The Westing Game Chapter 3 Summary

Tenants In and Out

  • Inside Sunset Towers, pretty Angela Wexler stares out at the lake while Flora Baumbach fits her in her wedding dress. Flora lives on the second floor, and they're doing the fitting in the Wexlers' apartment, on the third floor.
  • Angela cries out, and Flora thinks she pricked her with a pin, but Angela's just stunned to see the smoke coming from the Westing house.
  • Grace reprimands Flora, and then thinks about how she could've been an interior decorator.
  • Turtle comes in to tell them about the smoke, but she's late. She asks Flora to hem her witch costume so she can wear it that night. (Flora doesn't get up from the carpet, because Turtle kicked her in the shin the previous day.)
  • Grace tells Turtle Flora's occupied with Angela's wedding dress, and that she should work on looking pretty instead.
  • Turtle says wedding dresses are stupid, and so is her sister's fiancé.
  • Grace almost hits her, but doesn't. Instead, she says Angela's fiancé is really smart, and when they get married, Angela's whole name will be Angela Deere.
  • Turtle tries to leave to tell her father about the smoke, but Grace doesn't let her.
  • Angela says she'll help Turtle with the witch costume.
  • Meanwhile, Mrs. Crow visits Jake Wexler to have a corn removed from her foot. She startles him by shouting out, "Smoke!" when she sees it coming from the Westing house.
  • Jake is startled, but tries to calm her down.
  • Mrs. Crow tells Jake that Turtle kicked her in the shins, and says they don't have any religion in their home. She says old Mr. Westing was a sinner.
  • Upstairs in the Chinese restaurant, Mr. Hoo doesn't believe his son when Doug tells him Sandy's scary story. He tells Doug to go study instead. Instead of studying, Doug jogs and does sit-ups.
  • Mr. Hoo is disappointed about how there are only two dinner reservations, and eats a chocolate bar. He thinks to himself that if Mr. Westing is home, he won't get off so easy this time. A woman looks out the restaurant window as if she can see to China.
  • Down in the driveway, Sandy helps Judge J.J. Ford out of her car. He tells her about the smoke too, and asks her if she believes in ghosts.
  • She says no. When Sandy says he was just saying what Otis said, the judge calls Otis stupid. Then she feels bad. She worries about how she can repay Mr. Westing some money she seems to owe him, and asks Sandy not to mention her words about Otis.
  • Back up on floor two, Theo tells his brother Chris a fantastic story about who might be in the Westing house. Chris doesn't say anything about what he really saw.
  • Meanwhile, Sydelle Pulaski arrives at Sunset Towers by taxi. She thinks no one ever notices her, including doorman Sandy, and also thinks no one's friendly. The only people who pay attention are Chris, who she thinks is sweet, and Turtle, who kicked her too.
  • She unloads crutches, paint, and paintbrushes, and thinks about how people will finally notice her.