No Country for Old Men: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

Bell thinks about friends he has lost over the past few years, and is beginning to confront the idea of death. He thinks about the legacy one leaves behind, and worries that the nine unsolved homicides won’t be solved. He notes that the men involved in the murders and drug dealing don’t even consider the law, but worse than that, there are police officers on the border that are involved in the drug trade. He notes that the cartels killed a judge in San Antonio, and feels sad about the fact that the only reason he, Bell, is alive is that the dealers have no respect for him, he isn’t even important enough to kill.

A few years ago, Bell was part of an investigation of a plane found used for drug running on a makeshift landing strip. The Sheriff in charge of the investigation set up a sting to arrest the dealers, but they realized nobody was coming back for the plane. He tells about a bombing method used by the Mexican drug dealers in which they’d put a grenade in a mason jar and drop them from planes. Bell states that if Satan were looking for a way to bring the human race to its knees, narcotics would be the perfect means. He is not sure if he believes in Satan, but belief in Satan provides an explanation for things that don’t have any answers.

The narrative then moves to Moss and the young woman. They sit in a restaurant, talking. She asks him if he is injured because he can barely walk, and he says maybe it’s an old war injury. She asks what he does for a living, and Moss tells her three weeks ago he was a law-abiding citizen, but things happen, and they don’t ask first. They don’t require one’s permission. Moss and the young woman talk for a bit about where they are heading. Their conversation is flirtatious. Eventually, the young woman says she is going to California, but has no money. Moss gives her a thousand dollars. She asks him what she has to do for the money, but Moss tells her she doesn’t have to do anything.

Moss and the young woman drive until after dark. They pull into a truck stop, and once inside they order steaks and continue talking. Moss asks her if anyone knows where she is. She says he’s the only person who knows where she is, but he tells her he can’t know where she is because he doesn’t know who she is. Moss says there is always someone who knows where you are. She thinks he means God, but he says a person always knows where they themselves are. She says it would be a problem if someone didn’t know where he or she was, but Moss isn’t so sure. It is possible to not know where you were, but the real problem is that you wouldn’t know where someplace else was in relation to you, which wouldn’t change anything about where you were.

The young woman says she doesn’t like to think about the deep questions Moss is presenting to her. She says she doesn’t know what the point is. Moss says the point is that there is no point. He continues by saying that it’s not about knowing where you are, but recognizing that you are bringing your history with you. There is no starting over, he says, every step you take is forever. He tells her she can’t escape herself.

Moss and the young woman go to a motel in Van Horn, and Moss gets them each a room. Moss goes to a gas station and buys some beer. When he gets back, he offers one to the young woman, stating he knows she is not old enough to drink, but doesn’t mind. He tries to go back to his room, but she convinces him to stay. They sit on the steps and begin talking about why Moss is on the run. He jokingly says he just got off death row, and when she asks if the law is still hunting him, he says everybody is hunting him. He tells her he took something that didn’t belong to him, referring to the briefcase full of money. Moss tells her about Carla Jean. The young woman asks Moss if he thinks she should go to California, but he says he doesn’t know what she is supposed to do.

Later in the conversation, the young woman says she has a feeling she should be afraid of Moss, but she isn’t. Moss says he can’t give her advice about that, but most people will run from their own mother to hug death by the neck. She wonders where she would be if she hadn’t met Moss that morning, stating she has always been lucky about meeting people. Moss tells her not to speak too soon. There is a lot of bad luck out there, and if she waits long enough she will get her share. He tells her that if there is one thing she doesn’t look like, it’s a bunch of good luck walking around. She stands up, and on her way to her room, she asks him if he has changed his mind about sleeping with her. He says he hasn’t changed his mind; he likes to get it right the first time. Then he goes to his room.

The narrative jumps to The Mexican driving the Baracuda. He pulls into a car wash. He has just left a shootout, in which Moss and the young woman were killed along with his partner. He gets some quarters from the change machine, and cleans blood from the car. Afterward he gets back in and begins driving down the highway, heading west.

The narrative moves to Bell as he drives out to Van Horn, where Moss and the young hitchhiker were killed at the motel. On the way, he passes a car burning on the side of the highway. It makes him nervous, but he doesn’t stop. At the scene, Bell finds the deputies questioning a witness. The local sheriff tells Bell there was a shootout. A woman has already died, and two men had been taken to the hospital. The witness told the sheriff that the Mexicans arrived and pulled the young woman from her room. When Moss saw the Mexican man with the young woman, he put his weapon down. After that, the Mexican man shot the young woman and then turned the gun on Moss. Moss fell down the stairs, then shot one of the Mexican men as they fled. Bell asks the sheriff if he will drive down to the hospital with him. They leave.

At the hospital, Bell and the sheriff go into the mortuary. Moss is lying dead on the table, covered by a sheet. The sheriff asks Bell if Moss is a friend, but Bell says no. The sheriff tells Bell that Moss was shot several times in the face, but he has seen worse. He says the highway is a warzone. They pull back the sheet, and Bell identifies Moss. Bell immediately realizes he will have to tell Carla Jean. The sheriff tries to comfort him by saying there is nothing he could have done, but Bell says you always like to think there is. The sheriff says the young woman was “skankylooking,” and Carla Jean isn’t going to like the fact that Moss was with the young woman. Bell agrees. After leaving the hospital, Bell goes back to the motel to look around.

Later that evening, after the officers have left the scene, Chigurh goes to the motel where Moss and the young woman were killed. He knocks the cylinder out of the doorknob and enters the room where Moss stayed. He finds the briefcase in the vent, and brings it to his truck. Just as he is about to turn the truck on, he sees Bell pull his cruiser into the parking lot. Bell goes into the room Chigurh left moments earlier, and finds the vent unscrewed. He looks out into the parking lot where Chigurh is waiting. He finds the cylinder Chigurh knocked out of the doorknob with his bolt gun. Bell takes his pistol from its holster and says he doesn’t know what is out there. Immediately, he disagrees with himself, stating he knew what was here when he came here.

As Bell walks to his car, he asks himself if a person can feel when someone is watching them. He notes that some people think so. He drives down the highway a little ways and calls for backup. He pulls forward again, and watches the motel parking lot while he waits, deciding that if a car pulls out he will run it off the road. After the deputies arrive Bell goes back to the parking lot and checks the cars with them. They find nothing, and Bell tells the deputies they have been “outgeneraled.” It is unclear how Chigurh escapes, but he likely drove off while Bell was away from the scene, calling for backup.

Bell spends the night in a motel on the east side of El Paso, and goes to a café the next morning. He searches the newspaper, but finds they have not written about Moss and the young woman yet. He asks the waitress when the evening paper gets in, but she says she doesn’t read the paper, and made her husband stop reading it as well. Bell says he doesn’t blame her. She says they call it news, but asks Bell when the last time he read about Jesus Christ in the news.

Bell goes to Carla Jean’s motel room and knocks on the door. He tells her he is sorry, and Carla Jean staggers back in the room and falls to the floor, saying, “Oh, God.” He goes in and closes the door. He tells her he is as sorry as he can be. She yells at him, saying her husband is dead, and if he says sorry one more time she will get her gun and shoot him.