Chapter 36

On a noisy long-distance call to Jackson, Birdie reaches Frances, who reports pounding the pavement and revisiting shoe clerk Jimmy Watts. Pressed, Jimmy recalls seeing Rory two weeks earlier, trying on shoes and mentioning a train headed south, which Frances believes means Gulfport, a place tied to their honeymoon and possibly Esther Royal.

Frances admits she and Mrs. Tartt left Lulu’s cramped lodging for the Robert E. Lee Hotel and are nearly out of money. Worried but practical, Birdie wires ten dollars and insists on advance notice before they return so she can prepare the house. Mrs. Tartt briefly quizzes Birdie about the boarders’ morals and mentions the Heidelberg family, noting rumors of a son’s drinking.

Back at Merry Widows, Birdie collects rent with poor results: Ruby pays grudgingly, the twins offer only half and seem to be packing, Flossy can spare little, and only Esmeralda pays in full while warning she may leave if business doesn’t improve. Tension rises in the kitchen as Charlie fusses over cleaning and supplies run thin.

Virginia arrives with two developments. First, she deliberately spreads word among Ole Miss “Last Resort” boys that women from a brothel-like operation were seen at the clinic, ensuring campus gossip reaches their doorstep. Second, she brings the student paper reporting a drunk-driving crash after a pledge trip to Sweetwater and a stern university warning: with sheriff support, anyone caught heading that way to drink will be expelled.

These events suggest a looming shift in demand and risk: Sweetwater runs may dwindle under scrutiny, potentially diverting students’ attention toward operations closer to Oxford—like Birdie’s—while also raising the danger of law enforcement oversight.