Child 44 Chapter 16 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Voualsk, 15 March

  • Varlam Babinich is sitting is in his room in the internat, a home for the mentally challenged. At the moment, he's admiring his latest prize–"a four-month-old baby" (3.16.1).
  • Babinich has always been obsessed with the color yellow—in fact, he only kidnapped the baby after seeing its yellow blanket. Still, he knows that he's in big trouble.
  • Meanwhile, General Nesterov, head of the local militia, has just arrived. He makes his way through the facility until he finds Babinich's room.
  • Nesterov takes a sympathetic approach, telling Babinich that he can keep the yellow blanket if he returns the baby. It works.
  • Before Nesterov leaves, however, he finds "a thick lock of blonde hair" in the middle of a journal (3.16.44). Hmm....