Part 2: Chapter 16 Summary and Analysis

Anne's new appearance attracts the attention of the boys in her class as well as several men around town. One of the men attracted to Anne is her basketball coach, Mr. Hicks. Mama encourages Anne to be nice to Mr. Hicks, and Anne realizes that Mama wants her to marry the coach. One day a fight breaks out between Anne and another girl on the team. After a week of cooling off, the girls reconcile and Mr. Hicks stops treating Anne differently from the rest of the girls on the team. However, Raymond now acts uncomfortable around Anne and she often sees him staring at her through her bedroom window.

Samuel O'Quinn is murdered several weeks later. He is killed by a shotgun blast to the back at close range. His death brings all Anne's repressed memories of the...