Chapter 10 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 Hank Doyle slamming down his desk phone in frustration. Roland Shea has vanished. The team had been watching him around the clock for weeks, waiting for the prosecutor's office to be ready to move. Two days earlier, under another team's watch, Roland pulled a bait-and-switch at a Costco: he parked his car, walked into the store, and never came back out. He hasn't returned home, and no one has seen him in town.

Brian tries to calm his uncle by pointing out that Roland has disappeared before, usually returning within a week or so. He warns that Hank's aggressive calling around could tip someone off. Hank is also on edge about Rosemary's upcoming wedding to Marty — a small civil ceremony at the justice of the peace, since the Church doesn't permit marriage after divorce. Rosemary has privately asked Brian to stand up with her during the ceremony, a request Hank doesn't know about.

Brian reflects on his long history with his aunt and uncle. When Rosemary finally ended the marriage and moved out, she asked Brian to come with her. Even at sixteen, Brian knew that if he left, Hank would have no one. He stayed. It turned out to be the right call: when Brian went through a rough patch — showing up high to school and baseball practice, getting busted for mailbox baseball, and causing a minor accident while driving over the legal limit — Hank repeatedly intervened with principals, coaches, and fellow cops to keep him out of trouble. Hank never gave up on him, and eventually helped Brian find direction in the police force.

Brian's phone buzzes with a text from Ashley, asking if he's around tonight. He's been losing interest in her lately, and he's not sure how to respond.

Hank interrupts with a theory: he thinks Tara Connelly is involved in Roland's disappearance. She's Roland's old girlfriend, she got out of prison two weeks ago, and she showed up at his house a few days later. Brian disagrees — they've had officers cruise past the Connelly house to confirm she's still there. Hank pushes back, noting that Tara went to prison for Roland, which might make her one of the people he trusts most. Brian thinks Hank is reaching, though he admits his gut feeling might be compromised when it comes to Tara.

Brian's desk phone rings. It's the desk sergeant: a Doreen DaCosta from Parole Services is waiting in Interview Room Three.

DaCosta is a fast-talking parole officer with a no-nonsense manner. She gets straight to the point: did Brian put money in Tara Connelly's inmate account while she was at Taconic? Brian is startled, but DaCosta has clearly done her research. She reveals the exact amount: a hundred dollars a month for eighteen months. She presses him on whether he had a relationship with Tara, whether she asked for the money, and what he hoped to get in exchange. Brian insists Tara doesn't even know about the deposits. He explains that he didn't feel right about what happened — they were after her boss, and she got pulled into the middle and ended up going away for him. DaCosta points out that Tara was guilty, and Brian doesn't deny it. She threatens to report him to the ethics committee.

Brian tries to explain himself: he knew Tara's family was financially strapped, and he wanted to help in some small way. He describes her as a good person caught up in a bad situation. DaCosta is unmoved at first, but then she reveals something that changes the conversation. She almost revoked Tara's parole — because Hank reported seeing her at Roland Shea's house. When Tara was crying in DaCosta's office, she explained that she assumed Shea had given her the money, and she went to his house to tell him she would pay it all back. She was afraid of what he might want in return.

Brian realizes with horror that it's his fault. The anonymous deposits made Tara think Roland was the source, and that's why she risked her parole to confront him. DaCosta tells him she didn't revoke Tara's parole, and that Tara doesn't know Brian was behind the money — though she warns that the prison intelligence network is formidable.

DaCosta delivers her final warning: the best thing Brian can do for Tara is leave her alone. She should be focusing on getting her life together, and Brian should be worrying about his job, because Tara could end his career. She tells him to stay away from Tara Connelly, for both their sakes. Brian agrees.

After DaCosta leaves, Brian sits alone in the interview room, processing everything. He's struck by DaCosta's description of Tara crying in her office — Brian has seen Tara in some of the worst moments of her life, and he's never seen her cry. Not during the interviews, not even when they arrested her.

He recalls the first interview with Tara, when he and Hank tried friendly chitchat to get her to give up Roland. She claimed she didn't know how the pills got in her car. When Hank got frustrated and threatened to end the interview, Brian made one more attempt, suggesting that a troubled woman taking the fall for her man was a cliché. Tara shot back with a line about brooding Irish cops who are all about the job. Brian smiled despite himself, and she smiled back — until Hank ended the moment.

Brian reflects on Tara's difficult past: no money growing up, her mother lost to lung cancer when she was nine, a criminal father gone by thirteen, an older brother half-living in the hospital through her teen years. She was arrested for assault at twenty-two and sentenced to prison at twenty-eight. Brian understands why she risked her parole — Tara is a survivor, and the last thing she'd want is to feel like she owes anyone.

He also recalls how he and Hank used her old assault charge to lean on her, threatening that it would assure a longer sentence. They assumed it was a fight over drugs or money. But after Tara was in prison, Brian tracked down the old report. The truth was different: Tara had punched her nephew's mother in the face when she discovered the woman was high while taking care of the two-year-old boy. The same day Brian learned that, he scheduled the anonymous monthly payments to her inmate account.

Back at his desk, Hank asks where Brian was. Brian lies, saying he was checking in with a contact about Roland. The last thing he does is text Ashley back: he can't make it tonight, work is crazy, and he's not sure when it'll let up. He hopes she takes the hint.

Key Events

Roland Shea disappears after evading surveillance at a Costco
Rosemary asks Brian to stand up with her at her civil wedding to Marty
Hank suspects Tara Connelly is involved in Roland's disappearance
Doreen DaCosta confronts Brian about his anonymous deposits to Tara's inmate account
DaCosta reveals she almost revoked Tara's parole after Hank reported her visit to Roland's house
Brian learns the true reason for Tara's assault charge
Brian declines Ashley's invitation

Character Development

Brian Nolan: This chapter deepens Brian's internal conflict. His secret deposits to Tara's account reveal a guilt-driven desire for atonement that he can't fully explain even to himself. His realization that his good intentions nearly cost Tara her parole forces him to confront the consequences of his actions. His history with Hank — the loyalty, the debts owed, the second chances — explains why he's so conflicted about his uncle's suspicions.

Hank Doyle: Hank's frustration with the missing Roland Shea and his anxiety about Rosemary's wedding show a man under pressure. His suspicion of Tara, while misguided, comes from a place of professional instinct and personal distrust.

Tara Connelly (through Brian's reflections): Though not present in the chapter, Tara's character is illuminated through Brian's memories and DaCosta's account. She's a survivor who has endured poverty, loss, and prison. Her decision to confront Roland about the money — rather than accept it — reveals her fierce independence and her fear of obligation.

Doreen DaCosta: A new character who is protective of her parolees and willing to bend rules when she believes someone deserves a break. Her decision not to report Brian, and her warning to stay away from Tara, show a pragmatic ethics.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Guilt and atonement: Brian's anonymous deposits are an attempt to make amends for his role in Tara's arrest and imprisonment. But his guilt is complicated — he admits Tara was guilty, yet he still feels responsible for how the case unfolded.

Good intentions backfiring: The chapter's central irony is that Brian's attempt to help Tara nearly destroyed her. The money he sent made her think Roland was the source, which led her to risk her parole by confronting him.

Debt and obligation: Tara's fear of owing Roland something drives her to confront him. Brian's sense of debt to Hank shapes his loyalty. The chapter is full of characters trying to balance what they owe and what they're owed.

Family loyalty: Brian's choice to stay with Hank when Rosemary left, and Tara's assault charge — punching her nephew's mother for being high while caring for the boy — both show family loyalty as a driving force.

Ethical boundaries in law enforcement: DaCosta's willingness to overlook Brian's misconduct, and Brian's own bending of rules, raise questions about where professional duty ends and personal conscience begins.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point for Brian's character. It reveals the secret at the heart of his connection to Tara — the anonymous deposits that he hoped would ease his guilt but instead created a new crisis. The revelation that Tara nearly had her parole revoked because of his actions forces Brian to confront the limits of good intentions. It also explains why Tara was at Roland's house in the previous chapter, tying together threads that have been building since the novel's opening. The chapter deepens the novel's exploration of guilt, obligation, and the unintended consequences of trying to do the right thing.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why did Brian make anonymous deposits to Tara's inmate account, and what does this reveal about his character?

Brian made the deposits because he felt guilty about how Tara's case unfolded. He and Hank pressured her, used her old assault charge to threaten a longer sentence, and she ended up going to prison for Roland. After Brian discovered the true story behind her assault charge — that she punched her nephew's mother for being high while caring for a two-year-old — he felt compelled to help in some small way. The deposits reveal his guilt, his empathy, and his tendency to act impulsively when his conscience is troubled, even at risk to his career.

2. How does Hank's suspicion of Tara contrast with Brian's view of her?

Hank sees Tara as a known associate of Roland's — someone who went to prison for him and might be helping him now. His suspicion is professional and cynical. Brian, by contrast, has a gut feeling that Hank is wrong. He's seen Tara in difficult moments and knows more about her past, including the true reason for her assault charge. His view is complicated by his personal feelings, which he admits might compromise his judgment.

3. What does DaCosta's decision not to report Brian reveal about the novel's treatment of ethical boundaries?

DaCosta initially threatens to report Brian to the ethics committee, but after hearing his explanation and doing her own research, she decides to give him a break. She admits she's stretched the rules herself — she gave Tara a chance to explain her visit to Roland's house instead of immediately revoking her parole. Her decision suggests that the novel views ethical boundaries as flexible, and that personal judgment and compassion can sometimes justify bending the rules.