Legends of the Fall

Cochran has now been convalescing at Diller's house for a month. He stays for two further weeks and begins working in the garden. A man who knows Cochran, introduced only as the Aeromexico pilot, finds him and advises Cochran to stay lost. Tibey, it turns out, is more dangerous than Cochran knew, as evidenced by his name, which is short for tiburon, or “shark” in Spanish. The pilot gives Cochran money, a gun, and the contact information for his brother, a government official in Mexico City. Cochran gives half of the money to Mauro and Diller, and he keeps the rest.

The narrative next tells Tibey's side of the story. He is from a poor family and began his career as a pimp at 14. He later turned to the drug trade, which he is still peripherally involved in, but most of his money is in real estate and investments. He had two previous wives and has two successful sons, a doctor and a lawyer. When he marries Miryea, he goes from being rich to socially acceptable as well, as she is from a noble family.

Tibey was infatuated with Miryea and considered Cochran a close friend. Their betrayal hurt him deeply. He knew about the affair for some time before he acted, partly because he was humiliated. He ignores the affair until he finds they are thinking about running away together. He decides he must deal with the situation so as not to be humiliated as a cuckolded husband. After he dumps Cochran’s body in the desert, he tortures Miryea for several days then forcibly addicts her to heroin and puts her in a brothel. She is held prisoner and sexually exploited all the while forcibly injected with heroin. Miryea comes to consciousness long enough to stab a patron. Tibey then puts her in an asylum at a nunnery and pays them for her imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Cochran decides to leave Diller's house, and Mauro drives him to Hermosillo. Cochran is going to Durango, where Tibey's ranch is located, to find out what happened to Miryea. Mauro and Cochran help a Texan with a horse, and he offers to buy them lunch. Mauro leaves after giving Cochran a coyote tooth necklace made by his mother for protection. The Texan, as it turns out, is heading towards Durango and will give Cochran a ride. Before they leave, one of the men who was at Cochran’s cabin that night arrives at the cantina. Cochran follows him to the bathroom and kills him. He and the Texan start their trip, and the Texan tells Cochran that he is dying. They successfully deliver the horse to its new owner, and the Texan dies later that night. Cochran buries the man according to his wishes, then drives back to Mexico City with Texan's clothes and money.

At the asylum, the nuns have been told that Miryea is a “fallen woman,” and they blame her for her situation. She begins to recover and is allowed to order books from Mexico City. She takes care of three girls with autism who also live there. She thinks of Cochran often, refusing to believe he is dead. She blames herself for the harm done to him and dreams of reconciliation. Tibey, meanwhile, mourns the loss of Miryea and regrets his violence against her.

Cochran checks into a hotel in Mexico City and calls the brother of the Aeromexico pilot. In the morning, the man shows up with a new identity for Cochran, letters of introduction, and the name of a trusted contact in Durango. Cochran's new identity is a wealthy mill owner from Barcelona, and he outfits himself accordingly. In the morning, he flies to Durango, and his contact, a man named Amador, is waiting.