Previous Next

Summary

The Prisoner, continued: Chapters 210–233

Patch is sitting in the dining hall with Tug, an older prisoner he’s befriended, when he realizes he is being targeted by the same gang he once refused to join. Tag moves away as the gang closes in on Patch, who makes the decision to stand and fight. This decision lands him in a solitary cell next to another that holds a kid called White who had attacked him. White gets called to Riley’s office to be reprimanded, and when he gets back he talks to Patch about the painting in Riley’s office; he tells Patch that he’s seen the house in the painting, in Grace Falls, Alabama. 

Patch comes out of solitary, his final punishment the revoking of library services to death row. Riley gives Patch the books taken back from the death row prisoners, and inside one of them, Patch finds a letter from Tooms. Sammy comes to visit, and Patch hugs him, secretly slipping Tooms’s letter into Sammy’s pocket. 

Charlotte and Saint work on clearing a space by the house to start building a studio for Charlotte. While digging they discover a mess of bones. At that moment, Officer Michaels approaches to tell Saint that Richie Montrose has been murdered. She drives to the scene and finds Montrose’s body, shot once in the chest. Beside him is a letter that reads “See you in hell.” Saint finds a neighbor’s security footage, easily pinpointing the killer: Chief Nix. She drives then to Nix’s house, where Nix calmly accepts his arrest. She allows him to step into the barn to grab his hat on their way out, but is too late in realizing his true intent; Nix locks the door and shoots himself. 

Power goes out in the prison, and Patch finagles a very tricky escape; aided by Tug and Blackjack, he uses their distraction and influence as cover, locking Cooper in a closet and using his clothes as a disguise in order to walk out of the prison while the power is out. Saint hears about his escape the next day from Himes, who asks her to take the case. She agrees, and before leaving tells Charlotte to let her know if Patch tries to contact her.

The FBI searches a hundred-mile radius around the prison but cannot find Patch. Warden Riley summons Tug for questioning, and Tug lies, telling them that Patch is headed for North Dakota in pursuit of a woman. In reality, Patch is heading south to Grace Falls, Alabama. Blackjack escorts Tug to solitary, and hands him a book from the library; hidden inside is Patch’s 1965 Playboy, a gift to Tug.

Saint questions Cooper, only to discover he is the brother of Eloise Strike. Jasper, a lawyer, tells Saint that Nix has left his house and land to her, and back at the building site for Charlotte’s studio, the forensic examiner reveals that the bones found in the earth were canine. Back at home, Saint listens to old tapes from Chief Nix’s first interrogation of Tooms, in which he states his alibi: that he was in the woods the day of Patch’s abduction because he was looking for his dog, Scout. Saint finds the collar that had been amongst the dog bones Stevie Harris had examined, and finds “Scout” engraved on the tag. Later that evening, Lucy Alston from the lab tells her that they’ve identified the fingerprints of Tooms and Patch on the letter found next to Richie Montrose’s dead body. 

Saint goes to Nix’s barn; in an old loft space she finds photo albums. While she is up there, she also finds a letter addressed to her. Its contents alert her to the fact that Martin Tooms is innocent. Tooms’s execution is scheduled within the next hour, and Saint flies into a frenzy, racing to the prison and making frantic calls.

Previous section The Prisoner: Chapters 187–209 Next section The Prisoner, continued: Chapters 234–253

Take a Study Break