Chapter 4 Summary

When Tod arrives at the Estee residence, Claude is waiting for him on the porch of his Southern colonial house. Claude mimics the accent and mannerisms of a Civil War colonel and invites Tod in for a drink.

Claude is a screenwriter who looks more like a postal clerk. The only thing that gives him away is his impeccable clothes. He whispers to Tod not to run off too early, as they'll be going to a sporting house later. Tod is left on his own, then, and meets up with Joan Schwartzen, a friend of Mrs. Estee. She is a women's tennis champ and a bit too bawdy for Tod's taste.

Joan escorts Tod into the pool area in the back yard, where she flips a switch to reveal a plastic life-sized replica of a dead horse on its back. She thinks it...