Jake visits the “Center Street Market” where he finds Frank Dunning in the back. Frank is the head butcher. He charms the ladies who come to buy from his counter with clean jokes and a ready smile. Jake follows Frank after the market closes and discovers that he is living in a boarding house not far from where his family lives.

Jake rents a small apartment. He tells everyone who asks that he is scouting real estate for a company out of Wisconsin. As he settles in Derry, Jake tries to decide how to best deal with Frank Dunning. He thinks of killing him, but he worries that although he has Harry’s side of the story, Harry might have gotten the facts wrong. Jake decides his best option is to wait until the night of the attack. For this purpose, Jake buys a gun: a .38 Police Special.

One evening, Jake follows Frank into a local bar. A man named Chaz Frati joins Jake at the bar and tells him a few things about Frank, including his wife’s name: Doris. Chaz says that Frank was married once before and had a little boy, but that the wife took off with the kid and never came back.