The Man Who Killed His Brother, Ch. 20
Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 1:42 am
Denouement
Brew, Acton and the cops go to the scene, a rich ranch-house out of town. There they find enough evidence to convince the most skeptical of juries. Not that it does Brew's conscience much good, but they also find Mattie, Ted's daughter, alive. He does allows himself to relax a little, though.
Brew's gut tells him that Acton already knew what they'd find, and Acton confirms it by telling Brew how they followed the "paper" trail. It wasn't enough to convict, but it definately got Acton's attention.
Apparently, Smithsonian is good at what he does. However, not for the last time, he proves to be useless to Brew's case. The money, what was left of it, was all in cash. A fairly obvious attempt to shake off the reader, in my opinion.
Axbrewder rides back to Puerta del Sol with Acton where he's dropped off at the hospital. In a few sentences, I got the feeling of a very cinematic moment. Brew's standing in front of the hospital in the morning light, something that would usually not make him too happy. He says he's just glad to have that night over with, but I think there's something saying that it is instead the feeling of a new day. Not that Brew would ever think he'd get a new beginning.
Inside the hospital, Brew goes to see Ginny. She smiles, Brew smiles, we smile. It's a happy moment.
Then Brew gets her to tell him how she figured it out, because he knows her, and knows she did. Well, it's pretty obvious, alright. The thing they all overlooked is what basically screams at you from the page when you meet him. Kirke is a misogynistic a**hole. He was the only one in the office that had any amount of freedom to do what he did.
Ginny starts to apologize for what she sayed to Brew, especially the name she called him. Brew waves it aside, saying she had to do what she did to get through to him.
Here's the moment that provides a counterbalance to the smiling before it. Ginny is holding back tears and Brew is just left kind of standing there.
Enter Lona. She lets them know that Alathea is going to be alright, though personally, I never got the impression that she wasn't going to be. I think that's kind of the point, though, in that she really came to tell Brew something, something that's a bit two edged (in that it hurts whichever way you swing it). Brew didn't save Alathea (should they return the $50?). What he did is what Richard would have wanted.
Once Brew regains his composure, he gets ready to leave. He wants to let Ginny rest (it's morning, right? how is a girl going to rest in the early morning, especially after what comes next?) and perhaps go bail out Ted. First, he plants one on Ginny. Now, maybe it's a sign of her weakened condition (foreshadowing), but she doesn't resist him. No ultimatums. She returns the kiss. However, we can't exactly blame her for asking if he's going to go out and have a drink.
Brew's answer - "I'm going to put that off for a while." Indeed.
The Unanswered Questions
Just how messed up is Alathea going to be after this. It's not like she has a whole lot of family to fall back on for support. Despite this, it never comes up again.
How bad will some of the other parents feel once the news gets out?
Brew, Acton and the cops go to the scene, a rich ranch-house out of town. There they find enough evidence to convince the most skeptical of juries. Not that it does Brew's conscience much good, but they also find Mattie, Ted's daughter, alive. He does allows himself to relax a little, though.
Brew's gut tells him that Acton already knew what they'd find, and Acton confirms it by telling Brew how they followed the "paper" trail. It wasn't enough to convict, but it definately got Acton's attention.
Apparently, Smithsonian is good at what he does. However, not for the last time, he proves to be useless to Brew's case. The money, what was left of it, was all in cash. A fairly obvious attempt to shake off the reader, in my opinion.
Axbrewder rides back to Puerta del Sol with Acton where he's dropped off at the hospital. In a few sentences, I got the feeling of a very cinematic moment. Brew's standing in front of the hospital in the morning light, something that would usually not make him too happy. He says he's just glad to have that night over with, but I think there's something saying that it is instead the feeling of a new day. Not that Brew would ever think he'd get a new beginning.
Inside the hospital, Brew goes to see Ginny. She smiles, Brew smiles, we smile. It's a happy moment.
Then Brew gets her to tell him how she figured it out, because he knows her, and knows she did. Well, it's pretty obvious, alright. The thing they all overlooked is what basically screams at you from the page when you meet him. Kirke is a misogynistic a**hole. He was the only one in the office that had any amount of freedom to do what he did.
Ginny starts to apologize for what she sayed to Brew, especially the name she called him. Brew waves it aside, saying she had to do what she did to get through to him.
Here's the moment that provides a counterbalance to the smiling before it. Ginny is holding back tears and Brew is just left kind of standing there.
Enter Lona. She lets them know that Alathea is going to be alright, though personally, I never got the impression that she wasn't going to be. I think that's kind of the point, though, in that she really came to tell Brew something, something that's a bit two edged (in that it hurts whichever way you swing it). Brew didn't save Alathea (should they return the $50?). What he did is what Richard would have wanted.
Once Brew regains his composure, he gets ready to leave. He wants to let Ginny rest (it's morning, right? how is a girl going to rest in the early morning, especially after what comes next?) and perhaps go bail out Ted. First, he plants one on Ginny. Now, maybe it's a sign of her weakened condition (foreshadowing), but she doesn't resist him. No ultimatums. She returns the kiss. However, we can't exactly blame her for asking if he's going to go out and have a drink.
Brew's answer - "I'm going to put that off for a while." Indeed.
The Unanswered Questions
Just how messed up is Alathea going to be after this. It's not like she has a whole lot of family to fall back on for support. Despite this, it never comes up again.
How bad will some of the other parents feel once the news gets out?
