Gloria and Miz Lottie arrive at Belle’s boardinghouse in Live Oak and Gloria immediately picks out John Dorsey, the young NAACP lawyer, sitting with Harry T. Moore and another grieving man. While they wait for a chance to speak to him, Gloria overhears a tense conversation about Willie Howard’s murder and learns that even with testimony about the killing, the NAACP could not force an indictment. The exchange shows Gloria that Belle’s is a gathering place for Black people carrying stories of racist terror, and it also reveals how limited legal remedies can be in Florida.

The discussion grows sharper when some men condemn the murderers and another man, Clement, bitterly argues that Black children must be taught how dangerous white people are. Miz Lottie finally interrupts and introduces Gloria to Harry T. Moore and John Dorsey. When Gloria shakes Moore’s hand, she is hit by a vision-like sense of ashes, shaking, and coming destruction, so she blurts out a warning that someone will try to bomb him and his wife. Moore treats the warning lightly, but the moment unsettles Gloria and underscores the deadly danger surrounding Black activism.

When Gloria tells Dorsey that her brother needs help, Dorsey first seems ready to pass the matter off as a juvenile case, and Moore suggests he will simply make a few calls. Gloria and Miz Lottie insist, and once Dorsey realizes Robbie is Robert Stephens’s son, he leads them to a screened porch for a private talk. There, Gloria explains that Robbie got six months for kicking Lyle McCormack, while Moore and Dorsey explain the deeper truth: racist courts protect white families like the McCormacks, Robbie’s connection to his father hurts him, and Superintendent Haddock can keep boys confined far beyond fairness through intimidation, false reports, and broad discretion.

As Gloria and Miz Lottie describe the whippings, the cemetery at the school, and the general cruelty of Gracetown, Dorsey listens more seriously. Moore warns that bringing in the NAACP could stir up the same kind of violence seen elsewhere in Florida and might even make Robbie’s situation worse, so he advises letting the sentence run quietly and sending Gloria away for safety. Gloria refuses to accept that and presses Dorsey on what the judge could do. Dorsey says Judge Morris could reconsider or rescind the sentence, argues that some racist judges still care about appearing fair, and agrees to go to Gracetown that very morning to try to speak to the judge. When Moore confirms by phone that Judge Morris is at the courthouse, Gloria realizes that she and Miz Lottie have finally found Robbie a lawyer willing to act.