Summary

Chapter 36 picks up the story of the Banning family two weeks after Pete was executed. Stella and Joel moved back into their family home. Nineva was no help to them because she was devastated by Pete’s death. They tried to accept that they would never know why their father had killed Dexter, just like they would never know why their mother was in the asylum.

Joel called Whitfield and was told that Liza was not able to accept visitors. They assumed she had fallen deeper in depression after having learned that Pete was dead. Four weeks after Pete’s death, Joel and Stella finally got to see their mother. Dr. Hilsabeck told them that Liza suffered depression, anxiety, and acute stress. She would not eat much and did not take care of herself. The murder of Dexter had been catastrophic to...