House of Sand and Fog

Switching to third-person narration, Part 2 opens with Lester, who spent the day in emotional confrontation with his wife, waiting at the cabin for Kathy to return. After his children returned home from school, Lester received a call from internal affairs officer Lieutenant Alvarez, ordering him to report to the sheriff’s department. Instead, he drove to the cabin to be with Kathy. He grows increasingly worried as the hours pass and she fails to appear.

While waiting Lester is haunted by a series of memories that pick at his insecurities and deep-seated fear that people can see through his authoritative exterior. First, he dreams that he is locked in his patrol car with everyone he has ever arrested waiting outside.

Next, he remembers an encounter with a large Latino ex-convict who was unresponsive to Lester’s orders to submit to him, which made Lester feel cowardly and small. Finally, he recalls being beaten by his high school girlfriend’s brother, another muscular Latino, as well as his relentless bullying from his classmates in his mostly Latino high school.

Lester is further disturbed by an angry urge he has been increasingly unable to suppress in his police work, which has led to several situations when he acted with excessive aggression against suspects with whom he is particularly disgusted.