Chapter 76

Chris and Donna arrive after Elizabeth summons them, only to learn that the Thursday Murder Club arranged for the hidden body’s bones to be examined without telling the police. Chris is stunned and angry, while Donna directly challenges Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron for disturbing human remains and concealing evidence.

Elizabeth argues that arresting the group would be pointless because the club will refuse to say who dug up the body or sent the bones for analysis. Elizabeth admits they knew their actions were wrong, but frames them as an attempt to help, then reveals that the bones have been reburied so Chris and Donna can officially discover them during a police search of the Garden of Eternal Rest.

Elizabeth pushes Chris and Donna to accept the situation and focus on what the buried body means. Elizabeth suggests the person who buried a man on the hillside in the 1970s may also have murdered Ian Ventham to keep the old secret hidden, forcing Chris and Donna to consider a possible connection between the historic death and the present murders.

The conversation shifts to Father Mackie. Donna reveals that the police have learned he is actually Doctor Mackie, not a priest, and that he moved from Ireland in the 1990s. Elizabeth finds the false priesthood suspicious, while Donna thinks Mackie may be involved in Ian’s murder but is unlikely to explain the decades-old bones.

The club then offers information about the Tony Curran case. Ibrahim says the photograph of Tony was taken by a man called Turkish Johnny, and Ron argues that finding Turkish Johnny or Bobby Tanner will lead to Tony’s killer. Chris counters by revealing police suspicions about Jason’s phone calls to Tony and Jason’s car being near the murder scene, but Elizabeth says Jason has explained those facts to the club’s satisfaction.

Chris reluctantly accepts a temporary truce, warning that if the group’s interference reaches his superintendent he will arrest them. Elizabeth reassures him that no one will find out, and the tense meeting settles into uneasy cooperation over sherry.