Summary

Finch spends the holidays with his daughter and remembers previous holidays spent with his wife. No progress has been made with the Kessler sisters and he is beginning to regret his involvement with the whole business. Finch is annoyed when he discovers Stephen has been invited to dinner. Finch and Stephen argue about the role of emotion in painting. Finch suspects Stephen's crush on Lydia and resents him. Finch searches through Thomas's files. He finds a letter from Natalie with the photographs of pregnant Alice. Finch re-examines Thomas's work from the time that the letter arrived and recognizes the motif of a bird that begins to appear in his paintings.

Finch finds more letters and photographs of Natalie, now including Thomas's daughter as she grows. Finch notes that Natalie still looks attractive over the years but also seems cold. He wonders what Alice's...