who is the laughing man in when you reach me
When You Reach Me Miranda's mom is invited to appear on the $20,000 Pyramid. In hopes of winning the money and having a better life, Miranda and her mom's boyfriend Richard prep her for the show. Miranda and Sal are friends again. While her mother is on-stage, Miranda reminisces about a conversation with Marcus about how no one would recognize a time-traveler from a different age. She suddenly realizes that the laughing man is an older incarnation of Marcus, who has come from the future to save Sal's life. He needed to deliver the notes to the young Marcus through Miranda. Later on Miranda goes to the mailbox the laughing man (Marcus) slept under, where she finds a picture of an older version of Julia smiling happily. The novel ends as Miranda reflects on the events in an epilogue.