The Thursday Murder Club

Chapter 11 begins with Elizabeth telling Ibrahim that she has a job for him: She needs him to “lie to a senior police officer” (29). Quickly changing perspective, Chapter 12 opens with a debriefing at the precinct by Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Chris Hudson. Donna is there delivering them tea, and she does her best to linger on her way out in order to hear more; for example, she bends down to pretend to tie her laces, even though her boots don’t have any. Chris is describing the surveillance they were able to get on Tony’s travels after leaving Coopers Chase on the day of his murder: He left at 2:00 pm and died at 3:32 pm. Cameras in the surrounding areas hold footage that could tell more, so Chris wants to get a hold of the recordings. Until they get that, “[T]he biggest lead is the photograph the killer left by the body” (30). Donna recognizes one of the people in the photo that Chris brings up before she leaves the room, but she hears Chris say that they know all three of the men in the photo very well.

Joyce’s diary entry in Chapter 13 concerns her thoughts surrounding Tony’s death, describing how he was bludgeoned to death. Being included in the investigation is exciting for Joyce, as she says she is now someone who needs to keep her phone on her.

In Chapter 14, Elizabeth speaks to her friend Penny Gray, an ex-cop who is in a coma in Willows; the doctors say that Penny cannot hear, but Elizabeth speaks to her anyways. John, Penny’s husband, talks to his wife as well. Elizabeth leaves after telling Penny how great it is that they have a “real murder to investigate” (35). Flipping back into Joyce’s first-person narrative, Chapter 15 details the residents’ weekly Wednesday trip into Fairhaven. Leaving Joyce’s diary, Chapter 16 opens with Joyce on a bus. Just as it is about to leave, Elizabeth jumps in. Joyce hopes to visit a café, but Elizabeth wants her to investigate the murder. Going into a police station, Joyce is shocked when Elizabeth begins to fake cry and tell the officers that she had her bag stolen; she says that she will only speak to a woman. The officer that comes in is Donna, just as Elizabeth planned, and Donna realizes what is going on the minute she gets into the room.

Chris is in his office going over Tony’s file and the details of his last crime. Tony was involved in a “shooting at the Black Bridge pub, which left a young drug dealer dead” (56) and resulted in the disappearance of a taxi driver. Looking at the photo, Chris sees that it contains three men: Tony, Bobby Tanner, whose whereabouts are unknown, and ex-boxer Jason Ritchie.

Chapter 18 returns to the confrontation between Donna and the two women. Elizabeth calls Donna out on the fact that she left London to move to a city with a low crime rate. She adds that Donna, as the new woman at the station, is still stuck earning her place and that any promotion isn’t in her near future, no matter how hard she works to impress her superiors. Elizabeth asks Donna if she wants to investigate the murder. Donna says yes but asks how Elizabeth can make that possible. Elizabeth doesn’t give her an answer, only stating that she can make it happen within the hour. Elizabeth asks that in return, Donna helps them out if in the future they have questions regarding the case.

In Chapter 19, Chris pulls in to Coopers Chase to have a conversation with Ibrahim and Ron. Ibrahim tells Ron that the detective wants to ask him about the argument that he saw, elaborating that Ron forgets things because he is a “very, very old man” (48). Following Elizabeth’s instructions, Ibrahim then asks if Donna could be there for the interview, putting pressure on Chris to say that she will become part of the investigation. Chapter 20 is another diary entry from Joyce. She feels her special skill is being overlooked and underestimated; she is one who always finds the compromise and settles the arguments “in a way that advantages her” (50).