On a frozen morning in the woods, Saint finds Chief Nix fishing by the lake and sits with him because he is her closest remaining connection to Patch. Over coffee laced with brandy, Saint immediately asks Chief Nix to check on Mrs. Macauley, explaining that Ivy Macauley has started taking drugs as her grief worsens.

As they talk, Saint studies Chief Nix and thinks about how alone she feels. Saint admits that if Patch is dead, she does not know how she will survive that loss. Chief Nix answers with confidence that Saint will endure, then confronts Saint with what he has noticed: Saint is not sleeping, and her light is always on. Although Saint has been obsessively investigating on her own, she keeps her private search hidden from him.

Saint then pushes Chief Nix on a detail from the newspaper, asking why Callie Montrose came to see him a month before she was taken. Chief Nix refuses to answer and says the reason is between him and Callie, even now. His secrecy gives Saint no new lead, but it confirms that he knows more than he is willing to share.

When Saint mentions that Callie's father is a police officer, Chief Nix says the man is broken, just like Mrs. Macauley and Saint. After Saint asks whether Chief Nix is broken too, Chief Nix shifts the conversation to faith, asks whether Saint believes in God, and tells her to pray for Patch and leave the rest to him. Chief Nix warns Saint to stop searching for her own sake and for her grandmother's, and Saint lies by promising what she does not mean, then leaves determined to continue.