Patch and Misty have settled into a small routine. Sometimes Misty comes to the gallery and sits by the window while Patch sprays and wipes the glass, with the painted missing girls around him and the sun on his skin.

On Saturdays, Patch eats breakfast with Saint and her grandmother, Norma, at Lacey's Diner. Saint shows real concern for Norma even while mocking her, and Norma remains sharp and provocative, asking about the Los Angeles riots and offering a bitter comment about the idea of "civil disturbance."

The chapter then turns to the abandoned Palace 7, which closed in 1986 and has stayed empty while its owner, Sammy, fights the town council over changing its use. Because Walt Murray, the theater's longtime projectionist, is nearing his ninetieth birthday, Walt's wife Mitzie tricks Sammy into agreeing, while drunk, to reopen the theater for one night as a surprise.

When Sammy later sees a poster announcing the event, he panics and threatens legal action because he regrets his drunken promise. Patch physically stops Sammy from storming off and argues that the town misses the Palace 7 and that reopening it, even briefly, would win him goodwill. Sammy dismisses talk of karma and insists he does not care what people think, but he reluctantly accepts that he cannot back out now. When Sammy asks what film they are showing, Patch looks at the poster and reacts with shocked dismay.