Chapter 40 Summary

⚠️ 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

The chapter opens with Gareth Winston signing off on the bill at Broadview & Sons funeral home and leaving as quickly as he can. Winston hates funeral homes almost as much as he hated his father, Lawrence Winston III. The chapter then provides background on the father-son relationship: Lawrence was an overly critical father with a razor-sharp tongue, and Gareth eventually stopped trying to please him. Lawrence made his fortune in commercial real estate, collecting rent on nearly five hundred apartments in downtown high-rises. A St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter once called him a part-time slumlord and full-time scumbag.

When Gareth banked his first billion at age thirty-three, he FedExed his father a photocopy of that newspaper article along with a handwritten note on company stationery. The note mocked his father's criticisms—about his inability to hit a curve ball or a 2 iron, his lack of an Ivy League diploma, his weight, and his unmarried status—and concluded by pointing out that Gareth was now filthy rich while his father was not. Gareth never spoke to his father again, not even when Lawrence called from his deathbed to make amends.

Gareth attended the funeral only because his mother begged him over the telephone. He still adores his mother and makes a point of calling her every Sunday night, a tradition that began after he left home for college. She is the one person he cannot refuse.

After the obligatory reception, a car is waiting to take Winston back to his hotel suite, but he decides to walk instead. He needs fresh air and is starving, having skipped breakfast. He cuts across McKinley Avenue, picks up South Euclid, and takes a left onto Parkview. He stops to buy three hot dogs and a bottle of Diet Pepsi from a street vendor and settles on an empty bench overlooking the northeastern corner of Forest Park. From there he can see the skating rink and the seventh fairway of the Highlands Golf Course, which he dismisses as strictly for small-timers.

While wiping mustard off his shirt, a fluorescent green Chrysler pulls up to the curb beside him. It looks very old and in cherry condition, and Winston has never seen another car like it. The driver's-side window glides down. A man with short blond hair and striking emerald eyes, the bottom half of his face hidden behind a red bandana, tells Winston to hop in. Winston grins—he has always liked a cheeky bastard—and refuses. He starts to ask why the stranger is wearing a mask, since few people wear masks anymore since the vaccines arrived, but he never gets the chance.

The stranger says he doesn't have much time and tells Winston to get in. Winston asks how the stranger knows his name, assuming it is from the papers or business channels. The stranger says he is a friend and that he knows lots of things about Winston. He then reveals a childhood secret: when Winston was twelve, he broke into his neighbors' house while they were away on vacation—Frank and Betsy Rhineman, nice people whose son died young. Winston stripped out of his swim trunks, slipped on a pair of Mrs. Rhineman's panties—pale yellow with a black lace border—ate an ice cream sandwich from their freezer, shot some billiards in the game room, and then returned upstairs to masturbate on the bedspread in the guest bedroom.

Winston bellows that the stranger is lying, startling a young mother pushing a baby stroller who quickly crosses the street. His face goes beet-red and his eyes bulge. The stranger continues, revealing that Winston still has the yellow panties to this day, tucked away in a safety-deposit box at his bank in Newark, along with other equally distasteful treasures. Winston denies everything, calling it fake news. The stranger asks if he would like to hear more. Winston is quiet for a moment, his chest heaving, and then asks in a quiet voice what the stranger wants.

Key Events

Gareth Winston pays the funeral bill at Broadview & Sons and leaves immediately.
The chapter reveals the history of Gareth's estrangement from his father, including the mocking note he sent after making his first billion.
Gareth attends the funeral only because his mother begged him; he maintains a Sunday-night phone tradition with her.
Gareth walks to Forest Park, buys three hot dogs and a Diet Pepsi, and sits on a bench.
A stranger in a fluorescent green Chrysler with a red bandana mask approaches him.
The stranger reveals intimate knowledge of a childhood break-in at the Rhineman house, including details Winston has kept hidden.
The stranger claims Winston still possesses the panties in a safety-deposit box in Newark.
Winston denies everything but ultimately asks what the stranger wants.

Character Development

Gareth Winston emerges as a man shaped by a toxic father-son relationship. His wealth—a billion dollars by age thirty-three—has not healed the wounds of a childhood spent under a razor-tongued critic. His decision to cut off contact with his father entirely, even refusing his deathbed call, shows a man capable of extreme emotional severance. Yet his devotion to his mother complicates this picture: he adores her, calls her every Sunday, and attended the funeral only because she asked. This duality—cold toward his father, warm toward his mother—suggests a man who can love selectively.

The stranger's revelation exposes a hidden layer of Gareth's character. The childhood break-in, the panties, the safety-deposit box—these details suggest a man who has curated a public image of success while privately hoarding shameful relics. His immediate denial is telling: he is quick to lie when cornered, even when the evidence is damning. His eventual quiet question—what the stranger wants—marks a shift from bluster to vulnerability, as he realizes the stranger holds power over him.

The stranger remains an enigma. His red bandana mask, his emerald eyes, his knowledge of Winston's secrets—all point to a figure who operates from the shadows. His claim to be a friend is undercut by his use of blackmail-adjacent information. The green Chrysler, described as old and in cherry condition, adds to his mysterious, almost anachronistic presence.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Father-son conflict is the chapter's emotional foundation. Lawrence Winston III's constant criticism drove Gareth to stop trying, and Gareth's revenge—the mocking note—was a final, decisive break. The funeral home setting underscores the finality of this relationship: Gareth is literally paying for his father's burial while emotionally burying him for good.

Wealth and moral emptiness is evident throughout. Gareth's billions have not bought him peace; he is still haunted by his father's voice and now by his own secrets. His dismissal of the Highlands Golf Course as strictly for small-timers reveals a man who measures worth in money, yet his own moral worth is questionable given the safety-deposit box contents.

Hidden secrets and blackmail drive the plot. The stranger's knowledge of the Rhineman break-in—details no one else should know—transforms a chance encounter into a confrontation. The safety-deposit box becomes a symbol of buried shame, a physical repository for things Gareth cannot destroy or admit.

The mask as concealment is literal in the stranger's red bandana. It hides his mouth, making his smile a matter of inference rather than observation. The mask also suggests that the stranger himself is not fully revealed—he knows everything about Winston, but Winston knows nothing about him.

Denial of truth is Gareth's immediate response. His shouted denials, his fake-news protest, and his beet-red face all signal a man who would rather lie than confront his past. The chapter ends with his quiet surrender to the stranger's leverage.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 40 introduces a new antagonist and a new source of tension in the novel. The stranger's knowledge of Gareth's childhood crime—and his possession of evidence in the safety-deposit box—creates immediate stakes. Gareth, a billionaire accustomed to control, is suddenly powerless. The chapter also deepens Gareth's characterization, showing him as a man whose wealth cannot protect him from his past. The green Chrysler and the masked stranger suggest a supernatural or at least highly unusual element, consistent with the novel's broader themes. This chapter sets up a confrontation that will likely have consequences for Gareth and possibly for the larger plot involving Gwendy.

Study Questions

1. Why does Gareth Winston attend his father's funeral despite their estrangement?

Gareth attends only because his mother begged him over the telephone. He adores his mother and cannot refuse her; calling her every Sunday night is a tradition he maintains no matter where he is in the world. His hatred for his father is strong enough that he refused his father's deathbed call, but his love for his mother overrides his reluctance to attend the funeral.

2. What does the stranger's knowledge of the Rhineman break-in reveal about the nature of his threat?

The stranger knows details that only Gareth himself could know—the specific panties, the ice cream sandwich, the billiards, the masturbation on the bedspread, and the safety-deposit box in Newark. This suggests the stranger has either supernatural knowledge, surveillance capabilities, or access to information Gareth believed was private. The threat is credible because the stranger can prove his claims with physical evidence.

3. How does Gareth's reaction to the stranger's accusations reveal his character?

Gareth's immediate response is denial—he bellows that the stranger is lying, calls it fake news, and his face turns beet-red with bulging eyes. This shows a man who is quick to lie when cornered and who is not accustomed to being challenged. However, his eventual quiet question reveals a shift. When he realizes denial will not work, he pivots to negotiation, showing a pragmatic, survival-oriented side. His reaction also reveals shame: the childhood act and the hoarded relics suggest a man who has never fully confronted his own darker impulses.