Easy returns home and reads his mail, including a letter from Mouse. In the letter, Mouse writes that he wants to visit Easy in LA, since his wife threw him out. After reading the letter, Easy has a sudden urge to hide or leave town.

Easy reveals more of his personal history with Mouse. As young men, he and Mouse were best friends. One day, Easy drove Mouse to the town where Mouse’s stepfather lived. There, Mouse met up with another friend, Clifton, before confronting his stepfather, Daddy Reese, to demand his inheritance before his upcoming marriage. When Reese refused and shot Clifton, killing him, Mouse killed Reese and took $1,000. On the drive home, he gave $300 to Easy, who later regretted taking the money. Wanting to get away from Mouse and to prove himself, Easy enlisted in the military and, later, moved to LA.

Easy goes to a liquor store for a drink. He thinks about Sophie Anderson, a woman Mouse mentioned in his letter, who returned to Houston after finding life in LA to be “Too much!” (47). Easy decides not to respond to Mouse’s letter.

Easy receives a phone call from Albright.