Mystic River

Chapter 25 works to contrast the danger Dave is in from Jimmy with the police’s gradual realization that he did not kill Katie. Dave’s account of Saturday night is finally confirmed by the discovery of the body. The chapter’s overall goal, though, is to shift the lens of suspicion from Dave to the Harris family—specifically, Ray Harris Jr. This is first established through Brendan; his cold and fatigued demeanor in the jail cell suggests that he has already deduced that his brother killed his girlfriend, but he’s not incriminating Ray just yet. His silence suggests his desire to enact his own justice when Sean perceives “a potential for violence” (347) in Brendan, foreshadowing a confrontation between the brothers. Finally, the chapter officially casts Ray and Johnny as Katie’s murderers with the 911 call.

This is a piece of evidence given immediately, but the clues necessary to decipher it follow gradually. In making a red herring of Dave, both the police and the reader are blinded from what lies directly in front of them: The call identifies the victim as a woman, despite the witnesses not having access to the body right away; the fingerprints, which police initially attributed to being partial prints or belonging to a small adult, are in fact those of children; a key witness admits to hearing children playing with hockey sticks minutes before Katie’s death—and Katie was bludgeoned with a stick-like object; that same witness hears a high-pitched “hello” right after the crash but mistakenly attributes it to a woman instead of a child; Katie, though able to overpower and outrun her attackers, hid because she felt surrounded. All of this points directly to Ray and Johnny as Katie’s killers.

Chapter 26 first demonstrates Dave’s perceived sense of emasculation. To him, the men in the bar represent an unattainable masculinity. His belief that those men “never questioned the rightness of their own actions [and] weren’t confused by the world or what was expected of them” (354) reveals Dave’s understanding of manhood as entirely involved in strength and a man’s position as patriarch. His inability to subscribe to patriarchal masculinity intensifies Dave’s psychological grappling. The isolation Dave feels in the bar is mirrored as he steps out near the river to be sick: The river is isolated, obscured on three sides and all noises muffled by traffic. This scene also effectively turns the tone even darker; the spot is positioned as the perfect place to commit murder because no one can hear or see anything.

The river is significant as the setting because it symbolizes Jimmy’s crimes and represents the surfacing—or resurfacing—of one’s actions. Jimmy dreams of the river because it is directly associated with his murder of Just Ray. The interaction between Jimmy and Dave is marked by misconnection: Dave’s explanation is clouded by his own metaphors and dissociations, and Jimmy, having made up his mind, is incapable of truly hearing Dave. As Jimmy kills Dave, he tells him: “We bury our sins here, Dave. We wash them clean” (366). This positions the Mystic River as offering a dark baptism to both men for their sins. In Jimmy’s mind, Dave will be cleansed of Katie’s murder, and he himself will be cleansed of Dave’s. However, Dave’s murder will continue to stain Jimmy, foreshadowed by Jimmy’s admission that he’s dreamt of Ray for thirteen years. Though he will not admit it, Jimmy’s subconscious harbors the guilt for his crimes: “[W]ashing himself in the Mystic” (368) never erases that.

Chapter 27 offers the climactic revelation of the murderer, the motive, and an emotional confrontation. Ray’s silence is most striking; as he stares blankly at his brother, who is contorted by grief and rage, Ray appears apathetic and capable of murder. However, it is Johnny who is revealed to be the aggressor. As Johnny seems to enjoy the excitement of his encounter with the police, the chapter alludes to childhood ennui and curiosity as the cause of Katie’s death. The answer to the novel’s question of why people kill is no answer at all: It gives three different examples for possible motives: with Jimmy, for revenge; with Dave, for liberation; with Ray and Johnny, just because.

These three examples act as a microcosm of the breadth of human violence, emphasizing that murder, no matter what the reason, is devastating. The chapter closes by emphasizing loyalty through Annabeth and Jimmy’s interaction. Annabeth’s unflinching loyalty to her husband and ability to support him through his greatest crimes, represents a strength only possible through unity. In turn, Jimmy is strengthened by his wife’s fortitude. This works to convey Annabeth’s singular mettle and to demonstrate the profound connection the two have. Annabeth’s firmness contrasts Celeste’s fragile faith in her own husband. This difference, then, suggests that survival depends on loyalty and faith in one another, no matter the odds.