Moody and Stanger cannot return to ordinary work after the shooting, so they go to Schiller’s motel and talk with Barry Farrell, each replaying the execution in intrusive flashes. Farrell is “eager to hear every detail” (1006). When Schiller arrives, they rehash details until Moody and Stanger finally leave. At home, Stanger tries to sleep but keeps seeing the scene in his mind. Schiller fields calls from his mother and from major outlets seeking interviews and execution pictures. He insists that they must refer to him as a “journalist” in their coverage.

Schiller sends Jerry Scott to the University of Utah Hospital to watch over Gary’s body during the autopsy and organ recovery. Scott observes the removal of Gary’s eyes and organs for transplant, then the medical examiner’s autopsy, documenting the clustered bullet wounds and the ruined heart. After hours of dissection and reconstruction, the body is transported to a crematorium. Scott verifies the identity and watches the furnace consume the casket and body.

Later, at The Stirrup, three executioners drink, gamble, and show off a bullet and a strap taken from the execution, while one weeps and another leaves with a woman.

Schiller organizes the cleanup of his offices when Stanger calls to say a memorial will be held that afternoon in Spanish Fork. Schiller, Farrell, Debbie, and Lucinda are invited. The location is shifted repeatedly to “elude the press” (1015), eventually being held at a mortuary. Schiller excludes Tamera, who angrily protests.

About 40 people attend, including Bessie’s relatives. The service features prayers, a message from Bessie read by Toni and Vern, a poem by Evelyn Gray, and remarks by Moody and Stanger. Dick Gray reads statements from Frank and Mikal. Father Meersman describes ministering to Gary and cites his Latin farewell. Campbell speaks of leaving prison work to start a boys’ ranch, and Mrs. Moody sings Amazing Grace. Vern closes the service, acknowledging the victims and describing organ donation and Gary’s wish for peace.

Afterward, Schiller learns that Gary wanted his ashes scattered over Spanish Fork. On January 19th, Schiller flies with Stanger, Vern, Campbell, and Meersman and releases the ashes in several passes. Farrell inadvertently tips off a New York Times reporter, and Schiller’s interviews spread the story of where Gary’s ashes were scattered.

National and local coverage continues. Time reports the shooting took 18 minutes. The Salt Lake Tribune prints Henry Schwarzschild’s charge of “judicial homicide” alongside Attorney General Robert Hansen’s statement that “[j]ustice has been served” (1025). Hansen considers legal action over the headline but recognizes the limits of such a move since he is a public figure. Judith Wolbach confronts Earl Dorius at the Capitol, accusing him of aiding the execution. He responds that both sides believed they were right, and he hopes that they can have a professional relationship in the future. News commentary condemns the media's conduct at the execution.

Brenda, ill and exhausted, misses the memorial. She suffers from fever and confusion. Nicole fights other patients and later laughs, claiming she senses Gary’s presence. Moody and Stanger leave for a cruise, only to have the case follow them everywhere. Dorius worries briefly about the legality of scattering ashes, then takes leave.

Investigations begin into execution photographs, and reports estimate that the trial and execution cost almost $60,000. Toni retrieves and washes Gary’s frozen clothes. Shirley Pedler resumes work as public attention fades, leading to a slowdown in the hate mail she receives.

In Chicago, Schiller and Farrell finalize the Playboy interview, which expands from 9,000 to 25,000 words. Playboy decides to run it nearly in full. Afterward, Schiller learns Nicole may be released from the hospital. Anticipating that she will receive attention from the media, he arranges for Nicole and her family to fly under assumed names to Malibu so that she can recuperate. He rents a beach house for Nicole and her family, coordinating her to be discharged discreetly. An initial release is revoked after Nicole makes a provocative remark, but Schiller lobbies doctors and officials until a second plan succeeds.

He meets Nicole at her lawyer’s office; she agrees to go to California and declines to sign a new fee contract without pressure. In Malibu, she receives Gary’s belongings, including letters, a pipe, the broken watch, and clippings. Schiller begins recorded interviews in varied settings, finding Nicole candid yet resistant on certain details. Their exchanges are probing and adversarial but sustained. He believes that she will provide him with “more than he’d ever hoped for” (1039). Schiller grows confident she will not attempt to die by suicide and continues the project.

In Malibu, April joins Nicole and Kathryne Baker but remains fearful and volatile, waking at night in panic. She has endured a “hard time” in the hospital, and tensions persist between the sisters. Utah officials briefly consider prosecuting Nicole for smuggling pills; Warden Smith inquires about the liquor smuggled into the prison but chooses to take no action.

After a month, Nicole settles in the San Fernando Valley, attempting to resume work and school while raising her children. She buys a camper and travels to Utah. Eventually, she resumes sexual relationships, which leave her feeling detached and “out of touch” with any sense of Gary’s presence (1046).

Barry Farrell occasionally plays Gary’s tapes, finding them unsettling. Lucinda moves on to transcribing interviews for David Frost’s preparation for his interview with Richard Nixon. Kathryne later writes that April is traumatized by “the ghost of Gary” (1047). Nicole drifts to Oregon, where a broken ring from Gary triggers her grief all over again. Vern faces lawsuits and family illness. Bessie becomes increasingly isolated, dwelling on fear, letters, and memories as public attention fades.

The book ends with an old prison rhyme (actually written several years earlier by Mailer), in which the narrator claims to be dwelling “deep in [their] dungeon” (1050).