Mr. Preston telephones Juan Manuel. He promises Juan Manuel that they will do nothing to endanger him or his family. While they wait for Juan Manuel to arrive, Molly thinks about what a difference it makes having friends on her side. Her apartment feels alive again. When Juan Manuel arrives, he tells them that what Rodney told Molly was true—he no longer has an apartment or a work permit. When he needed his permit extended, Rodney introduced him to a lawyer who took all Juan Manuel’s money but never produced a permit. With no money, Juan Manuel couldn’t get back to Mexico. Rodney promised he would fix it, but he needed Juan Manuel to help him out.

The bag that Molly moved to an empty room each day wasn’t Juan Manuel’s—it was Rodney’s and it contained cocaine. Rodney made him stay up all night preparing the drugs for sale. If he fell asleep or didn’t work hard enough, Rodney’s friends burned him with cigars. Juan Manuel tried to defy Rodney, but Rodney threatened to kill him. When Juan Manuel said he would rather die than continue, Rodney threatened to kill his family. Juan Manuel tells Molly that on the day she found him and Rodney in the hotel room, he tried to warn her to run away.