We Need to Talk About Kevin: Chapter 26: April 5, 2001 Summary & Analysis

In the present, Eva writes to Franklin that Kevin still would have done the murders even if Franklin didn’t gift Kevin a crossbow. Eva thinks Kevin chose to use the crossbow because it let him show off and was unique. Kevin seemed to try to separate his crime from any meaning. He wasn’t bullied in school and wasn’t raised by neglectful parents. Choosing a crossbow instead of a gun ensured that no one could blame the murders on gun control laws.

On the day Eva refers to simply as Thursday, Franklin compliments Eva’s outfit in the morning. They’re getting along well, and Eva hopes to save the marriage. Kevin comes downstairs in the morning dressed uncharacteristically nicely. Franklin explains to Kevin in great detail how a particular camera works. In the middle of Franklin’s explanation, Kevin snaps at his father to “shut up.” Then Kevin suddenly rants about all the things Franklin does that Kevin hates or doesn’t care about. The outburst surprises the rest of Kevin’s family, but they don’t say anything. Eva says goodbye to Celia twice, and Franklin gives Eva an unusually passionate kiss goodbye.

The same day, Eva goes to work as usual. She stays late, and at 6:15 p.m. a coworker asks Eva if her son goes to Gladstone High. Eva checks the news and sees that there was a shooting at the school. Eva calls Franklin, but his phone is off. Kevin doesn’t pick up either. Eva never doubts that Kevin was truly acting maliciously in all of the actions she’s described in her letters thus far, but when she hears there is a shooting at his school, she only fears for his safety. She doesn’t consider that he could be the shooter.

Kevin sends letters on school stationary to nine students and one teacher, congratulating them on their various achievements and inviting them to a special ceremony in the school gym at 3:15. As everyone gathers in the gym, Kevin locks all the doors. The gym has two levels, and Kevin stands on the second level, looking down to his victims. He shoots Laura first, and skillfully injures most of the rest of them with arrows. Kevin shoots for around 10 minutes. Afterward, he waits in the gym for a couple hours before police break in. Most of the victims bleed to death slowly.

Eva pulls into the school parking lot just in time to see Kevin walk out of the gym in handcuffs. She calls Franklin repeatedly as she drives to the police station, but Franklin’s phone is off. Eva calls her home phone, expecting Robert to pick up. She is enraged at Franklin and Robert for not answering. When Eva arrives at the station, she sees Kevin behind a glass window. They stare at each other, and Eva sees that Kevin is happy with his work. She still doesn’t know the details of what happened. In the police station Eva sits across from a boy, Joshua, whose clothes are covered with blood. The police try to gather information from Eva, but she is too beside herself to talk.

The police ask if Eva wants to talk to Kevin, and she begs them not to make her speak to him. The officers tell Eva to go home, and she is in shock that she doesn’t have to spend the night in a cell at the station. She feels that she should. Eva drives home and finds that all the lights are off in the house. She walks inside and calls for Franklin and Celia. She looks in all the bedrooms multiple times. Finally, she turns the outdoor lights on to illuminate the archery range. Celia is pinned to the target by five arrows, and Franklin lies dead in the bushes nearby. He has three arrows in his body.