The Lacuna

Like Part 4, Part 5 is a mix of Shepherd’s journal entries, fictional and actual newspaper clippings, and letters.

In a February 6, 1948, journal entry, Shepherd describes how upset Mrs. Brown is about newspaper stories reporting that Shepherd and Mrs. Brown are a romantic couple based on their trip together to the Yucatán Peninsula. Mrs. Bittle has complained to her about the coverage because it is causing a scandal and has raised Mrs. Brown’s rent as a result. Later that month, Shepherd gets a letter from his former paramour, Tom Cuddy, expressing regret that Shepherd is married. Shepherd reassures Tom he is still a bachelor and that the newspaper rumors are untrue. Tom writes back that tensions are high in New York over the mounting pressures of the Red Scare as immigrant Communist sympathizers are being deported and that he plans to visit Asheville soon for work.

On April 23, Shepherd gets a letter from his publisher expressing enthusiasm about his third novel, tentatively titled Cataclysm of the Empire. He meets Artie Gold for lunch, and Artie advises Shepherd that the investigations into his Communist ties will likely intensify.

That June, Asheville goes into lockdown to prevent the spread of polio. In July, Shepherd receives another letter from Loren Matus of Aware, Inc.