Chapters 22-24 Summary

Esperanza has discovered that Lloyd Rennart's widow is an artist named Francine, and she's made an appointment for Myron with her by telling her that Myron's a reporter from the local newspaper, the Coastal Star, doing a story about local artists. When Myron arrives, calling himself Bernie Worley, she leads him to her studio, a carefully laid out art installation. Myron thinks it's just a room. To cover his faux pas, Myron tells her he's a sports reporter on temporary assignment.

Escaping the uncomfortable subject of art, Myron asks about Francine's family. She has a son, Larry, who is seventeen. When Myron pries about her husband's suicide, pretending to have met Lloyd, Francine realizes he's not who he's pretending to be. Myron tells her who he really is, and Francine says that after Jack blamed Lloyd for his loss, Jack started...