Chapter 11: The Christmas Sun

It is Christmas in Argus and with it come some interesting events. So far little has been mentioned about Sheriff Hock's longstanding obsession with Delphine's best friend Clarisse, but in this chapter it comes to a shocking head. As the pressure of his obsession for her becomes too much to bear, she finds him standing on her doorstep with a request to search her house in relation to the murders. She knows that he will find something to implicate her, because he is a desperate man in love; he knows the only way to possess Clarisse is to make her choose between him or prison. But when his intrusion on her privacy makes her feel too uncomfortable for words, she begins to feel her sanity slipping. Using a large kitchen knife and her knowledge of anatomy, she murders Sheriff Hock as he's pleading for her love. It is too late for him, however, as his unbearable psychological abuse of her becomes too much and she is consumed by years of pent-up rage. Their relationship is an interesting one, and it speaks to all of the women who have felt the invasive control of a man, particularly one who has no right to exercise such power over them. And, as often happens, the desire to take back their power leads them to take desperate measures. Faced with murder charges and a whole mess in front of her, Clarisse calmly makes preparations to leave Argus (and poor Delphine) behind.