All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

Sandy runs to Butch, who reflects that Liam tends to choose “dumb,” “erratic” women, including both Sandy and Val in that assessment. She tells Butch something happened to Val, and they return to Sandy’s trailer, where Brenda is waiting. Sandy did not understand that Liam had also been killed, and she falls apart when Brenda tells this to Butch. Butch speaks with great care to Brenda, but his chief concern remains keeping the cops away from the meth lab. He instructs Sandy to pull herself together. He sends her with Dee to look for Donal in the meadow. He takes Brenda and the girls into town, driving their car so he can leave another vehicle at the ranch; this will allow those involved in Liam’s drug business to clear out incriminating evidence before the police arrive. Butch decides to get Kellen to help him decide what to do.

Butch drives Brenda and the girls to the mechanic shop; in the office, they find Wavy naked in front of Kellen on his desk. Kellen’s zipper is undone and he’s not wearing a shirt. Amy sees Wavy smiling for a second before everything comes apart. Butch attacks Kellen, who dismisses him until he sees Brenda and the girls. Kellen shows Brenda the paper Liam signed giving him permission to marry Wavy. Brenda destroys the paper and tells him Liam can no longer give permission. Amy understands only then that it was Liam’s body she saw. Wavy gets dressed while Brenda calls the police, though Butch tries to stop her. Once Butch realizes Brenda has already called the police to report the murders at the farmhouse, he loses his calm demeanor and shrieks at her. He tears out to the farmhouse, leaving Brenda and the girls at the shop. Only after Butch leaves does Brenda realize she blurted out the news of Wavy’s parents’ murder right in front of her.

Police come and arrest Kellen, though they give Wavy a chance to say goodbye after finding out her parents have been killed. Amy describes their kiss as “a movie kiss” (214). The police find a gun and blood at the garage.

Brenda takes Wavy to the hospital, but she escapes before they can examine her. Wavy sits out the afternoon in the bingo tent at a church fair. She goes from tent to tent until the fair closes. She waits until the police have left Kellen’s house, where she climbs in through the laundry room window. She takes a shower, changes into one of Kellen’s T-shirts, and finds the containers of ice cream Kellen bought for her birthday. Each container has a letter on the lid. Wavy sets them on the table and unscrambles his happy birthday message, opening a container at last and taking a bite.

Amy watches her mother’s reaction as the police explain to her that the size of the crime scene has more to do with Liam’s massive meth operation than with the murders. After hours in the police station, Brenda and the girls go to a hotel. The sheriff’s wife consoles Brenda, who finally cries. Amy has only seen her mother cry before when they found out their grandmother had cancer.

Brenda calls Bill and has to be stern with him to make him understand that he needs to pick up the girls. Only when Leslie tells him that Aunt Val is dead does he come around. Brenda jerks the phone away from Leslie so hard she tears out her earring, making her ear bleed. For Amy, the blood now seems to be everywhere. She dreams of blood on the car ride home after their father picks them up. He tries to get Brenda to leave with them, but she stays.

In addition to the ice cream puzzle, Kellen planned to surprise Wavy with a Triumph Terrier bike he had restored for her to drive with her learner’s permit, as well as the paper Liam had signed so Kellen and Wavy could marry. Liam at first tried to talk Kellen out of marrying Wavy; Liam believed she has an intellectual disability.

Kellen has a history with Sheriff Grant, so when he comes to interview Kellen in jail, Kellen waits until Grant starts asking him questions. Grant appears to be patient, but he makes it clear that Kellen is in serious trouble. He tells Kellen that, permission or not, Wavy’s age and her aunt’s anger will likely have him facing charges. He questions Kellen about the gun, but Kellen can’t explain how it got there. Kellen also tells the sheriff he will test positive for gun residue because he shot at a possum in the trash that morning. The sheriff tells him Wavy will be examined at the hospital, and Kellen tells the sheriff that Wavy does not like to be touched. He regrets that his bad judgment ruined his plan for Wavy’s birthday.