Four

Arthur, now living off campus with Van, enjoys a quiet evening studying Old English when Tana Nighswander calls, curtly arranging a handoff for his loaned Biko hoodie at Shut-Up-And-Eat-It.

Arthur walks to the shop and, after ordering, goes to the back lot to retrieve the hoodie. There he finds Jayne Nighswander and Ronnie by a Ranchero, passing Polaroids. They bait Arthur and show photos of Erin Oakes being menaced in her cell with a burned spoon-handle shiv, implying access to corrupt guards.

Jayne escalates, citing a newspaper article naming Arthur as head student librarian with access to the Brooks Library special collections. She demands he steal valuable items—like a first edition Huckleberry Finn and a Walt Whitman letter—claiming they can fence them, and physically intimidates Arthur when he downplays their worth.

Jayne explains the motive: Tana destroyed roughly $60,000 of PCP (“rocket fuel”) during a police scare, and they must repay a dangerous creditor. Jayne insists no one will notice missing items, framing the theft as a “public service,” and sets terms: procure something good by the weekend; Tana will pick up on Sunday.

Tana arrives, detached, and leaves with Jayne and Ronnie after the ultimatum. The Ranchero tears out, and Arthur is left shaken, bleeding from a pebble strike, realizing later Jayne kept the hoodie—an emblem of her leverage.