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Summary

PART VII: Self-Reliance (continued)

Judyta,  August 1975: Day Five–Victor: 1961   

Judyta, August 1975: Day Five 

Judy searches for any sign of the Hewitts, checking the Staff Quarters and Commissary, but no one knows where they are. As she waits outside the Director’s Cabin, she spots T.J. arriving in her truck. Watching from a distance, Judy sees her retrieve a bag and enter a building. 

Inside, Judy confronts T.J. and asks her about her father, surprised to learn he is alive. T.J. explains that he isn’t himself anymore due to memory loss and needs constant supervision. When Judy asks where he is staying, T.J. hesitates before ambiguously saying, “With his brother.” Sensing she isn’t getting the full truth, Judy hands T.J. her card, offering a chance to talk when she’s ready. 

Judyta, August 1975: Night Five 

A restless Judy reflects on the day’s discoveries, specifically the blood analysis on Barbara’s uniform in John Paul’s car and their initials on the murals. Realizing she hasn’t eaten, she heads to the inn’s vending machine, but her candy bar gets stuck. Frustrated, she pounds on the glass, and Bob Alcott finds her and retrieves the candy. He kindly invites her inside for tea with his wife. 

Alcott explains the history of the Hewitts and Van Laars to Judy, beginning with Peter Van Laar I, who took a liking to Dan Hewitt, Vic’s father, and brought him onto the Preserve. After the Hewitt boys became orphans, they grew up alongside the Van Laars. Vic later created the idea for Camp Emerson, and Peter I supported it, eventually dividing the Preserve and leaving control of the camp to Vic. However, he made a critical mistake by appointing Peter II as the trustee of his will, giving him full authority over the funds and ownership of the property. Resentful of the Hewitts, especially Vic, Peter II still has control of the property, and until he dies, the camp is not in Vic’s name. 

Judy asks about Vic’s brother, Charlie, and learns that he died of natural causes two decades ago, just before Bear vanished. When Alcott mentions that Charlie had lived above the slaughterhouse, Judy realizes the significance of T.J. having said that Vic lives “with his brother,” and rushes to retrieve her car keys. Within minutes, she is driving toward the Preserve. 

Judyta, August 1975: Night Five 

Judy arrives at the Preserve at night, driving down the long dirt road toward the slaughterhouse. She moves quickly and climbs the stairs to the second floor, where she hears music and a man’s voice behind a locked door. 

She knocks and calls out to Vic Hewitt, who mistakes her for Barbara. She draws her gun and orders him to stand back before shooting the padlock open and entering. Inside, she finds an elderly, frail man wrapped in a blanket, confused and muttering. When she asks about Bear Van Laar, he tearfully tells her he only helped.  

Before Judy can question him further, she hears footsteps outside, causing her to raise her gun and position herself at the door. Moments later, T.J. enters, and Judy forces her to surrender, ordering her to lie down. When Judy demands that they all leave together, T.J. refuses, explaining that her father must stay locked inside for his own safety. Instead, T.J. suggests tying herself to her father so he cannot run away. Once the authorities are called, they take the Hewitts to the station for questioning.  

Victor: 1961  

Vic speaks with a troubled twelve-year-old camper in the Director’s Cabin when the boy suddenly notices something in the lake. Looking outside, they see a capsized rowboat, and Vic runs to the lake. At the beach, he inspects the overturned boat from afar and assumes it was a drunken prank from the Van Laars party. Realizing he hasn’t seen Tessie Jo (T.J.) all day, he hurries to the Van Laar house and knocks, where Peter II answers with a cold expression. Before Vic can speak, Peter II forcefully pulls him inside, telling him that Tessie Jo is fine but Bear is not. Vic follows Peter II toward the boat house, and he hears what he thinks is a fox crying, but it’s actually a woman.

Victor: 1961  

Peter II explains to Vic how he saw Alice drunkenly storm into the great room and invite Bear to go on the lake. He realized too late that Bear had followed his mother, so Peter II ran outside only to find a soaking-wet and hysterical Alice, sitting at the boathouse while the rowboat was overturned in the distance. 

Alice, shocked and unable to speak, pointed toward the water. Peter II dove in, hoping to find Bear alive, but instead, he discovered his grandson’s lifeless body hooked to the boat’s oarlock. He pulled Bear to shore and confirmed he had no pulse. Now, standing beside Vic in the present moment, Vic listens intently.  

Peter II is determined to keep Alice from learning the truth, so he insists she remain isolated. He gestures toward the rowboat as it sinks beneath the water, erasing any evidence of the tragedy. Watching it disappear, Vic faces a choice: reveal the Van Laars’ secret and lose everything, or comply and protect his daughter’s future to take over the camp. In the end, he chooses to keep Bear’s death a secret and offers to help hide his body.  

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