How would you interpret the word “friend” in the last sentence? Sheldon Harte has been found, in the village of Tlalminalco, at a house owned by relatives of Siqueiros. Seva hasn’t been told yet, but his friend Sheldon will not be back. The police found him under four feet of quicklime in the bottom of a pit. Thirty people have been arrested, including Siqueiros, though he will probably be allowed to leave the country. The Mexican newspapers are calling him a “half-mad artist” and “irresponsible pirate.” Guilt and blame in this story are already established—Trotsky did it himself—and so finding a true culprit creates some awkwardness. In a strange extension of their logic, one newspaper suggested the mad painter had sold himself to Trotsky, who paid him for the simulated attack. “The simulated attack,” no longer even posed as a speculation, but the fact of the matter. Once a truth is established in newsprint, none other can exist.Sheldon was a good joe. A friend: one more word that has sprouted leaves of meaning in Casa Trotsky.How would you interpret the word “friend” in the last sentence “A friend: one more word that…” Does the narrator use the word “friend” to explain the preceding word “joe”? PS: Sheldon was one of the bodyguards protecting Lev Trotsky when he was in Mexico. Thanks. This excerpt is taken from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.