 Once William received the money from Partridge, what didn't he decide to do?
For punishment, he locked me in a windowless room and told me to sit still until he came back. It was two or three years later that I skulked into Brother Partridge's mission on Durbin Street. Partridge was supposed to think I was just a bum. Partridge didn't seem to notice me, but I knew that was an act. Even Partridge made his way down from the auctioneer's stand like a vulture with a busted wing and darted through his private door. The box was fastened to the vertical tongue-and-groove laths of the woodwork, not the wall.
 make a better future for himself
 research the murder  clean himself up  eat his fill  make a better future for himself