The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

The narrative shifts to 1989. Trina, Daniela Bateman’s mother, is curious how Sam knows her ex-husband. Sam reveals he is the kid with red eyes. He speaks to Trina outside privately. The police report claims Daniela had a bike accident (a story she repeated to the ER doctor), but Sam is concerned Daniela’s injury was actually from abuse. Trina angrily rebuffs his suggestion and leaves with Daniela. Sam suspects Daniela has a detached retina, and he calls the ER doctor who referred Daniela; she, too, suspects abuse, but they have insufficient evidence to move forward. Feeling at a loss for what to do, he calls Ernie and invites him out for a drink later.

After high school, Ernie and Sam attended Stanford University. Ernie, who now has a wife and two sons, played professional football for a time and then retired to take over the family computer business. The company is successful, and Sam is an investor. Not much is known about David after his expulsion from OLM. Some say he was also expelled from public school and sent to military school. Ernie arrives at the bar with World Series tickets for Sam and is shocked to hear about Daniela.