Once the guards manage to bring Delacroix’s body to the gurney, Paul stops Brutal from punching Percy. Brutal demands to know why he should not hurt Percy for what he did. Paul explains that should anything injurious happen to Percy, they will all be fired, and Percy will still be around. Percy claims innocence, declaring he didn’t not know the sponge was supposed to be wet, which Paul senses is a lie Percy has rehearsed. Curtis Anderson, filling in for Warden Moores, arrives to tell the guards that all the witnesses are upset. The guards reassure Anderson that all will be fine and that Percy is the one responsible for the error in the execution. Percy cannot protest as this reason is far preferable to the truth—that Percy omitted wetting the sponges on purpose. Paul tells Anderson that Percy will be filing for a transfer soon. Brutal adds that Percy will be taking sick days until that happens. 

Back at E Block, William Wharton sings a crass song about Delacroix’s execution, which deeply annoys Paul. Coffey is crying in his cell, mourning Delacroix’s death. Mr. Jingles is nowhere to be found. At the end of the chapter, Paul thinks of walking away but instead calls out Coffey’s full name, gets on one knee, and undoes one of his shoes.