Chapter 36: Jen Rafferty Interviews Eleanor Lawson

⚠️ 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

Back in Greystone after the Hoylake trip, Jen Rafferty struggles with a poor night’s sleep and simmering resentment that her boss, Ross, received better accommodation. During the drive home, her kids, Ella and Ben, recounted how their father Robbie announced his girlfriend’s pregnancy. Ella showed fleeting interest in a possible baby sister, while Ben remained indifferent through his earphones.

Venn assigns Jen to investigate Bartholomew Lawson’s finances. He notes that the lawson house and land came through Eleanor’s family, yet the estate feels shabby; selling to a developer would yield a fortune, but Eleanor is unlikely to agree. Venn also asks Jen to contact Matilda Gregory’s parents (who knew Rosco as a troubled boy) and to chat with her friend Cynthia for gossip about Lawson’s time as a magistrate. Jen volunteers to visit Eleanor Lawson herself, seeking a fresh perspective on the widow.

Jen walks to the quay to clear her head, contemplating the two victims—Rosco and Lawson. Both middle-aged men shared a love of sailing and an infatuation with Eleanor, but otherwise seemed polar opposites. Yet Jen realizes they were both entitled, unable to form genuine relationships, and ultimately lonely. Rosco collected fan mail but never replied; Lawson sat drinking alone at the yacht club. Jen also reflects on her own past infatuation with Robbie, recognizing it as a kind of self-delusion that made her tolerate hurt.

Jen calls Roxy, the family liaison officer at Eleanor’s house, learning that Eleanor has been stoic and self-contained, refusing visitors. Upon arrival, Jen finds the crumbling manor “like something from an old-fashioned horror movie.” Roxy whispers about the cold inside. Eleanor, a small, round woman with expressive eyes, greets her warmly and praises Venn as “a very nice man.” They make coffee while discussing Eleanor’s deaf dog, Frankie.

The interview reveals Lawson was a functioning alcoholic with an unpredictable temper. Eleanor insists he was never violent toward her, but concedes that someone might have provoked him into lashing out, leading to accidental death. Jen questions whether such a random event could be a coincidence following Rosco’s murder. Eleanor dismisses the idea that the same person killed both men, claiming they “barely knew each other” and moved in different circles. She states there was “always bad feeling between them… a strange kind of jealousy.”

When asked about Lawson’s work, Eleanor explains that his family once owned property across the county, but his father’s gambling addiction led to one sale after another. Lawson managed the dwindling portfolio until there was nothing left. He never found suitable work; they lived on Eleanor’s savings from her prudent parents. Jen asks about selling the house, but the property is in Eleanor’s name, and she would never agree. With no heirs and no close relatives, Eleanor plans to leave the estate to a charity—perhaps one for deaf dogs. She insists that Rosco and Lawson would not have recognized each other after all these years.

Key Events

• Jen’s kids report Robbie’s pregnancy announcement; Jen suppresses her curiosity.
• Venn assigns Jen to investigate Lawson’s finances, contact Matilda Gregory’s parents, and consult Cynthia.
• Jen walks to the quay and reflects on parallels between the two victims—both lonely, entitled, and infatuated with Eleanor.
• Jen interviews Eleanor Lawson at her run-down manor; Roxy acts as liaison.
• Eleanor describes Lawson’s alcoholism and temper, but denies he was ever violent toward her.
• Eleanor insists Rosco and Lawson were not friends and would hardly recognize each other now.
• The house and land belong solely to Eleanor; she plans to leave it to charity, having no heirs.

Character Development

• Jen Rafferty: Reveals personal vulnerability through memories of her ex-husband Robbie and her past self-deluded infatuation. She takes initiative by volunteering to interview Eleanor, showing growing confidence in her investigative role. Her reflections on loneliness and entitlement hint at her deepening empathy for the victims.
• Eleanor Lawson (Nelly Wren): Emerges as a stoic, self-possessed woman with a sharp wit and clear boundaries. She is fiercely attached to her home and dog, yet pragmatic about death and inheritance. Her description of Lawson’s temper suggests she has been living on edge, possibly downplaying violence.
• Matthew Venn: Though absent from the scene, his direction sets the chapter’s trajectory—pushing the financial angle and the Matthews Gregory connection. His appreciation for the manorial architecture is contrasted with Jen’s distaste.
• Bartholomew Lawson: Posthumously characterized as an alcoholic with a volatile temper, a failed property manager, and a man who squandered his family’s wealth. The revelation of his father’s gambling adds a layer of generational addiction.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Evidenced Here

• Infatuation and Self-Delusion: Jen explicitly connects her own youthful fantasy about Robbie with Rosco’s infatuation with Eleanor and Mary Ford’s crush on Rosco. The theme recurs as a destructive force that distorts reality.
• Stoicism and Silence: Eleanor values silence and is described as “very British stiff upper lip.” Her refusal to sell the house or gossip about her husband underscores a theme of private endurance.
• Addiction and Decline: Lawson’s alcoholism and his father’s gambling parallel the decay of the family estate. The run-down manor serves as a physical symbol of faded wealth and inherited dysfunction.
• Loneliness and Isolation: Both victims lived alone in different ways—Rosco surrounded by fan mail but without real connection, Lawson drinking alone at the club. Eleanor, too, is isolated by choice and circumstance.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 36 deepens the investigation into Bartholomew Lawson’s background and provides the first substantive portrait of Eleanor, the woman at the center of both men’s fantasies. Jen’s personal reflections humanize the procedural work and underline the psychological cost of infatuation. Eleanor’s assertion that the two murders are likely unrelated complicates the case, forcing the reader (and Jen) to consider separate motives. The chapter also advances the financial motive—Lawson’s debts, the value of the land, and the absence of heirs create a potential motive for someone who wants the property to be sold.

3 Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Jen compare her own past relationship with Robbie to Rosco’s infatuation with Eleanor?
Jen recognizes both as “a kind of madness” fueled by fantasy and self-delusion. She admits she put up with hurt because she had invested too much of herself in the make-believe. This parallel helps her empathize with Rosco’s lonely fixation and understand why he might have clung to an imagined future.

2. What does Eleanor reveal about her husband’s temper, and how does she connect it to his death?
Eleanor describes Lawson as a functioning alcoholic with a temper that flared “wild like fire” when triggered by a word or look. She claims he was never violent toward her, but she can imagine him lashing out if provoked, and the other person retaliating. This suggests his death might have been spontaneous rather than premeditated.

3. Why does Eleanor dismiss the idea that Rosco and Lawson were killed by the same person?
She states that the two men “barely knew each other” and moved in different circles even when they were young. There was “always bad feeling between them” born of jealousy, but they would not have recognized each other after thirty years. In her view, their murders are unrelated coincidences—a claim Jen finds hard to accept.

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