Phoebe does go to the police on the day that Mr. Birkway reads the students the poem about the tide and the traveler. The poem by Longfellow, "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls," upsets both Sal and Phoebe, and Sal thinks it's what finally convinced Phoebe to tell the police about her mother.
In the poem, a traveler is hurrying toward the town and it is getting darker and darker. The sea calls to the traveler, and the waves wash out the traveler's footprints. The next morning, the sea returns the traveler to the shore.
Mr. Birkway asks for reaction to this poem. Megan says it sounds soft and gentle, and it almost puts her to sleep. Sal says it's terrifying, and Phoebe calls it a murder. Ben suggests maybe he just died naturally, but.....
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