Opening
A routine consult propels Samuel 'Sam' Hill into a moral crisis when he suspects a young girl’s head injury comes from abuse—and the likely abuser is his old nemesis, David Bateman. As Sam seeks help from friends and colleagues, the past crashes into the present: Bateman returns wielding a badge, and the story flashes back to the origins of the loyalty that will become Sam’s lifeline.
What Happens
Chapter 36: A Doctor’s Suspicion
Back in his office, Sam cannot shake what he sees in Daniela Crouch’s exam. The bruising and the detached-retina concern don’t match her minor scrapes, and without cooperation from Daniela or her mother, Sam has nothing to report. He considers confiding in his wife, Eva Pryor, but knows she’s not a sounding board for his work stress. His partner Mickie Kennedy is out, leaving him alone with the implications: if he’s right, Daniela’s father—David Bateman—is hurting her.
Sam calls the ER physician who referred Daniela, Dr. Pat LeBaron. She confirms the same uneasy pattern: the constellation of injuries is “unusual,” and Daniela’s mother turned hostile when abuse was raised, just as she did with Sam. Both doctors agree the medical urgency is real and further testing is necessary. Yet the absence of proof ties their hands with Child Protective Services, sharpening Sam’s sense of helpless responsibility.
Chapter 37: A Friend in Need
Sam reaches out to his closest ally, Ernie Cantwell, and meets him at a bar during the 49ers game. The room lights up as Ernie moves through it—former NFL player, heir to a thriving computer company, and natural center of gravity. Sam wastes no time: his new patient is Daniela Bateman.
The revelation jolts Ernie. The game fades as Sam outlines the medical red flags and the ER doctor’s corroboration. Ernie immediately offers to call his father, who knows the District Attorney, to explore a quiet inquiry—an instinctive act that underscores The Power of Friendship. He tries to buoy Sam with World Series tickets, but the name Bateman sours the night; Ernie departs early, already plotting how to help.
Chapter 38: The Devil Boy Himself
Sam stays behind and drinks more than he should. On the short drive home, flashing lights bloom in his rearview. He pulls into a church lot, irritated but unconcerned—his medical ID usually smooths things over. The officer takes a long time to approach, heightening Sam’s unease.
When the face finally appears at the window, time collapses. Bateman. The years alter his features, not his eyes—or the cruelty behind them. He leans down and purrs, “Well, well. If it isn’t the devil boy himself.” With Bateman now cloaked in authority, the scars of Bullying and Its Lasting Impact flare open, and the danger spikes from private menace to institutional power.
Chapter 39: After Bateman
The narrative flashes back to July 1969—the “AB” era, “After Bateman.” Expelled from Our Lady of Mercy, Bateman disappears. Rumors occasionally ripple through the neighborhood, but for Sam, everyday life loosens its chokehold. Bateman’s former henchmen, Patrick O’Reilly and Tommy Leftkowitz, give Sam wide berth.
Even Sister Beatrice stops targeting him, and Sam keeps her secret flask to himself, cementing an uneasy truce. The silence around him feels like sunlight; Sam learns what it is to walk halls without bracing for impact. The peace is fragile, but it changes him.
Chapter 40: Whitewashing the Fence
The flashback deepens into the forge of Sam and Ernie’s bond. Sam’s mother, Madeline Hill, feeds the boys books and museum days, building a world larger than the schoolyard. One afternoon, Sam overhears Madeline and Mrs. Cantwell: Ernie has dyslexia, and a doctor recommends public school—the same system where Bateman lurks. Terror coils in Sam at the thought of losing his only friend and exposing Ernie to danger. Then he hears something that reframes their friendship: to Ernie, Sam is the only true friend at school. Sam has always seen Ernie as protector; now he realizes the care runs both ways.
Sam turns to his father, Maxwell Hill, asking how to help a friend without wounding his pride. Maxwell invokes Tom Sawyer’s fence: understand a person’s “disposition” and make the help feel like desire, not charity. Sam recognizes Ernie’s defining trait—fierce competitiveness—and sets a trap of kindness. On Monday he bets Ernie can’t finish his reading packet before Sam completes two of his. By Thursday, Ernie roars through the work. Mrs. Cantwell brings a cake to thank Madeline for Ernie’s “dramatic improvement,” and Madeline quietly celebrates the architect of the plan: “I’d say Ernie is lucky to have a friend like you.” The moment anchors Sam’s Coming of Age and the reciprocity at the heart of their friendship.
Character Development
Across past and present, relationships harden into lifelines and threats.
- Sam Hill: A principled physician wrestling with duty and risk, he pursues the truth for Daniela while confronting the resurgence of his trauma. In childhood, he channels empathy into strategy, protecting Ernie without humiliating him.
- David Bateman: He reenters with a badge, transforming schoolyard cruelty into sanctioned authority. His taunts show he hasn’t evolved—only his tools have.
- Ernie Cantwell: Unfailingly loyal, he moves to mobilize quiet power on Sam’s behalf. The flashback reveals his vulnerability and the competitive spark Sam uses to help him thrive.
- Maxwell Hill: A gentle tactician, he models how love guides action through wisdom rather than force, embodying Parental Love and Sacrifice.
Themes & Symbols
Bullying and authority: Bateman’s return as a police officer shows how adolescent power can calcify into adult systems. The phrase “devil boy” weaponizes Sam’s difference all over again, proving that the social scripts of childhood can be revived with greater stakes when backed by institutions.
Friendship as counterforce: Sam and Ernie’s bond acts as a shield and a lever. In the bar, Ernie instantly pivots from reminiscence to action; in the flashback, Sam turns a task into a game to preserve Ernie’s dignity. Where Bateman wields fear, friendship generates agency and healing.
Overcoming otherness: Sam’s red eyes and Ernie’s early struggles (and isolation as the only Black child in school) mark them as targets. Together they build a refuge, then a strategy, turning vulnerability into connection.
Symbol—Tom Sawyer’s fence: Maxwell’s “whitewashing” lesson becomes a moral blueprint. It reframes help as empowerment, revealing how cleverness and empathy can outmaneuver pride and shame without deception’s sting.
Key Quotes
“Well, well. If it isn’t the devil boy himself.”
Bateman collapses decades with a single slur, reasserting the old hierarchy while cloaked in state power. The line fuses past bullying with present danger, shifting the conflict from private memory to public threat.
“Unusual.”
Dr. LeBaron’s careful word signals professional suspicion without accusation. It encapsulates the bind facing mandated reporters: clear patterns, insufficient proof, and a child caught in the gap.
“AB”—After Bateman.
The boys’ private calendar names the absence that makes their peace possible. Labeling time this way underscores how thoroughly Bateman has structured their lives—even his departure becomes an era.
“I’d say Ernie is lucky to have a friend like you.”
Madeline recognizes Sam’s quiet strategy and affirms the ethic behind it. The praise ratifies a model of care that is active, smart, and respectful of another’s pride.
“Whitewashing the fence.”
Maxwell’s reference distills a parental philosophy: understand the person you’re helping, then invite them to choose the path forward. It becomes Sam’s template for leadership and love.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
These chapters knit the novel’s two timelines into a single, escalating arc. Bateman’s reappearance as a cop raises the stakes from emotional fallout to legal peril, directly connecting Sam’s past wounds to his present obligation to protect Daniela. The flashbacks supply the emotional architecture of Sam and Ernie’s loyalty, explaining why Ernie is Sam’s first call—and why Sam knows how to help without shaming. Together, they frame the book’s central conflict: destructive power versus constructive friendship, and the courage required to choose the latter when the former wears a uniform.