59 pages 1 hour read

Percival Everett

The Trees

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

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Chapters 21-42Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 21 Summary

Sheriff Jetty asks Delroy to secretly follow Ed and Jim around on their investigations to keep abreast of the situation. He tells Brady, who makes racist jokes about Ed and Jim, not to go with him.

Chapter 22 Summary

Ed and Jim knock on Charlene’s door. At first, she doesn’t believe that they are detectives. She tells them that a Black man killed her husband, and she is within her rights to shoot them for being on her property. They ask her a few questions about her husband and his associations with people. Then they ask to speak to Granny C, though Charlene warns them that since the murder, she’s been incomprehensible. When they speak to Granny C, she convulses and attempts to apologize over and over.

Chapter 23 Summary

Delroy calls Sheriff Jetty from his personal car outside of Charlene’s house. He lets the Sheriff know that Jim and Ed have just left Charlene’s house. He assures Sheriff Jetty that the men didn’t see him because he’s reading a newspaper. Sheriff Jetty points out that no one reads newspapers anymore.