Back at Hampden after recovering, Richard expects the Greek group to return to normal, but Charles and Camilla do not visit and none of the others call. Julian warmly welcomes Richard back and mentions that Henry returned early from Italy while ill, then asks why the twins and Henry have not appeared to complete registration paperwork, hinting that the group’s absence could cause trouble with the Dean.

Richard grows unsettled by the silence and failed phone calls. Late at night he finds Bunny alone and drunk in the common room, watching television and claiming “stomach flu.” Bunny evades questions about the others, then ominously warns Richard that Henry “isn’t what you think he is,” implying a hidden truth and deepening Richard’s anxiety.

Needing his Greek lexicon, Richard uses the key Henry left him and enters Henry’s North Hampden apartment. The place is unusually filthy and half-abandoned, and Richard finds a note with a TWA reservation number and a Boston legal-office number. After calling, Richard learns Henry bought four one-way, nonrefundable tickets from Boston to Buenos Aires for the next night; noticing packed suitcases and emptied shelves, Richard fears the group is fleeing the country.

Over the next days Richard isolates himself, eats alone, and searches for answers. Bunny alternates between feigned ignorance and probing questions, then steals a cheesecake and presses Richard about Henry’s early return from Rome, offering a crude theory about Henry’s attitude toward money. On Monday, Richard finally sees everyone in Greek class; the twins quickly offer a cover story about being stranded without their apartment key and stuck at Francis’s country house. Julian accepts the explanation but remains perplexed that no one contacted him.

After class Richard spirals until Henry abruptly appears and invites him on a drive and dinner. Henry reveals he never went to Argentina: the group planned to flee, but the cash they needed—mainly from Francis’s trust—was unavailable, so they returned and Henry tried to cancel the tickets. Henry then confronts Richard about keeping silent and, when pressed, confirms the real reason for flight: Henry, Francis, and the twins attempted a Bacchic ritual in the woods, entered a frenzy, and accidentally killed a man, leaving the body behind. Henry says Bunny discovered the truth and is driving them “half mad” with it, as Francis arrives at the apartment.