Holly sleeps badly at the Coral Ridge Holiday Inn, worried that another attack could come at any time while she protects Kate McKay and Corrie Anderson. In the morning Jerome calls from Ohio to ask if he can buy John Ackerly breakfast and discuss the dead AA man and the appointment book; Holly agrees but notes that guarding Kate leaves little room for outside distractions. Before leaving for Davenport, Holly sees that Kate is upbeat and determined to stay on tour, even though Holly still wants access to the stalker messages and wishes Kate would accept tighter security.

The chapter then shifts to Chris, who wakes from a nightmare that blends Kate’s public appearance with buried family trauma. His memories reveal that his twin sister, Christine, died young from Brugada Syndrome, and that grief, fear of sharing her fatal condition, and his mother’s need for comfort led him to become "Chrissy" in private. Deacon Andy Fallowes and the church tolerated this split identity and later began directing Chris toward hatred of Kate McKay, turning his divided self into a weapon against her.

Chris chooses to travel as Chrissy, believing this persona thinks more clearly, and reflects that Fallowes and Pastor Jim are using both halves of him as pawns in their campaign against Kate. Back in Ohio, Jerome meets John Ackerly for breakfast and obsesses over the odd look of "BRIGGS" in the late Reverend’s appointment book, but John sees nothing concrete in it. Elsewhere, Barbara is summoned backstage at the Mingo and learns that Betty Brady is taking her off roadie duties because Barbara is now considered talent; despite Barbara’s doubts, Betty insists she focus on singing harmony and developing their duet.

On the road, Kate and Corrie tell Holly that several tour dates have been rearranged, including a return to the Mingo. Holly tries to keep their lodging and movements controlled, but Kate resists being treated like a prisoner and insists on ordinary freedoms like swimming, reinforcing Holly’s sense that the person she protects does not fully grasp the danger. Meanwhile, Trig drives toward Crooked Creek, half-planning to find another vulnerable victim near a teen substance-abuse facility. He picks up a runaway girl named Norma Willette and intends to kill her at an empty rest stop, but a radio bulletin reports that two Duffrey jurors have apparently committed suicide, and the news fills him with triumphant joy because he believes his surrogate murders are forcing jurors to make amends; because of that exhilaration, he lets Norma live, buys her ribs, and drops her safely at the Creek.

The final section reveals what actually happened to the two jurors. Izzy investigates the deaths of Jabari Wentworth and Ellis Finkel, who overdosed together in Finkel’s apartment, and learns from neighbor Alicia Carstairs that the two men were lovers whose lives had been shattered by exposure, family rejection, illness, and social pressure. Alicia makes clear that neither man seemed consumed by guilt over Alan Duffrey; their suicide note and circumstances point instead to despair and a romanticized decision to die together.

After the bodies are removed, Tom and Izzy conclude that the surrogate killer may wrongly claim these deaths as part of his crusade even though they had other causes. Tom suggests Izzy consult Holly because the investigation has stalled and Holly sometimes sees patterns the police miss. The chapter closes at the Garden City Plaza Hotel, where Barbara watches Betty Brady and Red Jones rehearse a muted, haunting version of the National Anthem for an upcoming ballgame, ending on an ominous note that hints this performance will be remembered for darker reasons than Barbara expects.