58 pages 1 hour read

Dennis Lehane

Shutter Island

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2003

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Chapters 4-6 (Day 1: Rachel)

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 4 Summary

The investigation of Rachel’s room brings more questions than answers, so Teddy and Chuck try to trace Rachel’s escape route instead. The marshals quickly realize that Rachel would have to have slipped by the on-duty orderly, the staffed nurse’s station, and a group of poker-playing employees to leave the ward, which seems almost impossible.

Teddy and Chuck then join McPherson and a group of orderlies for another search of the island. They march to the shore, where Teddy notices some caves along a cliff face. When he asks whether the caves have been checked, McPherson tells him they have not. He reminds Teddy that Rachel left without taking her shoes, which only intensifies Teddy’s suspicion that Rachel’s disappearance was an inside job.

Teddy and Chuck return to the hospital to regroup and question the staff. The marshals leave no stone unturned: they ask the staff members about their whereabouts, verify timelines, and double-check to make sure Rachel did not have a window of opportunity to escape unseen. During questioning, Teddy discovers that Dr. Lester Sheehan, the doctor who led group therapy the evening before, left the island earlier that morning on vacation. Teddy demands a contact number and a telephone to verify Sheehan’s whereabouts, only to find that the worsening weather has knocked out the island’s communications systems.

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