Sanctuary

Benbow discusses Temple with Ruby, insisting that she was alright. Ruby tells him she told Temple to get away and blames the whole thing on Gowan. Ruby tells Benbow more about that night and about hiding Temple in the barn. Benbow continues to insist that Ruby saw her the next morning and that she was alright then.

The next day, Benbow goes to Narcissa’s and complains about Gowan to Miss Jenny, who reveals that Gowan took Temple out because he was upset that Narcissa had turned down his marriage proposal. Benbow once again complains about Gowan and about the evils of whiskey. He returns home and looks at a picture of his stepdaughter, Little Belle, and thinks about how she too is attending parties and dances.

He suddenly rushes over to the train station, getting onto the next train. He observes the other passengers, including the college boys and girls, and watches as some of the girls manage to ride without buying a ticket. He gets off at Oxford, walking with the students to the university. Benbow goes to the registrar’s office and asks for Temple Drake, but they inform him that she left school two weeks before. He asks if Benbow is another detective. Benbow leaves and goes to the bathroom, where he sees Temple’s name written on the wall.

He gets on a return train and enters a passenger coach. There is one other person inside, a well-dressed man whom Benbow watches. The man introduces himself as Senator Clarence Snopes, mistakenly calling Benbow a judge. They begin a conversation about politics, revealing that neither is particularly interested in or knowledgeable about the subject. Benbow mentions Temple in the hopes of getting information, and Snopes says that she ran away. He says that the papers have reported that she turned up back home and was sent north by her father to visit relatives.

The cab driver at the train station in Jefferson offers Benbow a free ride. He asks to be dropped off at the hotel, but the driver tells him that Ruby has moved to stay at the prison. Benbow gets off at the hotel anyway and asks the owner what happened. The owner says that the Baptist church formed a committee that came and presented their case for turning Ruby out of the hotel, and that it isn’t his business what happens to her. Benbow goes to the jail, where he finds that the warden’s wife has taken Ruby and the baby in for the night. She says she could never turn a woman and a child away.

Benbow confronts Narcissa and says that she must let Ruby and the baby stay in the house in town. Narcissa is still against it, worried about how it will look to the rest of town. Benbow, though angry about how the town treats Ruby, concedes and says he’ll find another place for her. Narcissa tells him that it’s fine for him to support the Goodwins because he’s a man and can just leave town, but that she has to stay. She insists that anyone but Benbow could see that Goodwin is guilty and that Ruby is leading Benbow on to get a free defense for her husband. Narcissa says that she’ll pay for a better defense lawyer for Goodwin if Benbow will drop the case.

Benbow realizes that the district attorney had a hand in getting Ruby evicted to affect public opinion. He meets Snopes in town, and Snopes references the rumors that are spreading that Benbow didn’t let Goodwin make bail in order to have an affair with Ruby. He further implies that Benbow is going to take Ruby to Memphis and install her as a mistress, which Benbow denies angrily. Snopes says he’s on his way to Memphis.

On the train to Memphis, two men, Virgil and Fonzo, are riding in the passenger car. When it arrives in Memphis, they get off, looking for a hotel, and end up at Miss Reba’s. Reba agrees to rent them a room, and they go inside. They don’t seem to realize that the house is a brothel, believing that Reba has a big family or throws a lot of parties. They come to various incorrect conclusions about Reba’s line of business. Fonzo finds another brothel, and they agree to keep quiet about it so that Reba doesn’t kick them out. Getting back to the house after going to the brothel, they see Senator Snopes, who recognizes Virgil and tells him that he’s a fool to pay so much for sex. He takes them to a brothel full of Black women, saying that it is cheaper.

After three days of searching, Benbow finds a ramshackle house on the edge of town to rent for Ruby and her child. Ruby tells him he shouldn’t visit her there because of the gossip, but Benbow says he doesn’t care and doesn’t want to live his life dictated by gossip. He also knows that Ruby is right.

Senator Snopes calls Benbow and says that he has information for him, offering to drive up right away if Benbow is interested. After arriving, he implies that Benbow is using his childhood home to have an affair with Ruby without his wife knowing, which Benbow again denies. He offers Benbow the information he mentioned in exchange for money and says that it has to do with Temple Drake and her location. Benbow pays him, and the senator reveals that he saw Temple in a Memphis brothel.

Benbow goes to Miss Reba’s to find Temple. Snopes is there and teases him about going to a brothel, which Benbow ignores. Benbow meets with Miss Reba, who complains about how Snopes hangs around bothering the girls but never paying for anything. Before now, he hasn’t been back since Popeye beat him up. Benbow asks to speak to Temple, but Reba says she doesn’t want lawyers bothering the girls for no good reason. Benbow says that Popeye is a murderer and that he is trying to save an innocent man, but Reba doesn’t care unless Popeye starts murdering people in her house. Benbow finally convinces her by appealing to her compassion for Ruby and her baby.

Reba leads Benbow to Temple’s room, which she insists on keeping dark. Reba and Benbow try to convince Temple to talk, but she remains silent. Reba says that the cops won’t catch Popeye and that she can testify and save Goodwin and nothing else will change. Temple finally speaks, demanding a drink. Reba says she’ll get her one while Temple tells Benbow her story. Temple relates the events of her night at the Old Frenchman place, speaking mainly about the time before Popeye raped her. Her focus is the fear she experienced, and she describes to Benbow how afraid she was of the men. She talks about the nightmares she had and of how she laid in the bed in the house wishing she would turn into a boy.

As Benbow is leaving, Reba asks if he’ll contact Temple’s family, as she doesn’t think Temple can handle this kind of life. Benbow’s conversation with Temple disturbs him greatly, and he thinks about the nature of evil in the world as he heads directly for the train station. At home, he sees a photo of his stepdaughter and becomes ill, unable to separate her image from the story he heard from Temple earlier that evening.