How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
A lunch counter, a few tables, and an alcove harboring a hot grill and an icebox and a radio—that's all there is to Hartman's café. "But our customers like it," says the proprietress. "Got to. Nowhere else for them to go. 'Less they drive seven miles in one direction or fifteen the other. Anyway, we run a friendly place, and the coffee's good […]" (2.124)
Bad news about Holcomb? There's only one café. Good news? Probably everyone there knows your name and how you take your coffee. Does your local Starbucks do this?
Quote #8
"If [the killer] wasn't him, maybe it was you. Or somebody across the street. All the neighbors are rattlesnakes. Varmints looking for a chance to slam the door in your face. It's the same the whole world over. You know that." (2.249)
There's always a cantankerous old woman in every small town—she's like Corabeth on The Waltons, always thinking the worst of everyone. The way Capote records this conversation, it's clear that he's showing the reader the first inklings of the shattering of neighborly trust that would be a common reaction after the murders were first discovered.
Quote #9
[…] for the majority of Holcomb's population, having lived for seven weeks amid unwholesome rumors, general mistrust, and suspicion, appeared to feel disappointed at being told that the murderer was not someone among themselves. (3.420)
You can see here that as time went on, a lot of townspeople became suspicious of one another. Capote's demonstrating how, in a small town, suspicion can fester and seep into everybody. This is the damage done by the murders to the tight-knit fabric of Holcomb society. Why do you think Capote thought they were "disappointed" that the murderer wasn't one of them? Don't you think they'd feel relief? Was it guilt that they'd distrusted the neighbors they'd known so well?