Chapter 50
Kate is making Joe nervous. She sits and stares at her wall for hours upon end, not revealing a single thought. Joe's only plan is to keep his boss on edge, waiting for her to reveal more information to use against her. But hour after hour, Kate remains still and wordless.
In reality, Kate is not thinking at all. Her mind simply drifts from image to impression. In her mind, she sees Aron's blonde head and angelic face. She hears his bitter words aimed more at himself than at her. She sees Cal too, the dark twin, leaning against her door frame, laughing. She wonders why he brought his brother. She does not know what he wants from her or the point of doing such a thing at all.
Joe interrupts her musings when he brings in a pot of tea. Kate's arthritis is flaring, causing her pain like she has never before experienced. It startles Joe to see her in such a weakened and vulnerable state. He senses that he may be getting another one of "the breaks" and tells Kate, in a hedging way, that he has information about Ethel.
Joe spins his lie carefully. He tells Kate that a man he did not know stopped him outside of a store. The stranger clandestinely told Joe that he had some information on the person Joe has been looking for. He hints that he knows about the judge's order that Ethel not return to Salinas. The man implies that Ethel has violated this order.
Kate asks Joe if the man wanted money from him. Joe says he did not want money but did ask a puzzling question: "Does Faye mean anything to you?"
Kate steadily asks Joe if the name "Faye" does mean anything to him. Joe denies it. Kate, in mock surprise, wonders how he could not have known that a woman named Faye used to own this very house. Joe begins to panic. He knows that the denial was a miscalculation. He tries to backtrack but Kate is far too smart to miss his discomfort.
Kate is pleased. Joe's betrayal gives her something new to focus on, something other than her sons and her pain. She pretends not to notice his fear-stricken expression and his shaking hands as he pours her a cup of tea. Instead she asks Joe, in a pleading voice, to help her. She says she will give him ten thousand dollars if he will "fix everything up."
Joe licks his lips. Kate asks if she has "caught him out." He claims not to know what she is talking about. Kate assures him that he is smart and can figure it out, then dismisses him.
At her desk, Kate writes to the sheriff, telling him to check out Joe's record. Sealing the envelope, she calls Therese to come to her. Kate details a list of errands for her to run in town and asks Therese to drop the letter in a mailbox.
Despite her pain, Kate manages to open her bedroom door and finds the girls gathered in the kitchen for lunch. She tells them that she plans on taking some powerful medicine to help her sleep and not to disturb her until the following morning.
Back in her room, Kate puts on makeup and fixes her hair. She then removes the vial from between her breasts and consumes its contents, citing the words from her favorite childhood book, Alice in Wonderland: "Eat me. Drink me." The morphine does its work quickly. In a few minutes, Kate is dead.
Joe goes to the...
(This entire section contains 792 words.)
Unlock this Study Guide Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
barbershop to ponder his situation and then eventually back to the brothel. He observes Kate's closed door and quietly goes to his own room.
The next morning, Joe goes to Kate's room and finds her dead at her reading table. He quickly pilfers her belongings, finding the two safety-deposit box keys on her necklace. He goes through her desk and takes her will, some bills and receipts, and the book listing the girls and their activities.
But his most important find is the brown envelope containing compromising pictures of the local elite. Joe is giddy. The "breaks" have finally come to him after all, he laughs.
His plundering has just been completed when there is a knock at the door. The cook tells Joe there is someone there to see him; he does not know who the person is. Joe comes out and finds Oscar Noble, who tells Joe the sheriff wants to talk to him.
Joe reluctantly follows Oscar out but suddenly decides to make a break for it. Oscar takes two shots. The second finds its mark and Joe is dead.