Summary

Lucia, Richard, Evelyn: Brooklyn … Richard: Brazil, 1985-1987. As Richard, Lucia, and Evelyn get ready for their journey, narration describes Richard’s tendency towards obsessive packing and Lucia’s much more easygoing attitude. Meanwhile, preparations reveal a mysterious key in the glove compartment of the car, which Evelyn says had been found by the worried Mrs. Leroy in her husband’s suit pocket. Evelyn also reveals that there is supposed to be a gun in the car’s glove compartment, but that it has disappeared. All this leads Richard and Lucia to assume the worst about Leroy, and to plan even more to make sure their trip is a safe and secret one. After confirming that his cat at the vet’s is stable, and after making arrangements for his other cats to be cared for by a neighbor, Richard and the others set...