The Night Watchman

Patrice, Zhaanat, and the baby go to Thomas’s house. He has been writing letters to congressmen and the American Legion. Thomas has also scheduled a meeting with the superintendent of the school district about taking on the funding for the reservation school.

Seeking Thomas’s advice, Patrice tells him about the dog and her search for Vera in Minneapolis, though she leaves out her experience as the waterjack. Shocked, he says that they should go to the police. Patrice and Zhaanat are equally surprised by his answer, because:

[t]o seek police assistance for an Indian woman was almost sure to put her in the wrong. No matter what happened, she would be the one blamed and punished. It was for that reason unthinkable to approach the police, and it was disappointing because Thomas trusted their enemies (221-22).

Patrice replies that they need to find another way, and Thomas tells them he will sleep on it, though, after listening, he is not sure he will ever sleep again.

That night, at work, he doesn’t take his briefcase because he knows he will not be able to concentrate on the bill. He feels dread. He cannot fathom the evil that Patrice described at the house in Minneapolis.