This chapter-by-chapter summary contains plot spoilers!

Buy on Amazon: No Country for Old Men (Vintage International)

Navigate the Summary Parts: Part 1: Moss finds the money Part 2: Moss gets chased Part 3: Chigurh flips a coin Part 4: Bell investigates Part 5: Moss goes to Mexico Part 6: Shoot-out with Chigurh Part 7: Bell visits Carla Part 8: Wells talks to Moss Part 9: Chigurh talks to Wells Part 10: Moss returns to U.S. Part 11: Moss meets a girl Part 12: Bell catches up Part 13: Chigurh flips a coin Part 14: Bell visits his uncle Part 15: Conclusion

No Country for Old Men
by Cormac McCarthy: 
Pages 241 - 260

Go to the beginning
Go to the end

(Brought to you by jat snortyville.) Bell doesn't look at the body of the girl. He doesn't want to tell Carla about who he found her husband with. He thinks there's something wrong about the whole scene back at the motel, so instead of heading to El Paso, he goes back to the motel.

Meanwhile, Chigurh checks into another motel, and then drives back to the first one. He looks for police and sees none, goes to Moss' room and pushes out the lock with his air gun, and then takes out the grill for the central heating and removes the bag. He goes back to his truck and is about to leave when he sees Bell's police car drive up.

Bell goes into Moss' room and sees that the grill has been taken off and the lock pushed out just like in the other rooms. He leaves the room, and then goes out and looks at the cars and trucks in the parking lot. He gets back into his own car and calls the sheriff's office and tells them to send out a couple of cars. He waits concealed on the side of the road to catch anyone leaving, but no one does. He tells the sheriff's deputies he thinks they've been outmaneuvered.

He then drives to the Rodeway Inn in El Paso where Carla Jean is staying. He wants to tell her before the news gets in the paper, so he goes up to her door and knocks. Carla opens it and knows immediately that Moss is dead. She takes out her grief on him, telling him if he says he's sorry one more time she'll shoot him herself.

Bell then recounts that he never saw her again, and that what the papers said about Moss and the girl was wrong. He found out that the girl was a runaway. He then says he got a call from Odessa telling him what happened and that he couldn't believe it, and that they had tried to get fingerprints but couldn't. He thinks the man who did all of the murders is still out there.

In the next scene, Chigurh is in an office talking with a receptionist. The receptionist lets him into an office where a man is waiting for him. The man seems to know him, and offers him a seat. Chigurh puts the case of money on the table and says that he's brought it to him, but there's some money missing and that he should consider it payment for bringing the majority of the cash back.

Chigurh wants to continue to do business with the man. The man is uncertain, and wants to know if there's a bomb in the bag. Chigurh says there's not, and that considering what he just went through, that he should consider how he lost the money in the first place, and that there's not going to be anyone else that can perform the job the way he can. Chigurh stops to ask the man if the painting on the wall is an original. The man says it's a reproduction, but he has the original in a vault. Chigurh agrees with that.

Carla has just come back from the funeral of her mother and walks into her apartment and finds Chigurh there. She says she doesn't have any of the money, but Chigurh doesn't care about that. He tells her that he's come to kill her because Moss never came to any deal with him, even though he knew that Chigurh would go and kill her. He tells her that there's a reason for everything, and that asking him not to do it won't do any good. She doesn't understand.

He pulls out a coin and asks her to call heads or tails. At first she won't, but he insists. She calls heads, but the coin comes up tails. He tells her he's sorry, but he has to do it, that it was her destiny the moment Moss became involved in the money. He then shoots and kills her.
Go to the next part in the summary of No Country for Old Men
Go to the beginning
Go to the end
Go to the Index of Summaries
What to Read Next!
Go to the current novel on Twenty Pages a Day

Zen, candles, herbs, bookshelves, bookcases, fine furniture, perfume, jewelry, New Age, mind body connection, cooking, Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, handmade books, cooking, blank books, art, home decorating, carpets, furnishings, pottery, wine, Zen, gourmet foods, spirituality, tabletop fountains, wind chimes, terrariums, houseplants, Tao, handcrafts, handmade furnishings, artisans, shabby chic, meditation, incense, bells, angels, spirits, tribal arts, Tibetan, Zen, Asian art, India, nature, nature crafts, cooking, aromatherapy, music, folk art, dye, weavings, tapestry, Tao, calligraphy, Tibetan Buddhism, cooking, wind chimes, earth mother, earth goddess, gemstones, garden, talisman, labyrinth, maps, treasures, art objects, fine leather, serious readers, tools for serious readers, Buddha, Krishna, weavings, tapestry, calligraphy, Tibetan Buddhism, earth mother, earth goddess, home decorating, americana, carpets, cooking, library, cooking, gourmet food, wine, kitchen supplies, pasta maker, pens, pen set, stationery, book collecting, photography, sauté pans, baking goods, garlic press, cookbooks, cooking gadgets, cooking tools, chef, gourmet chef, pastry chef, coffee, tea, coffee press, teapots, teacups, coffee mugs, pie, baking supplies, grilling, grills, reading glasses, magnifying glasses, potting shed, gardening supplies, bird watching, bird feeders, birding, bird supplies, cooking, gourmet food, wine, kitchen supplies, pasta maker, pens, pen set, stationery, book collecting, photography, sauté pans, baking goods, garlic press, cookbooks, cooking gadgets, cooking tools, chef, gourmet chef, pastry chef, coffee, tea, coffee press, teapots, teacups, coffee mugs, pie, baking supplies, grilling, grills, reading glasses, magnifying glasses, potting shed, gardening supplies, bird watching, bird feeders, birding, bird supplies, cooking, gourmet food, wine, kitchen supplies, pasta maker, pens, pen set, stationery, book collecting, photography, sauté pans, baking goods, garlic press, cookbooks, cooking gadgets, cooking tools, chef, gourmet chef, pastry chef, coffee, tea, coffee press, teapots, teacups, coffee mugs, pie, baking supplies, grilling, grills, reading glasses, magnifying glasses, potting shed, gardening supplies, bird watching, bird feeders, birding, bird supplies, Valkovalin.com