Sanctuary

The next morning, Ruby is making breakfast when a hungover and beaten Gowan walks in. She tells him that Temple is alright and that she stayed with her in the barn until morning. Gowan says he’ll go to get a car and bring Temple back to school, which should make everything alright again. Ruby tries to convince the obviously unwell Gowan to eat something before leaving, but he ignores her, intent on getting a car. As Gowan walks, he comes across the wrecked car and can only half remember the events of the previous day. He wants a drink and thinks about walking back to the house to get one. He decides that he cannot bring himself to face Temple. Feeling that the future is entirely bleak, he continues on, getting in a car but not returning for Temple. Gowan instead sends a farmer to go pick her up, too ashamed to return to the Old Frenchman place himself.

Temple wakes up in the barn and panics, remembering the rat. Half-dressed and afraid of encountering anyone, she hides, thinking about what might be happening at the university right then. She thinks about all she has been through, despairing of her circumstances. Temple waits until the yard is clear and runs back to the house, finding her clothes and hiding in a bedroom to redress. She goes to use the barn as a bathroom and takes the opportunity to run away from the house. Temple runs through nature until she comes upon another house, realizing she has not actually made it off the property. She is caught and returned, eventually being locked in the barn. As she is locked up, the rat is thrown in with her.

Goodwin is looking for Temple. He is drunk and not sure where she is, and Ruby makes fun of him. She says she would never let him cheat on her, and he forces her to put her baby down and beats her. When he is done, Ruby walks outside with her child, observing the barn where Temple is hiding. Tommy has taken up a guard post outside the corn crib, where Temple is. Popeye approaches Ruby and complains about the drinking the night before. He tells her he is going into town.

Popeye comes upon Goodwin in the orchard looking at the barn. He tells him that he’s leaving, and Goodwin curses him. Popeye does not go into the house but instead walks around the barn to find Tommy guarding the corn crib. Tommy doesn’t see Popeye, as he is watching the house. Popeye walks into a stall in the barn and then pulls himself into the hay loft above.

Temple manages to open the door of the corn crib, but upon seeing Goodwin outside watching the barn, she dashes back in. Tommy tells her Goodwin promised that he won’t hurt her if she just lies down. Temple declares that she’s not scared of rats and doesn’t mind staying in the corn crib anymore and that Tommy should keep watching the door and not let any of the men inside the room with her. Goodwin, upon seeing Tommy keeping guard, moves into the shadows of the house.

Temple hears Popeye moving around above her. To her terror, he slowly descends from the hay loft down to the corn crib. He says nothing to her but bangs on the door and tells Tommy to open it. Tommy does so and is surprised at Popeye’s presence inside. Popeye tells Tommy to stop following him, and Tommy insists that he was only watching Goodwin. Popeye tells him to keep doing that as he removes a gun from his pocket and shoots Tommy. He turns around and approaches Temple who—her worst fears about to be realized—begins to scream.

Ruby remains sitting outside by the stream with her child for an hour after Popeye leaves her. When she gets up to get her child’s bottle from the house, she sees Popeye drive away. Temple is in the passenger seat and looks at Ruby with no recognition, her face completely blank. Ruby walks into the house and tells Goodwin that they have to call the sheriff and that she will walk over to the nearby Tull house to use the phone. Goodwin agrees, but says he’ll go call as Ruby has to cook. Ruby goes anyway. The Tull family is at dinner and is reluctant to let Ruby use the phone. They hear her call the sheriff, identify herself as Mrs. Goodwin, and say that there is a dead man at the Old Frenchman place.

Benbow is returning to his sister’s house. He and his sister jointly own their childhood home in Jefferson, which has been left empty. Entering the house, his sister tells him that his wife has called. She is returning to Kentucky and taking her daughter with her. Benbow seems saddened, and Narcissa asks why it’s alright for him to leave but not her. Benbow can’t answer and remains at his sister’s house quietly.

After a few days, Miss Jenny and Narcissa ask him what he plans to do and why he left. Benbow again brings up having to get the shrimp every Friday for his wife, and how after 10 years, he still hates the smell of shrimp and couldn’t do it anymore. His sister complains about how he has come back to town and immediately fallen in with bootleggers and “street-walkers,” particularly taking exception to his interactions with Ruby. He once again describes the Old Frenchman place, expressing sympathy for Ruby and confusion and fear at Popeye’s lurking, shadowy presence there.

The next day, he goes into town to begin cleaning up his childhood home. As he works, he observes the movement of the town outside. He goes on a walk, watching the people he knew from his youth go to work and run errands, finally passing the undertaker’s parlor, where a crowd has gathered to look at Tommy’s body. The undertaker is trying to discover Tommy’s last name, but as far as anyone knows, he didn’t have one.

The sheriff brings Goodwin in for Tommy’s murder. In another cell, a Black man accused of murdering his wife awaits execution. Goodwin refuses to say what he knows of Tommy’s murder. Benbow, who has taken up his defense pro bono, is frustrated that he can’t get any information from him and asks why he wants a lawyer if he won’t do anything in his own defense. Goodwin looks at Ruby and the baby, who are visiting Benbow, and says he just wants Benbow to get his son a job when he gets old enough.

That night, Benbow discusses the case with his sister and Miss Jenny. Narcissa accuses him of meddling and complains that he always acts without regard for what their community will think of his actions. He again expresses sympathy for Ruby and complains about his sister’s prejudice against her. His sister asks where Ruby is and gets upset when she realizes that Benbow is letting her and the baby stay in their childhood home. Miss Jenny says that he is too involved in the case, and that people might accuse him of collusion.

He leaves his sister’s house and returns to their childhood home where Ruby and the baby are. Benbow thinks about the first time he met her and how Ruby told him she kept the baby in a box to keep the rats from getting to him. He tells her she can’t stay at the house because he doesn’t want to be accused of personal involvement and promises to find a hotel for her and the baby. As they drive to the hotel the next morning, Ruby offers to get out and walk because they will be passing people who know Benbow, but he says for her to stay in the car. She says that she can’t pay him, and Benbow says it doesn’t matter. As Narcissa’s driver takes Benbow back, he insists that Narcissa said to bring him back to her house. Benbow says that he’s going to their childhood home instead and asks the driver to tell Narcissa that he didn’t run to her.

As Goodwin sits in jail, Benbow continues to look after Ruby and the child. Benbow returns to Narcissa’s house and discusses the case again, saying that Goodwin still refuses to talk and insisting that they have to prove Goodwin committed the crime. Benbow also discusses the town’s reaction, expressing his disgust at how the townspeople are treating Goodwin. Benbow finds it hypocritical that they are happy to buy Goodwin’s whiskey, but now that he’s been kicked down, they’ve destroyed his distillery and are talking about how evil he was for brewing alcohol.

Benbow says that Goodwin specifically will not let Benbow mention Popeye’s presence at the house. Benbow goes on to discuss the nature of evil and its pervasiveness.

Narcissa enters and reveals that Gowan Stevens has stopped visiting her. He sent her a letter that says he has been through an experience too dark for him to continue to visit her, and that if she hears of it, he hopes she’ll forgive him. Benbow reacts to this letter with derision for Gowan. Miss Jenny tells him he should go home to his wife.

Benbow visits Goodwin in jail again and tries to convince him to explain Popeye’s presence and likely guilt. Goodwin refuses, saying what a good shot Popeye is and that if he talked, Popeye would surely retaliate and kill him anyway. Goodwin says that it’s common sense that he couldn’t have killed Tommy and asks to speak to Ruby for a few minutes. When Ruby joins Benbow outside, Benbow admits that he can tell that they’re still hiding something about the murder from him. He tries to convince Ruby to tell him, but she just keeps saying that Lee knows best. Benbow goes home and gets ready for bed. He thinks about how the man at the jail accused of murdering his wife is about to be executed. Ruby sends the hotel porter to Benbow the next morning to ask him to come to the hotel. At the hotel, Benbow finds that her baby is sick. She also reveals Temple’s presence at the Old Frenchman place.