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The Mark v. Tess Interview, Part 3

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Jess’s conversation gambit apparently worked. Instead of interviewing Tess about her hog-hunting group, as Mark was assigned to do, he is being led down an irrelevant side road of matrimonial kismet. I suppose there is some justifiable curiosity in knowing about their first meeting. In another context, we might suspect Mark is deliberately playing the role of a gullible and inexperienced reporter in order to disarm Jess and Tess to reveal more than they intended. But so far, we’ve seen no support for that idea. Yeah, I must be projecting, once again.

Okay, I hear what (some of) you are thinking: “Hey, George, you big dummy! Maybe it is Jess that was conned by Tess; not the other way around. Her amnesia is just part of her con so he wouldn’t ask too many questions about her background. She needed a place to hide out and a meal ticket.”

The Mark v. Tess Interview, Part 2

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First of all, why is Mark wearing a fur-lined jacket when Jess and Tess are just in shirts? Sure, Mark’s been wearing this jacket the whole time he’s been in San Antonio, but there were no indications of the temperature until this week. It’s probably a small point, but I still find it curious why Jules Rivera would bother. Even in October, the average high is 82; the average low is 59. Maybe Mark has that stupid expression on his face in panel 1 because he’s trying to not look like he’s sweating.

Otherwise, the dialog is unsettling, from Mark’s patronizing instructions in panel 1 to the curious comment by Rivera in panel 4. However, one point that I think bears mentioning here—and I think this is genuinely plot-worthy—is the look of worry on Jess’s face in panel 2, followed up by his attempt to take over the conversation in panel 3. His deer-in-the-headlights expression in that panel suggests he really doesn’t want Mark to ask just anything.

Nature note: Is the animal in the tree supposed to be a red fox? It is not native to Texas, but is found mostly in other parts of the state. The gray fox is more common to Texas. The red fox is not really a tree climber like the gray fox is, so the sources say.