Simple question for simple minds  

It doesn't say the patrol flight has to begin and end at the same point, in fact the Chief Counsel interpretation above makes that clear. A patrol flight can go cross- country, across multiple states. The legal issue if the FAA found out, comes when you drop a crewmember (you've provided transportation).

The FAA has provided examples of what would make the patrol flight take on a Dual Purpose. Some of them are fairly innocent seeming and were eye opening. 

Tailwinds~