[she takes a deep breath - and loosens her grip a little so she's just holding his hand in hers instead of squeezing]

Mm-hmm. So consider what the hint may mean with the figures depicted - who they might imply or what traits they have.

Then begin to connect your many pieces of evidence together, and if anything is still missing, pursue it.

There have been a number of good suggestions so far - begin to act on them rather than waiting for a decisive conclusion to come to you. You're all starting to get lost.