At 5:45, Holly leaves the elevator consumed by responsibility for what is happening. In the hotel lobby, Holly sees Sista Bessie and Jerome Robinson arriving, but Holly hides instead of asking Jerome for help because Holly refuses to pull him away from his security job or put him in danger. Outside, Holly meets John Ackerly, confirms that Donald Gibson is Trig, and tells John to keep his phone on and call Izzy Jaynes, Tom Atta, or Ralph Ganzinger if Holly has not contacted John by nine o’clock.

Upstairs, Jerome escorts Sista Bessie to her suite, where Alberta Wing and Red Jones are waiting. Alberta quietly warns Jerome that something is wrong with Betty Brady and urges Jerome to protect her. In private, Betty changes clothes and asks Red for the revolver he carries on bus trips; despite his unease, Red gives Betty the loaded Smith & Wesson, and Betty hides it in her purse without explaining why.

At 6:00, inside the abandoned rink, Trig stands over Christopher Stewart’s corpse and spirals further into madness. After tying Kate McKay near Corrie and Barbara, Trig rages at Stewart’s body, hallucinates a confrontation with his dead father, and tears old hockey posters from the walls. Trig stuffs the crumpled paper into a square between the crossties, and Barbara understands that the paper is kindling and that Trig may intend to burn the captives alive.

As Holly follows the signal from Kate’s phone toward Dingley Park, the route is slowed by swelling crowds gathered for the charity softball game and for Sista Bessie. Betty’s ride to the field turns into a spontaneous procession of cheering admirers, while Jerome stays close and senses that Betty is moved but troubled. At the same time, the Mingo Auditorium fills for Kate’s 7 p.m. lecture, with protesters and supporters taking seats, unaware that Kate is missing and tied up elsewhere.

At 6:25, Holly finally breaks away from the crowd and follows the Find My signal down a service road toward the condemned hockey rink. Holly reaches a dim lot, finds the Mingo van, and realizes Kate must be very close. Holly hesitates because calling police might trigger immediate killings, but after arguing with fear and imagining Bill Hodges telling Holly not to stand outside uselessly, Holly moves toward the rink doors with Bill’s .38 in hand.