Chapter 23: Joyce

Joyce recounts an unexpectedly busy day that began with a haircut and gossip with Anthony. Elizabeth arrives with a tote bag and flask, tells Joyce a taxi is coming, and takes her first back home for a coat and then toward London without immediately explaining the purpose.

During the taxi and train journey, Elizabeth eventually reveals that they are going to see Joyce’s daughter, Joanna. Elizabeth explains that the Thursday Murder Club needs information the police do not yet have so they can trade if necessary, especially because Donna may not tell them everything. Elizabeth has obtained detailed financial records for Ian Ventham’s companies and wants someone trustworthy, forensic, and nearby to interpret them.

Joyce suspects that Elizabeth could have found another expert and really wants to meet Joanna, but Joyce is pleased because it gives her a rare, low-pressure chance to see and show off her daughter. After the delayed train to Charing Cross and a cab to Mayfair, Joyce reflects on past London trips with friends who have since died, giving the outing an added emotional weight.

At Joanna’s modern office, Joanna greets Joyce warmly and is excited by the murder investigation. Elizabeth has already sent the documents ahead, and Joanna has assigned them to Cornelius, an American colleague. Cornelius challenges Elizabeth’s claim that the records came from Companies House, but Elizabeth deflects by presenting herself as an uninformed seventy-six-year-old woman.

Cornelius reports that Ventham’s companies are in very good shape and that Ventham appears competent, undermining any simple theory that financial collapse explains the murder. However, Cornelius also identifies two important findings, which are added to Elizabeth’s blue file and intended for the police when they visit.

Afterward, Joanna says she will visit Joyce the following weekend, and Joyce feels the day may have helped both mother and daughter see one another differently. Elizabeth and Joyce walk through Mayfair, discuss what they have learned over coffee, and later drink canned gin and tonics on the train home, leaving Joyce to count the day as a treasured good one.