In Boston, Denny confronts another bookstore owner, Oscar Stein, about the manuscripts, having gotten his name from Joel Ribikoff. Oscar confesses that he sold them but doesn’t know where they are now. Denny gives him 24 hours to find out who has them. The next day, he confesses that he sold them to a book dealer named Bruce Cable, who lives on Camino Island in Florida.

Mercer visits Noelle’s store and finds a writer’s table that she wants to buy. Noelle offers her a discount, but she can’t decide. They talk about Mercer’s writing, and she begins to feel guilty about entering these people’s lives under false pretenses. When she leaves, Noelle says she will be in touch soon about a dinner invitation.

Later that day, a wealthy Houston couple come into Noelle’s store. After buying a large number of pieces, they return the next day and do the same, emptying her inventory. Noelle mentions that she will go to France and restock, and they ask if they can shop with her there. The bills for these visits all come to Elaine, as the couple are working for her.

Mercer tells Elaine about Noelle’s store, describing the layout and mentioning that the basement is supposedly a furniture workshop.