Contents
Twenty-Eight
Overview
Arthur receives a call from Tana: the pressure on Jayne has eased, granting Arthur a reprieve until February. Jayne is deeply shaken by the book he gave her, suffering nightmares while Ronnie is away moving product. The news confirms the book’s power and leaves Arthur uneasy rather than vindicated.
Summary
Returning from his Anglo-Saxon seminar, Arthur answers a call from Tana. She relays that he is “off the hook” for a while, implying the Boston pressure has lifted and that events unfolded as Arthur predicted. This reprieve lasts until February.
Tana adds that the book Arthur gave Jayne has frightened her. Jayne has been tormented by nightmares so intense Tana woke thinking Jayne was screaming at Ronnie, though Ronnie was away in Capehart moving product. The book’s presence in Jayne’s home is described as intolerable to her.
Tana laughs that Arthur has his revenge, but Arthur does not share her amusement. The call leaves him uneasy, aware that his plan has worked tactically while inflicting real fear on Jayne, underscoring the book’s disturbing power and the moral cost of his choices.
Who Appears
- Arthur OakesReceives Tana’s call; learns he’s safe until February; troubled by Jayne’s terror from the book.
- TanaCalls Arthur with updates; reports Jayne’s nightmares and Arthur’s reprieve; jokes about his ‘revenge.’
- JayneOff-page; deeply frightened by the book, suffering nightmares; her fear confirms its unsettling power.
- RonnieOff-page; away in Capehart moving product while Jayne screams in her sleep.