Part 3, Chapters 3-4 (pages 284-308) Summary

Behind a police barricade at the top of Topanga Canyon, Delaney and his evacuated neighbors wait for further police instructions. Delaney attempts to make a joke about the burnt turkey, which angers Kyra. Jack Cherrystone gives Delaney a swig of a bottle of Scotch. Delaney sees two Mexicans, the man in the Padres cap and the man in the poncho. He tells the police officers that these men have been camping in the canyon and are probably responsible for the fire. Cherrystone and others, including a heavyset drunk woman wearing a nose ring, begin to yell at the two men. Unlike his last encounter with the man in the cap, Delaney meets the light-skinned Mexican's gaze and feels ready to fight. As the cops arrest the two Mexicans, the man in the baseball cap spits...