Eight days after Chase Andrews’s body was found, Deputy Joe Purdue arrives at the sheriff’s office with coffee and donuts, and he and Sheriff Ed compare leads. Joe reports that several Dog-Gone regulars say Chase began making many secret solo trips into the marsh about four years earlier.

They debate what this might mean, considering possibilities such as drugs or a clandestine affair. Sheriff Ed notes Chase’s social circle favored the town’s elite, which could explain why any “slumming” would be kept quiet. They decide to investigate what Chase had been doing out there.

Sheriff Ed adds that Chase’s mother, Patti Love, called with something she believes is important: information about a shell necklace Chase always wore. She plans to come in that afternoon to explain, and both officers regard it as a promising, concrete lead.

They reflect that, if this was a murder, it was cleverly executed and the marsh has likely consumed most evidence. While waiting for Patti Love’s visit, they break for lunch, planning their next steps.