After leaving Belle’s, John Dorsey, Harry T. Moore, Miz Lottie, and Gloria agree to travel to the Gracetown courthouse in separate cars so they will attract less attention. The plan briefly restores Gloria’s hope that Robbie might soon be freed and reunited with the family. On the road back, however, Miz Lottie seems drained and unsteady, and Gloria senses how deeply worry over Robert is wearing her down.

That hope is interrupted when a sheriff’s car stops them in Suwannee County. Miz Lottie quickly invents a story about collecting laundry from Sam and Ruby McCollum, while Gloria obeys orders to stay quiet. The deputies search the truck, question them about Robert Stephens, and make it clear they suspect Miz Lottie and Gloria are helping him.

The encounter turns more dangerous when the older deputy focuses on Gloria. He tries to intimidate and humiliate her, asks if she is Robert’s daughter, and suggests taking her for a “ride,” making Gloria understand the sexual and racial threat behind his words. While Gloria freezes, Miz Lottie keeps one hand hidden in the laundry basket, where she has drawn her small pistol, and warns the deputy to leave Gloria alone.

The deputy realizes Miz Lottie is armed and backs down rather than escalate in front of his partner and a passing car. John Dorsey and Harry T. Moore drive by and see the stop, confirming that allies know where Gloria and Miz Lottie are. Once the deputies pull away, Miz Lottie admits she thought she might have to kill both men, then drives on to Gracetown.

Back in town before noon, Miz Lottie stops at her house so Gloria can change into a plain black dress for court. Gloria tries to make herself look respectable and pitiable before the judge, but she is still shaken by the roadside threat. Waiting outside the courthouse, she spots Miss Anne, who secretly gives her the bank envelope of money she had promised, then John Dorsey and Harry T. Moore arrive. As the noon bell sounds over Gracetown, Gloria feels the moment as a long-awaited reckoning.