Chapter 9 Summary

Paine had slept on the floor next to Noah's bed that night and surprised Donna the first thing in the morning. She cried at first and they hugged a lot. He apologized for all the grief he caused everyone. He explained that after he had his TV interview, Dusty complained to the sheriff and basically gagged him—he wouldn't be allowed to talk to anyone else in the media. There were a bunch of requests for interviews. He had been stripped of his constitutional rights. After they served him dinner there was a bad accident on the highway and all the deputies ran out. They forgot to lock his cell and he just left. Donna told him that Dusty would drop all charges if Paine agreed to stop spreading lies about him and if he underwent psychological counseling. The sheriff had planned...