The Searcher

Cal goes to pay Donie McGrath a visit and waits outside his house until Donie comes out. He spies Noreen watching him and accepts that soon the whole town will know his business. Donie is suspicious of Cal from the outset. Cal accuses Donie of butchering the sheep and mentions Brendan Reddy to him, inquiring whether he has some “grander scheme” in the community (252). He tells Donie his suspicion that his Dublin drug-dealing friends got rid of Brendan and that Donie’s job is warning the locals to stay quiet. When Donie tells Cal to leave, this confirms Cal’s suspicions that Donie is involved. Still, he does not know what to do about Donie.

Cal feels that he needs to get Trey to stop looking for Brendan, because it may become dangerous for him. He considers lying to Trey to stop him in his tracks. Cal’s fear that he does not know what right and wrong is in this case reminds him of why he retired. He remembers an incident in Chicago where his partner O’Leary nearly shot and killed a Black teenager named Jeremiah because he suspected him of reaching for a gun.