The Lovely Bones Chapter 14 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Lindsey stakes out Harvey's greenhouse for seven days, stalking him the way he stalks others.
  • She's trying out for the boys' soccer team, Samuel by her side, and can see the house from the field.
  • Mr. Harvey watches her watching him and wishes the family would get off his case.
  • It's happened before in other cities. He fools everybody, except some families.
  • Lindsey sees that Harvey takes off for a couple of hours every afternoon. Susie's spies on him as he walks around Pennsylvania parks, watching the people with his "wild and bottomless lust" (14.9).
  • November 26, 1974: Lindsey sees Harvey take off, and she fakes an injury on the soccer field.
  • Then, she breaks into the greenhouse through a basement window.
  • The floor plan is exactly like hers, and she's hit by family memories with each step she takes.
  • She sees Susie run past her and she chases her into the dollhouse room.
  • All the other girls he's killed are here with Lindsey, too. Susie can see them, and she says their names and tells how they died. (See "Characters" for the gruesome details.)
  • Lindsey finds Harvey's bedroom and goes in. She finds the sketchbook and hears a car.
  • She finds the page Susie wants her to find. It's labeled "Stolfutz Cornfield" and it features a sketch of the underground hole, site of Susie's death.
  • She rips it out while Mr. Harvey has a snack in the kitchen. Harvey hears boards creak and runs up the stairs.
  • Lindsey opens a window and jumps out, just in time. He watches her running away, unharmed. The numbers on her soccer jersey, "5! 5! 5!" (14.51) flash dangerously at him.
  • Lindsey gets home, surprising her mom, dad, and Grandma Lynn, announcing her successful break-in.
  • Abigail doesn't want to hear it. She has Buckley to pick up, and Thanksgiving to cook.
  • Jack is relieved and grateful to finally be believed. As he goes to make a call, Lindsey tells him that Harvey saw her.
  • Afterwards, in heaven, Franny gives Susie a map to a place where she meets Harvey's other victims, and they listen to each other's stories.