The Frozen River

Martha makes it back home safely, thanks to Moses, who went to rescue her from the back room after his father locked it up. Back at the mill, Ephraim reads over his letter that was in Burgess’s saddle bag, a survey of the mill property from 12 years ago when they first moved to Hallowell. The other letters are from the Kennebec Proprietors claiming that the Ballards failed to fulfill their 12-year lease, and awarding the property to North as a result. Martha speculates that North was bribing Burgess with the Ballard’s property in return for his silence, but this does not explain why Burgess was killed. Before they can finish their discussion, Jonathan comes in and informs them that something has killed Percy, the falcon. In the workshop, Ephraim finds coyote pawprints and feathers scattered everywhere. There is no sign of Percy’s corpse however, and Ephraim speculates that instead of dying, Percy fought back against the coyote and flew away.

At the tavern, James Wall explains to Martha why he borrowed money from North. He says that he would not have taken the loan had he known that North was a rapist, and at the time, North was the only one with an eagerness to invest in his distillery.