The Last Party

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

This chapter opens with a quote from Glora Feinbaum, Grant’s aunt, who wonders what Grant saw in Perla. She recalls the woman he dated before he and Perla got together, a kind-hearted woman named Heather Marigoth. The week before the event at the church, Heather fell seriously ill and had to be hospitalized. By the time she was released, Grant and Perla were together.

Through a window, Perla watches Paige and Sophie running soccer drills in the yard. She is annoyed at how easily Sophie trusts strangers.

Perla receives the email from Murder Unplugged. She is unfazed, knowing that she can give them the proof they’ve asked for.

Grant joins Perla at the window. He mentions the odd coincidence of Paige’s father working at Lancaster Prison. Perla implies that it is not a coincidence, stating, “The alternative is—what? That she hunted down this job because of her dad? Because of him?” (158).

Perla and Grant watch Sophie play with her friend Jordan in the pool. Grant asks why Sophie can’t invite Jordan to her birthday party. They begin to argue, but Perla assuages Grant by straddling him and giving him a seductive look.