Chapter 66

With Joyce busy with Joanna and Elizabeth absent, Ron and Ibrahim spend the evening reviewing the thirty people who might have murdered Ian Ventham. Ron insists on scoring suspects out of ten, with the scores rising as he drinks whisky. He gives Father Mackie a ten, arguing that the Church must have something hidden in the cemetery, though Ibrahim doubts the logic.

The pair then discuss Bernard Cottle, whose agitation and attachment to the hill make him a stronger possibility. Ibrahim reflects on Coopers Chase as a living community full of change, companionship, and loss, while recognizing that Bernard remains trapped in grief after his wife's death. Ron admits that his own place of peace may be sitting with Ibrahim, drinking whisky and talking in the dark.

After the brief emotional honesty, Ron returns to irreverent speculation and wonders whether Bernard and Joyce are romantically involved. Ron and Ibrahim settle on Bernard as a nine because Bernard opposed the redevelopment and had a scientific background that might connect him to fentanyl. They also mark Karen Playfair as an “asterisk seven,” mainly because she was present, may know about drugs, and requires further investigation.

Ron and Ibrahim then turn the scoring system on themselves and the other members of the club. Ron argues he had no real motive to kill Ian because he secretly liked the benefits the redevelopment might bring, but Ibrahim gives him a seven for his temper, presence at the scuffle, insulin needles, and Jason's possible connection to Tony Curran. Ron reacts sharply when Jason is mentioned, then recovers and jokingly rates Ibrahim as a seven too, citing intelligence, suspicious composure, and absurd prejudices to break the tension.

As the night deepens, Ibrahim looks forward to continuing the conversation rather than facing his usual sleeplessness alone. He thinks of himself and Ron as two old men resisting the night. Outside, Coopers Chase is dark and quiet, while Elizabeth, unseen, walks back down the hill carefully enough not to show a torch beam.