Chapter 16 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ 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 a flashback set roughly a year after the earlier incident with Gus. Inti is late to meet Aggie, who has dressed up and pulled her sister into a Births, Deaths and Marriages registry. There, Aggie marries Gus, with Gus's cousin James as the second witness. The ceremony leaves Inti pale and nauseated, though she tries to smile. Afterwards, the four go to a bar-restaurant for dumplings and drinks. Gus and James drink Fireball; Aggie joins them despite disliking it. Inti notices the intense chemistry between Aggie and Gus, and when Gus holds Aggie's hand on the table, he also takes Inti's hand—a gesture that unsettles her.

In the bathroom, Aggie confronts Inti about her mood. Inti accuses Aggie of rushing into the marriage and of hiding it from their mother, who would disapprove. Aggie deflects, and the conversation turns sharp when Aggie asks if Inti ever thought Gus would end up with her. Inti insists she does not want him, and the sisters reconcile. Inti reveals she has been offered a job in Alaska, and Aggie insists they will go together, with or without Gus. They howl together in the bathroom, and Inti feels relief.

Back in the hallway, Inti bumps into Gus, who mistakes her for Aggie in the dark, touching her breasts before realizing his error. He claims it was a joke, but Inti is furious and warns him to stop the games. Gus dismisses it and calls her “family now, sis.”

In the present, Inti visits the police station to follow up on her alibi. Bonnie, the officer, takes her into Duncan's office for privacy. Bonnie explains that Inti is not a suspect but a “person of interest,” and that Duncan had not recorded the initial interview because he already knew where Inti was that night. Inti asks about Stuart's disappearance; Bonnie says they have a timeline of Stuart's whereabouts until early morning, then he vanished. They are treating it as a possible homicide, though they cannot rule out an accident or animal attack. Inti points out that if the wolves killed Stuart, they would be destroyed, and suggests that someone might have made Stuart disappear to frame the wolves. Bonnie takes the point. Inti also presses Bonnie about Duncan's character, noting his affairs with married women. Bonnie calls him “human.”

After leaving, Inti searches online for Duncan MacTavish. She finds many articles about his role as the investigating officer in local crimes, but no social media. She calls Fergus and meets him at the pub. Fergus talks about his restless youth and the group of friends—Stuart, Lainey, Duncan, Amelia, and himself—who grew up together. He says Stuart loved Lainey and that no one would have expected him to leave her. Inti presses about whether anyone hated Stuart, and Fergus mentions that Duncan has questioned everyone in town. Fergus then reveals that Duncan killed his own father as a teenager, and that it was in the papers. He describes how Duncan called his friends before the police, and that Duncan never cried.

Inti drives Fergus home and helps him to bed. Back at home, she finds an old article from twenty-five years ago. It reports that on Christmas night, Duncan's father was bludgeoned to death and his mother beaten to death. Duncan's actions were ruled defense of another; he was sixteen. The article includes a photo of a broken-looking boy. Inti lies in bed, shaking.

That night, Inti has a nightmare: a party, a closed bedroom door, a hand around her throat. She wakes vomiting. Aggie sits with her, signing that she was crying. Aggie signs “Morning sickness?” and Inti agrees, though she knows the dream was about something else. Inti tells Aggie to work with Gall, the wolf, because she cannot go outside—he might be out there. Aggie asks why not, and Inti replies that he could be out there. The chapter ends with Inti thinking she does not know if she is equal to this madness, then dreaming of running with wolves into the mountain's shadow.

Key Events

Aggie marries Gus in a registry, with James as witness; Inti is distressed but hides it.
Aggie reveals she knows about Inti's Alaska job and insists they will go together.
Gus mistakes Inti for Aggie in a dark hallway and touches her; he claims it was a joke.
Inti visits the police station and gives Bonnie her alibi: she was at the pub, then went home with Duncan.
Bonnie tells Inti that Stuart's case is treated as a possible homicide and that Inti is a person of interest, not a suspect.
Inti searches online for Duncan and finds only professional articles.
Fergus tells Inti that Duncan killed his father as a teenager; Inti later reads the old article confirming it.
Inti has a nightmare about being attacked, wakes vomiting, and tells Aggie she cannot go outside because “he” might be out there.

Character Development

Inti is caught between loyalty and suspicion. She gives an alibi that protects Duncan, even though she suspects him of killing Stuart. She withholds the fact that Duncan was not with her all night, because revealing his lie could expose her own. Her internal conflict deepens when she learns about Duncan's violent past; she begins to see him as both a protector and a potential killer. Her nightmare and refusal to go outside show how trauma and fear are eroding her sense of safety.

Aggie remains fiercely loyal to Inti, insisting they will move to Alaska together and dismissing the marriage as secondary. She is also perceptive, noticing Inti's distress and signing about morning sickness. Her impulsiveness—marrying Gus without telling anyone—reveals a pattern of acting out, but her bond with Inti remains the anchor.

Duncan is revealed through others' accounts. Fergus describes him as a “bloodhound” who fixates on cases, and Bonnie calls him “human.” The article shows a sixteen-year-old who killed his father to protect his mother, a trauma that likely shapes his adult behavior. Inti's suspicion grows, but she is not yet certain of his guilt.

Fergus emerges as a nostalgic, restless man stuck in the past. He drinks to excess and speaks of his youth with longing. His reluctance to criticize Stuart suggests a community that idealizes the past and overlooks domestic abuse.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Sibling bond and loyalty: Aggie and Inti's relationship is tested by marriage and secrets, but they reaffirm their commitment to each other over any man.
Deception and alibis: Inti's alibi is built on a lie, and she must decide whether to protect Duncan or expose him. The chapter explores how lies can entangle the innocent.
Trauma and memory: Duncan's childhood violence and Inti's nightmare show how past trauma resurfaces. The dream of a hand around her throat echoes the earlier assault and her fear of Gus.
Cycle of violence: Duncan killed his father to stop abuse, yet Inti suspects he may have killed Stuart, another abuser. The chapter questions whether violence can ever break a cycle.
Protection and guilt: Inti wants to protect the wolves, Aggie, and possibly Duncan, but her own guilt and fear complicate her choices.
Nature vs. civilization: The wolves are both a threat and a scapegoat. Inti's dream of running with wolves contrasts with her waking fear of the human “he” outside.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point in the investigation. It provides Inti with concrete evidence of Duncan's violent past, making her suspicion of him more plausible. It also deepens the theme of domestic abuse by showing how the community romanticized Stuart and Lainey's relationship, blinding them to danger. The flashback to Aggie's wedding reveals the fragility of Inti's relationship with Gus and sets up the possibility that Gus's earlier behavior was not a one-time mistake. Finally, Inti's nightmare and her refusal to go outside show how her trauma is escalating, setting the stage for a crisis in the next chapters.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Inti give Bonnie an alibi that she knows is incomplete?

Inti tells Bonnie she was at the pub and then went home with Duncan, but she does not say that Duncan was not with her all night. She withholds this because revealing his lie could expose her own—she was not with him the entire time, and she does not want to incriminate herself. She also admits to herself that she is not ready to accuse Duncan without proof, despite her “terrible gut feeling” that he killed Stuart.

2. How does the revelation about Duncan's past change the reader's understanding of his character?

The article shows that Duncan killed his father at sixteen to protect his mother, and his actions were ruled defense of another. This explains his intense focus on cases and his role as a protector. It also makes him a more ambiguous figure: he has a history of using lethal violence, which could make him capable of killing Stuart, but it also suggests he might be driven by a desire to stop abusers. The chapter leaves open whether his past makes him a hero or a killer.

3. What does Inti's nightmare and her refusal to go outside reveal about her state of mind?

The nightmare—a hand around her throat in a bedroom—echoes the earlier assault by Gus and her fear of him. Waking vomiting and telling Aggie she cannot go outside because “he” might be out there shows that Inti is deeply traumatized and paranoid. She is no longer sure she can distinguish between real threats and her own fears, and she questions whether she is “equal to this madness.”