The End

Dewey had imagined that with the deaths of Smith and Hickock, he would experience a sense of climax, release, or a design justly completed. Instead, he discovered himself recalling an incident of almost a year ago, a casual encounter in Valley View Cemetery, which, in retrospect, had somehow for him more or less ended the Clutter case. (Capote 341)

Death doesn't bring anything for the living; It can only take away. Agent Dewey learns this at the end of the story. Though the death of the two murderers is supposed to bring justice, it does not. What the participants really needed was closure.

For Dewey it "more or less ended the Clutter case," to Bobby (Nancy's boyfriend) it was marrying a girl who understood his pain. Dewey sees that the effected parties have not forgoten but simply lived through the event.

This is the main moral to the retelling of the true events. Death affects us all, but how we deal with it is the real story. This story is not about death, but rather, the living. Every person in the story had a different perspective and something to add. Seeing and feeling each person made the real story come together. Whether it be the lives of the Clutters, two murders, or the Agent who fought to find the truth.