The Investigation's Closing Arc

Rear Window

This flow follows the investigation from an unsupported report through failed searches to the final recovery of Anna's body.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Name and an Address A Name and an Address from "Rear Window". A Name and an Address The Report Hal gives Inspector Boyne Lars's name and the address of the fourth-floor rear apartment.

A Name and an Address from "Rear Window". A Name and an Address The Report Hal gives Inspector Boyne Lars's name and the address of the fourth-floor rear apartment.

A Name and an Address The Report Hal gives Inspector Boyne Lars's name and the address of the fourth-floor rear apartment. He asks the police to investigate but offers no account of how he reached his conclusion. Deliberate Omission Hal keeps his window out of the explanation, preferring that the police investigate from the street. This protects his privacy but leaves them without the observations that shaped his theory.

A Witnessless Departure A Witnessless Departure from "Rear Window". A Witnessless Departure Secondhand Accounts Neighbors and the building superintendent repeat that Anna left for the country.

A Witnessless Departure from "Rear Window". A Witnessless Departure Secondhand Accounts Neighbors and the building superintendent repeat that Anna left for the country.

A Witnessless Departure Secondhand Accounts Neighbors and the building superintendent repeat that Anna left for the country. None can say they personally saw her depart. The Station Check Boyne sends someone to verify the train story, but the account remains dependent on Lars's claim that he bought a ticket and saw his wife off. The inquiry has leads, not confirmation.

The Search and the Postcard The Search and the Postcard from "Rear Window". The Search and the Postcard An Empty Search Officers enter Lars's flat while he is out and find nothing that establishes a crime.

The Search and the Postcard from "Rear Window". The Search and the Postcard An Empty Search Officers enter Lars's flat while he is out and find nothing that establishes a crime.

The Search and the Postcard An Empty Search Officers enter Lars's flat while he is out and find nothing that establishes a crime. He returns without apparently noticing their visit. An Ambiguous Message A postcard attributed to Anna appears to support the journey, but its date is blurred. The investigation has reassuring testimony and paper, yet no verified sighting of the missing woman.

The Witness Is Attacked The Witness Is Attacked from "Rear Window". The Witness Is Attacked A Threat Becomes Immediate Hal's tests persuade him that Lars is reacting to evidence someone has entered the flat.

The Witness Is Attacked from "Rear Window". The Witness Is Attacked A Threat Becomes Immediate Hal's tests persuade him that Lars is reacting to evidence someone has entered the flat.

The Witness Is Attacked A Threat Becomes Immediate Hal's tests persuade him that Lars is reacting to evidence someone has entered the flat. The telephone line is cut, leaving Hal unable to summon help. An Improvised Defense Unable to rise from his chair, Hal arranges a bust and blanket to disguise his position. Lars fires, shattering the decoy and turning the investigation into a fight for survival.

Recovery Upstairs Recovery Upstairs from "Rear Window". Recovery Upstairs The Search Moves Above Hal identifies the raised cement kitchen floor in the unfinished apartment over Lars's home.

Recovery Upstairs from "Rear Window". Recovery Upstairs The Search Moves Above Hal identifies the raised cement kitchen floor in the unfinished apartment over Lars's home.

Recovery Upstairs The Search Moves Above Hal identifies the raised cement kitchen floor in the unfinished apartment over Lars's home. Inspector Boyne and the police investigate the precise location. A Case Reassembled They uncover Anna's body and connect the physical discovery to the earlier deception. The investigation ends with a crime scene, a victim, and a reconstructed method of concealment.

The morning Hal recognizes the empty bed

That afternoon, during Boyne's first report

That evening, after Lars leaves his apartment

The final night, after the second phone test

Near dawn, after Lars falls