Chapter 87 Summary & Analysis
Spoiler Notice
This page contains spoilers for Chapter 87 of James Patterson’s 26 Beauties. Read on for a detailed summary and analysis of the chapter’s events.
Summary
Lindsay Boxer leaves the administration building officially suspended with pay — a standard procedure she resents but is too drained to fight. She returns home and collapses, only to be roused half an hour later by a call from the hospital: Alain Creasy has regained consciousness and is asking for her. A short rest, a shower, and fresh clothes restore enough energy for the visit. At the hospital, Lindsay finds Creasy on the phone, arguing in French with his daughter. He is trying to convince her not to fly to the US, insisting his injury is not serious. Once the call ends, Lindsay approaches the bed and takes his hand, her first words an apology for what happened. Creasy waves off the regret and casually remarks that this is the third time he has been shot in his career; his permanent limp is the result of a bullet from a Paris drug dealer. After more than twenty minutes of quiet conversation, Creasy extracts a promise from Lindsay: do not abandon the investigation, no matter what the administration says. He tells her that even saving a single girl makes the struggle worthwhile. Lindsay, profoundly moved, finds her resolve renewed.
Key Events
- Lindsay is suspended with pay following the earlier shooting incident.
- She briefly returns home, exhausted, and receives a call that Alain Creasy is awake and asking for her.
- After resting and cleaning up, Lindsay visits the hospital.
- Creasy is overheard trying to dissuade his daughter from traveling to see him.
- Creasy discloses that this is his third gunshot wound and explains the origins of his limp.
- He asks Lindsay to promise not to give up on the missing-girls investigation.
- He delivers the motivational statement that rescuing even one girl is a reason to rejoice.
- Lindsay leaves the room with strengthened determination.
Character Development
Lindsay Boxer
This chapter peels back Lindsay’s professional shell to reveal guilt and fatigue. Her immediate apology to Creasy shows she blames herself for his injury, hinting at the weight she carries as a lead investigator. The suspension itself demeans her, but her swift response to Creasy’s summons proves that personal connection trumps bureaucratic distance. The chapter ends with Lindsay visibly inspired; her arc here is from exhaustion and self-doubt to renewed purpose, anchored by a colleague’s faith in her.
Alain Creasy
Creasy emerges as a seasoned, resilient figure whose three-time shooting history paints a life of sacrifice. His attempt to shield his daughter from worry underscores a protective nature that parallels the larger mission: protecting vulnerable girls. Despite his physical weakness, his mental focus is sharp — he aggressively steers the conversation toward the investigation, establishing himself as a mentor who uses his own near-death to fuel Lindsay’s commitment. The limp from the Paris bullet becomes a visible badge of his dedication.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The value of a single life: Creasy’s line about saving “only one girl” crystallizes the story’s moral core. In a case involving many missing girls, the chapter argues that success must be measured in individual rescues, not just statistics.
- Mentorship and legacy: Creasy, wounded and vulnerable, still prioritizes guiding Lindsay. His generation passes the torch, insisting that the fight must continue despite personal cost.
- Sacrifice and duty: The mention of three gunshots and a permanent limp frames law enforcement work as physically and emotionally taxing. Creasy’s body is a ledger of past sacrifices, yet he remains unbroken.
- Isolation vs. connection: Lindsay’s suspension isolates her from the official investigation, but the hospital visit reconnects her to its human stakes. The chapter suggests that bureaucratic machinery cannot sever genuine bonds between officers who share a cause.
- Resilience and hope: Both characters demonstrate resilience — Lindsay by dragging herself back to the hospital, Creasy by focusing on the mission hours after surgery. The word “rejoice” injects a rare note of optimism into a grim storyline.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 87 serves as the emotional pivot after a major crisis point. Lindsay’s suspension could have marked a retreat, but instead the narrative gives her a personal audience with the victim, who refuses to be a victim and instead re-enlists her. Creasy’s words disarm any potential cynicism the reader or Lindsay might feel about the system; they reframe the investigation as a moral imperative that exists above department politics. The chapter deepens the partnership between the two characters, transforming Creasy from a colleague into the conscience of the case, and arms Lindsay with the internal ammunition she needs to defy the suspension psychologically. For the reader, it anchors the high stakes in one man’s simple, powerful philosophy: saving a single girl is enough. That mantra will likely echo through the remaining chapters, making this quiet bedside scene one of the book’s thematic linchpins.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Alain Creasy ask Lindsay to promise not to give up on the investigation?
Answer: Creasy understands that a suspension, even with pay, can demoralize an officer and fracture a case. He has decades of experience and knows that administration pressure often pushes detectives to abandon uncomfortable leads. His promise is a preemptive strike against that institutional discouragement. More importantly, Creasy frames the mission in profoundly human terms — “even if you save only one girl” — shifting Lindsay’s focus from department approval to the tangible lives they can still protect.
2. How does this chapter illustrate the theme of sacrifice in police work?
Answer: Sacrifice appears physically in Creasy’s body: this is his third gunshot wound, and his limp is a permanent souvenir from a Paris drug dealer. Emotionally, Lindsay sacrifices her immediate need for rest and privacy when she rushes to the hospital at his request. The larger sacrifice, implied but never overstated, is the danger they both accept as part of fighting an operation that traffics young women. Creasy’s willingness to return to the fight after being shot three times, and his insistence that Lindsay do the same after her suspension, underscore that true sacrifice is not a single act but a sustained state of being.
3. What does Creasy’s mention of his past injuries contribute to his character?
Answer: The revelation transforms Creasy from a mere victim of the shooting into a seasoned veteran whose wounds are evidence of a lifelong commitment. It explains his surprising calmness after being shot and his refusal to be defined by the injury. The detail about the Paris drug dealer hints at an international career, adding depth and suggesting that his skills and insights are hard-won. For Lindsay — and the reader — the limp becomes a symbol of endurance, making his plea to continue the investigation carry the weight of personal authority.