To give a brief summary of events therein, Ginny and Brew leave Lorna's house, and Ginny, still acting the caretaker, determines that it's time to feed Brew. She tries to lighten her sort-of nursing with some humor
and they each humor the other by being polite as they discuss the case at the restaurant, showing that they can be sensitive to the other's feelings at times. These are characters that are very involved in each other's emotions, it seems very often Brew gives his motivation for doing something in such terms as "I owed her some politeness myself."If you don't get regular meals, it'll stunt your growth.
They visit Alathea's school and speak with Mrs. Rumsfeld, about whom Brew has a moment of empathy when he realizes she is so severe because she is, in fact, married to Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Okay, not really. She's severe because she cares about kids. I am just picking out every last bit of Brew's insight/intuition here.
But, anyway, Alathea was a normal kid, and they return to Ginny's office to make unproductive calls to runaway kid hotlines and then visit the home of Carol Christie's parents. They're a delightful couple. Mary may have been inclined to talk, but as Ginny makes an inroad, her husband shows up and all they can accomplish is for Ginny to ask if they recieved a note, and for Mary to hand it over before the beat a strategic retreat. So that's what happens.
My favorite thing about this chapter is the introduction of "Muchoburger." But then, I am always amused when books or movies invent made-up chains of restaurants or stores instead of saying "McDonald's" or whatever.
However, this does tie into the main thing I noticed about this chapter, which is the description of Puerto del Sol, mainly its faded glory. The Muchoburger is
The school isn't the best in the city, or the worst. The office building that houses Ginny's office is in the former business section, now three miles down the way from the "glitzy real estate where the banks live these days." Half-reputable lawyers and suchlike lease there, and it's "never more two-thirds full." Dingy halls and poor lighting complete the effect, though Brew, the obsessive compulsive cleaner keeps the office tidy. When they visit the Christies we get a tour of the sprawling suburbs of Puerto del Sol, where "the cowboy money lives." Overall, the cumulative effect is one of decay, bright, sunny dingyness, and a sort of decadence. To digress, I live in an area that has been rapidly developed, with little thought for the future, and though it's not like the American southwest by a longshot (it's Florida), I find these descriptions familiar. It's not subtle--there's hardly anything that doesn't have a patina of disuse or decline as people move to the latest chic neighborhood--but in a way I think it's a comment on or at least a description of the fast development of that area of the country....in one of those small business sections that looks like someon just dropped a bunch of white concrete bricks out of the sky and ran away before anybody could catch him and make him clean it up.
So that was pretty much what I got from this. Donaldson starts to lay on the "decay" atmosphere, alluded to somewhat in the opening with his description of the Anglo vs. Latino parts of town. But it's mainly a utilitarian chapter, since the investigation has to start somewhere, and the main result of it is that Brew and Ginny retrieve Carol's note, which is very like Alathea's.