While searching the woods behind the tall house and toward the Tooms farmland for her missing bees, Saint spends more than an hour listening for any sign that the swarm has merely relocated. Hot, frustrated, and still ready to blame Mr. Lewis, she heads into town intending to make a complaint at the police station.

At the station, Saint finds Misty Meyer in obvious shock. Misty is breathless, scraped, trembling, and marked by violence: Saint notices skinned knees, a swollen eye, a torn collar, and the red imprint of a large hand on Misty’s arm. When Misty nearly collapses, a police officer catches her, seats her, and tries to calm her down.

At first, Misty speaks only in fragments, saying that “he’s there,” then insisting the officer does not understand because “he saved me.” That statement changes Saint’s attention immediately. When Misty identifies her rescuer as “the pirate kid,” Saint realizes Misty means Joseph “Patch” Macauley and steps in to press for details.

Because Misty is in shock, both Saint and the officer struggle to get a clear answer. Saint recognizes the signs of trauma and tries to steady Misty, but her own fear rises as Patch’s name enters the story. The officer reaches for practical questions, while Saint, now openly panicked, demands to know where Patch is.

Misty finally says the attack happened in the clearing by the old railroad. As the officer reaches for the radio to call it in, Saint does not wait for official help. Realizing Patch may still be in danger, she bolts from the station and sprints back toward the woods.