Billy Summers

Billy continues to write his book in the voice of his “dumb self.” He describes the aftermath of his sister’s death: He calls the police and then his mother Darlene (disguised as Arlene in his book) at the laundry where she works. There is a hearing, during which an unnamed man on the panel reprimands Billy’s mother with the story of a frog who agreed to carry a scorpion across the river, only to respond with surprise when the scorpion stung him. The man accuses Billy’s mother of allowing a “scorpion” into her house, where he “stung” her daughter to death. He tells her to do better for her son. She is indignant and refuses responsibility.

Cassie is buried. Billy goes back to school, where he struggles until his mother tells him that he will be taken away if things don’t improve. She begins drinking heavily and brings men back to the trailer that she shares with her son. Darlene is eventually charged with drunk driving. Billy is sent to a foster home, which he calls Speck House in his book, but which was Stepenek House in real life. A policeman called Deputy Franklin “Franky” Winfield Scott Malkin escorts him to foster care, telling him he can go home once his mother is able to care for him. However, a later boyfriend introduces Darlene to crystal meth, her life deteriorates, and she loses touch with her son entirely.

The Stepeneks, Malkin told the young Billy, were average foster parents; Billy later reflects that there are not two types of people—the good and the bad—but three. The Stepeneks are the third type: “gray” people who neither help nor harm. When he arrives, there are 14 children under their care, including Billy. He describes the children and young people he encounters there and the time they spent together in a car yard they call the Demo Derby. After five years at Stepenek House, Billy emancipates himself from his absent mother and, with the permission of his new guardian (Mr. Stepenek), enlists early in the Marines.

This chapter returns to Billy’s present in Midtown. Two unfortunate events occur, both of which Billy regrets. He attends a carnival with his neighbors and wins a stuffed flamingo, the top prize, in a shooting gallery. Billy worries that he has given away his shooting prowess in public, but he is pleased that Shanice, the little girl he won it for, cherishes it. When asked, he tells Jamal that he learnt to shoot in The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Shanice names the flamingo “Dave” after Billy’s alter ego.

The second event takes place the following Monday. Billy is disguised as Dalton Smith and shopping for supplies. As he leaves the store with his purchases, he notices two young men who he believes—correctly—are planning to rob the store. He thinks of the female cashier but doesn’t intervene because he doesn’t want to risk involving his “clean” identity with the police. He compares himself to the Levite in the biblical story of the Good Samaritan, who considers himself a holy man but doesn’t cross the street to help a wounded traveler in need.

Hoff contacts Billy about the gun he’ll use to shoot Allen. Hoff wants to come to Billy’s rented house, but Billy insists on a supermarket parking lot instead. Hoff hides the weapon in a bag of golf clubs. Hoff asks Billy to tell Nick that he (Hoff) is dependable and seems nervous about his role in the assassination. Billy reassures him but privately believes that Hoff will be silenced once the job is done. Hoff tells Billy that on the day of the shooting, there will be a further diversion created by a large fire in the nearby town of Cody. Nick didn’t mention this, and Billy believes that he doesn’t know about it. This makes him suspicious about who is really in control.

Billy takes the gun, still concealed in the golf bag, to his office. He tells the security guard that it is a gift for his agent.

Billy receives a call from Don Jensen, Dalton Smith’s upstairs neighbor, saying that he and his wife Beverly are leaving town because Beverly’s mother has passed away. Don asks if he can leave a key under his door so that Dalton can water their plants, which Beverley cares about a great deal and has even named Daphne and Walter. Billy agrees and thinks that it will be convenient to have the house on Pearson Street to himself in the aftermath of the shooting.

Billy stops writing while he waits to complete the job at hand. He receives a message asking him to call Nick, who says that Joel Allen is expected to arrive in town the following week and to be at the courthouse on Thursday.

On Monday, Phyllis arrives at Billy’s door, saying that she has had a bad breakup and needs company. They go for dinner, but she hardly eats, drinking heavily instead. Billy thinks it is likely they will sleep together and reflects that this is a bad idea. He goes through with it nonetheless.

On Tuesday, Don calls Billy sounding drunk. He tells him that he and Beverly have inherited $200,000 from Beverly’s mother and are planning a cruise. They will be away longer than anticipated, which is to Billy’s advantage.

On Wednesday, Billy takes the clothes he will wear to disguise himself as Colin White to the office. He saves his writing on a flash drive. Dana Edison, one of Nick’s men who has a distinctive red man bun, comes to Billy’s office to talk to him about the job, which is now imminent. Dana tells him again about the escape plan involving a work van manned by Nick’s people. Billy agrees but is increasingly certain that this plan would end with his own murder.

The night before the shooting, Billy buys a padlock and returns to the yellow house on Evergreen Street. There, he finds a crayon drawing that Shanice has left on his doorstep: It depicts the flamingo named Dave. He again regrets how disappointed and betrayed his neighbors will feel when they learn that he has deceived them.

Billy wakes early on Thursday morning, the day of the assassination. He collects his belongings and microwaves the SIM cards he no longer needs. He keeps Shanice’s drawing. He arrives at the office and tells the security guard that he has a lot of work to do. Billy puts a sign on his door asking not to be disturbed and prepares for the job, cutting a hole in the window and readying the weapon.

He receives a text alert about the warehouse fire in Cody that Hoff told him would happen. He watches people arrive at the building. Only one news van—Channel 6—comes to the courthouse to cover the arrival of Joel Allen. Billy speculates that the rest of the press must be focusing their attention on the fire.

Allen arrives. A sheriff gets out of the vehicle first and speaks to the journalist; he wears a cowboy hat, and Billy thinks he looks ridiculous. Then Allen emerges. Billy watches through the scope of his sniper rifle. As Allen is walked up the courthouse steps, Billy takes aim and fires, killing Allen with a shot to the head. Billy thinks to himself that the cameraman would have made a good Marine since he keeps filming while the sheriff runs for cover, leaving his hat on the steps. The promised flashpots explode one at a time, and chaos ensues. Billy changes into his disguise and joins the panicked crowds leaving the building. He evades Dana and Reggie, who are waiting for him in their van, and returns to his Dalton Smith address.