The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Chapter 31 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • At around 1:00AM, Christopher's father arrives at the police station and from his cell, Christopher can hear him start yelling at everyone. Soon enough, a policeman brings his dad over to his cell.
  • He and his father do this thing where his dad holds up his right hand and Christopher holds up his left hand and they each spread their fingers and then touch their fingertips together. (Try it out!)
  • They do this instead of hugging, because Christopher doesn't like to be touched. It's a sweet gesture, and it's how Christopher knows that his dad loves him.
  • Now it's time for some questioning. The policeman asks Christopher if he meant to hit the policeman. Christopher says yes, he did. The policeman refines his question, asking if he meant to hurt the policeman. This time, Christopher says no – he just wanted the guy to stop touching him.
  • And now for the big question: did Christopher kill the dog? He says that he didn't, but the policeman doesn't seem to believe him so he asks if Christopher is telling the truth. Our kid-narrator says yes: he always tells the truth.
  • The policeman gives Christopher a warning, and Christopher asks if it will be printed on a piece of paper that he can keep.
  • They leave the room, pick up the things that had been taken from Christopher's pockets, and he and his father drive home.
  • And that's the story of Christopher's stint in the slammer.