Chapter 24: Daunis Plays a Dangerous Double Game

⚠️ 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

Daunis, Jamie, and Ron arrive at Mike Edwards's house for Sunday dinner. Daunis shares gossip about the community, defending the town's goodness. Inside, she observes the luxury cars and interacts with the Edwards family, discussing hockey and the upcoming Shagala dance. Daunis learns that Mike is taking Macy Manitou as his date. Seizing an opportunity, she stages a search for her old phone to sneak into Grant Edwards's home office. She photographs bookcases and file drawers, but the desk key is missing. She uses an art book to erase her footprints. Emerging from the bathroom, she is caught by Mike, who claims to know what she's up to.

Key Events

Daunis argues with Jamie and Ron about the town's integrity, listing positive stories.
The group arrives at Mike's glass-and-steel home; Daunis points out the expensive cars.
At dinner, Grant Edwards makes a leering comment about women at Shagala.
Daunis learns Mike is dating Macy Manitou.
Daunis pretends to set up her new BlackBerry, then drops her old phone as an excuse.
She sneaks into Grant's office, photographs evidence, and discovers the desk key is missing.
Daunis uses an art book to erase her footprints in the carpet.
Mike confronts Daunis as she exits the bathroom, saying he knows what she's up to.

Character Development

Daunis: Torn between her loyalty to the community and her role as an informant. She shows resourcefulness in the office but also vulnerability when caught. Her "Angry Snitch" outburst reveals deep care for the people she's investigating.
Jamie: Maintains suspicion; his silence after Daunis's speech indicates conflict between duty and respect for her perspective.
Ron: Acts as a mediator, acknowledging Daunis's point about "earning stories."
Mike: Appears genuinely friendly and helpful, but his final line suggests he may be more aware of Daunis's activities than she realized.
Grant Edwards: Comes across as slick and manipulative, with a perverse edge.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Trust vs. Suspicion: The chapter contrasts the FBI's assumption of corruption with Daunis's lived experience of a good community. Her line "you haven't earned our stories" encapsulates the tension.
Dual Identity: Daunis navigates between her former self (as a hockey player and friend) and her new role as a spy. The "anglerfish" metaphor highlights the deceptiveness required.
Surveillance and Guilt: The footprint erasure symbolizes the lengths Daunis must go to conceal her actions. Mike's sudden appearance suggests that surveillance cuts both ways.
Community as Family: Daunis's defense of townspeople, from Coach Bobby to Granny June, shows that connection cannot be reduced to criminality.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks a turning point in Daunis's undercover work. Her emotional outburst forces the FBI to see the town's complexity, while the office infiltration demonstrates her growing skill as an investigator. The cliffhanger—Mike catching her—raises the stakes immensely. The scene reinforces the novel's central conflict: the clash between federal investigative methods and Indigenous community values.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Daunis get angry at Jamie and Ron during the car ride? She feels they only look for negative "cockroaches" in the town, ignoring acts of kindness like Coach Bobby's bonfire or tribal snowmobile rescues. She insists they "haven't earned" the town's stories.

2. What does Daunis do when she sneaks into Grant Edwards's office? She photographs the bookcase shelves and checks the file drawers. When the desk key is missing, she uses an art book to re-create vacuum marks and erase her footprints, then hides the book in the bathroom cabinet.

3. How does the chapter end, and what is the immediate tension? Daunis flushes the toilet and opens the bathroom door to find Mike standing there, half-smirking, saying, “It’s no use, Daunis. I know what you’re up to.” This creates a cliffhanger about whether she has been discovered.