In preparation for Britt’s interview, Bodie unearths connections that she has heretofore avoided considering and comes to the realization that the “older man” that Thalia was rumored to be dating was not Omar, but Mr. Bloch. After the interview, the students in the podcast class discuss Thalia’s murder and indulge in the creation of a theory that the murderer of Barbara Crocker, Granby’s Spanish teacher in the 1970s, still lived in the woods around campus in the 1990s and might also have killed Thalia. Bodie dampens their suspicions, saying that the odd presence of mattresses in the woods, far from being evidence of a murderer’s presence, merely served as places for parties where popular students, including Thalia and her friends Beth and Rachel, would go to drink.

Bodie’s memories continue to unfold, and she remembers that Mr. Bloch took several students to New York City to see the opera. Bodie, Thalia, and Robbie, (Thalia’s boyfriend) were among those to go. Bodie remembers Robbie as a talented skier and a privileged student, one of the most popular students at Granby. Now, in her recollections, Bodie sees him as more than just the popular student and recalls his astute comments about Beethoven. She also recalls seeing Thalia and Mr. Bloch sitting closely together and touching, at the Bethesda fountain in Central Park on the group’s third day in the city.

In her memories, Bodie begins to consider why Bloch chose Thalia, and a barrage of random school memories floods forth. She discusses how her friend Beth assumed that Bodie had locked her dorm room because she was masturbating, an assumption that earned Bodie the dubious nickname of “The Masturbator” (103). She also recalls her obsession with Grunge clothing and makeup, a trend that caused concern among students and faculty, who interpreted her style choice as a solid reason to question her mental health. Soon after, Kurt Cobain died by suicide, lending her peers’ fears new agency. Pasting a copy of Cobain’s suicide note by Bodie’s bed, Thalia’s friends treated her with cruelty and feigned concern, wondering aloud if Bodie would follow Cobain’s lead.

Back in the present day, Bodie participates in Britt’s interview and describes the events that occur on the night of Thalia’s murder, from the performance of Camelot to the fire in the girls’ dorm caused by microwave popcorn. Bodie remembers—but does not share with Britt—that Beth had a flask of vodka during the performance. Bodie believes that Thalia must have drunk the vodka, which would explain the findings that Britt describes from the toxicology reports.

Bodie tells Britt that Jenny Osaka, the senior class president, was on duty at their dorm, instead of going to the “mattress party” in the woods after the play. Jenny covers for the girls who haven’t returned from the party, checking them in before giving the list to Miss Vogel, the physics teacher and coach for the girls’ skiing team. Because of this, no one discovered Thalia’s body until the next afternoon, and they assumed that her death was an accident. In the interview, Britt counters this information by stating that the authorities should have treated the scene with more care. They discuss the alcohol found in Thalia’s toxicology report, and Bodie remembers that earlier that September, she had seen Thalia wandering near the dumpsters, seemingly lost or disoriented. This topic leads Britt and Bodie to discuss the prosecutor’s theory that Omar supplied Thalia with drugs.

In the second interlude, Bodie, unable to sleep, imagines how Thalia might have caused her own wounds by falling into the pool. In this speculative version of events, Thalia misjudges her distance and doesn’t jump properly, perhaps weighed down by her relationship with Bloch and the behavior of the Granby boys. Hitting her head on the pool’s rim, she struggles to free herself from the water.

Britt shows Bodie a YouTube video made by Dane Rubra, an amateur sleuth who tries to solve Thalia’s murder. In the video, Rubra raises the possibility of Thalia’s friend, Puja Sharma, and her boyfriend Robbie as possible suspects, biasing his suspicions toward Robbie. As supporting evidence, Rubra includes an illicit recording he made of a phone call in which he impersonates Granby’s alumni relations in order to ambush Robbie with questions about Thalia—a conversation that ends with Robbie abruptly hanging up. Bodie describes Robbie as being too attractive and nice to be capable of violence. Similar to her positive perception of Mike Stiles, Bodie can’t imagine Robbie killing Thalia.