Summary

Anna “Nannie” Williams, Minnie’s school teacher sister from Texas, arrives for the visit previewed in Chapter 24, “The Invitation.” She is immediately charmed by Holmes’s affection for Minnie, and her suspicion of Holmes vanishes. Holmes and Minnie take Anna on a tour of downtown Chicago, the Union Stockyards where they see pigs slaughtered, and then the fair. For many days, the threesome visits the fair. Finally, Holmes invites Anna to stay for the summer, and she immediately accepts and sends for her trunk full of things.

Analysis

Three key images foreshadow Holmes killing Anna: pigs being slaughtered during Anna’s introduction to the Union Stockyards; the bright, painful light at the fair; and Anna’s trunk. In the past, Holmes has used trunks to transport the bodies of his victims.