Chapters 17, 18 and 19 Summary

Sughrue and Traherne quickly settle into a routine, with Trahearne writing (in longhand) and Sughrue taking care of him. Catherine comes by to pick up the longhand and drop off the typed copy—only she, it seems, can read Trahearne's writing. After two weeks of this, Catherine confesses to wanting to go out, and Sughrue agrees to accompany her into town, where they go for drinks at a bar and then go for an illicit late night swim at Edna's hotel. After having sex, Catherine asks Sughrue whether Trahearne would ever let Melinda go, suggesting that if she stays Trahearne would fall back into his old routines and would be dead in a year and offering an envelope with three checks—ten thousand for his fees, forty thousand to pay Melinda's debt, and twenty thousand to pay Melinda to...