I Hunt Killers

After dropping Connie off at her place, Jazz heads back to Gramma Dent’s house. There is an unexpected visitor there:

As his grandmother’s house came into view on the left, a familiar sight greeted him: a late-model sedan parked in the driveway. He groaned out loud, then plastered a pleasant grin on his face[…]It was the only person who annoyed him more than Doug Weathers: Melissa Hoover, social worker, sat on the front porch step (87).

Melissa suspects that Jazz’s grandmother is not a good caretaker for Jazz, and therefore she thinks he should be placed in foster care or with his estranged aunt Samantha, who Jazz has not spoken to in fifteen years. To avoid this, Jazz must manipulate what Melissa sees of his grandmother, whose health and mental faculties are deteriorating rapidly: “Jazz would have none of it, meaning he spent his days striving to prop Gramma up just enough that she could maintain custody of him” (87). Jazz approaches Melissa where she sits on the front porch steps and asks her if Gramma Dent gave her any trouble. Melissa reports that, yes, Gramma Dent armed herself with one of her shotguns when she saw her approach. In addition to having diminished mental faculties, Jazz’s grandmother has an argumentative, aggressive personality. Jazz describes his grandmother as follows: “Hateful, spiteful, and crazier than a wind sock in a tornado, but family” (89).

Melissa implores Jazz to understand the dire nature of his living situation. Melissa says: “She’s [Gramma Dent’s] a sick old woman and she’s not getting any better[…]I think she’s starting to drift into senility, too” (90). Jazz refuses, saying that since he is 17 years old, he has just one more year until he does not need a guardian, and he can make it till then. Melissa says, because Gramma Dent seems to be in a more aggressive mood than usual, she will leave for now but promises that she will be back. Melissa tells Jazz that she has no intention of letting this go: “I’m coming back, Jasper. I’m going to help you whether you like it or not” (91). Jazz, sitting on the front porch and taking a moment to gather his thoughts, watches Melissa’s sedan leave the driveway.

When Jazz enters Gramma Dent’s house, she is standing in their dusty parlor with a shotgun pointed at Jazz: “She was aiming a shotgun at him, her eyes wide and wild” (93). Jazz ignores her, knowing that the shotgun does not work, so she cannot do him any harm. Gramma Dent rants at Jazz: “I know what you been up to! Just like your pappy! Taking up with whores! Putting your thing inside them! That’s where the corruption comes from!” (94). Jazz makes her macaroni and cheese for dinner, gets her washed up, and tucks her into bed.

With Gramma Dent fast asleep, Jazz gets ready to leave the house again to return to the field where he found Jane Doe. He packs a small duffle bag with everything he and Howie will need to conduct their investigation. He looks around his bedroom; on his walls, he has taped pictures of the 123 victims Billy killed, 124 if you count his mother. Other pictures include a black-and-white picture of his grandmother as a young woman, long before she had Billy Dent. Looking at her picture, Jazz begins to cry:

He surprised himself by crying, but he wasn’t sure if it was for his grandmother or for himself. He didn’t like thinking about killing her, but he couldn’t help it; it felt good. She was a horrible person who gave the world the Artist, Green Jack, whichever nickname you wanted to use for Dear Old Dad (99).

Jazz feels guilt at having not been able to prevent his father from committing so many murders, but that solidifies his resolve to find Jane Doe’s killer: “But there was a way to atone, Jazz knew, for his father’s sins, and for his own[…]‘I’m going to catch you,’ Jazz whispered. ‘I’ll track you down, no matter how crazy it is, no matter how crazy it makes me’” (100).

Jazz calls Howie and tells him to be ready–it’s 11:20 p.m., and Jazz will be over to Howie’s place to pick him up in a few hours. Then they can make their way to the field where Jane Doe was found. It is important for Jazz to see the field at night, so he can view it in exactly the same way the killer did. Howie agrees to go, but on one condition: that Jazz gets a tattoo of Howie’s choosing as thank-you for this favor. When Jazz collects Howie from his house, Howie deliberates where the tattoo will be and of what: “‘Left shoulder this time,’ Howie said as he climbed into the Jeep. ‘It’s gonna be a flaming basketball. I mean, like, one that’s actually on fire, you know?” (102). Because of Howie’s hemophiliac condition, he cannot get tattoos, so Jazz gets them on his behalf.

As they make their way to the field, Howie presses Jazz to know why he is so obsessed with Jane Doe. Jazz says that it is because he suspects that it is a serial killer and, on a deeper level, there is a logic that if he is part of the effort to catch this criminal, it proves he is not like his father. Jazz says: “If I catch killers, then maybe that means I’m not a killer” (104). Howie assures Jazz that he is nothing like his father. Although Jazz does not quite believe it, it feels good to hear Howie say that.

Jazz and Howie finally arrive to the field: “The crime-scene tape still staked out a lopsided hexagon. Forgotten and flicking in a slight breeze, a single plastic flag marked where the severed finger had been found near the body” (106). Jazz begins pacing the field; Howie asks what he is doing, and Jazz replies: “I’m trying to think like the killer […]The most important thing is to figure out how the guy entered or left the scene. If he was smart, he did both the same way. Easier to keep from leaving evidence that way” (110).

Jazz deduces that the killer likely did not use the dirt road that leads to the field; he probably used a lesser-known route, which is up a grassy hill. The hill is adjacent to a creek, which leads to the highway: “The killer could have left his car along the highway late at night when no one from Lobo’s Nod would be on the roads, then carried Jane Doe through the creek to the trees, then up the hill to dump her body” (114). Jazz notes that the killer must be very organized to have pulled something like this off. As Jazz and Howie make their way down the hill and to the creek, Jazz senses they are on the right track. Jazz and Howie wade through the knee-high creek, looking for clues, when suddenly Howie shouts that he has found something: “When you said clues[…]did you mean something like this?” (117). Howie shows Jazz what he found, standing atop a wet rock: A small toe ring, with two red stones, and an engraving that reads “4FG-DR.”

Chapter 10 switches to the third-person limited perspective of the Impressionist. He fiddles with his “instructions,” though it is not yet clear what those instructions refer to: “The Impressionist unfolded the sheet of paper he kept in his pocket at all times. Right front pants pocket. All that time. That way, he always knew where it was. He didn’t really need the paper anymore. He had long since memorized its contents” (119). So far, the Impressionist followed the instructions exactly, except for one thing: Jasper Dent. The Impressionist does not explain what about Jazz deviates from the instructions.

The next morning, the Impressionist sits in Coff-E shop thinking of his next victim, and also of Jane Doe: “He wondered—idly, for it did not matter greatly one way or the other—if the boy had found the ring yet. He had followed Jasper enough to puzzle out that the boy was running his own investigation beyond the sheriff’s” (120). The Impressionist is confident that Jazz will not be able to stop him. The Impressionist has the waitress refill his cup of coffee, and observes her “slender, elegant fingers” (120) as she pours the hot liquid from a carafe.

In the early morning hours, Jazz races to G. William’s office at the police station directly from the field in his Jeep, running on just five hours’ sleep. He storms into the police station and announces to G. William, who is just settling into his office for the day, that he has figured out the identity of Jane Doe. Jazz says that he now knows her initials are F.G., but before he can go on, G. William interrupts him: “‘Her name’s Fiona Goodling,’ G. William said in a flat tone” (123). Because Fiona Goodling was from Atlanta, G. William still does not believe Jazz that the killer is a serial killer, explaining that no serial killer is going to commit the murder in Atlanta and then drive the body all the way to Lobo’s Nod to dispose of the body—it is too much trouble, and besides, serial killers tend to stick close to their home turf. Jazz is irritated that G. William still does not believe him, but he has no choice but to drop the subject. G. William warns Jazz that this is his final chance—he must stop his investigation into Fiona Goodling’s death.

Jazz heads to school, exhausted from a night of little sleep and late because of his stop at the police station beforehand. He arrives halfway through first period, and the assistant principal gives him a scolding for being late. His punishment is that Jazz is not allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities after school, which means he is unable to attend The Crucible rehearsal that afternoon. At lunch, Jazz sits on the front lawn of the school with Connie and Howie and updates them on his meeting with G. William. Connie agrees with some of what G. William told Jazz; perhaps there is a chance that the killer is not a serial killer.

When the final bell rings for the day, the drama teacher Ginny, who is leading the school’s production of The Crucible, chastises Jazz for missing out on rehearsal: “[W]hy are you letting me down today? Why are you letting your castmates down? Most important of all, why are you letting yourself down?” (127). Jazz apologizes, and gives her his “most earnest, defeated, wounded expression in his arsenal” (128). Thanks to Jazz’s excellent manipulation skills, this works on Ginny and she give him a big hug, accepting his apology.

Jazz leaves school, still thinking about Fiona Goodling as he drives along in his Jeep. Suddenly, he notices Jeff Fulton standing on a street corner on a side street. Jazz slams on his brakes and asks Fulton if he is stalking him; Fulton says no, but he is glad he bumped into Jazz because he has another question for him: Does Jazz know what his daughter’s last words were before she died? Jazz tries to remain calm as he tells Fulton that he cannot help him. Fulton steps back, and angrily shouts at Jazz: “‘Didn’t you ever lose anything?’ Fulton spat, his voice full of anguish and spite. ‘Someone who mattered? Even a pet? Don’t you ever care?’” (133). Jazz pushes hard on the gas and races down the road, away from Fulton. He ruminates on how very wrong Fulton is—indeed, Jazz has suffered through loss.

After the run-in with Fulton, Jazz needs to be alone, so rather than head home to Gramma Dent’s, he heads to the Hideout. The Hideout is an “old, ramshackle moonshining hut from the looks of it” that was nestled in “a copse of neglected spruce and pine, so it was hidden year-round even through it wasn’t more than a quarter of a mile from the nearest road” (136). The Hideout is a place where Jazz can be alone with his thoughts. Only Connie and Howie know about the Hideout, aside from Jazz.

Jazz sits on a beanbag chair and thinks about Fulton’s accusation, that Jazz has never lost anyone. Jazz mines the depths of his feelings, trying to determine if the attachment he feels for Connie and Howie is real: “The question for Jazz was this: Did he really care for Connie and Howie, or did he just think he did? It was the oldest philosophical question in the book—how do I know that what I see as blue and what you see as blue are the same thing?” (137). Suddenly, Connie enters the Hideout, saying that she thought she might find him there. Connie says she knows that finding the killer is important to him, but that she worries about him. She offers that he let professionals like G. William deal with it. Jazz is suddenly compelled to reveal something deeply personal to Connie: “And then, for some reason he couldn’t name, he told her something he’d never told her before. He told her about the dream, the nightmare. The knife. The voices” (139). Jazz thinks there is a chance that this dream might actually be a real-life memory, but Connie soothes him, saying that it could certainly just be a dream. One of Jazz’s deepest fears, he confides to Connie, is that Billy forced him to help maim (and possibly kill) his own mother. Connie suggests, tentatively, that Jazz goes to see Billy to see if can get some closure, find out if what he dreamt is real. Jazz vehemently does not want to see his father; he does not want to show weakness to Billy. Connie broaches another difficult subject with Jazz, saying that Jazz does not know for sure if Billy killed Jazz’s mother. Jazz insists that she is dead: “Deep down, I know the truth. She’s dead. She’s s been dead a long time […] And there’s nothing left of her’” (144).

Chapter 13 switches, once again, to the third-person limited perspective of the Impressionist. The chapter opens with Helen, the waitress from Coff-E Shop, groggily waking up, realizing that she is tied upright and bound to a post: “Gagged, with a rag stuffed in her mouth. It looked like she was in some kind of barn or outbuilding” (145). The Impressionist, a man whom Helen vaguely recognizes from Coff-E Shop, sits on a battered old chair and asks her if she is worried or scared. He tells her not to be afraid, and unfolds a piece of paper from his pocket. He scans over the contents and tells Helen that he has the entire thing memorized and really does not need to reference it.

The Impressionist then says it is time to get “down to business”(147). He confirms Helen’s full name is “Helen Myerson” and that her occupation is as a waitress. Even while bound, Helen can see the Impressionist make his way to a nearby table: “With that, he meandered over to a table off to his left, an old rickety set of nailed-together planks that had gone halfway to rot. It was positioned just so that should couldn’t see what he was doing over there” (148). The Impressionist tells Helen that when he told her there was no reason to be afraid, he was not lying; being afraid will “not help her one damn bit” (149). The Impressionist leans in close to Helen with a syringe filled with bright blue liquid. The chapter concludes with Helen screaming.

Jazz and Connie leave the Hideout and go their separate ways. When Jazz arrives home to Gramma Dent’s place, he finds Melissa Hoover, the social worker, there in the kitchen washing dishes in the sink, while Gramma Dent is lounging in the living room and acting loopy: “He sped home, only to find his grandmother sprawled on the floor in front of the battered old TV, watching the Home Shopping Network with her chin in her hands, laughing her head off as if it were the latest sitcom” (150). Jazz is irritated that Melissa is there, and he wonders if he underestimated how much of a problem she would be for him. Jazz unleashes his anger and yells at her: “‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ He exploded, slapping a palm against the refrigerator door for good measure. Melissa, gratifyingly, jumped” (151). Melissa recovers and folds her arms in front of her chest; she asks Jazz if someone is faking his grandmother’s paperwork, because clearly Gramma Dent is becoming more demented than Jazz is letting on. Melissa insists, once again, that Jazz needs to be removed from this house. Even while secretly acknowledging to himself that Melissa is probably right, Jazz digs in his heels and says something biting that will hurt her: “You’re wasting your time. I’m doing fine. In nine months I’ll be eighteen, and then you can’t stop me from taking care of her. Just because you couldn’t have kids of your own doesn’t mean I need you to be my mommy” (152). Having struck a nerve, Melissa’s demeanor changes entirely, and Jazz can tell she is shocked and hurt. Melissa goes to leave, but she tells Jazz once again that she is just doing her job—and she will not stop until that job is done.

Jazz leaves Gramma Dent watching TV in the living room, though now she is watching a TV documentary program about serial killers, in which Billy Dent is the main subject. Jazz heads to his room and falls asleep immediately.

In the middle of the night, he awakens to a commotion of someone pounding on the front door and Gramma Dent screaming: “They’re here! They’re here! They found us! Billy! Jon! Get the guns! Get the guns and blow their damn heads off before they take me away!” (156). Jazz answers the door and it turns out to be G. William, who informs Jazz that he was right—the killer is a serial killer, and they just recovered another victim.