Summary

Carolyn arrives at Ilopango International Airport in El Salvador. John Taylor, a Peace Corps volunteer, meets her there. Leonel takes Carolyn to sleep the night at his friend Blanca’s house, which once belonged to a Salvadoran dictator from the 1930s. Over breakfast the next morning, Leonel returns to the details of the Richardson case. He then takes her to a meeting with the General Chele Medrano, who lives in a nicer neighborhood in San Salvador. Carolyn listens to their conversation but is only able to pick up bits and pieces: “subversivos, mierda, a la gran puta, cabrón, las fuerzas armadas, los gringos, and comunistas” (72). Afterwards, Leonel explains that he needed Carolyn with him in order to have the General accept his request to meet. When Carolyn protests that he is using her, Leonel tells her, “Lesson number one: I did not...