66 pages 2 hours read

Cormac McCarthy

No Country for Old Men

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2005

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Chapters 9-10

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 9 Summary

Bell reveals that he never sees Carla Jean again, and that she is killed in Odessa shortly after her mother dies. He travels up to Odessa to try to identify the mysterious killer, whom he knows killed Carla Jean and so many others. But the man is a “ghost” (249), and they are unable to get any fingerprints from her house. Bell deals with the disappointment and uncertainty of knowing that this criminal is still out there by remembering his father’s philosophy: do your best and tell the truth.

Chigurh. Chigurh visits the office of the man now in charge of the company that fronted the money for the drug deal. He returns what is left of the money, which is 2.3 million dollars—after Moss’s and his own expenditures. He offers to work with the man on a permanent basis, telling him that they will work with all new people so there won’t be any more problems. The man knows who Anton Chigurh is. He is alarmed, but he tells Chigurh that they have much to talk about. Chigurh agrees to call the man in two days.

Carla Jean. In early March, Carla Jean attends her mother’s funeral.