Miracle Creek

Young cannot remember where she parked the car, and when they finally find it, she has gotten a parking ticket. However, Young is totally focused on talking to Pak, asking him about the cigarettes she found in the shed, the note from the realtor, and his story about going to Walgreen’s for powder.

She explodes when Pak begins to lecture her about the parking ticket, and Pak explains that he never smoked the cigarettes, and the note from the realtor was evidence that he had planned to help his brother move to Seoul, not that he wanted to move them back there; he lied to the real estate agent, otherwise, he says, she would have no “incentive […] for helping” (210). Furthermore, he admits that he was the one who let the balloons loose near the power lines, hoping that the police would then take the protestors seriously and remove them from the property. He then explains that he left Young alone in the chamber because he was trying to get the balloons down before the police could get them and test them for fingerprints.

Young is dismayed that Pak committed a crime, but relieved that he had nothing to do with the explosion. She is touched by how her husband admits his guilt and then asks for her forgiveness, promising her that he “won’t keep anything from [her] again” (212). She even feels guilty for suspecting him of having anything to do with the explosion. However, something bothers her about Pak’s explanation. When she is almost asleep, she realizes that Pak had said Mary had tried to help him with the balloons. If that were true, Pak wonders, “why did the neighbor report seeing only one person?” (212).

Matt is furious that Janine has been keeping from him her knowledge about the odd relationship between him and Mary. However, before he can confront her, Abe visits with questions about their cell phone usage. His questions to Matt make it clear that he expects Matt to claim that the day of the explosion was the same day he and Janine accidentally took each other’s phones to work. He wants Matt to say this because the insurance agency remembers that the person who called to ask about the arson insurance “was someone with normal English, no accent” (218) and it would make sense for Janine “as medical advisor” to Pak’s business “to check on the adequacy of insurance” (219). Matt doesn’t remember if the day of explosion was the same day as the phone mix up, but he lies and says it was.

After Abe leaves, he and Janine finally talk. Janine is furious with him, suspecting him of having an affair with Mary. However, Matt tells her Mary just kept bothering him to buy cigarettes for her and her friends, and Janine seems to believe him. However, Matt is lying about what really happened with Mary, and Janine is clearly lying about something as well. After their conversation, Matt realizes that Mary could have been the one who made the call to the insurance company on his cell phone.