When Walter was settled into his new room, Isabel and Willa dropped by to bring Leo the books he asked for, but the nurse kicked them out shortly after.
She claimed it was because of visiting hour restrictions, but Leo was allowed to stay, so he suspected it was something else. (Walter may have mentioned Isabel's gun, but Leo couldn't be entirely sure that was it.)
They left with promises to return in the morning.
It was quiet when they were alone.
"How about I read to you now?" Leo asked.
Walter made a confirmatory noise.
Leo opened the book.
"'Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing.'"
Leo held the book up for Walter to see the picture, and continued on.
Leo's voice was soothing, and Walter fell asleep somewhere around the fox. Leo noticed, but kept reading to him until he finished the book.
"I'll have to read it to you again," he said. "When you're awake, so you can see the pictures."
Walter only dozed on.
"I'll be back in the morning," Leo told him. And to make sure Walter knew, he wrote him a note and stuck it to his bed, right where he'd see it when he opened his eyes.