the town police focus on a homeless madwoman as the murderer, but both smiley and the investigating officer believe her to be innocent. ms. brimley discovers the murderer's hidden blood-stained clothes, while in the meantime tim perkins, a boy in fielding's house, becomes the second murder victim. stanley rhodes admits to smiley that, behind her apparent piety and ostentatious good works, his murdered wife was a pathological liar and schemer who would emotionally abuse him and viciously beat her own dog. digging deeper, smiley learns that stella habitually humiliated, blackmailed, and otherwise terrorized those around her, using both her mask of civility and a fear of reprisals to escape suspicion or retribution for her behavior.