Three questions

I have not seen it recently so I may not have the answers.

1. He was probably planning to get the money very soon when it was good for him to get it. i don't even recall Carson seeing it.

2. It was all the MO of Chigur. He was a creature of habit who lived by a certain code. He was killing everyone who was involved with the money or in his way of obtaining it. The two managerials at the scene of the drug fight. The dude in the office. Carson was next on his list, along with Moss. But who really knows why he really did anything that he did. He was quite odd. Conventional logic would state that you would simply ignore and discard anyone or anything that was not a priority in your objective and not bring down additional heat by needlessly engaging others.

3. Chigurh was going after Carla (Moss's wife). Again, his own odd logic.

It has been a long time since I saw the film and read the book but I think Carson was sent to find the money after he was already sent for the same purpose because Carson was less violent and he resented that.

Those two other replies left something to be desired! :) Here's the answers:

1) Yes, it was a little odd he didn't immediately go for the case. All I can really come up with is that it was getting late and the case was in a wooded area next to a bridge and the US/Mexico border, where it would be hard to reach by foot. (Perhaps he felt he needed a flashlight, so he went back to his room to get one. Or he didn't want to look suspicious by having a flashlight on near the border at night where nobody should be walking, so he wanted to come back in the morning instead.) The next time we see Carson, he's headed to his room and it's definitely dark out by then. He knew unless someone was looking specifically for that case, like he was, nobody was going to spot it, especially in the dark. But still, I'd have a hard time leaving the case under any circumstance. They should have cleared it up by having him mumble to himself that it would take hours to walk to the case and that he would start in the morning.

2) Chigur didn't like the fact that Carson was hired. Remember he said to the Accountant "You pick the one tool best for the job" after he killed the guy who hired Carson. Chigur felt it was his responsibility to get the money, in full. He didn't want someone beating him to the case and almost certainly getting a cut of the money. Carson was essentially a competitor to him as well, a hired gun...good enough reason for a madman to eliminate some competition.

3) Chigur was telling Lewellen he could save his wife. He implied that he wouldn't travel to Odessa if Lewellen brought the case to him and dropped it at his feet. Remember Chigur said that Lewellen could save his wife, but not himself, and that was "the best deal he was going to get". It was a way to quickly get the case. Chigur was probably surprised Lewellen didn't take the deal. Either way, it was a threat...one that would turn into a reality if he didn't get the case back.

JD

3) Chigurh was using that as a threat to get Llewelyn to bring him the money, but he wasn't going to Odessa first. Llewelyn is killed before Chigurh finds him, and then Chigurh finds the money hidden in a vent in Llewelyn's hotel room. (Not shown, but we see that the grate has been removed). It's only then, at the end of the movie, that he goes to Odessa and keeps his promise to kill Carla Jean.

I do wonder why Chigurh didn't just go to the hospital right away. My guess would be that he wanted to get Carson out of the way first. Then he ended up talking to Llewelyn on the phone and that's when he made his threat.