54 pages 1 hour read

Frank E. Peretti

This Present Darkness

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1986

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Chapters 31-42Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 31 Summary

After Carmen flees their home, Hank and Mary try to calm down. Before they know it, however, police arrive and arrest Hank, accusing him of sexual assault. The angels watch as Hank is led away, and Bernice and Marshall meet up with the former secretary of the police station to talk her into giving them a spare key to the offices. They get the key, and later that night break into the police station. Finding the recording equipment in Brummel’s office, they discover a recording between Kevin and Susan, the Handmaid, agreeing to meet at The Evergreen tavern that night at 8 pm to exchange information.

At that moment, Carmen, Brummel, and Langstrat all show up unexpectedly at the office, and Marshall confronts Brummel. Realizing he’s outnumbered, Marshall attacks Brummel to create a diversion for Bernice to escape. Sprinting out of the police station, Bernice manages to escape the other police officers who followed her out of the building.

Chapter 32 Summary

Brummel arrests Marshall and tells him that both Kevin and Susan have been killed in tragic accidents. Bernice makes it back to her house, realizes that it’s being watched, sneaks some loose change out of her car, and begins walking toward the highway.