Kellie eventually calls the kids down from the attic. The man with the gun, she says, is a police officer sent to guard the house. She tells them they are going to the beach the next day “to be in public so nobody can mess with us” (49), a strategy that does little to ease the children’s fears.

The following morning, Cylin wakes up to find another officer and her uncle Joe (Polly’s brother) sitting in the kitchen. Joe plans to drive the kids to Boston to see their father, and Cylin, Eric, and Shawn pack suitcases for an extended stay at Joe’s house. The ride to Boston is quiet, and Joe is deadly serious, a marked change from his usual good humor. He tries to reassure the kids that their father will be okay, but Cylin, unable to understand the gravity of the situation, is confused and afraid.

John wakes up in the ICU after surgery, tubes running into his mouth, nose, and stomach. Polly is there. The doctors have told her that John likely won’t be able to eat food or breathe through his mouth and nose; he will probably need a trachea tube for the rest of his life.