How It All Goes Down
Amy Elliott Dunne—Nine Days Gone
- Amy wakes up the morning after the Great Fish Smuggle feeling kind of freaked out and still seriously regretting getting hooked up with Jeff and Greta (no pun intended). It's obvious that Jeff was trying to beat her to the dock to take her money, and Greta's serious obsession with Ellen Abbott can only mean that she's catching onto Amy's secret. Still, Amy chooses to think she's being paranoid and dismisses these ideas.
- Besides, she's got more important things to do than worry about her shady friends—like call the Find Amy Dunne tip line. She offers two tips to the volunteers, who don't seem to care at all and will probably not share the tips with the police too fast. Just to be on the safe side with Jeff and Greta, she decides she'll leave the cabins today. But first, a visit to the library to see what's going down with Nick on the Internet.
- Sure enough, the blogosphere is freaking out over Nick's drunken Flip Camera confession. As Amy relays the contents of the video to us, we can totally tell that it's Nick's own secret message back to Amy. He talks about the treasure hunt and how he just reached the end of it—and he's never seen more clearly how she feels about him. He then waxes poetic about how their failing marriage was really all his fault and he'd do anything to make it up to her.
- Amy, however, sees this for what it is: an attempt to get back at her. She knows that no matter how heartbroken and honest Nick seems, he's actually just doing an awesome job at faking it.
- When Amy returns to her cabin, Dorothy, who wants her rent for the last two days, greets her. Greta and Jeff are hanging out on Greta's front porch watching this deal go down.
- That's it—Amy's got to blow this joint pronto. She packs up her few possessions and pulls a full-scale neurotic clean up of the cabin, wiping down everything while wearing latex gloves and scouring the drains for any stray hairs.
- Greta and Jeff knock on the door and Amy lets them in, saying that she'll be leaving today and was just coming to say goodbye. Amy feels kind of funny about this particular visit, but decides to pretend everything is fine.
- At first, Jeff tells her that if she doesn't do a proper clean up job on the cabin, Dorothy will keep her security deposit. He starts going through the fridge, the drawers, and even the cabin's bedding Amy's already folded up—then he asks Amy where her money is. She pays for everything in cash, so he knows she has money—and he and Greta need it.
- Jeff tells her to hand over the money and promises to disappear, but giving away her money isn't an option since it's practically Amy's lifeline. She tells Jeff she'll call the police, but Greta calls her bluff and says that she can tell Amy's on the run—her glasses are fake, her blonde roots are showing, and her haircut is totally ugly. There's no way she'll call the cops.
- Greta attacks Amy, pulls up her dress, and rips off her money belt. She and Jeff are stunned by the amount of money she has and accuse her of embezzling or robbing a bank.
- Amy wants to fight back, but she doesn't know how to—in fact, she's even scared they'll hurt her. She says a swear word under her breath and that's the best she can do. Greta and Jeff take the money and run, telling her that next time she should make an effort to not look like a girl hiding out by herself. Amy has just been owned by the people she thought she could control.