Tales of the City

As Norman eats cold egg rolls, he receives a phone call. The conversation is discordant, and he tells the woman that she is “‘perfectly free to find another man’” (206); he knows that he is too valuable to her. Norman states that he is “‘working on three missing husbands right now […] plus a runaway kid […] and more guys messing around on their wives’” (206). He is being paid by the job, he reminds the woman, and she understands. Mrs. Ramsey, the woman on the phone, has been waiting 30 years already, and he tells her that another month won’t kill her. The one thing he has found out is that the name “Anna Madrigal” is an anagram, but Mrs. Ramsey (Mona’s mother) will have to wait for his report to find out more. After Norman hangs up, he thinks about how this is his only case. He phones a man named Paul about a session and insists on receiving the money in advance. 

Brian winces at the ugly houses as Candi, the woman he met at the restaurant, pulls into her home. He begins to understand why everything looks familiar: he knows Candi’s roommate, Cheryl. Candi says this is okay.