In the Heat of the Night

CHAPTERS 1-3

Reading Check

1. Driving through “shantyville, the poor side of town” during his shift (Chapter 1)

2. The recent fight between an African American and an Italian fighter named Ricci (Chapter 1)

3. Sam wants Gillespie to “make a public fool of himself and bungle the case.” (Chapter 2)

4. “Sam Wood did not like Negroes [...] [i]t therefore confused him for a moment when he discovered within himself a stab of admiration for the slender man who stood beside him.” (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. During Sam’s night shift in Wells, he grapples with the heat while completing his routine check across the town: He looks into the homes with lights on (including one with a naked female minor), surveils the area, and takes a break at the local diner. After his break, he finds a man strewn in the street, whom he suspects to be the orchestra leader Mantoli. (Chapter 1)

2. After the police officers determine that Mantoli’s murderer is not too far away, Sam visits the train station where he finds a man around 30 years old waiting in the “colored” room of the station. He notices that he does not seem to fit the physical stereotype of other “negros” and, while in questioning with Gillespie, Sam realizes that Tibbs is educated. (Chapter 2)

3. Gillespie and Sam assume Tibbs is a suspect in the murder case, as well as a thief and a liar. However, after Gillespie receives confirmation from the police station in Pasadena that Tibbs is an investigator and a specialist in homicide, the Wells police station has no option but to let him go. (Chapter 3)

4. The police station in Pasadena recommend Tibbs as a consultant on the case. Gillespie initially thinks it would be useful to have someone who understands homicide; however, he ultimately determines that “he would get rid of Tibbs as soon as possible. The Pasadena boys had been pulling his leg when they recommended him. Nobody could tell him that a colored man could do anything he couldn’t do.” (Chapter 3)

CHAPTERS 4-7

Reading Check

1. “‘They call me Mr. Tibbs,‘ Virgil answered.” (Chapter 4)

2. George Endicott, the man whom Mantoli was staying with (Chapter 4)

3. Tibbs can be Gillespie’s “alibi” if the case goes awry. (Chapter 5)

4. Driving to Atlanta to find a new conductor for the festival (Chapter 6)

5. The heat (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. Harvey Oberst is the poor white man found with Mantoli’s wallet. Gillespie is sure he is the murderer and is eager to show off to Tibbs; however, Oberst insists that he only took the wallet after Mantoli was dead and did not kill him himself. (Chapter 4)

2. Tibbs exhibits his knowledge of observation related to crime. He deduces that Oberst is not the murderer because he is right-handed, wears non-squeaking shoes, and would have had time to shave. (Chapter 4)

3. The reader learns that Tibbs understands Gillespie’s plan to use him as the “fall guy” in case something goes wrong with the case; however, he is confident that he will solve the murder. Jess helps Tibbs by lending him a car so he can move freely and inconspicuously around the town while he investigates. (Chapter 5)

4. Sam drives Tibbs to the Endicotts’ house where he meets Mr. and Mrs. Endicott, Mr. Kaufman (the associate of Mantoli), and Duena (Mantoli’s daughter). Sam is struck by Duena’s presence, and Tibbs uses the opportunity to ask the Endicotts and Kaufman more questions about the murder. (Chapter 5)

5. Tibbs asks about Oberst’s whereabouts the night of the murder and his frequency of shaving, as well as the placement of the wallet next to the body. Although Oberst treats Tibbs with racial prejudice, Tibbs does not let this affect his conclusion, which is that, based on the evidence, Oberst is innocent of murder. (Chapter 6)

CHAPTERS 8-10

Reading Check

1. “Smartest black I ever saw […] He oughta been a white man.” (Chapter 8)

2. That he does not know his place in the racial segregation of the town (Chapter 8)

3. To get a gun permit (Chapter 9)

4. That it could have been Sam (Chapter 9)

5. Impregnating/raping her (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. Suspecting that the murder was committed on the outskirts of town and with a piece of wood, Tibbs asks Reverend Whiteburn to engage his children in an activity where they must collect different sources of firewood. (Chapter 8)

2. Tibbs requests to accompany Sam on his mighty patrol ride, asking him to retrace his steps the night of the murder. At first Sam is hesitant, but after hearing Tibbs’s logic regarding the facts of the case as well as discussing race relations in the US, Sam leaves the night with more respect for Tibbs. (Chapter 8)

3. Gillespie receives a letter with no return address reminding him that he received his position because he would keep racial segregation in the town, particularly in the police station, and that Tibbs’s presence was affecting the status quo. Gillespie is enraged that someone is telling him what to do, particularly “southern white trash,” and determines “to keep [Tibbs] around as long as it pleased [Gillespie] to do so.” (Chapter 9)

4. After learning from the bank manager that Sam recently received a large sum of cash, Gillespie determines that Sam is the murderer and has him locked up in the jail. However, Tibbs does not believe Sam is the murderer, and, after learning that Delores on a separate account has accused Sam of seducing her sexually, Tibbs visits the Endicott’s house again to find the true murderer. (Chapter 10)

CHAPTERS 11-12

Reading Check

1. Because he “figured it was Virgil who got hurt” in the fight (Chapter 11)

2. Because he was willing to work on a low salary and he is a southerner (Chapter 12)

3. To prove that Sam is innocent and to catch the real murderer (Chapter 12)

4. He had saved up coins in order to pay off his mortgage. (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. As Tibbs leaves dinner at Jess’s house, he is attacked by two white men, one of which is armed with a weapon similar to the murder weapon. Tibbs is able to defend himself against the men and calls the police, where Gillespie questions the men, assuming that they were behind the anonymous letter. (Chapter 11)

2. Tibbs visits the Purdys’ home, hoping to learn who violated Delores. He is met with resistance from both the father and the daughter, but Tibbs stands strong and insists that they recount the story. He is given satisfactory information and is ready to speak to Gillespie with the truth. (Chapter 11)

3. In front of George Endicott, Duena, Sam, and Gillespie, Tibbs presents his argument that Sam did not defile Delores. Using character judgments, clothing analysis, and psychological studies from past cases, he determines that Delores used Sam’s name with the hopes that she could trick him into marriage. Soon after, Delores walks in with her father and drops the charges against Sam on her own accord. (Chapter 12)

CHAPTERS 13-14

Reading Check

1. That she was Sam’s “girl” (Chapter 13)

2. The human race (Chapter 14)

Short Answer

1. Both Tibbs and Gillespie join Sam on his nightly patrol, where Tibbs is confident that he will catch the murderer. Sam follows his usual schedule, including a break at the diner where they run into Endicott. While Tibbs initially waits in the car while the men eat, he then comes in later asking for something to drink. Ralph, the worker at the diner, tries to deny him entrance based on color; however, Tibbs pulls Ralph into a “painful hammerlock” and announces that he is the murderer of Mantoli. (Chapter 13)

2. In a meeting at the Endicott home with several prominent characters, Tibbs shares his thought process that led him to find the murderer of Mantoli. He admits that he initially believed the murderer to be Kauffman; however, Tibbs notes that he “tried to make the evidence fit the suspect instead of the other way around,” which led to the wrong suspect in the case. After learning more about Delores and her background, he is able to make the link between Ralph and his work schedule, which would have allowed him to commit the murder without being seen. Tibbs also explains other important factors, including Ralph’s need for money (i.e., to pay for Delores’s abortion), the heat of the night (i.e., to keep the body warm and to reduce the number of cars on the road), as well as the personalities of Mantoli and Ralph. (Chapter 14)