60 pages • 2 hours read
Stacey AbramsWhile Justice Sleeps
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 21-29Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 21 Summary
Avery is still in Noah’s office, momentarily alone, when Nigel (anonymously) calls her and asks if she got his present. She tells him that because of the financial gift, she’s being investigated by the FBI. He bribes her and tells her he may want her to gather information for him, saying: “You protect Justice Wynn and tell me what I want to know, and I’ll make sure you never have to work another day in your life” (146). She refuses.
Before Avery leaves Noah’s office, Noah gives her an envelope with the keys to Justice Wynn’s townhouse, plus a paper with codes to his front door and safe. The paper also lists the mysterious initials “VGC” followed by a code. Avery goes to Justice Wynn’s townhouse. In the safe, she finds a thick binder, a velvet box, and a folder containing a lighter and a piece of paper with a complex code consisting of a series of letters and numbers. She isn’t sure what it is but assumes it’s important. She memorizes the code and burns the paper, then investigates the binder, which contains research related to Hygeia, GenWorks, Advar, and other companies. Before she can continue her investigation, she’s knocked unconscious. A strange man, presumably employed by Major Vance, is responsible for the attack. He takes the documents and the jewelry in the velvet box from Justice Wynn’s safe.
Chapter 22 Summary
Avery comes to and realizes she’s been attacked—and that Justice Wynn’s safe has been emptied. She calls Noah and Jared and asks them to meet her at a coffee shop in the Georgetown neighborhood of DC. Before they arrive, Avery is approached by Agent Lee, who informs her that she’s in danger; he gives her his card before leaving. Noah and Jared arrive, and Avery introduces them to one another. When Jared learns that Noah is Justice Wynn’s attorney, he reacts with “a slight tendril of relief that she hadn’t said boyfriend” (158). Avery tells Noah and Jared about the attack. She notes that the stolen binder from Justice Wynn’s safe had more information about the GenWorks-Advar merger than what she had compiled for him as his law clerk.
Chapter 23 Summary
Still at the coffee shop, Avery, Noah, and Jared discuss what they do—and don’t—know about Justice Wynn’s involvement in the GenWorks-Advar case. They decide that the first priority is figuring out what the initials “VGC” mean.
Chapter 24 Summary
Avery is trying to determine the meaning behind the clues of Tigris, the river, and VGC. She researches GenWorks and realizes that Nigel sends money overseas to do his biotech research—which faces limits due to American laws—offshore. She discovers one company that Nigel contributed to: Hygeia. Noah and Jared join Avery. Jared has had a breakthrough regarding “VGC”: His mother’s name was Vivian, and the initials mean “Vivian’s Georgia Cabin” (169). Avery shares another clue she can’t decipher with Jared: “WHTW5730” (171), which she found in Justice Wynn’s email folder. Jared reveals that Justice Wynn liked to compare himself to William Howard Taft, and notes that the code looks like it could be a gamer’s handle. Avery remembers Justice Wynn’s reference to Chessdynamo and logs on to the game platform, successfully trying the username “WHTW5730” and the password “AniIsintheRiver.” Avery also remembers the complex code written on the piece of paper she found in Justice Wynn’s safe, which she memorized before burning it; she now realizes that the code of letters and numbers was a chess sequence, detailing the moves of an entire game. This leads her to a series of archived chats between Justice Wynn’s game handle, WHTW5730, and another mysterious gamer handle, “TigrisLost.”
Noah, Avery, and Jared realize that “TigrisLost” must be the mysterious “Ani” referred to by the other clues.
Chapter 25 Summary
The narrative shifts to a conversation between President Stokes and Major Vance. The president wants Vance to arrest Avery, but Vance tells him he can’t do that. The president asks if Avery can be bribed, but Vance says it’s unlikely: “She’s quite loyal to him [Justice Wynn]” (178). President Stokes responds, “Be more creative, Vance. If the girl can’t be persuaded to act, we may need to fully discredit her” (178). The president is still hoping to get rid of Justice Wynn and then do a recess appointment, allowing him to put a judge in place on the Supreme Court who would vote to uphold the president’s decision to bar the GenWorks-Advar merger.
Chapter 26 Summary
Avery introduces her roommate, Ling, to Noah and Jared. They discuss the archived chats between Justice Wynn and Ani, noting that “[b]oth of them were petrified about supposed assassins” (187). Ling’s medical expertise gives her insight into the “great deal of research” Hygeia did on “genes characterized by specific geographical distribution” (188). Ling explains that gene therapies could potentially treat Boursin’s but also that “bioethicists have worried about the weaponization of gene therapy” (189). Avery, Jared, Noah, and Ling figure out who the mysterious “Ani” with the chess handle “TigrisLost” is: Dr. Ani Kandahar Ramji.
Chapter 27 Summary
Avery, Ling, Noah, and Jared continue their research. They learn that Ani stopped publishing scientific papers a year and a half ago, about the same time that posts by “TigrisLost” about the dangers of mapping gene patterns started appearing online. Reading these posts, Jared notes that the author “makes accusations against Hygeia and several other companies. Claims they colluded to develop a new form of biological warfare” (191). Through TigrisLosts’s posts, Avery, Ling, Noah, and Jared learn that Hygeia recruited research subjects based on certain genetic markers common in specific groups in the Indian states of Kashmir, Assam, and West Bengal, as well as in the Burusho people of Pakistan. Jared provides context: “Pakistan and India were one country until the British partitioned it in 1947. Hindus in India and Muslims in the newly created Pakistan” (196). Avery realizes that the gene markers being targeted by Hygeia’s research are all people who make up the Muslim population remaining in India.
Chapter 28 Summary
Avery, Ling, Noah, and Jared are shocked by the realization that Hygeia may have experimented on Muslim people. However, they don’t have enough proof. They decide they need to find Ani.
The narrative shifts to President Stokes, watching the evening news coverage of the GenWorks merger case:
Justice Wynn is widely expected to be the deciding vote in the international case of GenWorks v. US. As we have reported for months, GenWorks, an American biogenetics firm, seeks to merge with India-based Advar, a major biotech company. […] Advar holds a patent on a new gene therapy practice that some claim may cure deadly diseases immune to conventional treatments (198).
It’s also revealed that the Supreme Court will end its term on June 30, a little more than a week away. A ruling was expected on the GenWorks v. US case before the end of term. If Justice Wynn remains out of commission and unable to vote, it’s assumed that the ruling will be a split court; the journalist explains: “In that case, the lower court ruling stands and President Stokes wins” (200).
The narrative shifts again, introducing a new character: Dr. Elizabeth Papaleo, a former chemist and head of strategy, policy, and budget for the government’s Science and Technology Directorate. She is preparing to speak in a hearing in front of the House of Representatives. However, she’s noticed that some $300 million has been siphoned toward chromosomal research, but she can’t identify where it’s gone—“just money slipping out the back door and into accounts she couldn’t locate” (202). She’s now trying to find the answer.
Chapter 29 Summary
Major Vance gets a phone call from Castillo, a man he’s hired to surveil Avery. Castillo tells Major Vance that Avery, Noah, Jared, and Ling have identified Ani and the Tigris Project. Jared and Avery are preparing to go to Vivian’s Georgia Cabin (VGC) that night. Castillo will track them there. After ending his call with Castillo, Major Vance is approached by his assistant, Phillips. Major Vance asks him, “Where are we on shutting down Betty Papaleo?” (204). The narrative jumps ahead to that evening. Castillo looks for clues in Vivian’s cabin but can’t find anything. Phillips tells Castillo to wait for Jared and Avery’s arrival at the cabin: “Secure whatever they locate and make sure they never return to DC” (208).
Chapters 21-29 Analysis
A common conceit of the thriller genre is that tension escalates throughout the narrative. These chapters deliver on that promise, as it becomes clear that Avery’s and Jared’s lives are in danger. By the end of Chapter 29, a trap has been set, as Castillo is waiting for them with instructions to “make sure they never return to DC,” implying that Castillo should kill Avery and Jared (208). Avery has already been physically attacked once, so this is not an empty threat. Betty Papaleo’s life also appears to be in danger; indeed, in the chapters that follow, Major Vance will kill her. As the stakes get higher, the protagonists—the “good guys”—face life-or-death situations.
These chapters also continue to underscore The Pervasive Nature of Corruption, a central theme to the work. Nigel tries to corrupt Avery when he sends her money and then implies he could send more, telling her “You protect Justice Wynn and tell me what I want to know, and I’ll make sure you never have to work another day in your life” (146). But Avery is one of the few incorruptible characters and refuses. Major Vance also recognizes Avery’s incorruptible nature: When President Stokes asks if Avery can be bribed, Vance says, “She’s quite loyal to him [Justice Wynn]” (178). Avery’s morally upright character is bolstered by a few others who are morally upright: the Chief Justice, Ling, Jared, Noah, and Agent Lee. The narrative is thus careful to show that, while corruption does run rampant, there are “good guys” as well.
Avery continues to put together pieces of the puzzle. One breakthrough comes when Avery makes contact with Ani. Another comes when the truth of the Tigris Project and the unethical research done by Hygeia is revealed in posts by Ani, who “makes accusations against Hygeia and several other companies. Claims they colluded to develop a new form of biological warfare” (191). The discovery that Hygeia was doing research targeting Muslim people is shocking—potentially comparable to other historical cases of mass persecution, such as the Holocaust. The significance of Hygeia’s research is contextualized through conversations between the characters rather than through explanations from the narrator, as when Jared’s character explains the background of India’s partitioning.
In addition to utilizing character dialogue, the author also provides context for the book’s events through other techniques—like incorporating a media news report. President Stokes is shown watching news coverage of the GenWorks v. US case. It’s a scene without any action or dialogue; the reader is simply “watching TV” alongside the president. However, the description of the news coverage provides valuable clarity for the reader, revealing Justice Wynn’s role in the case:
Justice Wynn is widely expected to be the deciding vote in the international case of GenWorks v. US. As we have reported for months, GenWorks, an American biogenetics firm, seeks to merge with India-based Advar, a major biotech company. […] Advar holds a patent on a new gene therapy practice that some claim may cure deadly diseases immune to conventional treatments (198).
The same news coverage also reveals that the Supreme Court will end its term on June 30, a little more than a week away, and that, if Justice Wynn remains out of commission and unable to vote, it’s assumed that the ruling will be a split court, in which case “the lower court ruling stands and President Stokes wins” (200). This is the kind of detail that the average reader, unfamiliar with the court system and appeals process, especially at the Supreme Court level, may not be aware of. Through these authorial techniques, the reader is kept in the loop. The mention of the June 30 deadline also creates a deadline for Avery and her compatriots—working against the clock being another common trait of thriller novels.
These chapters also introduce a new subplot—the hint of a romantic liaison between Avery and Jared. This is seen when Avery introduces Jared to Noah, labeling Noah as Justice Wynn’s lawyer. In response, “Jared felt a slight tendril of relief that she hadn’t said boyfriend” (158). The narrative will continue to hint at this romantic undertone, although it will never be fully realized.
