If I really don't like somebody, I kill him.
-- Vic (chapter 1)

Importance: In the opening chapter of the novel, the narrator establishes Vic as an upstanding citizen and a patient husband. Although his wife Melinda has a reputation for infidelity, for over three years, Vic does nothing to stop her. However, in this moment, Vic makes an impulsive decision to intervene in Melinda's affair with Joel Nash. He tells Joel that he is the man who murdered Melinda's former boyfriend, Malcolm McRae. Although Vic had not planned on telling this tale, he soon realizes that the story both scares Joel away and wins him favor amongst his friends and community. This moment acts as one of the novel's inciting events, and introduces the narrative's central stakes.

The fact that Melinda had been carrying on like this for more than three years gave Vic the reputation . . . of having a saintlike patience and forbearance, which...
-- Narrator (chapter 2)