Chapters One through Six Summary

Lou Fields has finished a piece of pie at the local diner when he first sees the bum peering in through the window. The waitress is amazed when she notices that Lou, a deputy sheriff, is not carrying either a gun or a nightstick but he says that he does not need either. In chapter two, Lou has been sent by Sheriff Bob Maple to the home of Joyce Lakeland on Derricks Road, just past the Branch place, because of some complaints that the woman is a prostitute. Bob tells Lou to do whatever he feels right about the situation and promises to back him. When Lou arrives, the woman mistakenly thinks he is there for sex and invites him to the bedroom. Lou goes there and finds a gun in an open dresser drawer while he...