Bruno's mother, Elsie, looks at the laugh lines on her face in the mirror as Bruno contemplates "an idea, bigger and closer than any idea he had ever known...the time was now" (58). The previous night, while Elsie's friends partied and played pranks, Bruno plotted a murder. Elsie fails to persuade Bruno to come to Reno with her, imploring him "not to do anything [he] shouldn't" in her absence; meanwhile, he plans the "perfect murder" (59). 

Bruno awakens, hungover, in the Plaza. After breakfasting and dressing at his hotel, he pockets a piece of paper on which he has inscribed his plan, which he will execute that night. He buys a drink, to steady his nerves, and is interrupted by a group of acquaintances on his way to the train. On board, Bruno naps and enjoys a meal. Charged with anticipation, he reads the description of Miriam, towards whom he feels antipathy: "he hated her already" (67). By contrast, Bruno thinks Guy is "the most worthy fellow he had ever met" (68). Arriving in Metcalf, Bruno feels a newfound sense of purpose. He looks up Miriam in the telephone book and hails a taxi.