Summary

In the Forbes residence at “Number Six, The Avenue (18 July 1976),” Mrs. Forbes watches the new neighbors enter the Bennetts’ house. Harold is upset at foreigners coming into the neighborhood and leaves to drink at the British Legion. With Harold gone, Dorothy opens one of Harold’s boxes and was holding Walter Bishop’s camera when Eric Lamb walks in. She tells him Harold must have taken it when the neighbors were walking through the house after the fire. However, Eric says they didn’t touch a thing. Dorothy and Eric review the photographs: pigeons, clouds, the neighbors at everyday tasks, like tying their shoes. Eric tells her hide it again, and to stop mulling over why Harold would steal them.

The novel flashbacks to 1967, when Eric is worried over his wife’s health and is currently...