Summary
Imitating their first gift exchange, Tate leaves a milk carton containing his grandfather's WWI compass on the stump on which he used to leave feathers for Kya. Though delighted with the gift, Kya hides from Tate, afraid that he will disappoint her again.
While Kya sketches mushrooms on a secluded island, Chase comes to her, "breakfast bourbon on his breath." He tells Kya, "like it or not, you're mine," and attempts to rape her. However, Kya successfully fights back and escapes. As she leaves, she notices two men in a fishing rig "staring at her."
Kya returns home, shocked that Chase assaulted her and that he still wears the shell necklace. Afraid of Chase's retaliation, Kya stays in the reading cabin, renovated for Tate's research. Though Chase does not return, Kya is "jumpy and alert" in the wilderness, constantly mapping "an escape route in her mind."
A few days after the assault, Tate calls Kya to his boat to look at a new microscope. Though Kya does not want Tate to see her battered face, she agrees, eager to see microorganisms for the first time. Despite Kya's evasion, Tate sees her bruises and assumes Chase hit her.
When Kya leaves, Tate throws her "a red ski cap," which Kya throws back. As she boats to her house, she notices Chase motoring toward her shack, his "face in an ugly scowl." Kya hides in her boat until Chase leaves and then sleeps on her beach with the gulls, though in her terror, "the birds brought her no cheer" for the first time in her life.
With their warrant, the detectives search Kya's house. They are shocked by Kya's menagerie, claiming she is "crazy as a three-eyed rat." In her room, they find a red wool hat matching the fibers found on Chase's body. Then, Rodney Horn reports his eyewitness account of Chase assaulting Kya, which the detectives believe is a sufficient motive for Kya to kill Chase. Knowing they cannot hunt Kya in the marsh, they concoct a trap to catch Kya and bring her in for questioning.
To avoid the detectives, Kya gets supplies from Jumpin' "at first light." However, the police surround Kya's boat and arrest her for Chase's murder. Because Kya attempts to flee arrest, she is imprisoned without bail. Kya is too ashamed to use her phone call to call Jodie, and when Tate tries to visit her, she refuses to see him, as prison "closed her heart even tighter."
In 1970, Kya is tried for Chase's murder. Because the state charges Kya with first-degree murder, a "premeditated act," the prosecution chooses to seek the death penalty. Angered by the town's treatment of Kya, local legend Tom Milton comes out of retirement to represent her.
Being away from the marsh depresses Kya. She refuses to accept visitors, sleep, or read. She does not speak during her meetings with Tom Milton, constantly searching for a patch of sky or nature. Initially, Milton encourages Kya to accept a plea deal, but she refuses to "admit guilt" and pleads with Tom to get her out of prison.
The first witness, Rodney Horn, testifies that Chase and Kya were fighting in the woods and that Kya screamed, "bother me again, I'll kill ya!" as she ran away from Chase. During cross-examination, Tom Milton suggests that Chase attempted to sexually assault Kya, and that her threat was an expression of fear and distress.
Jumpin, Mabel, and Tate sit behind Kya during the trial to support her. However, the crowd scrutinizes Jumpin' and Mabel for sitting in the unspoken "whites only" section of the courthouse. During the testimonies, Kya dissociates, recalling memories from her childhood. To her lawyer's chagrin, Kya appears disengaged.
The coroner testifies that Chase's injuries were consistent with falling backward off the fire tower, and the red fibers were from the hat in Kya's house, which she had worn since it contained strands of her hair. During his cross-examination, Tom Milton argues that the fibers could have reached Chase's jacket at any time during his and Kya's four years of acquaintance. Additionally, he points out that there is no evidence to suggest someone pushed Chase.
Analysis
As the text transitions into the trial, the narrative uses flashbacks to propose new suspects in Chase's murder, adding suspense. For example, the text reveals that the red wool cap originally belonged to Tate, whose love for Kya might have motivated him to kill Chase. Additionally, Jumpin', who loves Kya like a father, suggests that Chase ought to be "horsewhupped, then run outta this town" for assaulting Kya. Jumpin' also understands that the police are prejudiced, and attempting to get justice would be futile. Therefore, the text also suggests Jumpin' as a suspect or accomplice.
Furthermore, as the text explores Kya's feelings about Chase and the trial, it invites the reader to speculate whether or not Kya is the murderer. Though the prosecution's evidence is weak, Kya's motivation is strong and complex. Throughout her entire childhood, Kya considered the marsh a safe, protective place. However, Chase's assault and the threat of his inevitable retaliation destroy Kya's sense of security, tainting her enjoyment of nature and sense of belonging, as "being isolated was one thing; living in fear, quite another."
After Kya experiences the assault, she draws parallels between Chase and her father, feeling that Chase's blows were "just like Pa hitting Ma." Both men, whose sense of masculinity derived from bullying others into obedience, "had to have the last punch." It is Chase's assault that causes Kya to understand why her mother left and empathize with her. Learning from her mother's example, Kya refuses to live "wondering when and where the next fist will fall," breaking the cycle of abuse.
The judge presiding over Kya's case refuses to move the trial out of town, believing Kya suffers no more prejudice than any other small-town defendant. However, the text uses visual imagery and subtle characterization to demonstrate the town's lingering prejudice. For example, the first witness, Rodney Horn, the man who testifies that Kya threatened to kill Chase, is "one of them," meaning a man who spends his days "fishin', huntin', or playin' poker at the Swamp Guinea." The narrative text uses vernacular misspellings to emphasize Rodney's character and draw comparisons to Pa. Though Rodney Horn sees Chase attempting to rape Kya, he does not report Chase or intervene to help Kya. However, he reports Kya's distressed threat to the sheriff, demonstrating a clear bias toward protecting Chase. During Rodney Horn's testimony, he calls Kya "the Marsh Girl," evidencing an explicit prejudice.
Additionally, the entire town "knotted into the courtroom for her murder trial," hoping to see Kya "in handcuffs." Many of the jurors who serve in Kya's trial, like Mrs. White, the preacher's wife who accused marsh people of bringing disease into town, harbor prejudice against "swamp trash" but do not excuse themselves from jury duty. Only Mrs. Culpepper, the truant officer who felt fondly toward Kya, officially questions her conflict of interest.
The text also uses visual imagery to suggest that the court itself is a prejudiced institution. For example, the judge's bench, a symbol of impartial justice, "stood under multiple flags, including the Confederate," a quintessential symbol of racism and racial violence. Thus, the text establishes that Kya will not receive a fair trial officially and in the court of public opinion. This injustice creates a heightened sense of tension during the trial scenes.
After Kya narrowly escapes Chase, she reflects on sexuality and violence. She recalls her first time sleeping with Chase, an event "marked only by blood smudged across the sheets like animal tracks." This visceral description uses wildlife imagery to emphasize the vulgar and violent aspects of Chase and Kya's sexual relations.
Kya experiences severe depression while separated from the marsh in her prison cell, which she compares to a cage. The text uses Kya's imprisonment to explore the theme of gender. Kya is "the first female inmate—other than overnighters—in years." Though the town despises Kya and believes she is inhuman and a murderer, they protect her modesty by giving her "a gray plastic curtain that could be pulled around the sink and toilet." This accommodation is ironic because residents of Barkley Cove often invaded Kya's privacy by spying on her, trespassing on her land, and spreading rumors about her sexuality.
Popular opinion in Barkley Cove supports giving her the death penalty. Though Kya does not fear death, she is frightened by "the process of being killed by another's hand, planned out and set to schedule." Kya's fear is ironic because the text later reveals that Kya murdered Chase with a deliberate, carefully thought-out plan.
