The Goldfinch

This chapter begins eight years into the future when Theo is 26. He is now a partner at Hobart and Blackwell and is in charge of running the shop and managing sales. Around Theo’s late teen years, the shop went into extreme debt. Theo spends time in the shop and strategically marks up prices on certain items, and the shop turns a profit. He takes it to another level by selling “heavily altered or outright reconstructed pieces as original” (450). Theo has been getting away with this method, offering to buy back a piece at a premium if a client desires, but this mostly floats under the radar. In this way, Theo helps Hobie get out of debt. However, Theo encounters a problem with Lucius Reeve, who discovers the fakes and is intent on investigating.

One day, Theo encounters Platt Barbour, Andy’s older brother. The two go to a bar, and Platt reveals that Andy and Mr. Barbour, who was suffering from unmedicated bipolar disorder, have drowned on a boat trip in Maine. Theo and Platt briefly visit Mrs. Barbour, and they chat. Theo promises to come back for dinner. Platt also reveals that he has been in contact with Tom Cable, with whom Theo used to rob houses.