At the Carolina Raceway
- Lavender picks them up in his truck and Mo notices that Dale's shoes are still wet because he went to see Mr. Jesse this afternoon for the reward money. He must have pulled the boat out of the creek.
- As they drive, Mo reads from the newspaper article about how she was found in Tupelo Landing, even though Dale complains that he's tired of her search for her "real" family.
- They get to the racetrack an hour later and Lavender gives them money to buy snacks for him and his friends. Dale hands Mo five dollars—her half of the reward money that he got from Mr. Jesse.
- The kids also run into their teacher Miss Retzyl, and are surprised to see her in shorts instead of her usual dowdy dresses. They're also surprised to see that she's there with Detective Starr of all people.
- They take the snacks over to Lavender and his friend, who are sitting with twin girls named Crissy and Missy. Obviously Mo doesn't like them.
- Lavender joins the race and it is all fun and games until his car spins out of control and crashes into a concrete barrier. Oh no…
- Lavender is a bit bruised and beat-up after the accident, and the doctor tells him that he needs someone to keep an eye on him since he might have a concussion.
- As they're driving back to town, they see that Fool's Bridge is closed and there are a ton of police lights; they take another way back to Miss Rose's house instead.
- They pull up and Mo tells Miss Rose that Lavender's been in an accident but is okay (as long as he doesn't have a concussion).
- After Miss Rose scolds Lavender and his friend for being reckless, she calls the Colonel to ask if Mo can sleep over. But as she's talking on the phone, her face goes pale and she says that she'll keep Mo safe until the Colonel gets here.
- After she hangs up, everyone in the room asks her what's wrong. She tells them that there's been a murder… and that Mr. Jesse is dead.