Chapter 23 Summary

As Jake reluctantly dodges reporters, his secretary Ethel calls his attention to $4,000 in unpaid bills, some overdue, mentioning that he has only $1,900 in the bank. She reminds Jake that he no longer sees clients or returns phone calls or drops off promised files. These observations seem to Jake like a lecture. When he tells her to keep her mouth shut or quit, she tearfully tells him of threatening phone calls and her husband's ill health. He says he will get the money.

Deputy Willie Hastings, uncle to Tonya, takes his turn to sleep on Gwen Hailey's couch. Every night an adult male family member sleeps there, and every night Tonya has night terrors and dreams. She insists that every light in the house remain on. She sees and hears the men who raped her, and she is sure they are hiding in the...