I just finished rereading the novel and I was left with one real pressing question about the ending. Why didn't Gage kill Louis when he had the chance? When Gage came for the scalpel he could have easily killed Louis in his sleep and removed a potential threat? It was obvious he planned on killing everyone (and not just cut a rug like Timmy Baterman) that had 'wronged' him, so why leave the one with the better chance of stopping him alive? Even in their final fight in Jud's house Gage didn't come at Louis the same way he did Rachel or Jud, so this left me wondering.