Open Season Chapter 43 (Chapter 42) Summary and Analysis

Spoiler Notice

Warning: This page contains detailed spoilers for Chapter 43 (Chapter 42) of Open Season. If you have not yet read the chapter, proceed with caution.

Summary

Over three days, Alex and Milo follow the investigation into Cameron Flick. On the first day, Milo reports routine surveillance: Flick tutors five wealthy Westside clients, earning $180 per session. He lives in a modest converted garage and shows no unusual spending. The second day is similar, with four clients in the Valley. Milo notes Flick’s efficiency but also his lack of financial traces beyond Zelle deposits. On the third day, Milo calls Alex with major news: Flick visited a shooting range in Santa Clarita, where he used a camo-patterned Winchester .308 rifle to shoot paper targets, consistently hitting the neck area. Milo collects the spent bullets and targets as evidence. Meanwhile, Alex searches for the art gallery where Marissa French spent her final night. He finds publicity photos from a show titled “Dots and Dashes” at the Hollow Eyes Gallery. In one photo, Flick is seen in a corner, his eyes narrowed and focused—a “hunting” expression Alex recognizes from Paul O’Brien’s demeanor at the Chanel party. Alex downloads the photo and emails it to Milo with the message “Another brick.” Milo responds, thanking him and joking about eating fish for brain food.

Key Events

Day one: Flick tutors five Westside clients (Boykins in B.H., two in Brentwood, one in Holmby, one in Santa Monica) and returns home by 5 p.m. No suspicious activity.
Day two: Flick tutors four clients in Encino and Sherman Oaks, earning $720.
Milo obtains Flick’s bank records: all deposits via Zelle at $180 each; average weekly income around $2,500; money sits in a low-interest account; rent and living expenses withdrawn on schedule.
Day three: Flick drives to a Santa Clarita shooting range. He removes a camo-patterned rifle case containing a Winchester .308 rifle and shoots paper targets, repeatedly hitting the neck area (slightly right of center).
Milo retrieves the bullets and targets from the range’s gun shop proprietor (a former deputy) and plans to deliver them to Hertzberg for analysis.
Alex searches online for the art gallery event Marissa French attended with Paul O’Brien. He finds the Hollow Eyes Gallery’s “Dots and Dashes” exhibit and fifteen publicity photos.
In photo number twelve, Alex spots Cameron Flick standing in a corner, holding a clear drink, his expression tight and predatory—mirroring Paul O’Brien’s “hungry” look at the Chanel party.
Alex emails the photo to Milo along with a brief note.

Character Development

Alex Delaware demonstrates proactive investigation and sharp intuition. He independently connects Flick’s photo to O’Brien’s earlier predatory stance, deepening his role beyond mere consultant.
Milo Sturgis shows both frustration and perseverance. His surveillance yields concrete evidence (the range visit) and his dry humor (“Eat fish, maybe? Supposed to be brain food”) reveals his trust in Alex’s insight.
Cameron Flick transitions from a seemingly mild-mannered tutor to a calculated hunter. His behavior at the range—consistent neck shots—and his expression in the gallery photo confirm he is capable of the murders.
Paul O’Brien, though not physically present, is referenced again as a behavioral template. The parallel between his hungry look and Flick’s reinforces the theme of predatory individuals hiding in plain sight.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The hunting motif: The chapter explicitly frames Flick’s actions as “hunting.” The rifle, shooting range, and predatory gaze metaphorically align him with a big-game hunter, while the victims are prey.
The mask of normalcy: Flick’s modest lifestyle—rented garage, grocery deliveries, takeout for one—contradicts his violent predilections. The contrast underscores how serial predators often appear unremarkable.
Surveillance and evidence gathering: Milo’s patient observation (three days of tailing, bank records, range retrieval) and Alex’s digital sleuthing (gallery photos) illustrate the mundane yet crucial legwork of criminal investigation.
Eyes as windows: Alex notes the change in Flick’s eyes from the driver’s license photo (unremarkable) to the gallery photo (narrowed, darker). This motif echoes earlier descriptions of O’Brien and suggests a tell among killers.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks a turning point in the investigation. For the first time, Milo and Alex obtain direct physical evidence linking Cameron Flick to a firearm that matches the murder method (consistent neck wounds). The shooting range visit—and the pattern of shots—effectively corroborates Alex’s earlier theory that the killer is a single hunter, not a hired professional. Additionally, the gallery photo places Flick at the same event where Marissa French and Paul O’Brien were last seen alive, establishing a critical connection among the three. Flick’s predatory expression in that photo provides psychological confirmation: he is the person who has been “hunting” the victims. From this point forward, the investigation becomes a race to gather enough formal evidence for an arrest.

Study Questions and Answers

1. What evidence does Milo gather at the shooting range, and why is it significant?
Milo collects the spent bullets from the hay bales and the paper targets showing the bullet holes. The bullets can be ballistically matched to a specific rifle, and the targets reveal a tight group around the neck area (slightly right of center). This pattern matches the neck wounds found on the victims, providing powerful circumstantial evidence that Flick is the shooter.

2. How does the photo from the Hollow Eyes gallery advance the investigation?
The photo places Cameron Flick at the same art gallery where Marissa French spent her last night alive. More importantly, it captures Flick’s facial expression—narrowed eyes, tight concentration—which Alex recognizes as the same “hunting” look he saw on Paul O’Brien at the Chanel party. This visual clue suggests Flick was stalking French and O’Brien, reinforcing his role as the predator.

3. What does Flick’s financial life reveal about his personality and possible motives?
Flick earns roughly $2,500 per week from tutoring, deposited via Zelle in $180 increments. He lives frugally, spends little beyond necessities, and saves without investing. The modesty of his lifestyle suggests he is not motivated by material gain. Instead, his meticulous record-keeping and low profile align with a need for control and invisibility—traits common among predators who hunt for psychological gratification rather than profit.