Sheriff Robinson turns the murder case over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). The KBI’s Garden City agent, Alvin Adams Dewey, believes that the crime was likely personal. However, the crime scene implies the involvement of two killers, and Dewey can’t understand how two separate people could hold a murderous grudge against the Clutters. Bobby is an early suspect, but Dewey doubts his involvement.

Dewey’s fellow agents—Church, Duntz, and Nye—question the residents of Holcomb, but turn up only a few minor grievances against the Clutters. Robbery also seems unlikely as a motive, given how little is missing from the house; what’s more, it was common knowledge that Clutter didn’t keep large amounts of cash at home. The apparent senselessness of the crime leaves much of Holcomb on edge.

The Tuesday following the murders, Perry and Dick stop at a Kansas City diner, where Perry reads an article about the murders and reminds Dick of a potential loose end: Floyd Wells, who first told Dick about the Clutter family. Irritated, Dick asks Perry why he agreed to a scheme he believed would end badly. Perry describes a recurring dream of his. In it, Perry picks diamonds from a tree, even though he knows doing so will cause the snake guarding the tree to attack him.