Sierra’s Reviews > The Locked Door > Status Update

Nora regulars a local bar after work some days, she recognizes the bartender, realizes she dated him for a few months in college but dumped him, can’t remember why. He asks her out on a date but she declines, she’s determined to stay single cause of what happened w her dad, doesn’t wanna end up like him if she allows herself to start a family.

A patient of Nora’s runs into her at the bar, insists on buying her a drink, then creepily follows behind her in his car when she drives home…she loses him by driving to a police station.
A few days later she sees his car following her, she had her practice remove him as a patient so I guess that pissed him off. She speeds on a curvy road, causing him to wreck his car…she calls police to report the crash but doesn’t stop, keeps driving him…hints that she’s a lot more like her dad than she’s letting off…

Nora is in a wonderful mood the next day going into work, not expecting the police to show up asking to speak w her…

We learn Nora’s dad got the nickname the Handyman cause he did all his killings in his “workshop” & all his victims were found w their hands severed off- he collected them & kept them in a chest in the basement.

The police talk to Nora abt a missing patient of hers, found dead in a lake w her hands chopped off. Nora changed her last name years ago but police still know abt her dad, question her cause of him.

26 years ago- Nora is 11, in school she hangs out w the mean girls who bully the other students. They mainly target a nerdy kid named Marjorie, Nora thinks she’s hideous & weird but has an odd interest in her. She asks her to hangout after school, Marjorie agrees cause she doesn’t have any friends.

Present: Nora needs a one night stand after stressing lol goes to the bar & asks her ex from college, Brady, if he wants to hang at his place after work. He says yes, she doesn’t invite him to her place or get his number cause she wants this to be a one time thing, doesn’t want him hitting her up after lmao.
After using him for sex, Nora remembers why she dumped him. They used to watch slasher movies together in college, for Halloween one year he wanted to dress up as her dad! Even had a mask of her dad’s face! She immediately dumped him & never spoke to him again, avoided him best she could.
Before she leaves his house after hooking up, she notices his office is locked, reminds her of her dad’s workshop…

We learn that both Nora’s mom & dad were arrested & tried w the murder of 18 girls! The mom hung herself in jail awaiting trial & the dads in jail for life. He writes Nora letters every week since being arrested, she never opens them, always throws them out. Her grandmom raised her after her parents went to jail, she was always worried Nora would turn out like her father since he raised her for so long…

A letter from her dad, Aaron, is slipped under her back door…usually they arrive in the mail since he’s incarcerated, he’s still in there when she checks the website to make sure he didn’t escape.

Brady rents his apartment from an old lady, her place is attached to his. Nora runs into her at the grocery store, she warns her to stay away from Brady bc he’s dangerous, says she’s can hear women screaming from his apartment some nights…

The following week the detective shows up at Nora’s job again to question her. Another one of her patients has turned up dead-hands her missing too again. The detective asks inappropriate questions abt her dad- like if she’s as good a liar as he is! Nora tells him to get out & she’s not talking without a lawyer anymore.

Past: Aaron leaves the basement door unlocked one night…Nora goes down to the kitchen to get a drink in the middle of the night, hears noises coming from the basement, goes down there & finds a girl locked in a cage w a sheet overtop!
Aaron catches her down there but he’s not mad…he says he always knew she was like him, that it’s okay she’s curious, he has so much to teach her…wtffff

All of Aaron’s victims had the same look- black hair & blue eyes, pretty girls.
The secretary at Nora’s job, Harper, is in her 20s. Nora very protective with her, views her like the daughter she never had.

Nora goes over to Brady’s again & they hook up, order a pizza after. She goes into his “office” cause it’s not locked anymore, finds a little girls room instead of an office inside. Brady says it’s cause he has a daughter, didn’t tell Nora abt it cause he was afraid it would scare her off. He’s been divorced from his ex wife for almost a year now, he’s still adjusting to single life is his excuse. Nora storms outta there, doesn’t like that he lied.

The next day Brady comes to her job, apologizes & drives her home cause someone slashed her tires while she was working.
The cops are there when they arrive at her house, the same detective wants to search her house. Brady helps her, tells the cops they need a warrant & they agreed for Nora to come to the station tomorrow w her lawyer.
Nora feels like she can trust Brady, tells him abt her dad. He doesn’t think she’s serious at first, gets weird when he sees she’s telling the truth, they both agree he should leave after that…

Nora finds a puddle of blood in her basement, no clue who it’s from or how it got there. She decides to clean it up & not tell anyone cause she thinks someone trying to frame her.

Past: Nora befriends a little girl in her grade named Marjorie who’s bullied pretty badly. She lures her into the woods one day after school, tells her they’re playing a game of Hunter & Prey, takes advantage of Marjorie’s lack of & desire for friends, makes her take her shoes off & run through the woods barefoot while Nora chases her!! Secretly has a knife too!
Marjorie gets a head start but falls down, twisting her ankle. Nora finds her on the ground, towers over her w the knife..Marjorie gets rlly scarred, asks her why she has a knife. Nora had been enjoying their game up until now, she sees that Marjorie is defenseless & scarred, changes her mind & decides to help her, walks her home & they never speak again after that…