Chapter 5: Secrets in the Garden and a Phone Call Home
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Sam wakes late and explores the garden, disturbed by the total absence of insects. She searches the shed for clues—DDT or pesticides—but finds only dusty tools, old newspapers, a pair of jeweler’s pliers used by Gran Mae to snap rose thorns, a bundle of partly burned candles, and a bag of rock salt. No cobwebs or spiders exist anywhere in the shed or garden. Spotting a single Asian lady beetle, she marvels that any insect remains, given the lack of aphids. She recalls Gran Mae’s rhyme about ladybugs.
Later, at a coffee shop, Sam calls her brother Brad in Arizona. They compare observations of their mother’s increased anxiety, weight loss, and unusually jumpy behavior. Brad reveals that their mother told his wife Maria not to visit, claiming it “wasn’t safe” after Maria broke her foot in a household accident. Sam and Brad discuss childhood fears of “the underground children,” a threat Gran Mae used. Brad then drops a bombshell: when Sam was five, Gran Mae deliberately forced Sam’s hand around a rose stem, making her bleed. Brad saw it from an upstairs window but could not intervene because Gran Mae lied to their mother.
Sam fights her rage at this revelation. She considers possible explanations for her mother’s behavior: a stalker, depression (possibly delayed grief for Gran Mae), or early dementia. She researches dementia online, becomes anxious about her own health, and stays up late. When her mother returns home unexpectedly, claiming she didn’t want to leave Sam alone, the tension lingers. Sam mentally resolves to test each hypothesis while trying to think of positive memories of Gran Mae to help her mother grieve.
Key Events
- Sam investigates the garden shed, finding no insects, only jeweler’s pliers, candles, and salt.
- She spots a single Asian lady beetle but no aphids or other insect life.
- Sam calls Brad from a coffee shop; they exchange notes on their mother’s strange behavior.
- Brad recounts that Mom told Maria not to visit after a household accident broke her foot.
- Brad reveals the childhood memory of Gran Mae forcing Sam’s hand onto rose thorns.
- Sam and Brad discuss the “underground children” myth and their shared nightmares.
- Sam lists three hypotheses for Mom’s condition: stalker, depression, or dementia.
- She conducts online research on dementia, but finds no clear evidence.
- Mom returns home late, claiming she didn’t want Sam to be alone.
Character Development
- Sam: Shows a scientific, methodical side by making a hypothesis list. Her protective anger surfaces when she imagines violence against a stalker. She also reveals vulnerability: the rose-thorn memory reshapes her understanding of Gran Mae.
- Brad: Discloses his long-hidden guilt over failing to protect Sam; his childhood fear of the underground children resurfaces, and he demonstrates continued loyalty by offering money and a place for their mother.
- Mom (unnamed here): Her refusal to let Maria visit, combined with jumpiness and weight loss, deepens the mystery. The chapter suggests she may be in denial about Gran Mae’s cruelty.
- Gran Mae (deceased): Through Brad’s account, Gran Mae is revealed as physically abusive and manipulative, contradicting Sam’s earlier impression of a gentle gardener.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Insect-free garden as unnatural: The absence of arthropods signals that something is profoundly wrong, possibly magical or supernatural, not merely ecological.
- Rose thorns and hidden cruelty: Gran Mae’s deliberate use of thorns to hurt child Sam symbolizes the unhealed wounds of the past.
- Underground children: This myth from Gran Mae represents buried family secrets and the threat of hidden malevolence.
- Vultures as omen: The vultures circling overhead while Sam calls Brad foreshadow death or decay stalking the family.
- Burned candles and rock salt: These items in the shed hint at protective or warding rituals, not mundane gardening.
- The scientific method list: Sam’s approach to her mother’s problem mirrors her archaeological training—testing hypotheses with evidence, though emotion complicates the process.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 5 is the turning point where Sam moves from vague unease to active investigation of two intertwined mysteries: her mother’s mental state and the unnatural condition of the garden. Brad’s disclosure about Gran Mae’s abuse transforms Sam’s memory of her grandmother and ratchets up the tension. The chapter grounds the supernatural eeriness in family trauma, suggesting that whatever is haunting the house may be rooted in Gran Mae’s legacy. Sam’s list of possibilities—stalker, depression, dementia—shows her treating the problem like an archaeological puzzle, but the personal stakes make it impossible to remain detached.
Study Questions and Answers
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What does Sam find in the garden shed, and what is notably absent?
She finds jeweler’s pliers, old newspapers, a bundle of partly burned candles, rock salt, and rusty tools. The absence of any cobwebs or spider life is the most striking finding, given the dusty environment. -
How does Brad’s revelation about the rose-thorn incident change Sam’s understanding of Gran Mae?
Brad confirms that Gran Mae deliberately made Sam grasp a thorny stem when Sam was five, causing a bleeding wound. This proves Gran Mae was physically abusive and manipulative, contradicting Sam’s earlier positive memories and explaining Brad’s longstanding hatred of their grandmother. -
What three hypotheses does Sam propose to explain her mother’s behavior, and how does she plan to test them?
Sam lists: (1) a stalker, which she says she would confront violently; (2) depression or delayed grief for Gran Mae, which she would address with therapy or medication; (3) early dementia, which she would investigate with medical tests and online research. She ends the chapter by studying dementia symptoms and decides to help her mother with positive memories of Gran Mae.