Chapter summaries To Die For David Baldacci

To Die For Chapter 33 (CHAPTER 32) Summary & Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

After cleaning up and collecting his freshly laundered jacket, Travis Devine takes an Uber to Betsy Odom’s hotel. He calls FBI agent Saxby beforehand to say he’ll explain everything in person. At the hotel, Saxby and Betsy are waiting. Devine hands Betsy her binder—her journal—which he retrieved from her home the previous night. He opens it to the last page, revealing a line where Betsy expressed doubts about her uncle Danny Glass before her parents died. Both Saxby and Devine press her on why she had those doubts, but Betsy becomes defensive and refuses to answer.

Devine then updates Saxby on his trip to Ricketts. He reveals that Danny Glass had the bodies of Betsy’s parents cremated without family consent. More shockingly, Devine recounts being ambushed and nearly killed by two men at the Ricketts house; he suspects they were sent to stop his investigation. Betsy looks disturbed by the news. Saxby informs Devine that the emergency guardianship hearing is set for the next day at 11:00 a.m. in King County Superior Court. A pre-hearing meeting with Glass is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. at his hotel.

Betsy asks Devine to attend the meeting with Glass, but she still will not explain her journal entry. After Betsy retreats to her bedroom, Saxby admits she doesn’t know what is bothering the girl. In a surprising reveal, Saxby shows Devine a photo of her own twelve-year-old daughter, Dana, and advises him that the best way to get Betsy to open up is to take her to a bookstore, buy her a treat, and wait.

Key Events

  • Devine returns Betsy’s journal and points out the entry showing she had doubts about Danny Glass before her parents died.
  • Betsy refuses to explain her doubts and grows defensive.
  • Devine reports that Glass had the Odoms’ remains cremated and that he was attacked at Ricketts by two men who tried to kill him.
  • Saxby outlines the next day’s schedule: a 9 a.m. meeting with Glass and the 11 a.m. guardianship hearing.
  • Betsy explicitly asks Devine to be present at the meeting with Glass.
  • Saxby reveals she has a twelve-year-old daughter and gives Devine advice on how to reach Betsy.

Character Development

  • Travis Devine: He shows vulnerability and frustration when he admits he doesn’t know how to handle a twelve-year-old girl. His experience is with violence and finance, not with pre-teens. This chapter humanizes him as someone who must confront his own shortcomings.
  • Betsy Odom: She is increasingly secretive. The journal entry proves she harbored suspicions about her uncle well before the car crash that killed her parents. She wants Devine’s support but won’t share the reason.
  • Agent Saxby: Her personal life is revealed for the first time. She is a mother of three—including a daughter Betsy’s age—which gives her unexpected insight. She admits that even parenting doesn’t make one an expert, only more aware of one’s flaws.
  • Danny Glass (mentioned): Remains offstage but the cremation decision and the attack at Ricketts paint him as increasingly sinister.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Secrets and Trust: The journal entry is a tangible symbol of Betsy’s hidden knowledge. She trusts Devine more than Saxby, yet still withholds the truth.
  • Guardianship as a Power Struggle: The impending hearing underscores the legal battle over Betsy’s future, pitting her wishes against adult authority (Glass, the DOJ, the court).
  • The Unreliability of Adult Solutions: Saxby’s parenting confession and Devine’s helplessness highlight that no one has a clear answer. The bookstore plan is a tentative, human-scale approach.
  • Violence as a Warning: The attack on Devine at Ricketts signals that the investigation is hitting close to the truth and that someone is willing to kill to protect secrets.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter serves as a turning point in the mystery. The journal entry provides concrete evidence that Betsy’s doubts about Danny Glass are not new—they predate the tragedy. Combined with Glass’s unilateral cremation decision and the violent attack on Devine, the suspicion against Glass hardens. Meanwhile, Saxby’s personal revelation and the bookstore plan set up a key emotional scene in the next chapter. The chapter also raises the stakes: the guardianship hearing is only hours away, and Devine has almost no time to uncover the truth.

Study Questions and Answers

1. What is the significance of the journal entry that Devine finds?
The entry shows Betsy was already trying to “make up her mind” about Danny Glass before her parents died. This suggests she had been given information or witnessed something that made her distrust him—evidence that contradicts Glass’s portrayal of a close, loving relationship.

2. Why does Saxby change her approach with Betsy after revealing she has a daughter?
Saxby realizes that direct pressure won’t work. By sharing her own experience as a mother of a twelve-year-old girl, she gains empathy and proposes a low-pressure environment (a bookstore) where Betsy might feel safe enough to talk. It marks a shift from official interrogation to personal connection.

3. How does the attack on Devine at Ricketts advance the plot?
It confirms that someone is actively trying to stop the investigation. The attackers were likely sent because Devine was close to discovering the truth about the Odoms’ deaths. This also raises the stakes for the upcoming hearing and makes Glass’s control over the cremation look even more suspicious.

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