Chapter 2 Summary

In the aftermath of Abe's murder, Jacob experiences intense fear that keeps him from leaving the house and frequent, horrifying nightmares. He tells his parents and the police the truth of what he saw, but they don't believe him. Neither does Ricky, which leads to the severing of their friendship. In their first attempt to calm him down, Jacob's rich socialite mother and unsuccessful bird researcher/writer father get the police to send a sketch artist to draw the face Jacob saw (*photo). Jacob, however, realizes he is just being humored when the artist, rather than taking the sketch to the police, says he can keep it. In their next attempt to help Jacob recover, his parents send him to a psychiatrist, Dr. Golan, who prescribes medication to keep him calm and repeatedly attempts to help the resistant, sullen Jacob understand the meaning...