Chapter 12 - 13

Chapter 12 (Present)

Silas arrives at the hospital, and interrupts French and Lolly’s interview of Larry
reveals to everyone what really happened on the night of Cindy Walker’s death, telling Larry that Cindy had not been pregnant and implying that it was most likely Cecil who had killed her
Larry comments to Silas that they used to be friends, implying that a friend would not have done what Silas did to Larry
Silas doesn’t know what he was to Larry
Silas is interviewed at the police station but does not admit to being Larry‘s half-brother
Silas is taken off guard duty
goes back to hospital, wants to talk about what happened the night that Larry was shot, although Larry wants to talk about what happened around Cindy Walker’s death
Larry also wants to apologize for what happened the day when his father made him and Silas fight over the rifle
Silas is having drinks at the bar with Irina, they flirt
Irina has a clue: one of her other roommates went on a "date" with a guy who had a trailer full of guns and also a collection of snakes
that guy was Wallace Stringfellow and Irina also tells Silas where he lives
Silas remembers meeting Stringfellow and also the pillowcase that he had with him and that Larry once said a good way to transport a snake was to use a pillowcase
Silas drives Irina back to her house, they are about to have sex when Silas remembers Angie and thinks of Larry and he decides to leave

Chapter 13 (Present)

chapter is narrated by Larry
during a thunderstorm he remembers his childhood including Cindy; Silas; him and Silas drawing and coloring together; their teenaged years; the zombie mask
TV shows "a show about a serial killer and the serial killer who imitated him" and "a king cobra rising with its hood fanned" (p. 261)
Larry sees the news about him and what he‘s suspected of having done to Tina Rutherford, and realizes he needs to tell French something: how after Tina disappeared, Stringfellow visited him and said he had "done something" (p. 262)
Larry actually wants to tell French everything he knows about Wallace and that it is likely that Wallace had killed Tina
reflects on how only four people in the world "knew about the cabin where that Rutherford girl was buried. [Him. His mother], who can‘t remember anything. Silas Jones. And Wallace Stringfellow." (p. 265)
also thinks about his mailbox and how it had been damaged over the years as an intimidation, and how he‘s determined to make it secure and stable

Function

story approaches the climaxes of both its plots: the revelation of the truth about who is responsible for Tina‘s disappearance and the attack on Larry (the climax of the mystery plot); and the confrontations and reconciliations that make up the climax of the friendship plot
climax about Tina‘s disappearance seems inevitable whereas climax around friendship plot seems less inevitable: presumably, friendship between Larry and Silas is going to be renewed and that it is in more trouble than ever before (when the word "nigger" was being uttered for instance)
other important elements: the mailbox
$\rightarrow$ correlates with Larry‘s sense of identity
$\rightarrow$ snake in Irina‘s mailbox can be seen as suggesting how Larry‘s identity has been corrupted by the beliefs about him
$\rightarrow$ reinforcing the mailbox suggests that Larry, sensing that he is about to be freed from the pain of the past years, is about to become both able and prepared to become a stronger human being
Silas‘ decision to not sleeping with Irina: can be seen as a choice that shows courage that Silas seems to have lacked according to his mother
$\rightarrow$ choice that foreshadows other courageous, responsible, coming of age choices that Silas is about to make
reference to zombie mask before the ultimate truth about what the mask represents