What does "The address book would do for Vicki, if she hadn’t missed the plane altogether." in the context below?

Question

Philip did not turn up with the car. This did not surprise Elizabeth. She took the bus to the airport. Vicki’s plane was late. Elizabeth walked up and down on the shiny tiles. She did not like people to observe that she was being kept waiting, and at least one girl was smiling at her in that shy, dawning way which meant she had seen Elizabeth on TV; but there was no decent coffee to be had, and no civilised place to sit. She measured her pulse on a tin machine outside the chemist shop. The reading she got was so low that she thought the thing must be out of order. She strolled into the shop, stole a twenty-five dollar Dior lipstick and a cheap plastic-covered address book and tried again: the adrenalin rush of petty theft showed. The address book would do for Vicki, if she hadn’t missed the plane altogether. She transferred the stolen items from her sleeve to her bag and went into the cafeteria for a bottle of mineral water.

Is "The address book would do for Vicki, if she hadn’t missed the plane altogether." an imaginery conditional sentence?

I don't know what  the meaning of "The address book would do for Vicki" is in this context. And What is the use of "altogether" in this sentence? Does it for emphasis?

Does "she" refer to "Vicki"? Or does it refer to "Elizabeth"?

Answer 1

Since "the address book would do for Vicki" appears right after Elizabeth shoplifted an address book, it obviously refers to the stolen address book, not Vicki's address book. The most likely explanation is that Elizabeth planned to shoplift presents for Vicki, then decided to give Elizabeth the address book and keep the lipstick for herself.



I do not know what you mean by an imaginary (note correct spelling) conditional sentence. The sentence's grammar is confusing because it is reported speech, or recorded thoughts in this case. Elizabeth is thinking "I will give her the address book if she hasn't missed her plane." Since it happened in the past you report it as "Elizabeth thought she would give her the address book if she hadn't missed her plane." 



Yes, "altogether" is an intensifier and has no real meaning. You either miss your plane or you don't. There's no partial missing of a plane.

Answer 2

This is pretty simple.  Elizabeth went to meet Vicki at the airport.  The plane was late and Elizabeth didn't want to be there so she left.  So the sentence "The address book would do for Vicki, if she hadn’t missed the plane altogether." is Elizabeth's rationalization that Vicki doesn't need to be met, she can use her address book and (and presumably a bus or taxi) to find her own way to her final destination from the airport.  The added thought that Vicki may have missed the plane is just more rationalization by Elizabeth that there is no harm in skipping out.  

Answer 3

Vicki is late.  Elizabeth is supposed to pick her up.  Elizabeth is not patient and decided that Vicki will do just fine without Elisabeth (Vicki can use her address book and call someone else to come get her).  Elizabeth is leaving.  Hey, maybe Vicki even missed the plane so abandoning Vicki is the right choice anyway.



Elizabeth is selfish; she did the minimum that was expected of her and now is making excuses to convince herself that it is ok to leave.  Vicki is on her own.