Death in Her Hands

Vesta and Charlie drive from her isolated lakeside cabin toward the town of Bethsmame, 10 miles away. On the drive, she passes her neighbor’s rusted mailbox and takes Route 17. She recalls her infrequent winter trips to a small local store, where she interacted with a clerk who had severe facial scarring from what he claimed was a “hunting accident” (52). Vesta speculates the injury was not accidental and briefly wonders if the girl from the note, Magda, could have been killed by accident. She dismisses this thought, remembering the words of Pastor Jimmy, who preaches that nothing in God’s universe happens by accident.

Arriving in the bleak, impoverished town of Bethsmame, Vesta parks at the Save-Rite supermarket. She leaves Charlie in the car with the windows cracked and goes inside to shop. As she gathers groceries—produce, chicken, beef bones, dairy, coffee, and bagels—she observes the other shoppers and makes judgments about their lives, including a heavy-set woman buying donuts.

Inside the store, Vesta begins to construct a detailed mental image of Magda. She imagines Magda as a thin, teenage immigrant with Eastern European roots. This persona connects to Vesta’s own background; her parents were immigrants from a country called Valtura who came to America during a war, and they had a son who drowned before Vesta was born.