On Sunday evening, Jasper tends to Arlo's wounds and reflects on his encounter with the armed teenagers, barely eating dinner. His thoughts drift to the white deer and a memory from when he was seventeen, when his father took him to the Uwharrie to search for a different white deer that had been sighted. During that trip, his father shared myths and legends about white deer, including a Chickasaw legend about a warrior named Blue Jay who chased a white deer and was lured deeper into the forest, never to return. Jasper came to believe his father was expressing the depth of his longing for his deceased wife. A few weeks after that trip, Jasper's father died, and Jasper wondered if his father had sensed his own death approaching and saw the deer as a chance to glimpse the woman he'd lost. In Celtic mythology, white deer are messengers from the otherworld.

The next morning, Jasper drives to the sheriff's office to report the poaching and the teenagers' threats. Sheriff Charlie Donley listens but explains that poaching violations fall under North Carolina Wildlife jurisdiction, and since Jasper didn't witness the actual killing, little can be done. Charlie also notes that the illegal discharge and pointing of a rifle are minor misdemeanors complicated by the fact that Arlo attacked first. Charlie advises Jasper that the white deer will likely flee the area once turkey season begins and urges him to let it go. Unsatisfied, Jasper next tries to access a yearbook at Asheboro High School to identify the teenagers, but is denied entry due to safety policies.

Jasper then visits Mitch at Kaitlyn's house and borrows Casey's yearbook. He identifies Carl Melton from the wrestling team photo, then recognizes Josh Littleton as the one who held the gun, and Eric Littleton as the third teenager. The Littleton name carries enormous weight: their uncle Roger is a judge, their uncle Vernon is the district attorney, and the family has been powerful in the county for generations. Their father Clyde is a notorious trophy hunter known for killing exotic and sometimes endangered animals. Jasper realizes the boys were likely hunting the white deer to gain their father's approval.

The chapter interweaves Jasper's backstory: after his father's death at seventeen, he dropped out of school, worked at a peach orchard, and endured cruel treatment from his boss Richard Stope, who eventually fired him unjustly. When Stope punched him, Jasper turned the other cheek, echoing Jesus's teaching. His love for Audrey deepened during this period; they shared a first kiss, declared their love, and she went off to college while he wrote her faithfully and dreamed of fulfilling her wishes for a life together. Now, visiting the family gravesite where Audrey and their four children are buried beneath an ancient oak, Jasper tends the flowers, speaks to his family, and wonders if the white deer's appearance was meant as a miracle for him.

Jasper calls Charlie with the teenagers' identities, but Charlie warns that filing a complaint against the Littletons would be futile given the family's power. Undeterred, Jasper drives to the Littleton estate and confronts Clyde and Anne directly. The boys lie convincingly, claiming the gun discharge was accidental and denying the poaching. When Jasper insists the boys aren't truthful, Clyde retaliates by bringing up Jasper's own son having gone to prison for a fire, and orders Jasper to leave. Shortly after, Charlie calls to tell Jasper the Littletons claim they were threatened, and warns him to stay away. Alone in his cabin, Jasper resolves that it is up to him to save the white deer.