Six years after Saint shot Patch in Arizona, Saint drives to the James Connor Correctional Facility to pick him up. Patch has survived the gunshot with only a slight limp, and the two greet each other warmly. On the drive, Saint studies how prison may have changed him while Patch quietly takes in ordinary sights he has missed during his time inside.

As they eat lunch and continue toward Missouri, the chapter fills in what happened during those lost years. Saint had repeatedly tried to visit Patch and wrote him many unanswered letters about her life, including her promotion to supervisory special agent, her transfer to fraud work, later murder work, and her lonely routines. Their reunion shows that, despite the silence, their bond has endured.

In the car, Patch explains how prison exposed him to fragments of the wider world, including major news events and, crucially, a courtroom report about Tommy Lee Andrews and DNA evidence. That memory matters because it has renewed Patch's belief that old certainties can be overturned and that Callie's fate might still be uncovered. When the conversation turns to Dr. Tooms, Patch reveals that he has written to Tooms again and even asked the judge for leniency, because Patch believes Tooms still knows where Callie is buried and will take that truth with him if he dies.

Saint pushes back by saying Tooms may not know where Callie is, but Patch refuses to accept that. They talk about the thin hope of finding some new physical evidence, and Patch mentions that Walter Strike, the father of missing girl Eloise Strike, has written to say he may begin searching again now that his wife has died. Their exchange clarifies that hope, however painful, is still what keeps both searchers and survivors moving.

When they reach Monta Clare and stop on Rosewood Avenue, Patch stares at the old house and thanks Saint for what she did for him during the trial and afterward, including helping get him moved closer. Their teasing talk about pirates turns into something more tender as Patch heads toward the house. Saint stops him to say that, despite everything, she still hopes he will one day find paradise fully and absolutely.