A Bullet for Cinderella

The narrator, recently returned from brutal captivity, arrives at a rain-soaked motel near Hillston while preparing to investigate a troubled acquaintance's past. He recounts how Timmy Warden stole and hid a large sum in jars and carried on an affair with his brother's wife, then was captured and, consumed by remorse, urged the narrator to retrieve the money and make amends. The narrative alternates present-tense action at the motel with flashback exposition about survival, betrayal, buried cash, and the moral burden the narrator inherits as he contemplates confronting the town and the consequences of Timmy's choices.