Mississippi Trial, 1955

Hiram cannot stop thinking about the details of the trial and complains to Grampa about it, asking if he thinks it’s really over, since they never identified the third man involved. Grampa is agitated by the conversation and tells him not to speak of it anymore. Later, when he is out for a walk, Hiram runs into R.C., who looks all beat up and bloody. He tells him about his brutal fight with his father and how he is leaving Greenwood for a job in Jackson; in fact, he was out of town before Emmett’s murder and during the whole trial, making it impossible for him to be the third man. Hiram spends the night thinking about Naomi and wishing he could bring her back to Arizona with him.

The next morning, he wakes up to overhearing Grampa speaking with some men outside about selling his pickup truck. One of them remarks, “You can’t be too choosy about price in this situation, but we’ll do what we can. I guarantee you this truck will be out of Mississippi before dark” (204). At breakfast, Hiram asks Grampa about the truck and Grampa dismisses the conversation, which infuriates Hiram even more. After he leaves the house, Hiram runs into Ronnie Remington, who clumsily reveals that he and Ralph are harboring a secret about