Although a sizeable reward is offered for the apprehension of Mr. Hyde, he has disappeared as if he never existed. Dr. Jekyll comes out of seclusion and for almost two months socializes with his friends as in the old days. But one day, and every day thereafter, his door is shut to Mr. Utterson. Lacking companionship, Utterson visits Dr. Lanyon, only to find him totally changed physically. He seems to have suffered some shock, “some deep-seated terror of the mind.” Lanyon confides that he will never recover and is resigned to death. When Utterson mentions Jekyll’s name, the doctor becomes angry. He tells Utterson that one day he may learn the truth. Upon reaching home that evening Utterson writes to Jekyll asking why he has cut himself off from his friends. Jekyll’s reply is that he intends to live in seclusion and that he must suffer for the danger he has brought upon himself.
Within a few weeks Lanyon dies and Utterson receives an envelope from his friend with instructions not to open it until the death or disappearance of Jekyll. Resisting the impulse to get to the bottom of the mystery, Utterson files the letter away. He finds that his desire to see Jekyll waning following these sad events.