Thursday Murder Club, #1
The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman
Contents
Chapter 37
Overview
Donna calls Elizabeth after studying the club’s file, and Elizabeth lays out a strong financial motive for Ian Ventham to murder Tony Curran. The documents show Ian cut Tony out of The Woodlands development just before Tony’s death, then gained Tony’s shares afterward.
The chapter shifts Ian from suspicious businessman to a suspect with a quantified motive worth more than twelve million pounds. It also deepens the uneasy alliance between Donna and Elizabeth, with the police now relying on the club’s illicitly gathered evidence.
Summary
Late at night, Donna phones Elizabeth after reading the complicated folder Elizabeth gave the police. Elizabeth admits the material was deliberately dense so Donna would need to call, allowing the Thursday Murder Club to stay involved while proving useful.
Elizabeth explains that Ian Ventham’s business is profitable, but the documents reveal a serious financial conflict with Tony Curran. Tony owned twenty-five per cent of Coopers Chase, yet Ian had excluded Tony from the new Woodlands development shortly before Tony died.
Elizabeth leads Donna through the timing: Ian signed papers cutting Tony out of The Woodlands the day before the consultation meeting, the day before Ian and Tony’s public row, and the day before Tony was murdered. The loss would have cost Tony millions, giving Tony a strong reason to threaten Ian.
Elizabeth adds that Tony’s death financially benefited Ian even further because Tony’s shares reverted to Ian. According to the club’s expert, Tony’s death earned Ian about twelve and a quarter million pounds, which Donna recognizes as a serious possible motive.
Donna promises to tell Chris Hudson and have the police look into the evidence. Elizabeth deflects Donna’s teasing about the “expert” being Joyce’s daughter, invites Donna to meet Penny, and claims her interest in Tony’s exact time of death is only idle curiosity.
Who Appears
- ElizabethGuides Donna through financial evidence and keeps the club central to the investigation.
- Donna De FreitasCalls Elizabeth after reading the file and accepts Ian’s financial motive as worth investigating.
- Ian VenthamDiscussed as a suspect who cut Tony out of development profits and benefited from Tony’s death.
- Tony CurranMurder victim whose lost development stake and reverted shares create Ian’s possible motive.
- StephenSleeps beside Elizabeth, briefly grounding the late-night call in her domestic life.
- PennyElizabeth’s friend whom Elizabeth wants Donna to meet during a future visit.