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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America Part II, Chapter 2 Summary

Cuckoldry

  • Back at the Holmes "castle"—as it's become known in the neighborhood—Ned's eighteen-year-old sister Gertrude cries and announces that she can't stay in the hotel anymore.
  • Ned also notices she can't even look at Holmes.
  • Gertrude leaves for Iowa, becomes ill, and passes away shortly after. Weird.
  • Anyway, with Gertrude gone, tension between Ned and Julia increases. It's now pretty obvious that Julia's really into Holmes.
  • To allay suspicions, Holmes offers to sell Ned the entire pharmacy. Ned thinks he's getting a generous offer, but it's really Holmes who profits from the deal.
  • Creditors frequent the pharmacy and Ned learns that Holmes has not paid it off.
  • With the paperwork signed, it's Ned who must assume the accumulated debt. Nice going, Holmes.
  • Ned is pretty fed up at this point and tells Holmes he can keep the pharmacy because he's leaving.
  • Julia and Pearl stay with Holmes.
  • Julia's divorce from Ned becomes final, but then Holmes quickly loses interest in her.
  • He says they'll marry, but he's secretly disgusted with the idea.