The narrative returns to the present. The doorbell rings, and Benny answers, expecting to see Bob. Instead, the waitress named Harper enters, wearing yellow jeans and a pink baseball cap that bears the word “Smooth!” She explains that she works as a private investigator in training and helps Bob with cases; he has sent her ahead.

She critiques Benny’s all-white, minimalist décor, calling it uninviting and unlivable. Feeling awkward and self-conscious, Benny tells her about the mess in the kitchen and insists that he is stressed, not unbalanced. Harper tells him that losing his job and his girlfriend are not problems to stress over. She suggests that he will feel better if they clean the kitchen.

Benny does feel better after they clean the kitchen. While they wait for Bob, Harper says that Jill must be a snake to leave Benny on the same day he lost his job. She criticizes the sterile all-white décor again. Feeling defensive, Benny says, “My grandmother dressed me all in black and made it her life’s mission to depress me into suicide. Maybe white-on-white has been an unconscious effort to compensate for those oppressive experiences” (104). Harper says that it is more likely that he saw the décor in a magazine, thought it was cool, and copied it because he had never felt cool in his life. Embarrassed by Harper’s accuracy, Benny admits that her guess is true. When he asks about Harper’s ballcap, she says that she is on the path toward smoothness and blueness and adds that Benny will understand this when he is ready. Then, the doorbell rings.

Bob arrives. He inspects the kitchen, listens to Benny’s story, and then makes an elaborate deduction about the mysterious vandal’s motives, claiming that the person has anger issues and wanted to intimidate Benny. The narrator interjects that “once all facts [are] known, maybe half or even 90 percent of [Bob’s] suppositions” will prove to be wrong (108).

Benny describes the casket in the garage and the inheritance from Clerkenwell. Bob asks about the family, and Benny describes his grandmother Cosima and his abusive father. Bob and Harper are shocked by this family history. At last, Bob pulls out a handgun and walks into the garage, ordering Harper and Benny to wait in the house.

While they wait, Benny rambles, and Harper expresses her hope that he is not like this when he is not stressed. Benny assures her that this is simply one of the worst days of his life. Harper opines that the day his father was shot was probably worse, and Benny retorts, “That doesn’t even rank” (115). He reflects that he has not been this anxious since his third day at Briarbush, when he saw what was in Mrs. Baneberry-Smith’s lab.

The narrator interjects that he wishes Benny had not had to experience the horrors he faced at Briarbush, but he is grateful for the person that Benny became because of them.

Benny, Jurgen, and Mengistu sit in the dorm. Mengistu is two years older than Benny and is considered to be the smartest boy at Briarbush. More importantly, both Jurgen and Mengistu are nice. Jurgen and Mengistu believe that their families send boys to Briarbush to be changed into vicious, entitled leaders of the next generation. They fear that even if they avoid being changed while at school, their families will do something horrible to them later. Benny reflects that his family, at least, has no idea what Briarbush is up to; they simply wanted him out of the way. The three boys decide to find out what Mrs. Baneberry-Smith is doing in her lab and what happened to Prescott.

At night, they sneak out. On the grounds of the school is a grove of firs; it is called the Headmaster’s Hanging Ground because of the rumor that a former headmaster hanged himself there. On the other side is Mrs. Baneberry-Smith’s lab, a large building with a skylight on the roof. The boys steal a ladder to climb up and look through the skylight. Inside, they see a human figure hanging on the wall. The figure is naked, with arms splayed and legs dangling. The head turns to look at them; it is Prescott. He is not hanging by a chain or rope; instead, he is using the wall-clinging ability of an insect. As they watch, Prescott scurries up the wall like a beetle, crawls up to the skylight, and cries, “Feed me!” (128). The boys scramble down and run back to their dorm.

Benny and Harper decide that Bob has been gone too long, so they investigate. They walk into the garage and see that the lid of the wood casket is ajar. Carefully, they open it. Inside, they find Bob, who is wide-eyed and breathing but unresponsive. They poke him, but he does not react. Then, they hear the door between the house and the garage close with a thud.

Benny and Harper realize that something has gone into the house. Benny wants to call the police, but Harper thinks that the police would not believe them, so they go inside to investigate. Benny is impressed by how cute and competent Harper is. They hear a violent crashing noise coming from the front of the house and walk into the living room.

Benny sees that his favorite armchair has been smashed. Then, he sees a seven-foot-tall intruder who is dressed in black and has a shaved head and white eyebrows. The creature introduces himself as Spike and claims to want justice. He explains that he broke the chair because it was ugly and ridiculous. He adds that he has only “sidelined” Bob (138), who will not be harmed.

When Spike judges the all-white décor with disgust, Benny defends it. Then, Spike explains that he is here to find out who is orchestrating Benny’s downfall. He plans to start with Handy Duroc. Spike now works on Benny’s behalf and will use intimidation to find out who is pulling Duroc’s strings. To demonstrate his tactics, he pulls an eye out of its socket and holds it up to Benny’s face. Harper agrees that this approach will likely work. Spike explains that he is a “craggle” and is tasked with being Benny’s bodyguard. He says, “Many of your friends will be fair-weather friends, Benjamin, but I will be there in bad weather, in worse weather, in any weather” (144).

Suddenly, they are riding in Benny’s Ford Explorer, headed for Handy’s house. Spike has used an “origami time-fold trick” to get them moving and skip the tedious explanations. He could have time-folded them to the house, but he enjoys driving. On the way, he explains what craggles are.

Throughout time, there have been as many craggles on Earth as needed, each with a mission to protect people who are too nice for their own good. When too many people try to destroy one of these nice people, a craggle is assigned to help. Benny insists he is not that nice, but Harper and Spike both disagree. Spike adds that he has special powers. For instance, when he is finished with Handy, he can make the man forget about the encounter. Harper does not want to forget, and Spike promises that she and Benny will remember because they are “destiny buddies” (150). Lastly, Spike warns that their adventure could be perilous, but he says that they should be safe as long as a “bogadril” does not appear. He declines to explain what a bogadril is.

They arrive at Handy’s house, and Spike uses his craggle abilities to short out the security cameras and break the lock. Harper asks Spike if he dates anyone, making Benny briefly jealous, but Spike explains that craggles do not enter into romantic relationships because they have neither the inclination nor the reproductive organs required. Spike announces that it is now time to terrify Handy.