‘I’m glad it helped,’ I told them.
‘It really did.’ The older woman bent down and picked up her box again, which I now saw was full of Jill’s bits and pieces from her room. I would have to do the same with Nan’s stuff one day, I thought.
‘You should do that for all the residents here,’ Jill’s granddaughter said to me. ‘It would be so special.’
‘That’s a very good idea. I’ll think about it.’
I said goodbye and went into the building, thinking about Nan and Jill and Elsie. The book was special, I thought. It was.
‘Penny for them,’ said Joyce as I wandered into the lounge, clearly still looking thoughtful.
I looked at her. She was sitting beside the window with Mr Yin and – to my surprise – Val. They were all having a cup of tea and drawing the flowers in the garden.
‘You’re drawing?’ I said in astonishment.
‘We thought we’d get a head start on your art classes,’ said Val with a grin. ‘Mr Yin found a video on YouTube.’
I blinked at them. ‘How’s your arthritis?’ I asked Joyce, whose knuckles were often swollen.
‘Not great,’ she admitted. ‘But Blessing got me some chunky pencils like the kids use at nursery and I’m getting on okay with those.’
I smiled at them all. ‘That’s good,’ I said. ‘Because I’m definitely going to need your help with the mural.’
‘You’re doing it then?’ Val gazed out of the window and then down at the drawing pad in her lap.
‘Yes,’ I said firmly.
‘I thought as Finn’s done a disappearing act, you might have gone off the idea.’
‘I did.’
‘But you’ve changed your mind?’ She looked up at me with a smile.
‘I have.’
‘Good.’
‘I might need your help though.’ I sat down in a spare chair next to them and leaned forward. ‘I’ve been a colossal idiot.’
‘Broke up with him, did you?’ Joyce rolled her eyes.
‘How did you know?’
‘I saw him taking all his stuff out of his cupboard.’
‘Nothing gets past you, does it?’
She looked proud. ‘Nope.’
Mr Yin gave Joyce an admiring glance. ‘What do you need us to do?’ he said.
‘Nothing big,’ I told them. ‘Just give me a hand with the mural, convince all the other residents to write in the book, and help me find out what happened to Elsie.’
The three of them all glanced at each other and then nodded at me.
‘You forgot something,’ said Val with a cheeky look in her eye.
‘Did I?’
