Summary

Chapter 7 begins with Matthew, the narrator, stating that Carey Novac is dead, and that this chapter will relate her death in the near past. In the more distant past, Chapter 7 also tells the story of Carey's childhood, and of the events that led her to Archer Street and to Clay.

Carey grew up in a family steeped in the history of horse racing, and her father, Ted Novac, was once a famous jockey. Ted had a promising career until he found it hard to keep his weight to an acceptable level for racing; despite all his efforts at dieting and working out, he was deemed too heavy to race, and instead worked for trainers. From an early age, Carey's brothers were encouraged to race like their father, but Ted, and Carey's mother Catherine, refuse to let Carey train as a racer.

Carey is insistent...