Witness

Merlin’s unexplained departure from town makes him the prime suspect in the shooting. Constable Johnson worries about having to arrest Merlin when he returns to town, but Leonora knows Merlin is innocent because she saw him by her well at the time of the shooting. However, she does not tell Johnson or the detective from Boston, because she feels vengefully that “someone had to pay for me being a colored girl in a white world” (160). Esther decides that Merlin went on the heaven train when he left town, but she also knows he did not shoot her father, because she saw Johnny do it.

The Klan comes after Johnny “like ghosts,” and he welcomes them, believing his actions have regained their favor. Instead, they abduct him and brand him with the letters “k.k.k.” on his back. Constable Johnson finds him days later, wandering and in shock. Johnson also finds a baby girl left behind a tree to die, and when Viola hears of it, she is saddened at what the world is coming to. She cries while preparing dinner, and when Harvey tries to comfort her, they reconcile. In the penultimate poem in the novel, they dance together in the Grange Hall as Viola remembers why she fell in love with him in the first place.