The Thursday Murder Club

Austin informs the characters that, in addition to belonging to a man,: the body suffered a gunshot wound to the femur and was buried around the 1970’s. Chapters 75 and 76 feature a confrontation between the Thursday Murder Club and Donna and Chris, after Elizabeth explains to them about the bodies they had dug up. Chris and Donna are upset; they feel betrayed because they were never told about it. However, Elizabeth is unconcerned. She says that if Chris feels the need to arrest them, he should do so, but they will all refuse to comment when asked at the station. Chris tells them about how Father Matthew is actually a doctor and not a priest, which has them wondering if he could have killed Ian. As a peace offering, they tell the two police officers that it was Gianni who took the photo. Elizabeth explains that Jason has given the group enough of an alibi that they believe him to be innocent. Ron will tell Jason to call the police himself.

In Chapter 80, Joyce and Elizabeth are sitting in Casa Café when their waiter, a man claiming to be Peter Ward, approaches with their coffee orders. Elizabeth puts down the photograph on the table. Peter looks at it and recalls where it was taken, saying that he heard about what happened to Tony. Elizabeth reveals that they know he is Bobby, but he says to please call him Peter—the new name that he goes by since restarting his life as a florist. He says that he does not believe that Jason could be the killer. Bobby adds that when Gianni fled town, he actually left with “a hundred grand of Tony’s case with him” (187). When asked, Elizabeth confirms that she was able to find Bobby (Peter) when she got access to the CCTV around the cemetery and saw the florist van driving in and out. She promises to not tell anyone about Bobby (Peter) if he agrees to “sit down with Jason and the police and tell them what [he] just told [them]” (188).

In Chapter 81, Ibrahim and Ron visit Bernard on the hill, Bernard asks if they are there to talk to him about the murder. Ron suggests that “maybe [he] has something hidden up there in the graveyard” and asks if Bernard, as a diabetic, is experienced with needles (190). Bernard says that he is just an old man who misses his wife, and that is the reason he is there every day. However, Ibrahim says that she does not believe him, saying that the “worst thing [Bernard] could do is to stay silent,” which Bernard counters by saying that the two men have “no idea what the worst thing [he] could do is” (191).

Chapter 83 shows a new side to Bernard, following the man on his way up the hill. This time he heads into the garden’s tool shed. Inside, his eyes focus on a spade on the back wall, and he is surprised at how weak he is when trying to pick it up, knowing that he would never be able to dig with it. He is in distress, not knowing who could help or who would understand the thing he refuses to tell anyone. The chapter closes with Bernard sitting in his chair and crying about something he did.