Tonight I will escape my torturer, once and for all time. Tonight, I will kill him.
-- Arden/Narration (chapter 1 paragraph Final)

Importance: Arden makes this resolution at the very start of the novel. The author uses this moment to convince the reader that Arden is the guilty party when a dead body is found later that night. The mystery of the identity of the dead body is heightened by the use of the word “torturer” where everyone else will use the word “husband”. By not identifying who exactly Arden is planning to kill, the author is able to continue the mystery of whether the dead body is Ray or Clyde until the very end of the novel.

If she’s guilty, she’ll be the most famous criminal in the state in years. And he’ll be the one who brought her in. They won’t be able to force him out then, wounded or not...
-- Holt/ Narration (chapter 1 paragraph Third section, paragraph 39)