Chapter 4 Summary

Chapter four begins the next day. John is fixated on Fay Taft. Her touching his neck - trying desperately to forge a connection with him - has shaken him to his core. He reasons that her father's death has to be the galvanizing event of the family. This likely turned Carl to drugs and impelled Fay to proposition him. In reasoning this through, John continues to form a speculative picture of Taft. He imagines the house in Coalfield. He imagines young Fay coming down for a date and Taft joking with her. He imagines Taft taking his son Carl, the wrestling star, to the lumber yard.

When John arrives at Muddy's, Rose the cook tells him that Fay called. She wants him to pick her up at her house and drive her in. Rose knows something is up, but John refuses to engage...