The Dry

Falk goes to cemetery, noticing that the fire warning level has been moved to extreme. He visits the Hadlers' graves, his mother's grave, and then finally Ellie's. Deacon, who is sitting nearby, threatens him to leave. More lucid than he previously was, Deacon realizes that it’s Aaron Falk, not Erik Falk. Falk has a flashback to an argument his father had with Deacon when Falk was 12. Deacon accused Erik of stealing six of his sheep and blamed him for his wife leaving. When Erik mentioned feeling sorry for Ellie, Deacon punched him and threatened both Erik and Falk for “messing around with what's [his]” (232). In the present moment, Deacon tells Falk that instead of defending his son's innocence, Erik came “begging” him to ease up on the threats until the police were certain what happened. He says to Falk that it “must be a god-awful thing, to have your old man think that little of you” (233), which rattles Falk, but he brings himself to leave.

Falk stops by Gretchen's farm and upon arrival, he hears three shots. He sprints toward the house, thinking she might be dead. He sees that she is in the field