The Mississippi Supreme Court denies Sam’s petition. The following day, Adam learns that Federal Judge Slattery already has the case. At Slattery’s office, Adam faces 11 state lawyers, including Governor McAllister, Attorney General Roxburgh, and another lawyer named Morris Henry, also called “Dr. Death.” Adam senses that the state is undermining his petition. Slattery indicates that he will issue his ruling on the case the following week.

After the meeting, McAllister stops Adam for a private conversation. He expresses doubts about Sam’s guilt because he believes that a third conspirator possessed the real intent to harm Kramer. If so, Sam might not deserve execution. He gives Adam his private numbers and urges him to call about clemency, promising confidentiality.

Goodman relays disturbing news: The firm’s Termination Subcommittee voted four to one to fire Adam. Daniel Rosen orchestrated the vote, arguing that Adam was deceitful and had embarrassed the firm. The full Personnel Committee will review the vote the next morning in Chicago. Goodman convinces Adam to fight, arguing that he needs the firm’s resources to help Sam.

During Adam’s termination review, three partners aggressively question Rosen in a coordinated effort. The confrontation turns into a shouting match. A flustered Rosen makes personal attacks and storms out. The committee votes six to five to overturn the termination. Wycoff explains that the vote was never truly in doubt and predicts that Rosen will leave the firm within months.

Adam returns to the Memphis office and senses resentment from local lawyers. Rollie Wedge watches Adam enter and then performs reconnaissance on the Kravitz & Bane offices. Wedge then drives to the Auburn House and confirms that Lee’s car is there. He proceeds to an abandoned warehouse near Lee’s condo complex. He puts on a disguise and infiltrates the complex security office, stealing keys and alarm codes for multiple units to create confusion.

That weekend, Adam and Lee visit the Clanton cemetery. Lee places flowers on her mother’s grave, which is separate from the Cayhall family plot. An old acquaintance sees Lee and reacts coldly. Lee shows Adam the house where he lived as a toddler, and then they drive to the abandoned Cayhall family home, now dilapidated. Lee reveals that the bank foreclosed the house after Sam’s incarceration.

In the backyard by her favorite pecan tree, Lee becomes emotional and reveals a traumatic secret. When she was 10, she was in the tree when she witnessed Sam murder Quince’s father, Joe Lincoln. The incident began when Eddie and Quince started fighting over a toy. After beating Quince, Sam fought with Joe, struck him with a walking cane, and then sent Eddie inside for a shotgun before shooting Joe in the yard. The sheriff took no action, and Sam evicted the Lincoln family. Lee explains that this event tormented Eddie his entire life. She suggests burning the old family house, but Adam leads her away. On the drive back, Lee buys beer and begins drinking.

Adam is haunted by the Joe Lincoln story. Lee suddenly leaves without telling Adam. While cleaning Lee’s condo, Adam finds an empty vodka bottle in the trash and three empty beer bottles hidden under her bed. The security guard confirms she left early. Adam worries that he may have provoked a relapse of her alcoholism and recognizes that his curiosity into their family history is causing her pain.

Judge Slattery calls to inform Adam that he has denied all relief, including a stay of execution. Adam works late drafting an appeal to the Fifth Circuit but is nervous about being denied once again. He returns to the condo but finds no sign of Lee. She does not return home that night.

The next morning, Lee returns and explains that she was at the hospital with a 13-year-old patient in labor. Adam checks the birth announcements and finds no record. Though he knows she is lying, he does not confront her. Lee asks him to stop questioning Sam about the past. She also wonders if Sam will allow her to visit him.

At his office, Adam files his appeal with the Fifth Circuit, including a petition challenging the gas chamber’s constitutionality. He has his first conversation with the Supreme Court’s “Death Clerk,” Richard Olander, who explains accelerated procedures for final appeals. Olander’s office monitors every death case and will be available around the clock during the execution period. He expresses his view that Sam’s case has been thoroughly litigated and that a stay is unlikely.

Sam receives a note from Preacher Boy foretelling his death. He plays checkers with Hank Henshaw and discusses his case.

Adam informs Sam that Slattery denied relief and that they are waiting on the Fifth Circuit to respond to the appeal. Adam tells him about his conversation with McAllister, which infuriates Sam. Sam forbids Adam from requesting a clemency hearing, calling it political theater. They agree to file a new claim asserting ineffective assistance of counsel against Sam’s last lawyer, Benjamin Keyes, even though the claim that Keyes prevented Sam from testifying is ambiguous.

Adam tells Sam that Lee wants to visit. After Adam recounts his Clanton trip, Sam brings up Joe Lincoln himself. When Adam confirms that Lee told the story, Sam admits that it’s true and expresses remorse for the first time.

Later that afternoon, Adam drives to Greenville, deciding to spend the night away from Memphis and Lee. He goes to Kramer Wholesale and meets Elliot Kramer, the elderly father of Marvin Kramer and grandfather of Josh and John. Adam introduces himself as Sam’s grandson and lawyer, offering an apology.

Elliot is unmoved, stating that he hopes Sam will “rot[] in hell” (401). He affirms his desire to witness the execution, saying that it will ease years of pain. Adam mentions Elliot’s friendship with the governor and suggests that the family could stop the execution. Elliot dismisses this, insisting that Sam deserves death and that he has prayed to outlive him. When Adam says that Sam’s family will also suffer, Elliot replies that he feels sorry for Adam.

The next morning, Adam files the claim against Keyes with multiple courts. Wyn Lettner makes a surprise visit to Adam to share a conspiracy theory: Sam’s mysterious accomplice has been systematically eliminating witnesses. He lists potential victims: Jeremiah Dogan and his wife, killed in a suspicious house explosion; Dogan’s son, who vanished from the army in Germany; and lawyer Clovis Brazelton, who died in a plane crash. Lettner warns that John Doe might perceive Adam as a threat. Unbeknownst to them, Rollie Wedge is watching them from a park bench, having decided to follow Lettner.

That evening, Adam finds another note from Lee claiming that she has the flu. A prescription bottle and a half-empty glass support her story. Finding no alcohol in the trash, Adam eats alone.

Preacher Boy sends Sam another apocalyptic note. Sam talks with fellow inmate Gullitt, who begs Sam to help him fire his lawyer and recruit Adam. Guards take Sam to meet Dr. Stegall, the prison psychiatrist conducting a pre-execution mental evaluation. Sam is hostile, accusing her of being part of the machinery to execute him.

The Fifth Circuit clerk calls Adam and schedules an emergency oral argument for the following day in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the gas-chamber petition. Adam cancels his Parchman visit and spends the day preparing. Later that night, Adam finds Lee in her dark bedroom, reeking of alcohol. In a bitter, drunken state, she reveals that as a teenager, Sam participated in a lynching. A photograph of Sam was published in a 1947 book, which Lee keeps in a drawer. Adam refuses to look at it. When she blames him for her relapse, Adam locks the bedroom door and sleeps on the floor to prevent her from getting more alcohol. During the night, he resists the temptation to find the photograph.