The Last Party

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, illness, death, child death, child abuse, emotional abuse, substance use, and cursing.

This chapter opens with a quote from Tonya Delron, a gas station cashier. Tonya was there on the night that Grant and Perla “re-met” after a decade apart. Perla had undergone a shocking transformation since childhood, presumably the result of her adoption into a wealthy Burbank family.

As she awaits an appointment with Dr. Maddox, Perla scrolls the Murder Unplugged forum to see if anyone has commented on the email she sent from tfk@hotmail.com, but she finds nothing.

Dr. Maddox arrives and invites Perla to dive into her history with Grant. Perla says that they first met when she was 21, after she returned home for “an anniversary event of sorts” (81). In truth, she has known Grant since childhood. He was older and more popular than her, and she “worshipped” him from a distance until their reacquaintance at an unspecified church event.

Grant did not recognize her, introducing himself as Lucy Wultz’s brother. Perla used her new name, Perla Thomas. They flirted, with Perla enjoying the way Grant looked at her. When she got up to leave, he asked her to take him with her.