Chapter 56

Fifteen miles from the murder scene, the Thursday Murder Club meets in extraordinary session. Elizabeth displays photographs of Ian Ventham’s body and the surrounding crowd, which she secretly took while pretending to call an ambulance and then had privately printed.

Elizabeth tells Ron, Joyce and Ibrahim that Ian died from a fentanyl overdose administered shortly before death, based on information from someone with access to Kent Police forensic emails. Ibrahim explains that because the injection had to be given moments before Ian collapsed, everyone present at Coopers Chase is a possible suspect.

The club reviews what fentanyl is and how it might be used, then turns to the practical problem of who could have delivered it. Ibrahim reports that a puncture wound was found on Ian’s upper arm, meaning the killer had to get very close to him and act quickly.

Using lists compiled by the club, Ibrahim counts seventy-one people connected to the scene: sixty-four residents, the police, Bogdan, the low-loader driver Marie, Karen Playfair, Father Matthew Mackie, and Ian himself. Ibrahim then removes people who could not plausibly have approached Ian, including residents with mobility limitations, those too far away, and people padlocked to the gate.

The resulting suspect list contains thirty names, including the four club members. Ron asks who wanted Ian dead and whether the same person murdered Tony Curran, while Joyce reflects that they definitely know a murderer. The club prepares to begin narrowing the list before the Jigsaw Room is needed for Conversational French.