The Sentence Is Death

Horowitz arrives at Hawthorne’s flat to pick him up for their book club night. Hawthorne has mixed them rum and Coke. They discuss the incident at Daunt’s, and Horowitz admits he passed case details to DI Grunshaw. Hawthorne seems unbothered, stating he has reduced the field to two suspects and is focusing on the shape of the case.

Horowitz asks Hawthorne again about his past and the name “Billy.” He threatens to end their arrangement and becomes withdrawn. They agree to continue only because of their existing book contract. With the tension still present, they leave for the book group meeting.

The meeting is at the flat of Lisa Chakraborty, a neighbor of Hawthorne’s. Horowitz meets her teenage son, Kevin, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is a close friend of Hawthorne’s. The group discusses A Study in Scarlet, but Horowitz steps into Kevin’s room and finds a private photo of Horowitz himself with his son on Kevin’s computer, taken from Horowitz’s phone.

Horowitz confronts Kevin, who admits he hacked the phone for Hawthorne and begs him not to tell Hawthorne. Horowitz agrees to remain silent for the time being. They rejoin the meeting, which ends with the group choosing a novel by Akira for their next book.