The Westing Game: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

During the night, the snow falls heavily and turns into a blizzard. The next morning the tenants of Sunset Towers awake to find snowdrifts imprisoning them in the building—the phones and power are out, too. Turtle goes door-to-door selling homemade striped candles which help to tell time at five dollars each. Jake, disappointed at having forfeited his $10,000, retreats to his office; Madame Hoo, who has no clue about the game, stands alone in the restaurant. Sandy is home and Deere is at the hospital, working. Otis and Crow are nowhere to be found. Sydelle thumps through the halls—she has been invited for tea by seven different tenants, all of whom, she knows, are desperate to see her shorthand notes. Whenever someone asks her for them, though, she stands up and leaves, claiming she has medication to take. 

Sydelle and Angela go together to visit Chris Theodorakis in his apartment. Sydelle fawns attention on Chris, embarrassing Angela. Chris struggles through his speech impediment to talk to Angela about clues and to ask for Sydelle’s notes—as soon as Sydelle realizes what he’s asking, though, she leaves. Chris can tell that Sydelle’s limp is fake. He thinks of his four clues as they go: FOR, PLAIN, GRAIN, and SHED. He puzzles over the words as he uses his binoculars to look for birds. Instead of birds, however, he spots someone drawing the drapes in the Westing manor—someone is snowbound there, too.

Turtle has interpreted the will’s order to “Take stock in America” as a recommendation to invest in the stock market—and she believes the clues are the names of the companies to invest in. SEA, MOUNTAIN, AM, and O are Turtle and Flora’s four clues. Turtle insists the clues don’t relate to the murderer’s identity and suggests there isn’t even a murderer in the first place. Flora frets over alternatives as Turtle makes some calculations, deciding to buy stock in Westing Paper Products too. Flora, initially skeptical, finds herself impressed with Turtle’s smarts. Flora points to the sentence “May God thy gold refine” as proof of their plan’s worthiness, wondering aloud if the quotation is from the Bible. Turtle, however, insists it’s from Shakespeare.

Upstairs at the restaurant, Grace and Mr. Hoo puzzle over their clues. Grace compliments Madame Hoo’s “doll-like” demeanor and asks why she cannot speak English. Mr. Hoo defensively states that she is his second wife—she only arrived from Hong Kong two years ago. He hates being forced to put up with a bigot like Grace. Grace, oblivious to her partner’s agitation, continues making insensitive remarks about Sydelle Pulaski’s limp. Mr. Hoo suggests that Grace, Westing’s niece, murdered him for his money. Grace laughs off Hoo’s accusation. Hoo says he believes the “cheating” Westing got what he deserved.

Hoo and Grace try to divine the clues in front of them: FRUITED, PURPLE, WAVES, FOR, and SEA. Grace reads “FOR SEA” as 4C and suggests the murderer lives in apartment 4C. Hoo declares that he lives in 4C. Grace asks if Doug has shared any of his clues with his father, but Hoo replies that Doug is busy with track practice. Sydelle and Angela, he says, came to the restaurant—but didn’t pay for their meal and didn’t show him their clues. Grace leaves dismissively, unwilling to sign her full name—Grace Windkloppel Wexler—to a check she has to share with Hoo.

Doug and Theo, meanwhile sign their check hastily. They are excited to split the funds. Theo wants to give his half to his parents for their coffee shop. They read their inscrutable clues over: HIS, N, ON, TO, THEE, and FOR. They guess at what the words could mean—they fear solving the puzzle is hopeless without Sydelle’s shorthand. Theo is concerned that if they don’t solve the clues in time, the murderer will kill again—but Doug seems unconvinced that there is even a murderer amongst them. Theo suggests they find a way to get all the heirs to pool their clues, but Doug says there’s no way the greedy heirs will give up the goods. He goes off to jog up and down the stairs of the apartment building, determined to stay in shape for the upcoming meet.

Ford reads over her clues: SKIES, AM, SHINING, and BROTHER. Ford knows the words are part of a longer statement. She also knows that there’s no way Westing could have been murdered—as a powerful, man, she knows he would have bought police protection if he suspected his life was in danger. Ford reads the statement of lucidity from Sidney Sikes—the doctor friend with whom Westing was in an automobile accident—then turns back to the clues.

Ford knows Westing has set up a “tricky, divisive” game meant to divide the players and fill them with fear and suspicion. She knows that one of the heirs must be guilty of some great offense against Westing—she wonders who it is he wants revenge on so badly. She becomes determined to learn everything she can about each heir. She picks up the phone to call Barney Northrup, deciding to start investigating Sunset Towers, but he doesn’t answer. She calls the paper to ask a reporter there to help her out—after eight rings, someone answers. Ford is determined to beat Westing at his final game.

In the Wexler apartment, Angela and Sydelle go over their clues: GOOD, HOOD, FROM, SPACIOUS, and GRACE. Sydelle points out that Grace is Angela’s mother’s name—but she also acknowledges that the will stated it was what the heirs didn’t have that was important to solving the puzzle. They try to recall other words the heirs mentioned in the meeting with Plum—but even with a few additional words (and even with a piece of paper Angela has stolen from Turtle’s drawer, a piece of paper on which are written some stock market calculations), nothing seems to make sense.

Both women jump at a knock on the door. Sydelle lets Theo in—he asks if anyone wants to play chess. He is determined to find out who laid out the chess game at the Westing manor. Sydelle says she doesn’t, and Theo leaves. Sydelle says that she remembers reading in Westing’s obituary about his prowess as a chess master—nothing is a coincidence anymore, she suggests. As she puzzles over the statement that the object of the game is to win, she wonders if “to win” could be shortened to “twin.” The two women head to Sydelle’s apartment to look through her shorthand notebook for more clues—but when they arrive there, Sydelle finds that her door is open, and that her notebook has been stolen.