Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Spoilers welcome on this topic. If the first to post could provide a brief summary to guide the discussion it is appreciated.
Part Two Tunnel Vision - three chapters

Chapter One: Microbursts and Macrobursts

Lucas visits and makes friends with Marcianna. Gracie is on her way -- she has news they should know about. LT is suspicious but Mike says he overheard her the previous night arguing that the police were acting too hastily.

Lucas asks LT for a summer job and he agrees to talk with Mike about it. He also agrees to meet Ambyr to allay any concerns she might have about Lucas spending time w/LT and Mike.

Gracie tells them that one of the murder victims was not a runaway, but was kicked out of the house -- a throwaway. LT knows this is dangerous info to have politically -- the powers that be would rather have a serial killer on their hands than a string of throwaways, which would be a police embarrassment. He also suspects that they are on the lookout for possible defectors and that Gracie is the most likely suspect. He deduces that she has been followed, and confirms this with a look through his binoculars. He has Mike escort her out and bring her back secretly.

When she returns they hike up to a secret kiln in the mountains. Gracie reports that those who drove Mike and LT out of NYC have changed their minds, and the locals are not happy to hear it. Second, the locals have devised a plan to end the talk of throwaway kids. They have gotten their hands on a corpse and plan to plant it in the home of someone they plan to frame for the murders. This was made harder once LT repeated words from Lattrell that indicated more than one person was involved. They had to find a couple, which they did in Jimmy and Jeannette Patrick, a married couple who were lying low after having been run out of town because of their association with teen porn.

Marcianna goes missing. LT finds her lead and she is staring down a mama bear and her two cubs. The bears were drawn by a slaughtered deer that they discover was shot and disemboweled. As they make their escape Lucas wonders why they never heard the shot. One possibility: a silencer was used.

Aunt Clarissa summons LT to dinner. Her contacts in town and law enforcement have informed of the “unusual guests” (Derek and Lucas) who have been coming about.

Mike, who had left to escort Gracie to her car, returns boasting of his success with her ( a kiss). His joy is short-lived; McCannon calls to tell them that her car was side-swiped by a truck and she is in the hospital, unconscious. Mike want to go right away but McCannon tells Lt that they would not be welcome by the police. Instead they continue working the case, and Mike observes that things were quiet until Lucas became part of the team. His presence is threatening to someone. Who could have talked? It must have been Derek.

Chapter Two: Present and Unaccounted For (p. 253)

Pete drops by the farm to share info about one of the suicide victims, a black kid who could no longer afford to go to his all-white school when his parents disappeared. When his body was found he had 3 signed jerseys of high profile basketball players in his possession. They may have been stolen but they place him near someone who could afford to by such items. The papers citing authentication of the valuable jerseys are in a file with Frank Mangold. LT can manipulate his way to get them because of his knowledge of the unjust shooting of Lattrell.

Pete tells them the cops are close to setting up the body in the Patricks’ house.

Mike learns that Gracie has regained consciousness.

Mike and LT and Marcianna go to the Kurtz’s to meet Ambyr and Derek. Derek has a surprising affinity for Marcianna, who apparently connects with those who are “sick”. Surprise, surprise, Ambyr turns out to be a knockout. LT observes that Lucas has let on more about the goings on at the farm than he would like; he’ll have to speak to Lucas about that. LT takes Ambyr for a walk and she tells him her tragic story.

Chapter Three: Something Ingenious, Something Ingenuous (p. 292)

Ambyr was heavy growing up and was bullied; the proliferation of computers and social media made it worse. She began starving and purging and became ill. She passed repeatedly but her condition was misdiagnosed. She eventually wound up in the hospital, unconscious for five days. When she woke up she had lost her sight.

Meanwhile her parents and Derek’s parents were already making plans to leave. They went to court and persuaded the court officers that she wanted to become Lucas’ and Derek’s guardian -- even had a forged affidavit with her signature on it. The kids were placed in her care.

LT and Mike bring Ambyr and the boys to the farm for dinner. LT gets Derek on his own to find out what he knows about the case. They walk by the ATVs they used to travel up to the kiln, and notice a gunshot mark. Derek shows his knowledge about weapons by identifying the type of rifle.

When they get back to the house Mike alerts LT that Pete has tracked down the owner of the basketball jerseys. He also has something he needs to show them right away. They plan to leave after dinner.

Clarissa has had a chance to chat with Derek and she tells LT that he knows more than he is telling. She also overhead Mike and knows they are planning to leave after dinner. She also mentions Ambyr’s infatuation with LT; he protests. Later Ambyr confirms this when she says she has overheard Clarissa’s comments.

Mike and LT head off to meet Pete. They find him in front of a dilapidated house -- the Patricks’. A search of the house uncovers a desiccated body of a teenage boy. Pete and Steve had been there the previous night and there was no body, so he knows it was planted. They hatch a plan to relocate it to another site with the help of a forensic scientist friend, Native American Bill Johnson.

LT and Mike return to the farm. Lucas and Ambyr show up -- she considers herself part of the team.

LT and Mike are summoned to the new site where the desiccated body was relocated (unbeknownst to the cops of course). “Indian Bill” says he overheard the FBI say that they didn’t need this “in an election year.”

LT and Mike hurry over to the jail to let the Patricks’ lawyer, Paul O’Brien, know that the body had been found so the Patricks could get spring quicker. O’Brien tells Mangold, who releases them surprisingly quickly.

The next morning they get a panicked phone call from Lucas. Derek is gone. He left a note, which Lucas says sounds strange but Ambyr doesn’t agree. They worry that he has been taken against his will.

Excellent summaries, Carol!
Part two was jam packed with action. My overall impression is that we now know much more about the kind of people LT and Mike really are, and more of their investigative capabilities.
We also meet three very strong female characters in Gracie Chang, Ambyr Kurtz and LT's Aunt, Miss Clarissa Jones. Each woman is unique, smart, determined, and not easily intimidated. At first it seemed Aunt Clarissa would be a mysterious off screen presence but through the interaction with Derek we learn a bit about her past and her formidable reputation.
Gracie Chang is very brave and sharp while seeming to be politically naive. Ambyr is pretty amazing in her attitude and adaptation to her sudden changes in health and guardian responsibilities, which would be daunting for a sighted person.

I am worried about several things, the ominous pain that Trajan is experiencing and the very real attempt to shoot LT, Lucas, and Marcianna while they rode down the mountain. That entire episode was creepy to consider the message intended from the eviscerated deer and the bears lured by the kill.it looks like Part three will be a doozy!

Two thoughts here, there was an intimation about Frank Mangold when Latrell was shot at Donnie Butler's staged murder scene. What is intimated is not clear- LT was "too worked up" to take conscious notice.
Then Mangold catapults positions and does the "right thing" with little protest, letting the sleazy suspencts go when LT and Mike bring news of the (planted) boy's mummified corpse no longer implicating them. I wonder what role he plays. There are so many options for other law enforcement characters at odds, serious odds with our two investigator / instructors.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Chapter Three: Something Ingenious, Something Ingenuous (p. 292)
LT and Mike hurry over to the jail to let the Patricks’ lawyer, Paul O’Brien, know that the body had been found so the Patricks could get spring quicker. O’Brien tells Mangold, who releases them surprisingly quickly.
."

Ann wrote: "Excellent summaries, Carol!
Part two was jam packed with action. My overall impression is that we now know much more about the kind of people LT and Mike really are, and more of their investigativ..."

I like the reference you make to the three strong women. I especially liked learning of Clarissa's backstory. I expected a matronly aunt type, not a progressive woman in her own right.. And Ambyr's ability to navigate the world and be a strong caretaker for her brother and Derek is amazing. Gracie's willingness to reach out with info that could be dangerous for her if it was learned that she was the source was courageous.

Ann wrote: "I am worried about several things, the ominous pain that Trajan is experiencing and the very real attempt to shoot LT, Lucas, and Marcianna while they rode down the mountain. That entire episode wa..."
I do not have a good feeling about LT's pain. I hope I am wrong that is signals the return of his cancer.

Yes, the realization that there was a shooter and the killing of the deer to lure bears in created some tension and I was not relieved until they made it back to the farm.

Ann wrote: "Two thoughts here, there was an intimation about Frank Mangold when Latrell was shot at Donnie Butler's staged murder scene. What is intimated is not clear- LT was "too worked up" to take conscious..."

I know what you mean, Ann. We are led to believe that there is corruption within the ranks, and Mangold is the obvious choice. Now I'm not so sure, though.