American Rust: A Novel

After three days in solitary, a guard once again tries to persuade Poe to sign the documents that will ensure legal representation, but again, Poe refuses, asking the lawyer to visit him in his cell. The guard says that’s not possible, but Poe refuses to leave (although he can feel his resolve weakening). He sees his quandary as a zero-sum game: Either he or Isaac can be saved. There is no middle ground. Reflecting on his life, he believes that saving Isaac from the frozen lake was his finest moment. He wants to leave a legacy of honesty and nobility, and not ratting out Isaac is the best way he can do that. As for his own fate, he decides to fashion a weapon somehow, to “take as many of them with him as he could” (321).

Lee calls some old friends from high school, and they meet for drinks. After some preliminary small talk, she asks them about Isaac’s whereabouts, but they have no information. The conversation turns to Poe and speculation over his guilt or innocence; they all recall his past transgressions, a not-so-subtle implication they believe he’s guilty. They talk about their economic prospects in the Valley—healthcare seems to be the only option—and Lee invites them to visit her in New Haven.

Harris leaves Grace’s house and drives to the police station where he jots down the two given addresses of Murray Clark, the lone witness against Poe. He takes a gun from an old evidence box, loads it using a tissue to avoid fingerprints, dons a flak jacket, and tucks his .45 into his trousers. He ponders all the times he has bent the law or lied in court in service of his “instincts.” Thinking of a man he killed in Vietnam, Harris wonders if some karmic penalty might be overdue. At home, he changes clothes, loads food into his truck, and drives to Murray Clark’s house.

Isaac hitches a ride with a truck driver heading back toward Pennsylvania. They listen to talk radio and discuss current affairs, the driver advising Isaac to “start appreciating everything just a little bit more” (332). A few hours later, he drops Isaac off at a truck stop in Dayton, Ohio, giving him $5 for food. After eating, Isaac hitches another ride—going back to his family, he tells the driver. The truck drops Isaac off about 20 miles from the Mon Valley, and he decides to walk the rest of the way.

The next day, another guard comes to Poe’s cell, ordering him to cuff up. He’s being put back into his old cell. Poe requests protective custody, but he needs to go through proper channels. In the meantime, Poe is returned to his cell where he sharpens his toothbrush into a weapon. As he thinks about his potential fate, he imagines the sole purpose of his existence is to save Isaac, a noble calling.

Not wanting the anticipation to drag on forever, Poe walks out of his cell and into the cafeteria. He spots Dwayne, who doesn’t make eye contact, and Clovis, who stands as if to greet him. Suddenly panicked, he turns around and exits the mess hall, Clovis and several others following. He tries to make his way out to the rec yard, but the doors are locked. Cornered, he tries to run past them, but they tackle him, beating and stabbing him.

Grace sits on her porch, staring numbly at the landscape. As much as she wants to blame Murray Clark for her son’s incarceration, she knows the real story may never be told. Still, she wants Harris to kill him for his role in Poe’s fate, lying or not, and though she never explicitly asked him to do it, the request was clear enough. In light of the town’s resentment over Harris getting Poe out of his last brush with the law, if this episode ever comes out, she fears she will be run out of town.

Having walked all day, Isaac is now only eight miles from Buell. He throws his knife in the river, renouncing his “old ways.” With a few miles remaining, he stops for the night. The next day, he plans to confess to Harris.

Henry and Lee visit a high-profile law firm in Pittsburg, seeking a lawyer for Isaac. Simon’s parents will foot the bill, which rankles Henry, but he has no choice. The lawyer questions them about their backgrounds, and Lee tells him Poe’s version of events on the night in question. Despite Henry’s insistence on Isaac’s innocence, the lawyer argues that he will likely be charged eventually.

Henry sits in his office, rifling through papers when Lee offers to help him into bed. He’s fine, he tells her, and sends her off. He falls asleep in his wheelchair but then wakes up suddenly, short of breath. He thinks of his wife, Mary, and the tragedy of her suicide and how simple communication might have prevented it. He fears some weakness led her to it, a weakness he suspects is inherent in all women, which is why he wanted Lee to leave instead of Isaac; to prevent her from making the same choice.

Reflecting on the accident that injured him and left him unable to walk, Henry realizes now that the company’s shoddy safety record and its lack of investment in infrastructure were the reasons. President Reagan’s rhetoric about the evils of unions he now recognizes as just that—rhetoric. On the day of the accident, faulty equipment led to a crane malfunction, hot molten steel spilling out across the plant, the entire building bursting into flame. Henry, on the third floor, escaped by jumping out the window, injuring his spine. Part of him now regrets the jump; if he’d died in the fire, his family would have received a large payout from the company. Suddenly convinced that Isaac is guilty of the murder, Henry blames himself. He pulls a bottle of Dewars and a bottle of OxyContin from his drawer, wheels himself outside, and takes three pills and a swig of scotch. He contemplates overdosing but decides that would be shifting his burden on to his children. He would be doing it out of shame, and “[t]hat would not be the right way” (350). As the pills start to take effect, he is overwhelmed by the beauty of nature, the vast expanse of hills and stars. He pulls his blanket around him until he begins to feel warm.

Harris enters Murray Clark’s home and finds only an elderly, bedridden woman. She tells Harris that Murray is not home, nor does he have any money. Hours later, Harris sits in an abandoned home surveilling Murray’s other given address, waiting. Around 3:00 am, two men enter the house; one of them, Harris believes, is Clark. The other man goes into the bedroom and eventually falls asleep, leaving Clark alone. Harris checks his guns and approaches the house. He enters through the back door and finds Clark sitting on a sofa in the living room. He trains his revolver on Clark and orders him to leave the state without speaking to the DA. Clark agrees, but suddenly Harris notices someone behind him. He fires, hitting Clark, but is tackled from behind. Someone wrestles him to the floor and stabs him. Harris manages to pull out his .45 and fires at the assailant as well as the fleeing Clark.

The assailant dead on the floor, Harris pursues Clark. Shining his flashlight into the bushes, he spies him and fires two more shots, killing him. He climbs into his truck, changes clothes, does his best to get rid of the evidence, and drives away. Fortunately, his flak jacket has prevented any serious injury from the assailant’s knife, but his hand is broken and throbbing. He pulls over near the river and throws his gun and his clothes into the water

Poe wakes, half conscious, in the hospital. He hears voices calling to him, but he doesn’t answer, fearing he might say something to implicate Isaac. He drifts in and out of consciousness several times before finally waking. It’s evening, he is hooked up to oxygen and an IV, a tube protruding from his skull. He tries to sit up, but the pain is too intense. He is handcuffed to the bed, but he is alive.

Isaac enters the police station and asks for Harris. He is directed to a room where he finds the police chief, pale and wrapped in a blanket, his hand in a splint. Isaac tries to confess, but Harris stops him, telling him that “those two men you were in that [machine shop] with were found dead” (360). He tells Isaac the story of Poe’s incarceration and that these “new developments” will likely result in his release. He tells Isaac that, during his whole ordeal, Poe never gave him up. Isaac decides to move to Connecticut with Lee. Harris tells him he did the right thing by coming in and that if his conscience ever bothers him, to call him. Isaac walks out of the office and heads toward home.

Watching Isaac walk away, Harris considers everything he needs to do to prepare for the DA’s visit: settle on a coherent story, check his truck for any forensic evidence, deal with his stab wound without seeing a doctor. It’s worth it, though: “Both of those boys were worth saving, he thought” (362).

Poe wakes up, a nurse in his room. She tells him he’s lucky to be alive with no brain damage and that he will likely go back to prison, but probably not the same one. There’s also a state trooper stationed outside of his door.

Officer Ho visits Grace in her trailer. She hasn’t eaten in three days and can’t get up from the couch. He tells her that Poe will be fine but she can’t stay in Buell; she must leave by tomorrow morning at the latest, at Harris’s urgent suggestion. She considers Houston where her brother lives. Ho has brought food, which he feeds to her.

Sometime later—it’s unclear how long, perhaps months—Poe surveys the burned remains of the trailer and their former property. He and Grace make their way toward a new future.