The Westing Game Chapter 12 Summary

The First Bomb

  • There are sounds of explosions and yelling from the kitchen. Doug and Theo go in, and Catherine comes out, covered in red stuff. She asks for someone to phone the fire department. Angela runs to the phone but then doesn't do anything.
  • Theo comes out and says there's no fire, and then Catherine tells Chris not to worry: it's only tomato sauce.
  • Mr. Hoo seems kind of pleased at the damage, saying the cans must have exploded because of the heat.
  • George and Catherine think it was a bomb.
  • Doug says it wasn't, because he's worried they'll blame his father.
  • Judge Ford says to report it right away.
  • Grace says it's a great opportunity to redecorate and she could help.
  • Catherine says they'll have to close for a few days to tidy things, and Angela offers her assistance. Grace tells her she can't help—she has too much to do before the wedding.
  • Meanwhile, Angela and Sydelle go back to Sydelle's apartment and start transferring her copy of the will into English.
  • Turtle barges in, asking Angela for the newspaper she took.
  • After Angela gives it back, Turtle jokes maybe she took her clock, too, and tells her sister not to leave her ring lying around.
  • Sydelle jokes that Grace is the burglar, but she wouldn't take that. This makes Turtle crack up. But when Sydelle tells her to take her feet off the couch, Turtle shoots back that their mom thinks Angela took the book. Then she says Angela doesn't really want to marry Dr. Deere either.
  • When Sydelle and Angela try to talk with her about it, Turtle says she doesn't need a "crutch" like Sydelle for getting noticed, which really hurts Sydelle's feelings. Angela tries to pacify her, saying Turtle meant it metaphorically, and she and Turtle leave. Angela thinks Turtle relies too much on her braid.
  • Back at Judge Ford's, the newspaperman calls. He says George's name showed up as the boyfriend of Violet Westing at a party.
  • Judge Ford realizes four players are linked to Sam Westing: Mr. Hoo, George, Sandy (because he was let go from Westing's factory), and herself. She decides she should hire a private detective to learn more.
  • She looks up detectives in the yellow pages, when she sees something that makes her think. She dials the number and hears a voice that sounds exactly like another she's heard before.