The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

A van pulls up in front of Rosa and Sam’s house. The driver brings out one long, coffin-shaped box. Tommy suspects it’s a box for a magic trick and asks Rosa if she thinks Joe will teach him how to perform the trick. Rosa admits to herself she’s not sure if Joe is coming back but tells Tommy that she doesn’t know what Joe is going to do.

Joe and Sammy returned home the previous night seeming pensive and a little sad. Rosa assumes it all has to do with the Escapist, remembering how his demise came as a shock to her. Rosa is sad about what she feels Sam has lost.

When Rosa awoke in the morning, Joe and the Studebaker were gone, though Joe’s clothes and valise were still there. Sam had said that Joe would have left a note and taken his things if he planned on not coming back. Rosa reminded Sam that Joe didn’t leave a note the last time.

Tommy guesses that the coffin box is filled with Joe’s old chains from his escape-artist days. The delivery man, Al Button, seems to believe that’s plausible on account of how heavy the box is.