Part 2, Chapter 23 Summary

Willie finally got the story about Callie and Esau's youngest son, Sam Ruffin. Years ago, when he was sixteen, Sam took a part time job at the local shoe store. One of his customers, Iris Durant, took a liking to him and seduced him one day while he was working alone at the store. The affair continued. Mrs. Durant's husband became suspicious and hired Harry Rex to investigate her activities. The affair was discovered, and Sam was fired from the shoe store. Mr. Durant wanted him dead. The affair was especially scandalous because Sam was black and Mrs. Durant white. The fact that she was an adult and he a child did not help Sam. He had to leave town on a Greyhound bus in the middle of the night. He had not been back to Ford County since. Sam contacted...