Elizabeth is Missing

Maud tries to tidy the house, but Carla arrives and points out that Maud’s stacked the books in the fireplace and used a skirt as a rag. Maud realizes that it is one of Sukey’s old skirts. When Carla leaves, Maud goes out too, unsure of where she’s going. She finds a note that has fallen out of her pocket that says “Charity Shop, 2 p.m. today” (98). Although she’s unsure how to interpret the note, Maud decides to go just in case. When she arrives at the shop, her former coworker Peggy embarrasses Maud, saying, “[W]e decided you weren’t to worry about coming back here, didn’t we? Do you remember?” (100).

When Maud notices a frame that looks just like one that Elizabeth had, Maud offers to make Peggy a hot drink. Maud goes into the back room, turns on the kettle, and starts sifting through pictures taken from the donated frame. She finds the picture of herself and Elizabeth, taken on the day they met, the first day they worked together at the charity shop. Maud thinks, “She would never have thrown this picture away” (102) and worries that Elizabeth may be dead.

The musty smell of the clothes at the charity shop makes Maud think about the clothes left behind after Sukey’s disappearance.