Chapter 63 Summary, Analysis, and Key Takeaways
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The chapter opens with the group arriving at Heather Garbutt's former home, a bungalow on an unremarkable road with a deceptively pretty name. Overgrown hedges hide the property from passing traffic, and the house has clearly fallen into neglect since Heather's disappearance. Joyce notes that the estate agent's listing from its last sale described a comfortable four-bedroom home, and she observes that Jack Mason paid £425,000 for a property listed at £375,000—a sign, she reasons, of a buyer with a strong motive, perhaps one with evidence buried in the garden.
Ron had called Jack Mason the previous night to ask for the keys, but Mason did not answer. Ron reflects that Mason may already regret telling Ron and Viktor about the body, and that he had come close to revealing his co-conspirator's identity.
Two constables force the front door open, pushing it against a pile of accumulated mail. Joyce notices a National Trust magazine among the letters and muses that she might have liked Heather Garbutt. While Elizabeth goes around the side of the house with Chief Constable Andrew Everton, Joyce enters through the front door, admitting she wants to be nosy—and that investigating a murder gives her license to be so. Inside, she finds the house stripped of all traces of Heather Garbutt; only paler squares of wallpaper mark where pictures once hung. The house had been searched years earlier, and any evidence is long gone.
Joyce moves to the sitting room, where patio doors frame a view of a large yellow digger, police tape, and Chief Constable Everton in a peaked cap and hi-vis jacket. The digger has been working since eight that morning, and the garden and parts of the woodland beyond are pocked with holes. Tiny colored flags mark where holes have been dug or are yet to be dug. Joyce notes the decking appears in better condition than the rest of the overgrown property.
Everton tells Joyce that not all the holes are theirs—someone, presumably Jack Mason, has been digging on the property over the years, especially in the woods. Joyce observes the number of uniformed officers digging, and Everton explains that as Chief Constable, people tend to jump when he asks for something. He reports that the only skeleton found so far was a guinea pig's.
Elizabeth recounts a dig in Vladivostok where the team uncovered a prehistoric moose, intact with antlers. She explains that the head of the Russian Service at the time, who was on the board of the Natural History Museum, arranged for a Russian spy to be released from Belmarsh Prison in exchange for the moose, which is now on display. Everton responds with a flat “Right,” and Joyce tells him that Elizabeth is always digging something up or upsetting Russia.
Joyce asks Everton whether he believes Jack Mason's story about the partner. Everton says it is an unusual thing to make up, and that if Mason is lying, he is lying for a reason worth uncovering. Elizabeth asks about forensics from Heather Garbutt's death, and Everton explains that dusting a prison cell yields hundreds of fingerprints, most belonging to people with criminal records. Elizabeth snorts, and Joyce tells Everton to ignore her.
A woman in white coveralls—forensics—enters the garden, and Joyce plans to speak with her. Then a constable in muddied uniform runs out from the woodland, reporting that they have found something. Everton tells Elizabeth and Joyce to stay put. This time, both of them snort.
Key Events
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The group arrives at Heather Garbutt's abandoned bungalow, which Jack Mason purchased for £50,000 above the asking price.
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Ron's call to Jack Mason goes unanswered, raising questions about Mason's willingness to cooperate.
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Constables force open the front door against a pile of mail, and Joyce enters to find the house stripped of Heather Garbutt's belongings.
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A digger has been working since 8 a.m., and the garden and woodland are dotted with flagged holes.
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Everton reveals that not all the holes are from the police—someone, presumably Jack Mason, has been digging there over the years.
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The only skeleton found so far is a guinea pig's.
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Elizabeth tells the story of a Vladivostok dig that uncovered a prehistoric moose, exchanged for a Russian spy's release.
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Everton shares that forensics on Heather Garbutt's prison cell found hundreds of fingerprints, mostly from people with criminal records.
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A constable runs from the woodland reporting a find, and Everton orders Elizabeth and Joyce to stay put.
Character Development
Joyce continues to serve as the chapter's observational anchor. Her curiosity is framed as a virtue—she admits she wants to be nosy, and that investigating a murder lets her be nosy and call it work. Her practical eye (noting the decking is slippery, that the kitchen is livable) grounds the scene in the everyday, even amid a police dig. Her aside about the National Trust magazine suggests a sympathetic curiosity about Heather Garbutt as a person, not just a case.
Elizabeth is shown in her element, monopolizing the Chief Constable and offering a digression about Vladivostok that both amuses and exasperates Joyce. Her snort at the forensic limitations and at Everton's instruction to stay put reinforces her impatience with being sidelined.
Andrew Everton emerges as a pragmatic, slightly wry authority figure. He takes command of the scene, acknowledges the oddity of Jack Mason's story, and delivers the deadpan observation about prison-cell fingerprints. His instruction to Elizabeth and Joyce to stay put—met with snorts from both—shows he is not fully in control of them.
Jack Mason, though absent, looms over the chapter. His unanswered phone, his above-market purchase of the house, and the evidence of years of secret digging paint him as a man with something to hide, and possibly a co-conspirator he is reluctant to name.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Buried evidence and the uncovering of the past. The entire chapter is structured around digging—literal holes in the garden and woodland, and the metaphorical excavation of Heather Garbutt's life. The paler wallpaper squares where pictures once hung symbolize the erasure of a person's presence, while the flagged holes suggest a systematic search for something hidden.
Decay and neglect. The overgrown hedges, piled mail, and abandoned bungalow reflect the passage of time and the fading of memory. Joyce's observation that the decking is in better shape than the rest of the property hints that someone has maintained at least part of the site—perhaps the digger's work.
Forensic limitations. Everton's remark about prison-cell fingerprints underscores the difficulty of finding meaningful evidence in a place touched by hundreds of people, many with criminal records. It is a reminder that forensic science has real limits.
Investigative nosiness. Joyce's framing of nosiness as a legitimate part of murder investigation is a recurring motif in the book, and here it is given explicit voice. Her willingness to walk through the front door and later approach the forensics officer shows that curiosity is a form of diligence.
Hidden secrets and co-conspirators. Jack Mason's unanswered phone and his earlier near-revelation about a partner suggest a web of secrecy. The chapter raises the question of what Mason is protecting and who else might be involved.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter advances the investigation in two significant ways. First, it establishes that Jack Mason has been secretly digging on the property for years, which strongly suggests he knows something is buried there—and that he has been trying to find it himself. The above-market purchase price and his failure to answer Ron's call deepen the suspicion around him.
Second, the chapter ends on a cliffhanger: a constable runs from the woodland with news of a find. This moment shifts the scene from preparation to discovery, setting up the next chapter's revelations.
The chapter also deepens the characterization of Joyce and Elizabeth, showing their dynamic with a senior police officer and their willingness to push boundaries. Everton's dry humor and his acknowledgment that Mason's story is unusual to invent add texture to the investigation, while the forensic dead end in Heather Garbutt's prison cell reminds readers that not all evidence is easy to find.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why did Jack Mason pay £50,000 above the asking price for Heather Garbutt's house?
Joyce reasons that Mason was a motivated buyer—someone who might have evidence buried in the garden that could send him to prison. The above-market price, combined with the evidence of years of secret digging, suggests he bought the property to control access to whatever is buried there.
2. What does Elizabeth's Vladivostok story reveal about her past and her approach to investigation?
The story shows that Elizabeth has a long history of unconventional operations, including trading a prehistoric moose for a Russian spy's release. It also illustrates her tendency to treat investigations as opportunities for improvisation and her willingness to share colorful anecdotes, even when they seem tangential.
3. Why does Chief Constable Everton find Jack Mason's story about a partner unusual?
Everton says it is an unusual thing to make up, and that if Mason is lying, he is lying for a reason worth uncovering. The implication is that inventing a partner is a specific, unnecessary detail—one that might point to a real person Mason is trying to protect or deflect attention from.
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