Floyd Wells’ mentioning
• The chapter begins with the briefly mentioned
character back in page 91. As Perry mentioned
to Dick: “Floyd-is that the name? A bit below
the belt, but then Dick deserved it, his
confidence was like a kite that needed reeling
in.” (pg. 91)
• “Dick said, Mr. Wells! He picked up a fork…The
fork came down and stabbed the table. “Right
through the heart, honey.” (pg. 91)
Summary pg. 159-163
• Floyd Wells was listening to a news broadcast
when he suddenly heard the incident of the
Clutters: “Wells was stunned. As he was
eventually to describe his reaction, he “didn’t
hardly believe it.” Yet he had good reason to, for
not only had he known the murdered family, he
knew very well who had murdered them”. (pg.
159)
• Wells describes the information he gave to Dick
about Mr. Clutter.
pg 159-163 continued…
• “After that, Dick never stopped asking me
about the family. How many was they? What
ages would the kids be now? Exactly how did
you get to the house?...”
• After deep consideration and advice from a
Catholic prisoner, Wells decided to confess
everything he knew.
The good news: pg. 164-165
• After Wells’ confession, Dewey was given the
descriptions and mug shots of the two wanted
men.
• Ever since the case began, Dewey’s health was
deteriorating. “His state of mind was bad; he
was emaciated; and he was smoking sixty
cigarettes a day” (pg. 165). Dewey was happy
they had a lead, but doubtful at the same
time.
The Manhunt Begins: pg. 165-172
• K.B.I. Agent Harold Nye inquires information
from Dick’s parents, Mr. Hickock and Ms.
Hickock, the owner of the Bob Sands Body
Shop, and several neighboring homesteads.
Hitchhikers: pg. 173-174
• Dick and Perry are still waiting for someone to
offer them a lift. Mr. Bell, a tired man, offers
the couple a ride. When Dick and Perry decide
it was time to discard of the man, another
hitchhiker appeared and prevented the slaying
of Mr. Bell.
The Search Continues: pg. 175-179
• Agent Nye heads to Las Vegas, Nevada and talks
to a woman who rented Perry a room on
occasions.
• The woman, at first reluctant to eventually leads
Nye to the box containing Perry’s memorablia.
• What were some of the contents inside the box?
• Also, there was an ominous word: OOM from a
sun-warped sign.
The Johnson’s pg. 180-187
• Nye heads to San Francisco in search of Perry’s
sister, Barbara. She informs him that she has
never lived in Fort Scott, Kansas and her only
other sister was dead.
• After the agent leaves, she recalls her family’s
tragedies and thinks of herself as a “survivor” and
wondered if in time, she too, would become part
of the tragedies.
• Barbara later lays down and views a picture
album of the family.
Return to Kansas City: pg. 188-189
• Dick and Perry, now in Iowa and also afoot, had
to find shelter in a nearby barn due to a major
rain.
• They were starving and only had a pack of gum to
chew on. Dick decided to go back to Kansas City
to run a few more “hot checks” and then have
enough money to spend Christmas in Miami,
Florida.
• While striking a match, Dick noticed a car parked
inside the stall with the key in the ignition.
Rumors: pg. 189-191
• Dewey informs the town criers of the situation
and asks that they may withhold the information.
“Remember, there’s a possibility these men are
innocent” (pg. 189).
• There are a few rumors floating around Garden
City, but none in the town of Holcomb. Especially
since the topic had been forbidden in Hartman’s
Café and the post office.
• Why do you think Myrtle Clare despised rumors
and called everyone rattlesnakes?
Kansas City: pg. 192-195
• Perry is left at a laundromat while Dick goes
out and passes some checks.
• Perry begins to become worried and wonders
if Dick has been caught and if he will “spill his
guts”.
• Dick finally returns having passed big checks
and also changed the license plate from the
stolen car.
Dewey’s Dream: pg. 196-198
• Dewey has a dream where he and Agent Duntz
are waiting for a table in the Trail Room. Suddenly
he sees Mr. Clutter, and suddenly sees the two
killers at the corner.
• They chase after them and end up finding Hickock
and Smith standing over the unmarked graves of
the family, laughing. Dewey fires at them again
and again, however neither man fell, rather they
turned transparent.
• What is the meaning of this dream?
Miami: pg. 199-202
• Dick and Perry finally arrive in Miami where they
have been staying in a double room at the
Somerset for five days.
• Perry reads a story from the Miami Herald about
a case very similar to the Clutter’s case and
wonders if anyone was inspired from the original
case.
• Dick approaches a young girl who was drawing
figures in the sand and we learn about Dicks
sexual interest, young girls. He tried to grab the
child’s hand but she objected and he let her go.
Bobby Rupp: pg. 203-207
• Bobby brings to mind the harsh winters in which
he had to bear in order to walk to Nancy’s house
for Christmas and her birthday, which was right
after New Year’s. He remembers Nancy
describing where the Arkansas begins and
pictures the river as having characteristics as
Nancy did.
• The rotting fruit of Mr. Clutter’s orchard is
described.
• Why would Capote bother to talk about the
rotting fruit?
Boy and Old Man: pg. 208-211
• Dick and Perry are driving through Texas when
they spot a young boy and an old man. Dick is
reluctant to give them a ride but decided they
might contribute some gas money.
• Along the way the boy has an excellent skill for
finding cans along the road in order to trade in
for cash. This becomes like a treasure-hunting
game in where Dick and Perry become involved,
however Dick takes it more seriously as he knew
it was a way to make money.
More Good News: pg. 212-213
• Dewey receives a phone call from his boss, Mr.
Sanford informing him the two suspects had
been arrested in Las Vegas.
• When his wife goes to the bedroom, she sees
Dewey upset. He realizes they do not have any
proof, unless they happen to be carrying the
boots they wore when the murder was
committed.
Killers Spotted: pg. 214-215
• Shortly after arriving in Las Vegas, Perry picks
up his package he had insured for $100, which
contained clothes, and two pairs of steelbuckled boots.
• Dick plans to impersonate an Air Force officer
and get rid of Perry by just abandoning him.
• While this happened, a patrol car recognized
the description of the car and license plate.
• The word “OOM” appears again.
Preparing for the Interview: pg. 215-216
• “On Saturday, the second day of 1960, both rooms
were booked for 2:00 P.M.-the hour that four
detectives from Kansas had selected for their first
confrontation of Hickock and Smith” (pg. 215).
• The four agents prepare for the interview and imply
to the prisoners that they are being questioned for
parole violation and passing hot checks.
• The agents also realize how lucky they were to arrest
the killers after Perry received his shipment.
Dick and Perry’s Interview: pg. 217-228
• Dick believes he is being questioned for passing
the hot checks in Kansas City and his
extraordinary memory is put to the test.
• Dick was able to recall all of his and Perry’s
locations across their 10,000 mile journey.
• When the Clutter’s case is mentioned, Dick looses
his coolness and becomes visibly shaken.
• The same result occurs with Perry’s interview.
After, Perry lies troubled in his cell.
Dick Breaks: pg. 228-230
• Dick is shown the evidence the detectives
have, the photos of the footprints and the
actual boots.
• Hickock said, “Perry Smith killed the
Clutters…it was Perry. I couldn’t stop him. He
killed them all” (pg. 230).