In Cold Blood: Part 1 Summary & Analysis

Mid-November, 1959. The setting: Holcomb, Kansas – a tiny town of 270 inhabitants situated at the crossroads between the fertile plains of the Midwest and the dusty ranges of the High West. The town has several principal landmarks: the post office, Hartman’s Café (run by Mrs Hartman), Holcomb School, the Teacherage (where the several of the town’s teachers live), and the Holcomb School. Normally a sleepy, quiet town, the silence is broken in the early hours of the morning by “four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives.”

Flashback to two days earlier. We’re introduced to Herb Clutter – the “master” of River Valley Farm. Herb is middle-aged, but “in first-rate condition” thanks to his work ethic and Methodist temperance. Herb is a successful man and a prominent citizen of both Holcomb and nearby Garden City. He is the father of four children: Eveanna (the mother of a 10-month-old boy), Beverly (a nursing student who will soon be married), Nancy (16, “the town darling”), and Kenyon (15, a studious but athletic boy).

Herb’s wife, Bonnie Clutter, is introduced. She is a “nervous” woman who throughout her life has suffered from “little spells.” She has recently gotten word from a doctor that a spinal surgery might relieve her depression, and there is new hope in the household as a result. In an effort to prove that change is coming, Bonnie dons a new dress, fixes her hair, and puts in an appearance at Nancy’s school play.

Nancy begs to be allowed to stay out late after the play, and her father – softened by his daughter’s success in the play, as well as his wife’s good spirits – gives her permission. Herb gives Nancy a scolding later that night, given that she returns home two hours late, driven by her boyfriend Bobby Rupp. Bobby and Nancy have been dating for three years, and Herb is concerned that their relationship is far too serious. He encourages Nancy to break things off with Bobby, given that the Rupps are Roman Catholics – to Herb’s mind, Catholics and Methodists simply cannot marry.

Herb ends up sleeping in, given that he went to bed far too late. He wakes up alone – his wife is sleeping upstairs, in Eveanna’s former bedroom. It is revealed that Herb and Bonnie haven’t slept in the same bed for several years. The house he lives in – which he designed himself- is large and well appointed. Mr. Clutter drinks a glass of milk (no coffee – he disapproves of all stimulants, and of alcohol as well) and heads to the livestock corral accompanied by the family dog, Teddy.

Herb’s backstory is touched upon in this scene, detailing how he worked his way up from an assistant to the Finney County agricultural agent to a full-fledged county agent. Herb ultimately dreamed of running his own farm, so he quit his job in order to start River Valley Farm. Naysayers dismissed Herb’s “university notions” of running a farm, but his experiments were ultimately a success – “partly because, in the beginning years, [Herb] labored eighteen hours a day.”

Herb greets the farm’s “sole resident employee,” Alfred Stoecklein. Alfred begs off work, given that his baby is sick. Mr. Clutter grants him a day off, and offers to help Alfred in any way he can. Herb then wanders down to the river, where he has planted a small orchard of fruit trees – “his attempt to contrive…a patch of the paradise, the green, apple-scented Eden, he envisioned.” He walks by the river and recalls the happy early days of his marriage, when he used to picnic there with Bonnie and the children.

Five pheasant hunters from Oklahoma appear, and they approach Herb. Teddy runs at them but, gun-shy, he quickly puts his head down and tucks his tail between his legs when he spots their rifles. The hunters offer to pay a fee to hunt on the farm. Herb gives them leave to hunt for free. “I’m not as poor as I look. Go ahead, get all you can,” he says.

Perry Smith is sitting in the Little Jewel Café in Olathe, Kansas. He’s drinking a root beer, smoking a cigarette, and studying a map of Mexico. He recently arrived in Olathe with all his worldly belongings: a cardboard suitcase, a guitar, and two boxes filled to the brim with letters, souvenirs, and books. He’s waiting at the café for his partner in crime, Dick Hickock, to arrive, so they can discuss the plans for a robbery (a “score”). Perry muses over the map, fantasizing about becoming a treasure hunter in the tropics. Perry pays his bill and rises to leave, revealing his short stature. He stands outside to wait for Dick. While he waits, he idly dreams about becoming a musician at a nightclub in Vegas, a notion that Dick ha dismissed in the past. (Perry admires this about Dick, thinking him to be practical and “totally masculine.”) His reveries are abruptly shattered when Dick pulls up in a car.

Nancy Clutter receives a phone call from Mrs. Clarence Katz, who wants Nancy to help her daughter, Jolene Katz, learn how to make a cherry pie. Nancy, a “champion cherry-pie maker,” would love to help Jolene out, but her schedule is overbooked. She goes to her father’s office to see if she can get out of her 4-H meeting, scheduled for that day. While in his office, she notices a peculiar smell of tobacco. Herb gives her leave to skip 4-H, and Nancy tells a relieved Mrs. Katz that she can teach Jolene how to bake a pie.

Nancy goes to her room and changes her clothes, putting on her favorite gold watch. Her best friend Susan Kidwell calls on the phone. Nancy reveals to her that she’s worried about Herb – she suspects that he’s been smoking cigarettes. She also mentions that Herb has once again asked her to break things off with Bobby. Nancy feels awful about disobeying her father. “I just want to be his daughter and do as he wishes,” she says. She then muses that the source of her father’s grouchiness has nothing to do with Bobby. Sue, who knows Nancy very well, asks if Bonnie’s the source of the trouble. Nancy brushes this suggestion off, but secretly wonders whether Sue might be right.

Perry gets into Dick’s car – a black 1949 Chevrolet. Dick is still wearing his blue mechanic’s jumpsuit. He checks the back seat to see if his guitar is still there, and spots a twelve-gauge shotgun, along with a flashlight, a fishing knife, a pair of leather gloves, and hunting vest packed with shotgun shells. Perry asks if the vest is for the robbery, and Dick confirms that it’s part of the plan. “’A cinch,’ said Dick. ‘I promise you, honey, we’ll blast hair all over them walls.’” Perry corrects his grammar – he’s a stickler for grammar.

They drive to Dick’s place of work, Bob Sands’ Body Shop, and tune up the Chevy. Dick reveals that he was late because his father was at home – newly released from prison, he’s currently living with his parents (one condition of his parole). Dick doesn’t want his parents to catch on to his lie: he’s told them that he’s going on an overnight trip to Fort Scott with Perry in order to collect money from Perry’s sister. They finish tuning up the car at noon.

A cherry pie sits cooling on the counter at the Clutters’ house. Jolene is overjoyed, and Nancy is pleased that she was able to help. Jolene wants to eat the pie right away, offering pieces to Bonnie and Nancy. They refuse – Nancy has to go help tutor another neighborhood girl, and Bonnie has one of her headaches. Nancy has to leave, so Bonnie agrees to keep Jolene company until her mother comes to pick her up. Jolene feels nervous in the presence of “strange” Mrs. Clutter. They chat about Nancy, and Jolene mentions that the home economics teacher at school has spoken highly of her: “‘Nancy Clutter is always in a hurry, but she always has time. And that’s one definition of a lady.’” Mrs, Clutter agrees, wanly, saying, “All my children are efficient. They don’t need me.”

Bonnie takes Jolene into the dining room, where she keeps an assortment of miniatures on display. She mentions that Herb travels “a great deal,” and that he always brings back “tiny things” from his travels. She unfolds a tiny paper fan from San Francisco and shows it to Jolene. “’Little things really belong to you,’ she said. ‘They don’t have to be left behind. You can carry them in a shoebox.’” Fragments of Bonnie’s past are revealed – her history of postpartum depression, the various failed treatments for “nervousness.” One of these treatments involved Bonnie moving away to a new city and starting a new life. She loved it, but returned home out of guilt; she felt it was “unchristian.” In spite of her many failed treatments, Bonnie trusts that God would have mercy on her. Her mother arrives, and Bonnie gives Jolene the fan.

Bonnie, alone in the house, decides to go to back to bed – “the bed she so rarely abandoned that poor Mrs. Helm had to battle for the chance to change its linen twice a week.” She retreats to her room upstairs, which is sparsely furnished. The windows are always shut. Bonnie thinks back on her time as a mother, and feels that she has let her family down. She changes into a nightgown, gets into bed, and begins reading the Bible.

Having finished tuning up the Chevy, Dick and Perry spend the next hour “sprucing up” in the body shop’s bathroom. Both men are rather vain, and they take care with their respective appearances. Both men strip down to their briefs, revealing a motley assortment of tattoos. It’s revealed that Dick’s face is slightly crooked due to a car accident. Unclothed, Perry’s own disfigurement is on full display – his legs and lower body are twisted and scarred due to a serious motorcycle accident. The accident left him with chronic pain, and is addicted to aspirin as a result. Dick decides they’ve spent enough time primping. (“’O.K., beauty. Put away the comb,’ Dick said.”) They dress and go to the car.

Herb and Kenyon attend the 4-H Club meeting in Garden City, a town of eleven thousand people that boasts a golf course, a number of churches, a small zoo, and the “World’s Largest FREE Swimpool.” Herb gives the Mrs. Hideo Ashida and her children a ride home, and during the drive Mrs. Ashida mentions that she and her husband might be moving away. Herb is alarmed. Mrs. Ashida explains that her husband thinks their lives might be better in Nebraska. She then asks Herb for advice regarding a Christmas present for her husband – should she give him three gold teeth? Herb approves. Mrs. Ashida makes the comment that she can’t imagine Herb ever being frightened of anything.

Dick and Perry reach the large town of Emporia, Kansas in order to pick up supplies for the robbery. While in a department store, Perry argues that the duo should wear women’s stockings over their faces in order to hide their identities – and, ostensibly, so they can avoid having to murder anyone. When it’s determined that they can’t get black stockings at the store, Dick reassures Perry that nothing can go wrong with their plan.

Kenyon, alone in the basement den, is at work on a hope chest as a wedding present for his sister Beverly. Although quite tall and athletic, Kenyon is an introverted boy, and not yet interested in girls. Kenyon goes outside to work on his mother’s flower garden, where he finds Paul Helm. Mr. Helm inquires about a car in the driveway; Kenyon speculates that it belongs to Mr. Johnson, the insurance agent. Nancy, soaking wet from a dip in the river, comes riding up on Babe. Mr. Helm takes his leave; it is the last time he will see the Clutter children alive.

Dick and Perry, still on the hunt for black pantyhose, are parked outside of a Catholic hospital on the outskirts of town. Dick goes in to check and see if there’s any black hose for sale, and Perry waits in the car, citing a superstitious belief that nuns are bad luck. While in the car, Perry reflects on his real reason for returning to Kansas – the hope that he might be reunited with Willie-Jay, the prison chaplain’s clerk who, in prison, had been Perry’s “real and only friend.” Willie-Jay had tried in vain to convert Perry to Christianity, and had also warned Perry to beware of his violent temper. Dick, meanwhile, dismissed Willie-Jay as a “faggot.” Once paroled, Perry discovered that Willie-Jay had disappeared (it’s implied that Willie-Jay wants to start a new life, free of ties to his former life as a prisoner), leaving Perry no choice but to join up with Dick. Perry is shaken from his musings when Dick returns to the car empty handed.

Bob Johnson, the Garden City Representative of the New York Life Insurance Company, watches Mr. Clutter write a check for a new life insurance policy. Mr. Johnson jokes about Herb’s infamous habit of never carrying cash. Herb boasts about his daughter’s impending marriage, and comments on his immense luck. He speculates that his fortune will only increase in the years to come. Mr. Johnson places Herb’s check in his pocket and departs.

Dick and Perry drive through the night. Perry gazes out at the flat landscape and reflects on how he hates Kansas; seaports are more his speed. Perry starts talking about Mexico – he reasons that he and Dick could rent a boat and go on a trip to Japan. He begins reminiscing about Japan (he was stationed there as a merchant marine), but Dick cuts him off – he seems preoccupied.

The next scene is told from the point of view of Bobby Rupp, during his testimony at the police station following the murder of the Clutters. Bobby recounts his relationship with Nancy. “Always, as long as I can remember, she was pretty and popular.” Bobby recalls his last night with the Clutters (the night of the murder), and says he left their house at 10:30 that evening.

Dick and Perry have a veritable feast at a diner in Great Bend. They take off for Holcomb, and several hours later they stop at gas station on the outskirts of Garden City - Hurd’s Phillips 66. Perry, suddenly wracked with pain in his legs, locks himself in the restroom. He takes some aspirin and inspects the rubber gloves he purchased. Dick waits impatiently in the car.

While in the car, Dick worries that Perry has changed his mind about the “score” – something Dick hadn’t expected. Perry had once told Dick that he had killed a black man with a bicycle chain, “simply ‘for the hell of it’,” and Dick had thereafter been convinced that Perry was “that rarity, ‘a natural killer.’” After this revelation, Dick resolved to exploit Perry, and in doing so pretended to go along with his treasure hunting fantasies. Dick longs for a “’regular life,’ with a business of his own, a house, a horse to ride, a new car, and ‘plenty of blonde chicken.’” Perry finally emerges, and they depart. They arrive at the Clutters’ house late that night.

The next morning, Clarence Ewalt drives his daughter Nancy Ewalt, a friend of Nancy Clutters’, to River Valley Farm, so she can go to church with their family. Nancy Ewalt rings the doorbell and there’s no answer. Sensing that something is amiss, she and her father drive to the Teacherage, to see if Susan Kidwell knows what’s going on. After trying to call the Clutters on the phone, Mr. Ewalt, Nancy Ewalt, Susan, and her mother, Wilma, decide to go to the Clutters’ house to investigate. Susan and Nancy are sent into the house and they discover Nancy Clutter’s dead body. They run out of the house, screaming.

The police, accompanied by Mr. Ewalt and Larry Hendricks, investigate the house. Upstairs, they discover Nancy’s body – she’s been shot in the head at point-blank range, but strangely enough she’s also been tucked into bed. They then discover Bonnie’s body in Eveanna’s room. Her hands have been tied in front of her, “so that she looked as though she were praying,” and her mouth has been taped shut. She, too, has been shot in the head. Kenyon and Herb are found in the basement, in separate rooms. Both are tied, have their mouths taped, and have been shot in the head. Mr. Clutter, however, also had his throat cut, and Kenyon had his head propped up with pillows. The only clue is a bloodstained footprint.

Holcomb’s mail carrier, Mother Truitt spies ambulances at River Valley Farm while she’s waiting for the mail to come in by train. She rushes back to the post office, where her daughter, Mrs. Myrt Clare, works as the town’s postmistress. Mrs. Clare makes a phone call and discovers that the Clutters have been murdered. Mother Truitt reacts with grief and horror. Her daughter is cavalier about the killings, saying, “When your time comes, it comes. And tears won’t save you.”

News of the Clutter family’s murder ripples through the town, with most of Holcomb’s inhabitants reacting with shock, terror, and disbelief. The hub for news about the murders is Hartman’s Café, where the owner, Mrs. Bess Hartman, has been shaken to the core. Insurance agent Bob Johnson, dumbfounded by the Clutter murders, decides to honor Herb’s life insurance policy, even though he hasn’t yet deposited Herb’s check. Eveanna Jarchow and Beverly Clutter, along with the rest of the Clutter’s extended family, head to Garden City. Mr. Ewalt informs Bobby Rupp of the murders, and Susan comforts Bobby.

Perry sleeps in a motel room in Olathe, Kansas. His boots are soaking in the washbasin; the water is tinted with blood. Nearby, Dick, famished, is wolfing down Sunday dinner with his family. Instead of joining his family in front of the TV, he falls asleep straight after finishing his meal.