Reflected in You **spoiler thread**

[GiGi]

 

Maybe it is true the cops truly have dropped the case, but until they're 100% certain that's true, Gideon and Eva are going to need to be safe by him continuing to cover his tail (he never loved Eva and thus had no motive to kill to protect her.)

 

I just don't see that happening though -- that'd be far too easy and convenient. But I do see Gideon "walking" on this case, walking off into the sunset, hand in hand with Eva. The cops will go too far and so any evidence they do get would be inadmissible. The case will get officially dropped, by the prosecution, because they can't take it to trial. Maybe they can't even take it to the point of arresting him.

 

Hopefully, that'll be early in Entwined that the Gideon and Eva don't have to hide anymore.

 

Hi LNCronan,

I don’t think that this detective issue is just going to be dropped either. I agree that would be far too convenient. I do think that there is something more to this storyline, but you and I disagree about some of the details and theories.

I do think that Gideon and Eva will find their way together and wind up walking into the sunset in the end. I just wonder how they are going to go about doing that. It is all the juicy details that will make the happily ever after so special. It will also be so interesting to see which theories will come to fruition on June 4th. :)

[GiGi]

 

For more than a decade, Monica has successfully buried deep the secret Eva was raped for four years right under her nose. Even Eva herself has kept that secret hidden deep. The only people who know from Eva know it because they needed to know -- Cary, because he was part of the group therapy that changed her life for the better, and Gideon because Eva feared the secret might come out eventually.

I firmly believe Victor does not yet know (as Reflected ended). But because of Nathan's murder, he's going to find out any day now. All h*** will break loose when he learns Nathan was a rapist. He'll never look at Monica all starry-eyed ever again. Even if a part of him never stops loving her, the father in him will never forgive her for allowing someone he loves even more, his only daughter, to be victimized so brutally as a child the damage won't ever be able to completely be undone.

And soon he'll find out Eva's very life was put in danger recently because Monica still insisted on keeping Nathan a deep, dark secret she's still deeply ashamed of. She ought to have called the cops when Nathan showed up in New York and tried to blackmail her and her latest rich husband -- blackmail them with sexually explicit photos and video whose mere existence could send Nathan to prison for decades. What he had was child p*** of Eva. Even though he had been just a teen-ager when he made it, as a full-fledged adult now, he had possession of it, and he was trying to "sell" it for a $2.5 million payoff.

 

Instead, Monica and her latest rich husband strung Nathan along in order to continue to keep the secret. During that time, Nathan stalked Eva. He wasn't just after money -- he was after Eva herself. Nathan was crazy -- and he had begun to escalate out of control. He beat up Eva's roommate/best friend so badly the guy could have died. Even the cops recognized sooner or later, he would have killed Eva.

Victor is going to be even angrier for Monica failing to protect their daughter as a grown woman too, not just as a little girl.

 

Hi LNCronan,

I agree with you assertion that Victor does not know about Eva’s past yet. I also agree with you that Eva and Monica won’t be able to keep this secret much longer. The murder investigation will bring these facts to light and I suspect that is going to devastate Victor for many reasons.

I wonder whether Victor will be able to forgive Monica for her gross parental neglect. If I had children, I am not sure that I would be able to forgive my husband (I don’t have a husband…but fingers crossed maybe I will find one this year! ). I think that the mothers on this website would be able to answer this more accurately.

What I will find interesting is whether Victor will find out about Monica seeing Nathan out in front of the Crossfire Building that second time. Why did Monica not say anything to Eva? Even if Monica didn’t want to call the police, she should have at the very least told Eva what was going on, so they could arrange some type of specialized security for her. I think that if Victor found out about Monica’s complete lack of common sense would send him through the roof!

You make a very good point about Nathan’s possession of the videos and photos being thought of as child p***. It could argued very easily that Nathan was trying to distribute or was disseminating child and I know that the US has very strict and harsh laws about that sort of thing.

My question to you is why would Monica and Stanton have a reason to string Nathan along if they weren’t planning something on their own? What reason could Monica and/or Stanton have for just yanking Nathan’s chain? Monica knows firsthand just how very dangerous Nathan is and how his violence escalated over the four years with Eva. I don’t believe for one second that Monica could be so naïve as to believe that Nathan’s violent tendencies and sadistic ways would have deescalated over the years. If anything they would have increased!

In the end it will be very interesting to see if; Victor ever loved Monica or if he just made something more out of a “fling. It will also be interesting to see if Victor is able to forgive Monica or whether he is going to take it out on her in some passive/aggressive way. What will be most interesting to see is how Victor will deal with Eva. How will the keeping of secrets and lies affect their relationship?

[LN Cronan]

I believe the reason Monica/Stanton and Gideon all strung Nathan along on the blackmail was to buy time in order to find out where Nathan had the the originals of the child p*** photos and video plus any copies Nathan made.

 

He'd never have been foolish enough to take the originals with him to show Monica/Stanton/Gideon. Nor would he have kept the originals on him. But it's highly likely he did bring the originals with him to New York and stashed them somewhere hidden, like a bank deposit box or a rented storage space. Gideon and Stanton had the resources to hire the very best private investigators to find out where Nathan was hiding the stuff.

 

Whatever any of his targets had been ultimately planning to do with him, they first needed to make certain they got their hands on every last original and copy. Otherwise, the threat of Nathan exposing Eva would never go away.

[GiGi]

 

Maybe it is true the cops truly have dropped the case, but until they're 100% certain that's true, Gideon and Eva are going to need to be safe by him continuing to cover his tail (he never loved Eva and thus had no motive to kill to protect her.)

 

I just don't see that happening though -- that'd be far too easy and convenient. But I do see Gideon "walking" on this case, walking off into the sunset, hand in hand with Eva. The cops will go too far and so any evidence they do get would be inadmissible. The case will get officially dropped, by the prosecution, because they can't take it to trial. Maybe they can't even take it to the point of arresting him.

 

Hopefully, that'll be early in Entwined that the Gideon and Eva don't have to hide anymore.

 

Hi LNCronan,

I don’t think that this detective issue is just going to be dropped. I agree that would be far too convenient. I do think that there is something more to this storyline, but you and I disagree about some of the details and theories.

I do think that Gideon and Eva will find their way together and wind up walking into the sunset in the end. I just wonder how they are going to go about doing that. It is all the juicy details that will make the happily ever after so special. It will also be so interesting to see which theories will come to fruition on June 4th. :)

[GiGi]

 

For more than a decade, Monica has successfully buried deep the secret Eva was raped for four years right under her nose. Even Eva herself has kept that secret hidden deep. The only people who know from Eva know it because they needed to know -- Cary, because he was part of the group therapy that changed her life for the better, and Gideon because Eva feared the secret might come out eventually.

I firmly believe Victor does not yet know (as Reflected ended). But because of Nathan's murder, he's going to find out any day now. All h*** will break loose when he learns Nathan was a rapist. He'll never look at Monica all starry-eyed ever again. Even if a part of him never stops loving her, the father in him will never forgive her for allowing someone he loves even more, his only daughter, to be victimized so brutally as a child the damage won't ever be able to completely be undone.

And soon he'll find out Eva's very life was put in danger recently because Monica still insisted on keeping Nathan a deep, dark secret she's still deeply ashamed of. She ought to have called the cops when Nathan showed up in New York and tried to blackmail her and her latest rich husband -- blackmail them with sexually explicit photos and video whose mere existence could send Nathan to prison for decades. What he had was child p*** of Eva. Even though he had been just a teen-ager when he made it, as a full-fledged adult now, he had possession of it, and he was trying to "sell" it for a $2.5 million payoff.

 

Instead, Monica and her latest rich husband strung Nathan along in order to continue to keep the secret. During that time, Nathan stalked Eva. He wasn't just after money -- he was after Eva herself. Nathan was crazy -- and he had begun to escalate out of control. He beat up Eva's roommate/best friend so badly the guy could have died. Even the cops recognized sooner or later, he would have killed Eva.

Victor is going to be even angrier for Monica failing to protect their daughter as a grown woman too, not just as a little girl.

 

Hi LNCronan,

I agree with you assertion that Victor does not know about Eva’s past yet. I also agree with you that Eva and Monica won’t be able to keep this secret much longer. The murder investigation will bring these facts to light and I suspect that is going to devastate Victor for many reasons.

I wonder whether Victor will be able to forgive Monica for her gross parental neglect. If I had children, I am not sure that I would be able to forgive my husband (I don’t have a husband…but fingers crossed maybe I will find one this year! ). I think that the mothers on this website would be able to answer this more accurately.

What I will find interesting is whether Victor will find out about Monica seeing Nathan out in front of the Crossfire Building that second time. Why did Monica not say anything to Eva? Even if Monica didn’t want to call the police, she should have at the very least told Eva what was going on, so they could arrange some type of specialized security for her. I think that if Victor found out about Monica’s complete lack of common sense would send him through the roof!

You make a very good point about Nathan’s possession of the videos and photos being thought of as child p***. It could argued very easily that Nathan was trying to distribute or was disseminating child and I know that the US has very strict and harsh laws about that sort of thing.

My question to you is why would Monica and Stanton have a reason to string Nathan along if they weren’t planning something on their own? What reason could Monica and/or Stanton have for just yanking Nathan’s chain? Monica knows firsthand just how very dangerous Nathan is and how his violence escalated over the four years with Eva. I don’t believe for one second that Monica could be so naïve as to believe that Nathan’s violent tendencies and sadistic ways would have deescalated over the years. If anything they would have increased!

In the end it will be very interesting to see if; Victor ever loved Monica or if he just made something more out of a “fling. It will also be interesting to see if Victor is able to forgive Monica or whether he is going to take it out on her in some passive/aggressive way. What will be most interesting to see is how Victor will deal with Eva. How will the keeping of secrets and lies affect their relationship?

[GiGi]

Hi LNCronan,

That’s exactly what I have been saying all along. I don’t think that there is any way Nathan would have brought the originals with him. I just wonder where on earth he could have stashed the originals. The reader isn’t given any clues as to Nathan’s movements or activities prior to his murder so trying to figure out where the photos and videos are may be challenging.

Your theory about Monica, Stanton and Gideon refusing to pay off Nathan’s blackmail was because they were trying to buy time is interesting. If Gideon supposedly knew where Nathan was staying and that he knew that Nathan was staying at one of his hotels all along, then why wouldn’t have Gideon taken one of his famous “master keys†and have Nathan’s room checked for the originals? I would think that would make the most sense and would be the least intrusive of all options.

Those options wouldn’t have been available to Monica and Stanton though. So how do they come into play with your theory? What were they trying to do to find the original videos and photos? I surely cannot believe that they were “SOLEY†relying on Gideon to solve their problems. Eva is Monica’s daughter and ultimately her responsibility, so what was Monica doing to try and help her daughter?

I don’t know where private investigators could look for that kind of “needle†in the haystack. By everyone’s admission, Nathan was nuts and therefore most likely didn’t have any friends so he couldn’t have stashed the originals with them. He had also been disowned by his father so he didn’t have access to the family estate (another potential hiding place for said stuff) and I don’t think that Nathan would have been foolish enough to just stash the stuff in a safety deposit box at some bank, so where then? It will be really interesting to see how Sylvia ties all these little details together. Hopefully she will do this in the next book. :)

[LN Cronan]

Nathan managed to stash that original material somehow as a teenager, because he still had it. A bank box makes the most sense if the material is stored on a small electronic storage device (or devices) - such as photo disc, CD/DVDs, a flash drive. If it's been transferred to something larger, like the hard drive of a laptop, then some sort of small storage locker is a possibility.

 

I think he'd probably loaded the original copies onto a laptop and made some back-up copies for safety in case anything happened to the computer. He needed a device to make copies, such as the ones he showed Gideon and Stanton. A computer would do it -- everything from making electronic copies to plugging the computer to a photo printer in order to make hard copies of photographs. Plus, if he wanted to leak the material, he could go with the laptop to some WiFi place, connect to the Internet there, and email the stuff.

 

It would have been foolish for him to keep the material near him, such as in the place where he was staying. It'd be too easy for hired "goons" to break in and grab it all, or worse, if the cops got called in, seized under a search warrant. The latter would guarantee a one-way trip to prison for a very long time. 

 

In the meantime, Gideon certainly had the resources to "follow the money" so to speak. Find out how Nathan was paying for some place to hide the originals, be it a bank box or a storage locker. Getting into his financial records even if that meant having some expert hacker get into them. This would uncover the bank(s) he used. Searching Nathan's room for receipts, if he were paying for storage with cash or money orders. Plus the old-fashioned tailing the guy around town hoping Nathan would lead them right to the bank or storage place.

 

I'm willing to bet that between the time Nathan first showed up with pictures and the time Gideon changed plans because of the attack on Cary, Gideon had been pouring a tremendous amount of time, effort and money into getting his hands on every last original and copy of those images of Eva. Destroy them all and he would forever protect Eva against Nathan ever using that material to hurt her. Then Gideon's way would have been clear to do whatever he originally had been planning in order to get revenge.

[Mrs.CrossXxXxX]

Meanwhile I keep speculating who killed Nathan. Tell me what book to read. I like Sylvia day but I've only read these 2 books. Any suggestions? I need something to read while I wait for 3rd book.

[LN Cronan]

The more I think about it, GiGi, the more I'm convinced that as far as the blackmail was concerned, Gideon was working with Stanton and Monica on that, probably taking the lead (given his resources, including lots of security experts) in tracking down the originals.

[GiGi]

 

Nathan managed to stash that original material somehow as a teenager, because he still had it. A bank box makes the most sense if the material is stored on a small electronic storage device (or devices) - such as photo disc, CD/DVDs, a flash drive. If it's been transferred to something larger, like the hard drive of a laptop, then some sort of small storage locker is a possibility.

 

I think he'd probably loaded the original copies onto a laptop and made some back-up copies for safety in case anything happened to the computer. He needed a device to make copies, such as the ones he showed Gideon and Stanton. A computer would do it -- everything from making electronic copies to plugging the computer to a photo printer in order to make hard copies of photographs. Plus, if he wanted to leak the material, he could go with the laptop to some WiFi place, connect to the Internet there, and email the stuff.

 

It would have been foolish for him to keep the material near him, such as in the place where he was staying. It'd be too easy for hired "goons" to break in and grab it all, or worse, if the cops got called in, seized under a search warrant. The latter would guarantee a one-way trip to prison for a very long time. 

 

In the meantime, Gideon certainly had the resources to "follow the money" so to speak. Find out how Nathan was paying for some place to hide the originals, be it a bank box or a storage locker. Getting into his financial records even if that meant having some expert hacker get into them. This would uncover the bank(s) he used. Searching Nathan's room for receipts, if he were paying for storage with cash or money orders. Plus the old-fashioned tailing the guy around town hoping Nathan would lead them right to the bank or storage place.

 

I'm willing to bet that between the time Nathan first showed up with pictures and the time Gideon changed plans because of the attack on Cary, Gideon had been pouring a tremendous amount of time, effort and money into getting his hands on every last original and copy of those images of Eva. Destroy them all and he would forever protect Eva against Nathan ever using that material to hurt her. Then Gideon's way would have been clear to do whatever he originally had been planning in order to get revenge.

 

Hi LNCronan,

I wonder if Mr. Barker ever searched his son’s room. I would think that Eva’s rapes, the killing of her cat and subsequent evidence of the trauma and miscarriage would have set off HUGE alarm bells for Nathan’s father. Wouldn’t he have wanted to know what his son was up to? If his son had committed all these crimes, wouldn’t Mr. Barker want to search all the places that Nathan inhabited to see if Nathan hid any evidence of other crimes?

The only reason I don’t think that Nathan stashed his trophies from his crimes is that he would have become well acquainted with the legal system and may have known that the cops or the court could have gotten a warrant to search his safety deposit box. So he stashes his “trophies†somewhere where no one would think to look. It sounds strange but is it possible that Nathan hid his creepy photos and videos in his family home attic? How many people go up to their family attic on a regular basis? People usually stash old photos, etc up in the attic and with a huge family home like the one Nathan must have lived in, would have given Nathan ample opportunity to stash a few pieces of evidence here or there.

I know that this theory is farfetched, but something that others have been posting on the forums made me stop and think. Where is the one place that Gideon, Monica, Stanton, the cops etc. would never stop to look for the videos and photos? The Barker mansion (I assume it is a mansion from the status of Mr. Barker’s wealth and from the settlement that he gave both Eva and Monica).

Let’s say for the sake of argument, Nathan stashed the evidence at his childhood family home. How would he gain access to the evidence and entry into the home?

• Could Nathan use the “rouse†that the wants to change his wayward ways and has come to ask for his father’s forgiveness.

• Could Nathan use an old family will (perhaps his deceased mother’s-nothing is mentioned about whether Nathan’s mom is alive or deceased), asking for some specific property that belonged to his mother (a trunk, a hat box, etc….).

• Could Nathan have waited until Mr. Barker left the premises and then gained entry into the house illegally?

• Could it be that when Nathan was ousted from the family home Mr. Barker forgot to change the security codes for the house (strangers things have happened!)?

• Could it be that Nathan used his looks and/or charm on one of the maids or staff to allow him to gain access to the family home?

• Could it be that Nathan bribed one of the staff to allow him to gain access to a specific area of the family home (one where he had the evidence stashed)?

• Or could it be that Nathan bribed or offered some kind of compensation to one of the staff to enlist them in retrieving the specific piece of property that Nathan was looking for? I am sure that the Barker family would have been filled to the rafters with family knick knacks and as such Nathan could have stashed some evidence in one of those.

I know that these are some seriously farfetched ideas but who knows? What does everyone think?

[GiGi]

 

The more I think about it, GiGi, the more I'm convinced that as far as the blackmail was concerned, Gideon was working with Stanton and Monica on that, probably taking the lead (given his resources, including lots of security experts) in tracking down the originals.

 

Hi LNCronan,

How exactly would Gideon, Monica and Stanton all have worked together on the blackmail issue? Who would approach whom? I couldn’t see Gideon contacting Monica to tell him about the visit from Nathan or his blackmail request. Gideon has always appeared so strong, self confident and very capable of handling whatever treachery would come his way.

Since Eva is constantly trying to assert her independence from her mother, I couldn’t see Monica turning to Gideon to solve this Nathan blackmail issue. I almost think that pride would prevent Monica from going to Gideon to let him know what was going on. I also don’t think that Monica would want to relive her less than stellar moments as a parent with Gideon. I think that maybe Monica might be afraid to look bad in Gideon’s eyes, if for no other reason than it might ruin Eva’s chances of snagging herself a wealthy husband.

All this writing just makes me wonder who initiated the conversation first and what was said. What do you think? What does everyone think?

[rcmcap]

The more I think about it, GiGi, the more I'm convinced that as far as the blackmail was concerned, Gideon was working with Stanton and Monica on that, probably taking the lead (given his resources, including lots of security experts) in tracking down the originals.

As I re read RIY for the third time I believe that the three of them were working together. Why else would Gideon leave a message for Monica and Stanton that he was taking Eva away for the weekend?

[Mrs.CrossXxXxX]

Gideon probably made Nathan believe he didn't have any interest in Eva. Nathan then went after Cary after seeing him In a warm embrace with Eva when they were having lunch. Totally believe Monica and Stanton were in on it. Monica gave Eva that big lecture about not becoming a liability for Gideon since she believe he would marry him. How did she know?

[LN Cronan]

Here's a scenario about how Gideon, Monica and Stanton would have all ended up cooperating on the issue of Nathan separately attempting to blackmail them.

 

 

• My guess is Nathan approached Gideon first with the photos. Gideon punched him, threatened him, and then immediately put people to work to start finding out where Nathan had the originals stashed.
• When Nathan didn't immediately get money from Gideon, as plan B, he approached Stanton and/or Monica. Initially, they kept it quiet, Monica absolutely terrified that the photos could ruin Eva socially forever.
• When Monica spotted Nathan outside the Crossfire, she called Gideon, afraid for Eva's physical safety, demanding Gideon do something to protect Eva at work. She may or may not have told Gideon -- yet -- about the photos.
• I think it was at that point that Gideon brought Monica and Stanton into the loop and made them aware of what Nathan was trying to do -- and about what progress he (Gideon) had made on his people investigating Nathan and tracking possible hiding places for the material. In turn, Monica and Stanton confided to Gideon about what Nathan had been attempting with them. 
• Monica offered help in any way she could on piecing together Nathan's history right on up to the point where Nathan had been caught. It's possible Monica might have even offered help in contacting Nathan's father, if needed, to help piece together Nathan's life during the 8-year gap between when Eva/Monica last saw him in a courtroom and the present day.
• The three of stayed in constant contact about Nathan, but Gideon took over the lead with what he he had been planning (at that time) to make sure Nathan stayed away from Eva and to ensure (by getting the originals and all copies of the photos/video) that Nathan would never be able to hurt Eva with that material.
• It's just a little "too convenient" that Nathan, disinherited from his rich father and obviously needing money, ended up staying at one of Gideon's hotels in Manhattan. Gideon owns luxury properties, not cheap hotels, and only a rich person would be able to afford to stay at one for weeks. I think Gideon put Stanton up to throwing Nathan a financial bone by telling Nathan he (Stanton) would move him into a nice hotel while thinking over his demands. The hotel was owned by a subsidiary of Cross Industries, not Cross directly, so the ownership wouldn't make Nathan suspicious.
• This move, which made it much easier to track Nathan, would have appeased Monica on top of other measures Gideon already had in place to keep an eye on Eva.

[MicheleWV]

To anyone,

Does the story tell us yet what the pictures were, other than of Eva? I feel like we're assuming they are of the past when they might be of him stalking her in NYC...

In the meantime, I'm going back to find the references.

[ShazScott1980]

LNCronan I like your scenario and agree with it.

I think Monica is pivotal in how and why Nathan opened his hotel room door.

I think Monica is stronger than we think. Having Stanton on her side and knowing just how much Gideon love Eva and wants to protect her for Nathan makes her stronger.

Although I agree with MicheleWV I wondered if the photos are of Eva in NYC and Nathan was just showing thy he hd his eye on Eva and knew where she was. Gideon would worry about Eva safety. We are all presuming that these photos are of Eva younger and possibly in compromising situation .

[LN Cronan]

To anyone,

Does the story tell us yet what the pictures were, other than of Eva? I feel like we're assuming they are of the past when they might be of him stalking her in NYC...

In the meantime, I'm going back to find the references.

 

Hi Michele --

 

Probably the key indicator is something Sylvia said in response to a spoiler question when she revealed a huge secret that wasn't spelled out anywhere in Reflected -- Nathan showed up at Gideon's office with hurtful pictures of Eva. That's why he had blood (not Corrine's lipstick) on his shirt cuff -- he physically attacked Nathan. Nathan had shown up unannounced with hurtful pictures of Eva. What else could that be but sexual? Candid shots of her around town wouldn't be "hurtful."

 

Also: Eva found out about the photos from her mother after Nathan was murdered and the cops had come around. Page 275 of Reflected, this is what Monica said: "He has -- had -- photos, Eva." Her lower lip began to quiver. "And video. Of you." Eva reacted by moaning, crying and coming close to fainting. Monica held her and comforted her, not needing to say anything more. If those pictures had been anything other than sexual, Monica would have quickly re-assured Eva otherwise instead of crying herself.

 

I think the only reason Monica even told Eva was Eva was bound to find out anyway from the cops as the investigation continued. At that point (Saturday morning) the cops had seen Eva but not questioned her in any great length. But Monica would have feared that was coming next for everyone involved, once everyone was properly "lawyered up."

 

Consider this: Why would Stanton be willing to seriously consider paying $2.5 million for amateur photos of Eva walking around New York when there were professional paparazzi photos of Eva all over the place? Why would Stanton even be considered as a murder suspect over some harmless pictures? However, evidence of Eva being raped, a secret Stanton and Monica fought very hard to keep, most certainly would be a motive to either shell out even more money -- or worse -- kill Nathan.

 

Nathan had been a sexual sadist who brutally raped Eva for years. From one of her nightmares we learned the more she struggled, the more excited he became, and he'd start talking dirty. It would be completely within that sadism to secretly videotape that and take secret photographs for his own private p***  Indeed, collecting "trophies" is part of that pathology of sadists, and photographs are a pretty common form of trophy.

[LN Cronan]

My guess is initially, the cops believed the blackmail was the motive to kill. Monica and Stanton paid a lot of money to keep secret the fact Eva was raped under Monica's nose. Now Eva's a minor celebrity, Monica is a prominent socialite -- and Nathan's got the power to leak the hidden secret about both women.

 

At that time, they had not yet pieced together that Nathan had jumped Cary and beaten him with a dangerous weapon (a bat) so badly Nathan could have killed him. They never even asked Cary whether he knew about  Nathan. The only people they asked about Nathan in the first crucial 24 hours of the investigation were Eva, Gideon, Stanton and Monica. Eva was the only person instantly ruled out.

 

I think the cops initially tried finding evidence that one or more of their chief suspects hired a hitman to do it. All of them had motive and all of them were filthy rich enough to pay for a contract killer. 

 

It took three separate detective visits to the party hotel in order to uncover a possible hole in Gideon's alibi on Thursday night. Now Gideon had opportunity to do the crime himself. Probably by then too, they would have finally fit the Cary attack into the picture, which would give Gideon entirely new motive for wanting Nathan dead -- he was a very serious danger to Eva herself.

[AMC]

Whoever killed Nathan----shouldn't they have cased the hotel room and removed the pictures?

[LN Cronan]

Whoever killed Nathan----shouldn't they have cased the hotel room and removed the pictures?

 

I think the pictures in the hotel room were clippings of Eva and Gideon from the papers and maybe some candids of her. Nathan wouldn't keep any of the p*** shots in the room -- too dangerous. If Stanton or Gideon decided to sic the cops on him and child p*** images were found in his room, he'd go to prison for a long time.

 

Besides, Gideon was in and out of that room only long enough to stab Nathan once right through the heart and make sure he was dead. Nathan would have gone into cardiac arrest within a minute. Gideon needed to worry about sneaking away from the scene without getting stopped. God forbid he were to get stopped and be caught red-handed with stuff from Nathan's room. That would link him directly to the crime scene -- game over.

 

When the cops found Nathan dead, they would have immediately been able to get subpoenas to crack open all sorts of confidential court paperwork on Nathan -- from the secret financial settlement to any juvie criminal records (Nathan was 12 when he started raping Eva and 16 when he got caught.) That's how they'd piece together the connection between Nathan and Eva. They'd also find out Stanton and Monica paid big money to further tighten the secrecy seals. The cops could have had all of this information in their hands within hours of finding the body.

 

This evidence alone would lead police to conclude Nathan was trying to extort money from Stanton and Monica to stop him from going to the very tabloids that were following Eva and tell the tabloids the big secret Stanton and Monica tried so hard to hide. If Stanton was willing to pay strangers, he'd be more than willing to pay Nathan to continue to hide the secret. And if Nathan were willing to try to blackmail Stanton, it would stand to reason he'd try to blackmail Gideon too -- Gideon is one of the richest men in the whole world. 

 

The cops might not even know about the existence of the p***. I seriously doubt Gideon, Stanton nor Monica would have told them about it. Lawyers next to them, they would have refused to answer any questions about the extortion attempts, because to do so could incriminate themselves by further reinforcing they all had motive for wanting Nathan dead.

 

If they do know about the p*** by now, it's because they themselves were able to follow the same money trail Gideon had been to find bank boxes or storage units Nathan had as they continued to work the case over the two weeks since they found the body. But a huge difference with the cops is they could do something very easily that Gideon could not - via subpoena seize the contents.

[LN Cronan]

Based on everything they found in the room with Nathan's body showing interest in Eva (and Gideon too, she was the sole reason Eva was famous) plus the court paperwork they would have quickly gotten unsealed revealing Nathan raped Eva as a child, the cops already clearly had four people to talk to right away:

 

1. Eva herself.
2. Gideon (by virtue of being her boyfriend and of some interest to Nathan).
3. Monica (who got the total of $7 million dollars from Nathan's father to settle the civil case.)
4. Stanton (who years later after he married Monica paid a lot of money to further tighten the secrecy of those old records.)

In order, this is how they worked their way down that list:

 

1. They started with Eva, showing up unannounced at her apartment Friday evening, sometime less than twelve hours after they first found the body. By pure luck, Gideon was there, so the cops got a two-fer.
2. When the cops showed up at Eva's, they didn't come out and say Nathan was dead, much less than he was murdered. They just asked Eva if she knew Nathan (oh yes, her reaction showed) and whether she knew he was in New York (definitely not, her same reactions showed.)
3. Next, Detective Graves asked Gideon "Do you know Nathan Barker." Gideon very carefully replied "You wouldn't be asking that question if you didn't already know the answer." To say "no" would be a lie they could catch him in. He didn't deny knowing Nathan -- but he never said how he knew Nathan, something that would open up additional questioning. And of course, Gideon did not act like he had any clue why a detective was asking. They had still not yet said Nathan was dead, and Gideon was playing dumb. 
4. Then they turned back to Eva and asked her where she had been Thursday, Eva's father, a cop himself, recognized the significance of that question. When a detective asks that, a detective is trying to find out if someone's got an alibi. That's when Victor stopped them and demanded to know the reason for the visit. Soon as Victor found out Nathan had been found dead, he told them Eva wasn't saying another word without a lawyer, and he told the cops to leave.
5. The cops backed off on Eva, but turned right around and asked Gideon where he had been Thursday. He offered to walk them out. I'm certain that on the way down, he would have told them. It would be to his benefit to do so -- they might have immediately crossed him off their list of suspects because he did, in fact, have an alibi. Gideon probably was counting on that. Then he'd rebuff any more questions, offering to come down to the station with his lawyer in order to help clear up any more questions.
6. The cops went to see Stanton and Monica at home the early the next morning (Saturday). Obviously, they weren't there very long, and it's safe to say that Stanton would have agreed to make an appointment to go down to the station along with a lawyer. As soon as the cops left, Monica went running to see Eva.
7. After the cops left Stanton and Monica, they went back to the police station to more formally question Gideon (who obviously would have had a lawyer with him.) Because Gideon was at the station when Eva called his cell.

[Kirsten]

I agree with almost everything LN but I don't think Eva's name would have been released.

[LN Cronan]

Now I don't think Gideon was in the middle of the actual interview yet when Eva called him at the police station on Saturday morning, having just seen a picture proving that on Thursday night, Gideon took Corrine to a party at the f*** pad hotel he used to sleep with Corrine (and every other woman since Corrine up to Eva herself).

 

He wouldn't have been able to answer a call if he was in the middle of being questioned by homicide detectives. He was probably cooling his jets in the interview room, sitting there with his lawyer, while the cops watched him, maybe through the two way mirror, to see how nervous (or not) he was. It is very common practice for detectives to make an actual suspect wait in an interrogation room for a bit before the questioning starts. Meanwhile, the cops will take advantage of an opportunity to watch a suspect via a two-way mirror.

 

Dumb, dumb, dumb of Gideon to answer that call. Maybe he feared Eva leaving a voice mail. Or maybe he just needed to figure out by the sound of her voice just how mad she was after last night -- and get her to let him call her back. He tried coolly saying "I really can't talk right now." But Eva refused to hang up -- and she was a whole lot worse than just mad. And she made it clear -- she wanted exactly one minute of his time for him to listen to exactly what she had called up to say.

 

Her side of the conversation starts on page 285. She's on the phone in her bedroom. There's a lot to be read into how Gideon acts on his end plus some background noise. The gist:

 

1. Eva starts immediately by demanding to know whether he saw the Nathan pictures. He keeps trying to cut her off, but he's finally forced to answer yes. He's changed from cool and collected to biting out words. Because OMG Eva has found out about the pictures, he must have been frightened to hear. This is bad. The cops have got to be watching though as he gets more and more tense.
2. Eva then tears his head off about him blowing off couples therapy to go with Corrine to that party that was a publicity thing for the vodka account that had been so important to Eva at work. So now Gideon knows Eva knows about him being with Corrine at THAT hotel (the f*** pad) and she's assuming the absolute worst.  At this point in the phone call, Eva heard the sound of a chair being abruptly pushed back. Obviously Gideon has just leaped to his feet and is either pacing the interview room or if the door isn't locked, walked out of it. Because things just went from bad to a whole lot worse.
3. Next, Eva got to the heart of what she really wanted to say -- calling him a coward for not ending things before he started sleeping with Corrine again. For the first time, Gideon starts to try to talk to her. "Eva. God*** it" he says. Now he's really dropped the mask, because things are REALLY bad with Eva. She's absolutely convinced he's f****** Corrine.
4. Then comes the worst of all -- Eva telling him he's broken her heart, but she understands how he must feel about her now from having seen those pictures. His voice is barely a whisper as he says "stop." He must have been in agony now. Not only does Eva believe he's sleeping with Corrine but she believes those pictures are what drove him away from her and back into Corrine's arms.
5. She doesn't stop. She still continues to say she doesn't blame him (which is her way of basically admitting she understands she's damaged goods.) She has trouble speaking, so she pauses. When she resumes, she's now started crying. One last time, he tries to get her to stop by saying "Christ, please stop, Eva."
6. She finishes by telling him she's done (clearly meaning done with him.) Then she hangs up.
7. Based on what Detective Graves told her weeks later, Graves had been watching Gideon's face. By the time the call was over, he looked like someone had died.

Right then and there, Gideon probably shot right to the top of the suspect list. Because he made a huge mistake taking that call. Better to have let it go to voice mail and called Eva back later.

[LN Cronan]

I agree with almost everything LN but I don't think Eva's name would have been released.

 NOT released publicly. The homicide detectives -- and them only at that point -- got to see those records. And those records most certainly would have contained Eva's name. It's the very main reason why those civil records were under seal.

 

Getting access to them via a subpoena is NOT the same thing as opening records to the general public. Even after death, someone's juvie criminal record and stuff related to it does not simply become public, nor do any civil cases settled under terms of secrecy.

 

But prior to Nathan dying under the circumstances he did -- murder -- no cops anywhere would have had the right to look at any of that sealed stuff just for the heck of it. The only reason they got to look at it and look at it immediately was because Nathan had been murdered. That makes his past life, including his juvie crimes and any secret civil settlement cases, an open door to the homicide detectives assigned to solve the case.

[GiGi]

 

<p>

Here's a scenario about how Gideon, Monica and Stanton would have all ended up cooperating on the issue of Nathan separately attempting to blackmail them.

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• My guess is Nathan approached Gideon first with the photos. Gideon punched him, threatened him, and then immediately put people to work to start finding out where Nathan had the originals stashed.
• When Nathan didn't immediately get money from Gideon, as plan B, he approached Stanton and/or Monica. Initially, they kept it quiet, Monica absolutely terrified that the photos could ruin Eva socially forever.
• When Monica spotted Nathan outside the Crossfire, she called Gideon, afraid for Eva's physical safety, demanding Gideon do something to protect Eva at work. She may or may not have told Gideon -- yet -- about the photos.
• I think it was at that point that Gideon brought Monica and Stanton into the loop and made them aware of what Nathan was trying to do -- and about what progress he (Gideon) had made on his people investigating Nathan and tracking possible hiding places for the material. In turn, Monica and Stanton confided to Gideon about what Nathan had been attempting with them.&nbsp;
• Monica offered help in any way she could on piecing together Nathan's history right on up to the point where Nathan had been caught. It's possible Monica might have even offered help in contacting Nathan's father, if needed, to help piece together Nathan's life during the 8-year gap between when Eva/Monica last saw him in a courtroom and the present day.
• The three of stayed in constant contact about Nathan, but Gideon took over the lead with what he he had been planning (at that time) to make sure Nathan stayed away from Eva and to ensure (by getting the originals and all copies of the photos/video) that Nathan would never be able to hurt Eva with that material.
• It's just a little "too convenient" that Nathan, disinherited from his rich father and obviously needing money, ended up staying at one of Gideon's hotels in Manhattan. Gideon owns luxury properties, not cheap hotels, and only a rich person would be able to afford to stay at one for weeks. I think Gideon put Stanton up to throwing Nathan a financial bone by telling Nathan he (Stanton) would move him into a nice hotel while thinking over his demands. The hotel was owned by a subsidiary of Cross Industries, not Cross directly, so the ownership wouldn't make Nathan suspicious.
• This move, which made it much easier to track Nathan, would have appeased Monica on top of other measures Gideon already had in place to keep an eye on Eva.

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Hi LNCronan,

I guess that is where you and I differ; I think that Monica and Stanton would have been Plan A. I state that because Nathan had past experiences of Monica acquiescing to his petulant demands. Nathan also terrorized and severely harmed Monica’s daughter and as such Monica would have realized what Nathan was capable of and that he was capable of making good on his threats.

Then when Monica and Stanton started stalling Nathan (or maybe they just blew him off outright) Nathan sought out Gideon looking for a payout. As we all know, things backfired on Nathan in the worst way. He got beaten up, tossed out of the building and probably threatened too. So no payout there either.

I guess it could be possible that Monica called Gideon but I am not sure that I buy that. Why wouldn’t Monica see to Eva’s safety herself? In the first book BTY, after Eva told Gideon about her past, Gideon went to Stanton and not Monica. I think that is telling, so I am not sure that Gideon would have made contact with Monica. I could see Gideon making contact with Stanton and Stanton telling Monica….hmm?

Your theory breaks down when Gideon got his security team involved. When exactly did the security team get involved? If they were involved all along as you have suggested in previous postings then there were some huge errors and Gideon should have been aware of where Nathan was at all times. It would also be presumed that Cary wouldn’t have gotten attacked (at least one would hope that these individuals would have been able to prevent such a horrible tragedy).

Again, I don’t think that Monica would have contacted Mr. Barker for many of the reasons I stated in previous postings. Your suggestion about Stanton offering to put Nathan up at an expensive hotel could be plausible. The only question I would have is how comfortable would Nathan feel about taking Stanton up on that offer. The element of surprise would be gone for Nathan. Everyone would know where Nathan was staying and therefore they could call the police on him etc. I just think that Nathan wouldn’t give away his element of surprise. He is trying to extort money from people he hurt in the past and I don’t think that irony is lost on him.

I really hope that Sylvia addresses these issues in the next book. It will definitely be helpful to put the storylines together. What do you think?