How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
Out in the median, at an angle that bore no relation to the direction of traffic, sat a white convertible with its frame bent violently into a V-shape.
When we passed it I saw that it wasn't a convertible after all; the top had been sheared off, and lay on the other side of the road. An arc of glad and chrome crossed the highway like a glittering river littered with flotsam and jetsam: a pair of sunglasses, a bright vinyl bag, a paperback book. I'd never seen such a badly wrecked car.
[...]
The ambience pulled out right behind us, its warning lights alternating like crazy winking eyes. We quickly left it behind, though, and we weren't speeding by any means. Loyd saw me watching the ambulance and glanced up at the rear-view mirror. "They're not in much of a rush, are they?"
Just then, while we watched, the lights stopped flashing. I understood that I had just seen someone die. (24.24-9)
In this book, violence always seems to happen just off camera. A person inside an ambulance, a baby in a bathroom, a woman in Nicaragua. What's the point? That it's hard to care about what you can't directly see.