Chapter 11 Summary: Cassie, 2017

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Summary

After her first long interview with Lore Rivera, Cassie decides to extend her stay in Laredo through Sunday. She checks back into the Hotel Botanica using her emergency credit card, a sign of her financial precarity. That night, she transcribes the interview until nearly 3 a.m., then reviews Fabian's case file. Three unresolved questions nag at her: the unknown reason for Andres's visit, the unrecovered note he left without contact information, and the fact that Lore alibied Fabian. Cassie also notices a possible gap in Lore's alibi—between leaving the bank around 5:15 and being seen at Wendy's at 6:30—though she acknowledges that Lore was on the phone with her sister during the time of death, so the gap doesn't implicate her directly. Still, Cassie wonders why Lore might have lied about seeing Andres.

On Sunday morning, Duke calls to wish her luck. Their conversation is brief, and Cassie feels guilty for having revealed more about her family to Lore than she ever has to Duke. She checks her bank balance and worries about overdraft, but finds a loose twenty in her bag, enough for coffee and breakfast tacos from Stripes—Lore's favorite. They eat on the back patio, where Lore's black Lab, Crusoe, watches. Cassie notices the dog's name, a reference to Andres's nickname for Lore, and takes it as evidence that Lore still loves Andres.

Lore reveals she has had no romantic or sexual relationships since Andres's death, thirty years ago. She explains that she was greedy, loving two good men at once, and that it destroyed them both. Cassie asks if Lore is punishing herself; Lore says she is