The Armstrong Assignment (A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Book 1) by Diana Xarissa (books for 10th graders TXT) 📕

course I will, but you must promise the same,” she replied. “You have a wife now, one who is very concerned about you.”

He pulled her close and made her forget all about Bobby Armstrong for several minutes. When he lifted his head, he sighed.

“We need to finish talking about the suspects,” he said. “Since we already mentioned him, let’s talk about Tony.”

“I don’t care for him.”

“I don’t care for him either, but Lucy must.”

“Actually, she doesn’t seem all that fond of him,” Janet replied. “They seem to bicker quite a bit. What do you know about him?”

“Not much more than what was said at lunch. He grew up in Ohio and then went to university, what the Americans call college, in Texas. He’s been there ever since.”

“Where does his money come from? He must have a lot if he moves in the same social circles as Lucy.”

“His parents were divorced, but his mother remarried into a great deal of money. Bobby’s detective supplied some background information on everyone and he said that, from what he could determine, Tony doesn’t get along with his stepfather. Apparently the man was more than happy to send Tony to Texas at eighteen, and it doesn’t seem is if Tony’s been back to Ohio since he left.”

“Does that mean he doesn’t get along with his mother, either?” Janet asked.

Edward shrugged. “Maybe they talk on the telephone regularly. Maybe she visits him in Texas. She lived there with her first husband, Tony’s father, but she moved back to Ohio before Tony was born.”

“Where’s Tony’s father now?”

“He died in a car accident thirty years ago.”

“While Tony was still in Ohio.”

“Yes.”

“I still don’t care for the man.”

“And you have good instincts. I’m going to have someone in my department dig further into his background.”

Janet nodded. “He may be after Lucy’s money, but maybe he thought he could help her inherit a good deal more somewhat sooner than expected.”

“I’m assuming money as Lucy’s motive, as well,” Edward told her. “Although it’s possible that she resents the man for the way that he treated her mother or maybe for the way he’s treated her over the years.”

“Let’s talk about Neil,” Janet suggested. “He definitely didn’t want to talk about his private life.”

Edward chuckled. “I don’t blame him. About ten years ago he got involved with a very famous model. They had a whirlwind courtship, getting engaged on New Year’s Eve in the middle of the celebrations in Times Square. They had a hugely lavish wedding on Valentine’s Day, with his and her thrones and their own private circus performance. Less than two months later, she filed for divorce. Four months after that, she had her first child. Neil insisted on DNA testing, and the baby wasn’t his.”

Janet frowned. “Now that you mention it, I remember hearing about all of that, but I’d completely forgotten the name of the man involved. I remember her name, of course. She called the baby Heaven’s Blessing and she’s never revealed the identity of the father.”

“Exactly right.”

“I feel quite sorry for Neil, so much so that I can’t really see him as a killer.”

“What if he’d discovered that Bobby was the baby’s father?” Edward asked.

Janet’s jaw dropped. “Bobby is the baby’s father?”

“I didn’t say that, but it’s possible. The model in question was in Dallas when she first met Neil, most likely at a party at Bobby’s ranch. It’s possible that the woman was involved with Bobby before she met Neil.”

“I suppose that’s one possible motive.”

“Money is also a motive for Neil. He and Bobby are business partners on a number of different projects. If anything happens to either of them, the survivor inherits the other man’s share, becoming sole owner of a number of businesses.”

“Does that mean that Lucy won’t get anything?”

“Not at all. I said Neil and Bobby are partners in several businesses. Those businesses make up all of Neil’s assets, but only about ten per cent of Bobby’s assets. Leaving them to Neil still leaves plenty for Lucy.”

“And Theodore?” Janet asked, glancing at her watch. Their two hours were flying past.

“He said he was born and raised in Texas. My team is trying to find out more about his past, but thus far they haven’t found anything noteworthy.”

“He’s only been working for Bobby for six months,” Janet remembered.

“But Bobby trusts him, and he thinks he’s a good judge of character.”

“I won’t bother to argue with that.”

Edward laughed. “He did hire you off the street.”

“And he was very fortunate that I’m a nice woman who isn’t going to try to cheat him in any way.”

“You are being incredibly well compensated for your time.”

“It’s meant to be my honeymoon.”

Edward frowned. “We can leave now,” he suggested. “We could hire a car and simply start driving. If we’re smart about it, Mr. Jones won’t find us for a month or more.”

“You almost sound serious.”

“You’re much more important to me than this job or Bobby Armstrong. If you’re unhappy, we can leave.”

Janet shook her head. “Thank you, but I’d never forgive myself if something happened to Bobby. We need to stay and solve the case, and quickly.”

He nodded. “That leaves Dixie.”

“I like Dixie. She’s a character.”

“She is, and I can’t see a clear motive for her, which means she was already quite far down the list of suspects before today. She was walking with me, chatting about the weather, when Bobby fell. That pretty much crosses her off the list entirely.”

Janet nodded. “I’m glad. I’ll bet she must have some interesting insights into the others, though.”

“I suggest you focus your efforts on Dixie, then,” Edward told her. “See what you can learn from her about the others.”

“I’ll try to speak with her later today.”

“There is one