The Kill Club Chapter Summary

Summaries

Chapter 1

Libby Day professes her nastiness. The lone survivor in her family’s brutal massacre, she

has been depressed since. Lying in bed, she contemplates suicide. The money she had

received in donations as a child now spent, she finds herself penniless and clueless.

As she mulls over getting hold of money she receives a letter from Lyle Wirth, a man

who would pay her 500$ to make an appearance at a ‘special club’. After talking to him

over the phone she finds out about the ‘Kill Club’ made up of people obsessed with

criminal cases and determined to solve them. She agrees, after upping the price to 700$.

Chapter 2

Libby Day’s mother, Patty is a deeply troubled woman. Troubled by the vagaries of

life - separation, debts,

children but most of all her son, Ben. The eldest of four
siblings Ben, seems aloof and reserved -even cold towards them, except for Libby
at times. He spends most of his day over the phone which is cause of concern for
Patty. The morning of murder, Patty had Ben have breakfast with the family and
and finds out that he has dyed his hair black from the natural red. This causes some
panic, prompting Ben to leave them bewildered and in shock.

Chapter 3

Having accepted Lyle Wirth’s offer, Libby makes her way to the ‘Kill Club’, carrying a letter from her sister Michelle with the hope of selling it. After meeting Lyle at a dilapidated building, she demands her money before anything else - a request he acquiesces to. Going around the convention with Lyle, she meets a man who jokingly threatens her, playing the role of a serial-killer, but is assaulted by her.

Finally arriving at her own booth, she is greeted by many people who seem to know an awful lot about her family and give her a detailed account of the day. She had not seen the murderer but believed it to be her brother. However, she find out and much to her chagrin that most people at the people believed otherwise. According to them, Ben is innocent. The real culprit is theorized to be her father, Runner as they accredit a large, unidentified footprint found on the crime scene to him.

Chapter 4

Told from Ben Day’s perspective, the chapter starts with him falling off his bike but being all the more glad for it and wishes that he had broken a bone. He appears to harbour resentment for his family, accrediting their poverty to his mother - having produced three more children without the means to support them.

Never having experienced a father figure and being constantly run down by his own when he was around, he harbours a very narrow view of manliness - thinking that the wound would look manly and impress his girlfriend Diondra.

Ben dreams of moving to the big city of Wichita, away from the older boy Trey - who seeks to emasculate Ben every step of the way. Frustrated at the realization that it is an unfulfillable dream, he paddles on.

Chapter 5

Libby confesses her kleptomania to the reader before again making mention of her meanness and depravity that wants her to call Lyle Wirth and his colleagues at the ‘Kill Club’ again, hoping to make more money out of them.
She remembers Barb Eichel, a reporter that had written a book about her family’s massacre a year after the incident. After contacting her, she reads her book and goes to meet her. However, Barb seems apologetic about making Ben out to be the murderer in her book - making him out to be innocent at the same time, just like the Lyle Wirth and the others. She tells Libby that she had been coached and attributes Ben’s sentence to the Satanic Scare of the time, adding that she did not believe her father, Runner’s testimony. Libby leaves soon after she is told that a recantation of her testimony against her brother would help him. Stealing a paperweight before she does.

Chapter 6

Patty is dismayed with her son’s decision to dye his hair black and feels dejected as she thinks that he feels all alone in a house full of females. She misses her sister Diane, whose wisdom in dealing with the vicissitudes of life seems full. Reminiscing her early days - from Diane piercing her ears to her marriage to Runner and their eventual downfall and separation. She muses over the fast changing public opinion and their occasional indifference to other’s hardships. A car pulls up next to the house and while the kids hope it to be their Aunt Diane, Len the loan office enters and tells Patty that if her debts were not cleared soon - she would have to lose the farm she so loved.

Chapter 7

Libby mulls over rumours of her mother being involved in sex work but dismisses them as rumours and nothing more. Having decided to sell whatever family mementos she could to the ‘Kill Club’ for money, she calls Lyle Wirth. They meet at a diner and Libby is offered 300$ for meeting her brother Ben Day, in prison for butchering her family, and investigate for them. Having no other alternative for earning money and being too lazy to see support from the government. She agrees.

Chapter 8

Continuing from chapter 4, Ben paddles to the high school in order to work his shift as janitor. While cleaning the gym locker-room, Ben decides to peep into a locker but is caught in the act by the wrestling coach who humiliates him before throwing him out. Going to the janitor’s closet, Ben yells out his frustration before making his way to the grade (junior) school. Looking at the paintings of his sisters, he remembers the fifth grader Krissi Cates who had a crush on him while he volunteered in their after school Art class. Remembering also, the time they kissed on the stairwell, Ben running off to the washroom - yelling apologies as he did.

Chapter 9

Libby day is on her way to visit her brother Ben in the Kinnakee Kansas State Penitentiary. She remembers that Ben never protested against the charges against him and reasons that he was the murderer. After filing out a few papers, she is led to Ben who sits opposite a glass partitioning. Ben, emotionally charged, tells Libby that she resembles their mother- sharing a funny memory afterwards. He tells her that he had mostly forgiven her for what he claims to have been her false testimony. Ben also tells Libby that he had not defended himself because he wanted to act tough, like a man, something he had always wanted others to acknowledge. Libby, convinced that Ben is innocent tells him that she would get him out. Before leaving, Libby notices a tattoo ending with ‘-olly’ on his arm - as Ben requests her to come again.

Chapter 10

Len had left Patty with some unsavoury offer and she was wont to accept it. Instead, she mulls over a life without the farm and is not able to bring herself to accept the idea of living in another city, in an apartment.
Diane, Patty’s older sister turns up with groceries as always and Patty informs her about Ben dyeing his hair black and their subsequent quarrel earlier that day. Diane takes Patty to the garage to talk about a rumour about Ben, alleging that he had touched a young girl sexually. Immediately, both the sisters decide to get Ben home but are not able to locate him.

Chapter 11

Libby drives back home from Ben’s prison, half-convinced that he was innocent. She makes a call to the Bert Nolan Home, while eating a sandwich, to inquire after her father Runner. However, she is informed of Runner’s absence and leaves a message with Mr. Bert Nolan for him. Libby also calls her aunt Diane and leaves a message on the answering machine. She arranges for a meeting with Lyle Wirth and informs him about her meeting with Ben. Delighted at her change of heart and opinion, Lyle shares his theory with her - stating that Lou Cates, the father of Krissi Cates, a girl Ben had allegedly molested could have committed the murders. Agreeing to pay her five hundred dollars, he directs Libby to speak to either Lou or Krissi to find out more.
The chapter ends with Libby making a call to Krissi’s mom and being informed about Krissi’s whereabouts at a strip club on 1-70.

Chapter 12 Summary

Ben leaves a note written on pink paper in Krissi’s bin and signs it with a B. Thinking of his girlfriend, Diondra, arouses him and he is exposed in front of Krissi’s bin by the second-grade teacher. Paddling his way from the school, he contemplates suicide by shooting himself. Instead of going home, he makes his way to the ‘compound’, an forsaken storehouse where Diondra and her friends had made a retreat. However, unbeknownst to the other older kids, Ben finds himself in a sticky situation. The others ask him about the wound on his forehead and he lies about a fight with Trey Trepano and about being involved in satanism, lies that endear him to them. Ben is offered a beer that he sips along with an occasional puff from a joint until Trey shows up, and drives Ben to Diondra’s.

Chapter 13

Libby and Lyle drive down the I-70 strip club. Whilst waiting and wondering in the parking lot of a club, they are met by a stripper called Colleen who informs them of Krissi’s exact whereabouts. A few minutes later, they are met by Krissi herself who steps out of a truck. Krissi is taken by Libby to her strip-club after agreeing to share information about Ben Day over drinks. She talks about Ben and his family being devil worshippers and claims to have been molested several times by Ben. She also tells them about her father’s temper due to the incident but leaves soon after ‘borrowing’ fifty dollars from Libby.

Chapter 14

Patty and Diane make their way to the Muehler’s house, a farming family whose two boys had been close to Ben - at some point in time. The sisters are informed by the two brothers- Jim and Ed, about their ignorance of Ben’s location along with his new ‘devilish’ friend circle. Jim also tells them that they had not been in touch ever since Ben had started spending time with his new friends. Patty feels miserable for not being a better mother.

Chapter 15

Libby chastens Lyle Wirth for not helping the investigation with his barrage of questions. Dropping him off where she had picked him up she goes home and is informed by Lyle of some ‘Kill Club’ members wishing to buy her family memorabilia. She resolves to put her fears behind her and finally face the boxes that were stacked with her family’s belongings. She finds that most of the things were normal, except for an exceptionally sexually loud note from a girl named Diondra to Ben. Trying to gauge her identity, she looks up Ben’s yearbooks -only to find her in one, the year hell broke loose for the Days.

Chapter 16

After arriving at Diondra’s house, Ben and Trey are welcomed by a scantily clad Diondra. Ben brushes aside her allegations about him finding her too old, unsure of what she means. She directs Ben to put on the new clothes she had bought him - leather pants, a T-shirt and a black denim studded jacket. Ben complies and wears the tight leather pants without his underwear, for which Trey makes fun of him. Diondra then pulls Ben aside to spend some time with her. After a bout of violent sexual-intercourse, Diondra reveals that she had heard the rumours about Ben molesting a young girl, Krissi. Ben denies it vehemently and asks her why she would have relations with him, if she thought he was a pervert. She tells him that she wanted to know if he was aroused by her anymore, before telling him to keep quite as ‘the baby’s kicking’.

Chapter 17

Libby drives to Magda’s house in oder to auction her family’s memorabilia but is informed by Lyle that a lot of other women from ‘Free Day Society’ (a group committed to free Ben Day) had assembled and wanted to talk. Libby is welcomed warmly by Magda and is told that the group had forgiven her for her role in Ben’s conviction. The group believes that Runner, their father had committed the murders and they bring forth Peggy - Runner’s ex-flame, who claims that Runner was not with her and came back with scratches the night of the murders; and, promises to recant her testimony.

Chapter 18

Patty and Diane decide to visit the alleged victim’s family once Patty gathers herself after their meeting with the Muehler brothers. However, the sisters decide to check up on Patty’s daughters, who are found in a complete mess. After making a few phone calls, Diane finds out that it was Krissi Cates and her family that had started the rumours. The sister duo head out for the Cates’s residence with Libby. Once inside their house, they find a therapist helping the ‘victims’ portray what Ben did to them. Finally, Patty is humiliated by Mrs. Cates and they are thrown out of the Cates’s house by Lou Cates, Krissi’s father.

Chapter 19

Libby wakes up to a nightmare, her mind putting the murderer label on her father Runner Day. However, one little detail gives Ben’s innocence away, she clearly remembered his room lights on the night of the murders. Not receiving a single call from her Aunt Diane, she leaves for Ben’s prison and asks him about the same nagging detail. Ben tells her that he had another fight with Patty (over Krissi Cates) and had been grounded. He had left the house in less than an hour but had kept the lights and the radio on in order to deceive her. Not being completely convinced Libby finally asks him about Diondra. Describing her as some crazy girl out of his league but is confronted with the dirty note she had written to him. Knowing Ben to have been lying, Libby gets up to leave.

Chapter 20

Fifteen year old Ben panics once he finds out that Diondra was pregnant with his baby. He finds himself caught in a fix, Diondra adamant about not having an abortion and demanding him to leave the town with her - something he could not do because of his young age and, because he would not get any job. Informing him about his dad Runner’s drug peddling, Diondra assumes that he has money and decides to ask him for help. The chapter ends with a hungry and drugged Ben leaving to find Runner with Diondra and Trey.

Chapter 21

While returning the jail after meeting Ben, Libby wonders if he had killed the girl Diondra too - as he was dodgy when asked about her she could make out that he was clearly lying. Back home, Libby finds a letter from Runner - who tells her that; he has cancer, Ben had not killed their family, He knew the culprit but wanted 500 dollars to come down and meet her. Runner’s rapacity infuriates Libby who throws her things about in a fit of rage. However, in the middle of her temper tantrum she hears the doorbell and finds Krissi Cates at her doorstep. Krissi confesses about having lied about Ben molesting her and tells Libby that they had only kissed once. This removes Libby’’s suspicion about Lou Cates being the killer and debunks Lyle Wirth’s theory about the same. Kris breaks down as Libby offers her a drink.

Chapter 22

Patty and Diane are met with a detective Jim Collins after being ejected from the Cates’s residence by Lout Cates. As the detective is anchorage of investigating Jim’s case, he wishes to speak to Patty and they move to a nearby Dunkin’s Donuts. While there, the detective tells Patty about Ben’s lonesome attitude and alleged involvement in Satanic rituals. He also suggests that Ben might have molested his sisters. Diane storms off with Patty and Libby to the farm where they find Runner watching TV with Michelle and Debby. Runner demands eight hundred dollars from Patty and intimidates her to give away their engagement ring. The chapter ends with Runner stomping out of the house, cursing Patty.

Chapter 23

Realising that Krissi is in no state to drive, Libby had let her sleep in her apartment. However, she find her gone once she wakes up. Not receiving any word from Diane and disregarding Lyle’s two messages, Libby decides to visit Runner at the Bert Nolan Home in Oklahoma. However, Bert tells Libby that Runner had been thrown out for drinking and was last seen at a bar. While at the bar, Libby is told by one of Runner’s debtors that he had been squatting at the old Superfund site, filled with toxic waste.

Chapter 24

Once Ben, Diodra and Trey reach the bar, Trey finds Runner and demands the money he owes him- something Runner is unable to acquiesce in, he is penniless. Runner fails to recognize his own son, Ben, and goes on to blame his ex-wife, Patty- subtly advising them to extract from her. They leave after Trey threatens Runner but before they leave Ben informs him about getting Diondra pregnant, about which Runner expresses his doubts. The trio leave for somewhere in Trey’s truck, but refuse to tell Ben where.

Chapter 25

Libby finds Runner in the chemical dumpsite she had been informed of in the bar, he is living in an dysfunctional industrial mixing vat. After introducing herself, Libby is treated by Runner in the same boisterous manner he used to when they were children. It takes Libby some time and patience to get Runner talking coherently. During his garbled tirade, Runner mentions a Trey Teepano and Diondra. During the course of their conversation, Runner also reveals that Ben had bragged about getting this girl, Diondra pregnant.

Chapter 26

Patty notices Michelle speaking about Ben’s bad behaviour at school once the ruckus caused by Runner had settled. An inkling of doubt prompts Patty to ask her if Ben had ever done anything to her. Her doubts are soon cleared as Michelle answers in the negative. However, Michelle informs Patty of the unusual things Ben has in his room. Patty uses the bolt cutter and breaks into Ben’s room only to find - erotic drawings, satanic poetry, and a paper with girl’s names written on it; ‘Krissi Day’ written inside a heart. She also finds a stash of little girl’s underwear under his bed which is most distressing to her. Len the loan officer calls her with an offer to help. Strangely, he calls her out to some remote place without sharing any more information. Patty leaves for Len’s location, after burning all the underwear, only to find an unknown man with a moustache waiting for her.

Chapter 27

Libby drives back home feeling pathetic after meeting Runner. Ben’s lying about Diondra nags her and she goes to the library computer to access the missing persons database -finding out that Diondra went missing only 19 days after the murders. She decides to see Ben and blurts everything Runner had told her about them being together and Diondra being pregnant. This infuriates Ben and when he is further questioned about Trey Trepan, he just tells her to believe his innocence and leave it at that.

Chapter 28

Trey drives Ben and Diondra in a remote area where they find four Hereford cows. Trey produces three packs of a drug he calls ‘Devil rush’ and after having consumed his orders Ben to do the same. Thereafter, they distribute weapons - a shotgun, an axe and a hunting knife. After doing ritual incantations to satan they slaughter a bull, Ben joining in last and after much coaxing - hacking the sorry animal to pieces.

Chapter 29

Libby returns home from jail after meeting Ben and finds many messages from Lyle Wirth. Giving him her address she dyes her hair red while waiting. However, Lyle turns up sooner than expected and Libby tells him everything she has discovered. Lyle proposes another theory - two, not one persons were involved in her family’s massacre. He also tells her why he identifies with her, having started a humongous wildfire in California when he was only 12. After telling her that he had never shared this story with anyone, he invites her to his birthday party.

Chapter 30

The chapter begins and ends with a dark foreboding.

Patty returns home after meeting with the enigmatic man Len had directed her to, thinking that she would not miss her surroundings at all. She find the girls asleep and calls Diane to come over early and expresses her gratitude for her help. Diane offers to come over but Patty declines. Crawling into bed, Patty finds Libby sleepwalking into bed with her. She tells her she loves her and is glad that she could say that aloud to at least one of her children.

Chapter 31

Libby finds out from Lyle about Trey Teepano’s whereabouts and is paid five hundred dollars by Magda and her friends to talk to him. She goes to his feed store with Lyle and finds out that he knew Runner, who owed him money; and that he was into Satanism. However, he said that he did not know Ben well and that he assumed Diondra to be on the run, under a different name - Polly Pam. They walk out of the store with Lyle extremely electrified about something.

Chapter 32

The trio - Ben, Trey and Diondra, return to Diondra’s house where they burn their blood stained clothes. Trey makes fun of Ben’s incompetence and they accidentally burn Ben’s jeans - forcing him to wear Diondra’s sweatpants. However, Diondra asks Ben to take money from his mother and leave the town altogether. Ben

agrees.

Chapter 33

Lyle explains his earlier excitement and connects Diondra’s pseudonym to the name tattooed on Ben’s arm - ‘Polly Pam’.

The duo are convinced that Diondra is in hiding using her pseudonym and find her in Kearney, Missouri after searching on the internet. Polly hangs up when she is asked about her identity by Libby and Libby decides to pay her a visit in person. While there, Diondra acknowledges her identity and warmly welcomes Libby. Libby tells Diondra, when prompted, that Trey and not Ben had helped in finding her and asks her if Ben had murdered her family. Diondra tells Libby about her pregnancy and displays ignorance on the subject, trying to persuade Libby to move on. When Libby asks about the baby, a girl walks in.

Chapter 34

Ben and Diondra leave without Trey for Ben’s house, hoping to get hold of some money there. Once there, Ben leads Diondra to his room where he has a present for her. He packs some clothes, a hundred dollars and a notebook full of prospective names for his baby girl. However, Ben is unable to find the present, a bundle of baby girl clothes (Patty had burned them all) and thinks that one of his sisters must have taken them. As Diondra complains about Ben’s ineptitude, Michelle enters and threatens to inform Patty. Diondra catches hold of her and strangles her, while Ben watches.

Chapter

35

Ben and Diondra’s daughter has grown up and is now a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Libby. Libby is shocked that Crystal, the youngest Day, knows all about the murders - having been informed by Diondra. Diondra shares her fears about the police with Libby and beseeches her not to disclose her identity. Diondra invites Libby for dinner and the three women talk about family memories over wine. Libby confesses her discomfiture with looking at the old albums, telling her that most of it belonged to Michelle. While talking about Michelle’s diary writing habit, she shares an anecdote and is shocked to find about Crystal’s knowledge of the same. Crystal then gets up to go to the washroom and as Libby mulls over the bizarre detail, Crystal hits her head with an iron and knocks her out.

Chapter 36

Patty wakes up in the middle of the night and hears sounds emanating from her daughter’s bedroom. However, she did not pay much attention to them and went straight to the door where Calvin Diehl was waiting for her. To stab her. She had hired him in order for her children to claim her insurance and save Ben along with the fam. However, no sooner had he stabbed her than Debby came down running to fetch Patty for help, someone (Diondra) was hurting Michelle. Patty feels helpless as she watches Calvin pick up the axe and kill Debby with it. As Patty drags herself to Debby, Calvin picks up the shotgun and shoots her in the head.

Chapter 37

Libby is roused by Diondra and Crystal’s mutterings and realizes that Diondra is strangling her. Libby manages to free herself by hitting Diondra and tries to run away, but staggers and tumbles down into the basement. Once inside, she finds a small room with a ventilation shaft atop. After making her narrow escape through the shaft, Libby hides in the woods as she is hunted by the mother-daughter duo. Staying still she waits till dawn before making her way to find help.

Chapter 38

Diondra is straggling Michelle to death as Ben watches. The duo hear noises outside the room but venture out only after Michelle is dead. They see the dead body of Patty and Debby lying in a pool of blood. However, Libby is missing and Diondra tells Ben to find her, they cannot have any witnesses and she wants Ben to get all her mother’s insurance money. Diondra tells Ben to never reveal anything about her to anyone. Ben goes out to find Libby but shouts her to stay wherever she is, hidden from the murderous Diondra. He comes back home to find Diondra smearing blood over the walls and making signs with the axe, having mutilated his mother’s body even more. He takes her home after wiping everything she touched, clean.

Chapter 39

Libby waits for Lyle Wirth after calling him from a petrol-pump phone. Once there, she tells him everything that transpired at Diondra’s. Lyle tells her about the absconding, ‘Angel of Debt’ Calvin Diehl’s arrest. Diehl had been allegedly killing debt ridden people since the 1980’s in order for their families to receive the insurance. And, of the 32 notes written by the people he has murdered, one is from Patty Day. However, Diehl confesses to murdering Debby and not Michelle. Realizing there to be two murderers, Diondra and Calvin, Lyle takes Libby to the sheriff. However, Diondra and Crystal have fled after burning their house. Two days after this ordeal, Libby receives a note from a detective - from her mother, who tells her children not to blame themselves and take good care of each other. Libby, initially feeling anger and sadness, feels a warm tenderness for her mother; who tried as hard as it gets for them.

Chapter 40

Calvin Diehl recounts the horrific ordeal of the Day murders, horrific even for a professional man as himself. He is shocked at the happenings as he cleans himself of the blood. He thinks himself to be an honourable man and had never killed anyone who did not want to die, but now, he had butchered a little girl. He is unable to absolve himself of the guilt and for the first time, sees himself as a murderer.

Chapter 41

Diondra and Crystal have been absconding for more than two weeks and Lyle tells Libby how helpful it might be to get some of their DNA. Libby takes the lipstick she had stolen from her house and the DNA is matched with the blood on Michelle’s bed the night she was murdered. Diondra is caught soon after but Crystal is still missing. With both Calvin Diehl and Diondra caught, there is hope for Ben. Libby visits Ben and he asks her about Crystal. Libby tells him about her being on the run but confesses that she will not be implicating her niece and leaves it at that.

Chapter 42

Ben imagines how life will be once he gets out of prison and fantasizes finding Crystal and taking care of her. He feels ashamed of himself for not having had the courage to do anything but watch the night of the murders. Battered from life in jail and life before that, he settles on spending the rest of his life taking care of Libby and begging her to forgive him.

Chapter 43

Libby visits her aunt Diane and stays at her place for a couple of hours. Diane tells her to come over sometime soon. Libby decides to visit their old home, her mother’s farm and finds that it was still a farm but belonged to the Muehlers now. Driving back, it seems like she’s finally found solace.