Though Joe’s father tells him not to get involved with Geraldine’s rape case, Joe now knows where the crime might have taken place: the round house. He determines to go to the scene of the crime looking for answers. He enlists the aid of his friends. Angus listens in on his father’s police radio and confirms that the round house is the scene of the crime. The boys set off for the round house to see if they can find anything that the police did not. Joe purposely arrives first and looks around. He feels the place speaking to him. Though he was not at the round house when the crime took place, he can sense what happened. He also intuits that the attacker had to have left some of his belongings nearby and so walks toward the lake. He keeps walking right into the lake where he finds a submerged gas can. This is probably the can used to cover his mother in gasoline.

Joe is overwhelmed with feelings when his friends arrive. He throws up, then tells them what he found. They, too, know the details of the crime, and they all agree to find the attacker and burn him.