Contents
Chapter Thirty
Overview
Jane, unsettled and alone after meeting Dexter, refocuses on Jessamine Black. She contacts former co-star Oliver Bloom and orders official records to trace ownership of Thornwood. Helen sends a 2005 family photo labeled “The Last One of Us,” revealing Jessamine, her brother with clown garb, and their father, intensifying Jane’s determination to get inside Thornwood.
Summary
After parting from Dexter, Jane travels into central London, brooding over her isolation and the tangle of half-formed leads. She messages Helen Yaxley for updates on the missing tenant and alerts Shannon she’ll return Monday. Shannon reports house problems—a failed kitchen tap and a fallen ceiling section—adding to Jane’s financial anxieties and dread about selling.
At Tony’s, Jane reviews clips from Jessamine Black’s old B-movie and identifies cast members, including Oliver Bloom. Reasoning that someone from the production might recall useful details, she contacts Oliver via his cheese business and pays for Land Registry and background reports on Jessamine and Thornwood to formalize her search.
The next morning, Helen replies. While packing the tenant’s belongings, Helen found a hidden photograph in a suitcase pouch. The image shows Jessamine as a teenager with her brother and their mustachioed father on a familiar floral sofa, with the mother reflected in a dresser door as photographer. The reverse is inscribed: “The Last One of Us, Thornwood: 30th April 2005.”
Jane recognizes the father as the man from her 2000 encounter and notes the brother’s clown mask and white gloves, reading the scene as tense and wrong—the father’s grip too tight, the children subtly recoiling. She infers a rupture around this date, possibly the brother’s disappearance, and wonders what became of the father.
The photo reframes Jane’s investigation: what began as a search for the missing tenant has become a fixation on Thornwood and the Black family. The discovery strengthens her resolve to identify the current occupants, learn what happened in 2005, and gain entry to Thornwood.
Who Appears
- JaneInvestigator and narrator; contacts Oliver Bloom, orders records, receives a key 2005 family photo, and resolves to access Thornwood.
- Helen YaxleyLandlady; finds and shares a hidden 2005 Thornwood family photograph from the missing tenant’s suitcase pouch.
- Jessamine BlackAppears in film clips and the 2005 photo as a troubled teen; central figure tying Thornwood to Jane’s past.
- Jessamine’s brotherTeen in the photo holding a clown mask and wearing white gloves; possibly left around 2005.
- Jessamine’s fatherMan in the photo and Jane’s 2000 encounter; his tense grip suggests control and fear at Thornwood.
- Jessamine’s motherPhotographer reflected in the dresser glass; helped Jane escape in 2000.
- Oliver BloomFormer co-star of Jessamine; potential source. Jane contacts him via his cheese business site.
- ShannonHouse-sitter; reports broken tap and collapsed ceiling, heightening Jane’s financial pressure.
- DexterAccompanied Jane earlier; briefly present as she parts ways and continues her investigation.
- TonyOwner of the flat where Jane stays; his place hosts her late-night research.