Jellicoe Road Chapter 18 Summary

  • On the last day of vacation, Santangelo sends word to Taylor that he has something she wants. Raffaela, Taylor, and Jessa go together to meet him.
  • While they wait for him, Taylor tells them the story of Hannah's manuscript, trying to get the chapters in sequence. Jessa is mesmerized by it, especially the part about the boy riding by on the bike and saving the survivors of the accident.
  • Jessa asks if Taylor thinks Hannah's book is a true story, and for the first time, Taylor says out loud that she does.
  • This inspires Taylor to do something crazy: She's going to break into the Brigadier's tent and get the rest of the manuscript, which he took from Hannah's house on the Night of Hitting Him in the Face with a Cot. He's away for the holidays and won't return until tomorrow.
  • When Santangelo meets them, he hands Taylor an envelope. She immediately knows that inside is the photo of the boy who disappeared. She struggles with the fact that what's in the envelope could change her life forever, and then decides to open it.
  • The boy in the picture is beautiful, with blonde hair and a look in his face that screams passion for life. And most importantly, he looks exactly like Taylor. Raffaela bursts into tears.
  • For the rest of the day, Taylor can only think about Hannah's book and how it really is true. Specifically, Hannah is her aunt. It's the first time she's ever considered this.
  • It also makes her even more determined to find out the rest of the story. She decides that the gang is breaking into the Brigadier's tent—tonight.
  • That night, Santangelo breaks the lock on the Brigadier's quarters and Taylor goes inside in search of the manuscript. She finds it quickly, but also discovers something else interesting—a stationery box Taylor recognizes from Hannah's house.
  • Inside are various mementos from Hannah's early life—her and Webb's birth certificates, a cassette tape, and some photos.
  • The first few pictures are of a smiling child that Taylor immediately recognizes as herself. She's stunned by how happy she looks and wonders who the person was that made her feel this way as a child.
  • There are also a couple of news articles. The first deals with Webb's disappearance, while the other is an article about the charges being dropped in a kidnapping case. It has a picture of a much younger Brigadier next to it.
  • This totally freaks Taylor out because she basically considers it confirmation that the rumors about the Brigadier being the serial killer may actually be true.
  • Jonah bursts into the tent and argues with Taylor about what she's doing there and how the Brigadier has nothing to do with her. Taylor shows him her baby picture and tells him that it obviously says otherwise.
  • She tells Jonah her theory that the Brigadier is the serial killer and probably had something to do with Webb's disappearance. He tells her that's ridiculous.
  • Raffaela and Santangelo show up and demand that she get out of the Brigadier's tent. As she leaves, Jonah tells her she's always been wrong about what happened the day the Brigadier came to get them. He didn't come looking for Jonah—he was really looking for her.
  • The next morning, Jessa comes into Taylor's room and tells her two more kids have gone missing. She's terrified, and Taylor calms her by telling her the story of the kids on the Jellicoe Road and the boy on the bike who rescued them.