When Will There Be Good News?: High Noon Summary & Analysis

That night, Jackson can’t sleep. He comes downstairs and finds Reggie and Sadie sleeping in the living room. Sadie watches him warily. He can’t find anything to read that isn’t in Latin, so he leafs through Joanna’s Filofax. “She had been found once,” he thinks, “she would be found again.” In his mind, Joanna is a little girl lost in the dark.

Jackson covers Reggie with a blanket and starts out the door. But Reggie pipes up, “I hope you’re not thinking of going anywhere without me.” Soon they’re sitting outside of the Hunters’ house, having taken a cab from Musselburgh. A Nissan Pathfinder is parked there, the one whose license plate Reggie had memorized. Reggie suggests they should follow when the men leave. They can take Dr. Hunter’s car. Jackson wonders if a Prius can be hot-wired, but Reggie knows where there’s a spare key hidden in the garage.

Jackson hasn’t tailed anyone in a car for a while. Reggie warns him not to crash Joanna’s Prius. Sadie climbs into the back. It’s only five o’clock in the morning. Jackson follows the Nissan at a distance until they turn off onto a farm road. He parks at the edge of a field and makes Reggie and the dog solemnly promise to stay where they are. He gets out to follow the Nissan on foot.

Jackson sees the Nissan parked in front of a house, next to a Toyota. The men in the Nissan get out and let themselves into the house. Immediately he hears yelling. Jackson only has time to dive into a ditch before the men run out and roar off in the Nissan. He moves toward the house, spotting a movement in the bushes. A person, a woman, emerges, illuminated by Reggie’s flashlight (she’d predictably disobeyed his orders). The woman is holding a baby and is covered with blood. She’s holding a knife. Sadie barks joyfully in greeting. “Can you help me?” Dr. Hunter asks Jackson.