Ophelia's Gold

Stranded in Manaus after missing her flight home from South America, Ophelia reflects on the bruises from a business contact who attacked her, the Pombero incubus of Guarani legend, and the "spiderweb" lace of Paraguay that comes alive when hearts are impure.

Ophelia and Stanton eat breakfast at the Speedie Trip, now operated by the mysterious Yahweh Brethren who dress in homespun clothes and sell organic goods. The LDS missionaries on bicycles seem far more approachable than the compound's secretive inhabitants.

Dad's aura-detecting equipment reveals that Ophelia's personal frequency is "infinitely negative" and "very fragile." His advice—that she attracts the wrong types because of her spectral vulnerability—offers little comfort as she contemplates her pattern of destructive relationships.

lost in the spiderwebs of night

Captain Harville endures an absurd military briefing about Genghis Khan's supply-line tactics while preparing for secret missions in Laos. A plain embassy worker's biting wit catches his attention before he retreats to back alleys, shooting rats with his Walther P38 to purge his rage.

The trunk's contents—a girl's trousseau, jewelry, and that inexplicable jeweled dagger—suggest a young woman planning to elope who never escaped. Ophelia identifies with this unknown girl's thwarted dreams while Marcus spirals deeper into grief over his mother.

Following clues on the old maps, Marcus and Ophelia discover a small digging near a desert spring containing an old tin trunk. Instead of gold, they find women's Victorian clothing, photographs, and a jeweled dagger—suggesting an entirely different story than expected.

Marcus and Ophelia search for Farley Kritzoff's treasure at an abandoned California mine. Marcus hammers rocks with bitter fury while telling the tale of Kritzoff, his treacherous partner Jeremiah, and the beautiful mail-order bride Destella whose death created the legend of the "cursed" gold.

In Palm Springs Regional Hospital, a neurologist rules out brain tumors but suggests Ophelia may have epilepsy—or psychological causes. The paintings on his wall, depicting fragmented figures in motion, perfectly represent her experience of time and consciousness.

The absurd circumstances of Marcus's mother's death—a plaster Michelangelo head falling from her nightstand—give way to deeper mystery when Marcus reveals what she was reaching for: the bundle of treasure maps and a jeweled dagger that would link her to the Farley Kritzoff legend.