Jeb takes Joe into Angel’s ICU room at Immanuel-St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato, introducing him as her brother. Angel lies intubated and unresponsive. Although doctors report brain activity and hope that she will wake, she may have neurological damage and will likely need therapy to recover fully. Joe finds a framed photo of Jeannie with young Angel and Arvin Hix, inscribed “My Bapu, my baby, and me.” Joe identifies the term “Bapu” as a Hindi term of “fatherly respect”; he wonders why Jeannie would see her father this way if he caused her so many problems. Jeb reveals he dated Jeannie in high school and describes Hix as controlling; he notes that in marrying Toke, Jeannie “traded one controlling man for another” (118). He tells Joe that Jeannie’s suicide note, which was found on her computer, expressed guilt over her estrangement from Hix. He also states that Toke had a video alibi from Dub’s Repair the night Jeannie died, but when he describes the particulars, Joe evinces skepticism, as Toke never actually appears on-camera in the garage itself; only shadows of movement are visible. Jeb admits to feeling responsible for Angel’s suicide attempt because he granted Angel’s request for a copy of Jeannie’s suicide note. On the day Toke died, Jeb found both the note and the photo under Angel’s pillow.

Returning to the Caspen Inn, Joe notices Charlie’s Lexus parked beside his room. He then returns a call from Joette Breck, the AP attorney, who presses him to identify his source and reminds him that any information he gives her will be protected by attorney-client privilege. Joe recalls meeting his source, Penny, a former journalism school acquaintance who went on to become the communications director for Senator Dobbins. She told him about her ill-advised affair with Dobbins. When Dobbins’s wife walked in on him and Penny having sex one night, Dobbins responded to her screamed accusations by punching her in the face. Penny, who witnessed the attack, fled the house without a word and quit her job the next day. Dobbins took his wife to the hospital and claimed that she sustained her injuries in a fall down the stairs.

Now, Joe shares this account with Breck, confidentially providing Penny’s name once Breck reassures him that the identity of his source will go no further than this conversation. Breck explains that Dobbins is gambling that Penny will not come forward. She advises Joe to take a leave of absence, as the AP has not yet decided whether to fire him. Joe texts Allison, who approves his plan to take a leave of absence and tells him that it would be “for the best” (127).

Joe visits attorney Bob Mullen, whose office wall displays photos from his State Department career and place him with many public figures, including Sadat, President Jimmy Carter, Indira Gandhi, and Cyrus Vance. Joe recounts his background as Toke’s potential son. Mullen, who once employed Jeannie and considered her to be family, calls Toke a “jerk” and explains that Arvin Hix once sued for custody of Angel and lost. When Joe observes that Hix was something of a “jerk” himself, Mullen tells a story to contradict this assertion. He describes Hix’s desire to give financial help to his neighbor, Ray Pyke (Vicky’s father) without bruising the man’s pride. To do so, Hix arranged an option contract on roughly 100 acres of Ray’s land, but never intended to execute it, thus essentially giving his friend thousands of dollars out of charity. However, when Toke inherited the estate, he moved to execute the contract. Mullen estimates the Hix farm at over 750 acres that are worth around $6 million—half of which is potentially Joe’s. Mullen warns of Minnesota’s slayer statute, which states that someone involved in a person’s death cannot inherit anything from them. He then notes that Charlie sought guardianship of Angel and previously pressed Toke into a shady business proposal. Mullen suggests that with Joe’s past experience of winning guardianship of Jeremy, he could easily compete with Charlie for guardianship of Angel. Joe refuses. Lila texts to say that Jeremy is hurt and that Joe needs to return home, so Joe hurriedly leaves.

While driving home, Joe avoids his brewing professional and relationship problems by focusing on his potential inheritance. At home, he finds Jeremy on the couch with a sprained wrist, reading Dumbo. Lila explains that Bruce, Jeremy’s job coach, called that morning, having found Jeremy at the bottom of the stairs. She has spent hours at Urgent Care, losing crucial study time for the bar exam, which is four days away. Joe announces the possible inheritance, insisting that Lila does not need to put so much “pressure” on herself to pass the bar exam now. He expects her to express relief, but instead, an insulted Lila reminds him that her desire to become an attorney was never about money. She also warns him that his inheritance is far from certain. Still fixated on the possibility of becoming a millionaire, Joe reveals his leave of absence from the AP and insists that he has to return to Buckley. When Lila protests, saying that Joe must take care of Jeremy until his wrist heals, Joe proposes taking Jeremy back to Buckley with him so that Lila can study and he can pursue the investigation. Lila objects, telling him to sleep on it.

Joe makes spaghetti and recalls his earliest days of courting Lila, reflecting that his greatest goal then was simply to have her in his life. They eat in near silence as Lila studies. Joe quietly packs Jeremy’s things, including movies and the books Dumbo and Bambi, then watches the Travel Channel, reflecting that he may soon be able to enjoy luxuries like world travel.

He thinks to himself that Jeremy’s autism has limited him and Lila to nothing more than local trips for a very long time. He then recalls a trip to Minnehaha Falls, when Jeremy first prompted Lila to admit aloud that she loved Joe. He then recalls a different night, when Lila finally disclosed that her uncle Gary had molested her when she was between the ages of seven and 10; her story was corroborated only after her aunt Paulette also came forward with a similar childhood experience.

Now, Joe finds Lila asleep among her flash cards, covers her up, and goes to sleep on the couch.

As Joe and Jeremy head to Buckley, Jeremy asks if they are going to their mother Kathy’s home, then quotes Bambi, obliquely referencing the moment when Bambi’s mother is shot by the hunter. Joe realizes that Jeremy might believe that Kathy is dead. Rather than telling Jeremy the full truth about Kathy’s addiction history, Joe deflects by saying that Kathy is too “sick” to care for him, and that she has a sickness that will never end.

In Joe’s private reflections, he recalls the guardianship hearing. Kathy had initially appeared composed, but she unraveled as Joe testified about her DUI, her boyfriend Larry Hogermiller’s decision to leave Jeremy unattended, and Larry’s physical abuse of Jeremy. While Joe recounted his own confrontations with Larry, Kathy, who was representing herself in the proceedings, interrupted Joe’s testimony repeatedly, drawing the judge’s rebukes. On cross-examination, she lapsed into insults, and the resulting exchange revealed that Larry had since been imprisoned for methamphetamine possession. At a loss, Kathy finally asked Joe when he stopped loving her. A discomposed Joe answered that he did not know.

The narrative returns to the present. As Joe and Jeremy arrive at the Caspen Inn, Charlie appears and reveals that he has researched Joe’s past. He knows about Jeremy, the guardianship, and Larry Hogermiller, with whom Charlie attended high school. Charlie taunts Joe and tries to greet Jeremy, but Joe blocks his hand and takes Jeremy inside. As Jeremy’s anxiety rises in the new surroundings, Joe settles him down with a familiar movie on his laptop, then goes alone to the Snipe’s Nest.

Vicky tells Joe that she has spoken with her uncle Don, who has agreed to care for her father so that she can pursue college; she thanks Joe for urging her to pursue college despite her circumstances. She also explains Harley Redding’s grievance, saying that Harley sold Toke a Pontiac GTO. The price of $20,000 had been verbally agreed upon, but Toke convinced Harley to write down an initial $5,000 price, with an unwritten promise for to pay Harley an additional $15,000 after the Hix estate settled. However, Toke never paid the balance, and when Harley took Toke to small-claims court two weeks ago, the judge ruled against Harley.

Joe asks Vicky how to find Moody Lynch’s parents; she warns that the family is reputed to belong to Posse Comitatus, an antigovernment group, then gives him their address.

Charlie’s car is gone when Joe returns. Calculating the time it will take to get to Moody Lynch’s house and back, he starts a longer movie for Jeremy, but as he leaves he has the nagging sense that something is not right. Shrugging off his intuition, he drives to the Lynch property and parks just beyond the no-trespassing sign, honking to gain attention. A tall, bearded man—Mr. Lynch, Moody’s father—emerges with a shotgun. Joe identifies himself as an AP reporter and the possible son of Toke. Mr. Lynch insists that Moody did not kill Toke and explains that Deputy Calder has long targeted his son. He says that Toke, who threatened to kill Moody if he kept dating Angel, had been increasingly cruel to Angel after Jeannie’s death. He says that although Angel initially appears withdrawn, she is a “lit firecracker” and is far tougher than she looks. Although he admits that Angel hated Toke, he rejects any suggestion that she was involved in the man’s death. Joe lays out the sheriff’s theory of Moody’s guilt and urges Mr. Lynch to have Moody call him, offering to pass along Moody’s side of the story to the police. Leaving his card, he drives away.

Joe returns to the motel to find the door open and Jeremy missing. The clerk reports seeing Jeremy talking to Charlie in the parking lot. A frantic Joe drives to the Sheriff’s Office, but when he sees Charlie’s Lexus parked outside the County Offices, he confronts Charlie in front of the social worker who is handling the background study for Charlie’s requested guardianship of Angel. Charlie denies having any contact with Jeremy and pointedly remarks on Joe’s failure as a guardian.

Joe reports Jeremy missing at the Sheriff’s Office, where Deputy Nathan Calder dispatches a search. Joe searches on his own and finds shoe prints near a creek, fearing the worst. He frantically calls 911 to request a progress update on the search, and although the operator admonishes him for tying up the emergency line, there is a sudden message from dispatch that Jeb has located Jeremy on Highway Five, east of town. When Joe drives out to retrieve Jeremy, Jeb questions Joe’s visit to Homer Lynch and warns him not to involve himself further in the case. Jeremy tells Joe that he was trying to walk to their mother’s house in Austin.

Shaken by Jeremy’s misadventure, Joe questions his brother and learns that Charlie told him to go home. Reflecting on Charlie’s recent comments, Joe finally realizes that Charlie is systematically undermining his fitness as a guardian, with an eye toward weakening any rival claim that Joe may make to Angel’s guardianship.

Returning to the motel, Joe sees the crumpled letter from Kathy fall from his car, so he brings it inside. In a flashback, he recalls the remainder of the guardianship hearing for Jeremy.

In that moment, Kathy’s testimony was built of fabricated accusations; she falsely claimed that Joe had abused Jeremy by throwing a picture frame at him and smothering him with a pillow. Just before Joe’s lawyer was due to cross-examine Kathy, the judge called a lunch recess, during which Joe followed his mother to an abandoned bar. There, he secretly recorded a video of her smoking methamphetamine. When he showed the video to his attorney, Sherri Knuth, she warned that using this evidence would likely send Kathy to prison; Joe affirmed his desire to use the evidence in court. Sherri played the footage on cross-examination, and the judge ordered Kathy detained. A search warrant produced her pipe, and as the bailiffs removed Kathy from the courtroom, she heaped hateful insults on Joe, threatening to kill him. The astounded judge granted Joe temporary guardianship of Jeremy, with the implication that the arrangement would soon become finalized.