Early in the morning, Jimmy got up quietly from the bed, afraid of waking Kim beside him. He fed the fish, brewed coffee, and ate cereal while looking for jobs in the newspaper. When he heard Kim getting up, he hurried back to the bedroom to wrap the cast on her arm with plastic sheeting—he even ignored a call from Howard. Howard actually called the landline instead. Jimmy was too lazy to answer it, but Kim picked up the phone. Unexpectedly, it brought the tragic news of Chuck’s death.
Jimmy and Kim rushed to Chuck’s house, only to see a pile of ruins. The funeral home’s car had just left, and the fire department initially determined that the fire was caused by an oil lamp accidentally falling. But Jimmy knew it couldn’t have been an accident—all the electrical appliances in the house had been moved to the backyard. The fire department wouldn’t have done that; it must have been Chuck’s old illness flaring up again, and he’d finally been unable to bear it, burning himself to death.
That night, Howard called again. He was writing Chuck’s obituary and wanted Jimmy to review it. The obituary listed Chuck’s achievements from middle school to his career—who would have thought such an outstanding person would die alone? Jimmy sat in silence all night, consumed with guilt. If he hadn’t exposed Chuck’s mental illness at the hearing, he wouldn’t have lost his only family member so soon.
In the church, many colleagues and peers shook Jimmy’s hand to express their condolences. But apart from Rebecca, who was wiping her tears, how many people truly felt sad? After the memorial service, Jimmy and Kim drove home and unexpectedly ran into Howard at their doorstep. Howard also didn’t agree with the fire department’s report—Chuck had lived in a house without electricity for two years and knew exactly how to use an oil lamp safely. As for the reason for Chuck’s suicide, Howard told the whole story.
After the hearing, Chuck’s mental state hadn’t worsened; instead, he’d recovered and even planned to return to work at the law firm. But the federal professional insurance company, citing Chuck’s failure to disclose his mental illness, demanded a significant premium increase. Chuck was furious and insisted on taking the matter to court. Howard had a serious disagreement with him over this. When persuasion failed, Howard would rather use his own money to buy out Chuck’s shares and force him into retirement. Abandoned by the firm he’d helped found, Chuck had chosen suicide in this loneliness and despair. Howard shed tears of regret, but Jimmy felt no sympathy at all—Chuck had brought this on himself.
Mike was now living a comfortable life. With the fake job as a security consultant at Madrigal, he had plenty of time to spend with his granddaughter. Lydia kept her word: when the first month’s paycheck arrived, the company had covered over $8,000 in medical insurance and taxes for Mike, so he received the full $10,000 plus a little extra. Mike was a down-to-earth man—he didn’t want to take something for nothing, so he felt he should at least do some work for Madrigal.
A few days later, Mike walked into Madrigal Transport, a subsidiary of Madrigal, swaggering with a stolen employee ID. He wandered from the office to the warehouse, and no one noticed anything wrong. Later, Mike returned the ID to Barry, the floor supervisor, and even offered many safety improvement suggestions on the spot—as if he’d truly become a security consultant.
On the other side, Nacho spent a night in fear. Hector had suffered a stroke and been sent to the hospital; no one knew when he’d be out. Before Nacho could dispose of the poisoned capsules in his hand, Gustavo sent word that Juan wanted to see him. In the ingredient warehouse of Los Pollos Hermanos, a trembling Nacho met Juan. Juan told Nacho to temporarily take over the Salamanca family’s territory until Tuco was released from prison or Hector recovered.
Nacho let out a sigh of relief. After leaving the fried chicken restaurant, he immediately threw all the poisoned capsules into the river before finally feeling at ease. But Gustavo had already grown suspicious of Nacho—every move he made on the bridge was watched by Gustavo’s men. Although Gustavo and Hector had fought openly and secretly over territory many times, he would never allow anyone to betray the Salamanca family. Otherwise, it would lead to chaos, war, and the DEA.