Razorblade Tears

Buddy Lee buys beer at a 7-Eleven after they dispose of Andy’s body. He then goes to the cemetery and finds that his ex-wife, Christine, is there. She says she wasn’t at Derek’s funeral because the optics would have looked bad for Gerald, her new husband. Gerald is a judge who has expressed interest in running for governor. He couldn’t be associated with what Christine calls their son’s “perverse activities” (94). Christine didn’t support Derek’s lifestyle, but reminds Buddy Lee that she never hit him, either.

After she leaves, Buddy Lee pours the beer over Derek’s grave. He tells Derek that he and Ike are working on justice for him. He says: “This is who I am. I can’t change. I don’t want to, really. But for once I’m gonna put this devil inside me to good use” (96).

Ike wakes and thinks about killing Andy. It has been 16 years since he took a life, but he always knew he could do it again at any time: “That was the thing about violence. When you went looking for it, you were definitely going to find it. It just wouldn’t be at a time of your own choosing” (98). He cleans the woodchipper and prepares to open the business.