Summary, Part Two

The second section begins with four close friends of Herb Clutter cleaning out the rooms of River Valley Farm, and burning anything touched by the aftermath of the shootings. The author also touches on some of the citizens’ shock generated by the murders.

Then, we are introduced to the main investigator of the case, Special FBI Agent and former Finney County resident, Al Dewey. We learn about all of the information the police currently have on the case, including the coroner’s report and theories speculated by both the investigators and the public. Dewey considers nearly every citizen who was in any way close to the Clutter family. Agents Duntz, Church, and Nye are also involved in the case, and they all consider every opened wallet, misplaced purse, and dead cat to be a major break in the case. Though, so far, the chances look pretty bleak that they’ll ever find the Clutter’s murderers.

We find the Clutter’s murderers four hundred miles from Holcomb. Perry Smith tends to read about the reports of the killings whenever he can get his hands on a newspaper, though his partner, Dick Hickock, is uninterested in such things. We discover that despite Dick’s confidence that they will get away with the murders, Perry remains wary and unsure that they will escape punishment. Dick and Perry continue along on their journey to Mexico, conning salesmen when they need the money. Perry begins to feel suspicions of Dick’s loyalties, and whether or not he really planned to accompany Perry on future adventures.

We visit Dewey at home. His family is constantly in fear and they can’t sleep (because of anxiety and the fact that Al gets several calls a night from people with insight into the Clutters case). 

Perry feels outright guilty about what he did to the innocent family. We begin to see more about Perry’s past experiences. We discover that he really didn’t kill a man in the past. He only told Dick that he had so that he would come off as “masculine”, like Dick. We also learn about his childhood. He had practically been raised by his father, and of his three siblings, two had committed suicide.

Back in Holcomb, Mr. Helm sees a man, standing in the Clutter’s house. Upon further inspection, he was a vagrant by the name of Jonathan Daniel Adrian. He had heard about the killings and wanted to see the house for himself. However, inside his car was a similar gun used for the murders, and a hunting knife (presumably used to cut Mr. Clutter’s throat).

Perry and Dick decide to leave Mexico and return to the United States. Perry is forced to leave some of his most prized possessions there, so he has to choose what to take along with him. We see even more into his history by reading letters and hearing his opinions of his family and friends. The section ends with Perry and Dick roaming through the desert with not much more than the clothes on their backs, while Perry plays on his brand-new harmonica.