We had realized in the first two episodes of Harlan Coben’s Shelter that the bat lady was probably not as evil as Mickey and his friends perceive her to be, and though we don’t exactly know what she was up to, our intuition tells us that she was trying to help Mickey’s cause in some way or another. Obviously, she knew something about Brad that others didn’t, but Mickey still couldn’t understand how his father could have been alive when he had seen him die in front of his eyes. Ema, Mickey, and Arthur had decided to go through the entire footage from the CCTV camera and see if they could find any anomaly that led them closer to solving the mystery. So, let’s find out what happened in Shelter Episode 3 and if Ema, Mickey, and Arthur are able to get any breakthroughs and understand what exactly was happening in their town.
Spoiler Alert
Why Did Rachel Get Angry At Troy?
The mysterious guy with the octopus tattoo on his face wanted to stop Rachel from taking the money kept in her locker, but she had managed to make a near escape. Rachel had gotten injured when she stumbled and fell on the road but more than that, the entire event had traumatized her. Probably that bag of cash belonged to Ashley, though we still do not know why somebody gave a teenage girl so much cash and, more importantly, what they wanted in return. The next day, Rachel acted all normal and went to Mickey’s house as they had partnered for a school project.
Buck, all the while, had been inciting Troy and telling him how he felt that something was happening between Rachel and Mickey. Troy still got affected by Rachel’s actions, and he wanted to make her sit down and ask her why she had been behaving so differently for the past few days. Troy still believed that he could make things right provided he got a chance to have a conversation with her. Troy arrived at Mickey’s house with his entire family, and he was a bit surprised to see Rachel present there. Ken and Hannah were invited by Shira’s mother, and it was an awkward moment for everyone as Shira didn’t expect to see them there. Also, they were not exactly in talking terms. Rachel decided to leave, and Troy went after her to have a word and make things right. But Rachel was just not in the mood, and she not only snapped at Troy but, in an impulsive reaction, hit him when he held her arms. Rachel was still getting visions of whatever had happened with her the other night, and though she tried apologizing to Troy, she knew that the damage had already been done.
What Happened Between Hannah And Shira?
Shira was having trouble coping with everything that had been happening to her family. Kitty was having serious mental health issues, and Shira felt helpless that she was not able to help her nephew in any manner. Shira’s parents came over to her house as, in light of the recent developments, they had decided not to go on a vacation and spend their anniversary with the family. Shira’s mother always wanted her to get married and have kids, and she didn’t miss an opportunity to tell her how she was missing out on life. Shira had made it very clear that she never felt like having kids and that she was happy with her life, but her mother just didn’t let her be. After Hannah and Ken came, Shira’s mother once again started the same old topic and went to the extent of saying that Shira would have been better equipped to take care of Mickey if she had kids of her own. Obviously, Shira didn’t take it very nicely, and she stood up and left because she knew that there was no point in arguing with her.
Shira went and sat on the roof of her house with a bottle of wine. Hannah came and joined her, and we got to know that back in the day, it was their usual spot where they used to sit and have a conversation. Hannah apologized for her behavior, and she wanted to resolve whatever conflict was there between them. The girls had a laugh at the expense of Ken, and after a very long time, Shira had a smile on her face. But to our surprise, we got to know in Harlan Coben’s Shelter episode 3, that Hannah and Shira were more than friends back in the day. Hannah came to Shira later that day, and they both shared an intimate moment. They had probably hidden their feelings from the world because they knew that nobody would understand them, but Hannah probably decided that she wouldn’t hold back now. It would be interesting to see how things pan out from hereon and if anyone else comes to know about the nature of the relationship they shared.
What Did Mickey Come To Know About The Bat Lady?
Through the footage from the surveillance camera, Ema, Mickey, and Arthur got to know that a hooded man had come to their school and was looking for something in Ashley’s locker. As soon as Mickey saw that it was the same man who worked for the old lady he immediately left for the haunted house. Mickey wanted answers, and he was adamant about confronting the bat lady and asking her what she knew about her father’s death. The bat lady finally met Mickey and told him some very eerie and strange facts that were not easy for him to swallow.
Mickey came to know that the old lady was, in fact, Lizzy Sobek, the Holocaust survivor who had gone missing, on whose life he was doing a project and the one who had saved 50 children who were being taken to the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz. Lizzy told Mickey that only six of those 49 children had survived, as the General, nicknamed the butcher, had come back and killed them. As if these revelations were not strange enough, Mickey got to know that the General looked exactly like the cop who had come to check on his father after they had met with an accident. His scarred face was imprinted in Mickey’s mind, and he just couldn’t understand how they could be the same people. Lizzy also told Mickey that they had quite similar experiences in their lives, as even her father had died at an early age, and she too had to deal with her grief and cope with the trauma like him.
Lizzy didn’t know where Ashley was, and she thought that Mickey would be able to tell her something that would lead her to the girl. But Mickey was clueless, and he wasn’t able to wrap his head around whatever bizarre things he was getting to know. It was not a coincidence that Ashley had gone missing on the very same day as Dylan Shakes did 27 years ago. It did feel like at times that there was some supernatural angle to everything that had been happening, and Mickey and his friends were unaware of it as of yet. The general, the blue butterflies, the disappearance of children, the death of Brad, and the presence of a strange, tattooed guy—everything was connected, and in the upcoming episodes of Harlan Coben’s Shelter, Mickey would want to unravel the mystery and find a rational explanation for everything.
