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

has always been the biggest obstacle. She didn’t like me when she was a child, and time hasn’t improved our relationship. I’ve been working on persuading Bobby that he no longer has to worry about her opinion now that she’s over forty, but he isn’t quite convinced.”

“I suppose I can understand him wanting her approval,” Janet said.

“Yes, of course, but the girl is never going to approve, not when our marrying might mean that I’d be entitled to some of Bobby’s money. Let me be completely clear. I have plenty of my own money. I’m not after Bobby’s.”

“Surely you could put Lucy’s fears to rest with some sort of prenuptial agreement, then.”

Dixie shook her head. “I’m not going into a marriage already planning for a divorce. It’s just bad karma. Besides, if we do marry, well, I do feel as if I should be entitled to some share of the wealth that is generated during our years together, in the same way that Bobby would be entitled to a share of my money for those years. There would still be plenty left for Lucy.”

Janet thought about pointing out that the woman seemed to be contradicting herself, but decided it wasn’t worth starting an argument. “So you believe that Lucy is going to keep you and Bobby apart?”

“Oh, we aren’t apart,” Dixie laughed. “We’re as together as we can be, outside of being married, at least in my opinion. Lucy is keeping Bobby from taking me down the aisle, though, and I’m starting to get a bit fed up with the entire situation. Maybe it’s time to visit my old friend on his private island again.”

“Do you think he’d let you visit?”

“I can be very persuasive when I want to be.”

Janet didn’t doubt it. “Are you actually interested in seeing him again or are you simply hoping to make Bobby jealous?”

Dixie sighed. “Yes, which is no answer at all. Honestly, at this point, I’m too worried about Bobby to go anywhere anyway.”

“Because of his fall today?”

“Because someone is clearly trying to kill him. Lucy isn’t taking it seriously, but I am.”

“He said something about multiple attempts on his life. I can’t imagine why the police aren’t involved.”

“They are, in the US, but only in a limited way. Bobby prefers to deal with his problems himself.”

“You said he’d been stabbed?”

Dixie nodded. “Fortunately, he was wearing several layers and was lying under a blanket, so the knife didn’t penetrate very far into his chest. From what he told me, he was barely scratched, even though the knife seemed to be sticking straight out of his chest when I found him.”

So Dixie didn’t know about the bulletproof vest, Janet thought. “That seems very serious. And there have been other attempts?”

“Bobby doesn’t tell me everything, but does talk to me more than he talks to most people. He did tell me when the brakes on his old truck failed. To be honest, at the time I just assumed that they’d worn out. It’s a really old truck that Bobby only keeps for nostalgic reasons. It’s not roadworthy any longer, but he uses it around the ranch. It wasn’t until later, after a few other attacks, that we started to wonder if the brakes had been cut.”

“What did the police say?”

“They weren’t involved. His mechanic couldn’t tell if the lines had been tampered with or not.”

“But there were other attempts?”

Dixie sighed and then nodded. “Someone mixed rat poison into his food at a party. The police were involved in that one, but they couldn’t find any trace of anything in the samples that they took.”

“Do the police have any suspects?”

“That’s part of the problem. The things that happened back in Texas could all have been done by just about anyone. There were other things, like a fire at a hotel where Bobby was staying just before we left for Paris, but again, anyone could have been behind that. The stabbing, though, was different. There’s a very small pool of people who could have done that.”

Janet frowned. “The stabbing happened on the flight from the US to London?”

“Yes, and it was a private plane with only six passengers.”

“That is a small pool of suspects. What about the pilot or the flight attendants?”

Dixie shrugged. “I suppose the flight attendants could be suspects. I’m pretty sure the pilot didn’t leave the cockpit. The UK police must have interviewed all of them. I can’t imagine any motive any of them could have had for killing Bobby, though.”

Janet nodded. “So it seems as if one of your group is trying to kill Bobby.”

Dixie inhaled sharply. “It sounds much worse when you say it,” she complained.

“Sorry,” Janet muttered.

“No, I’m sorry. It’s all just so unbelievable and awful, but that isn’t your fault. I simply can’t quite believe that one of Bobby’s most trusted associates would try to kill him.”

“Theodore has only been working for him for six months,” Janet said.

“Yes, of course, but for Bobby, that’s a long time. Most of his assistants only last a month or so. He’s very demanding, and most people can’t take the pressure.”

“How long have Lucy and Tony been engaged?”

Dixie frowned. “I’ve lost track. She has men in and out of her life so frequently that I’ve stopped paying attention to them. He was at Thanksgiving dinner, so at least that long. Probably not much longer, though, because she doesn’t stay engaged for more than two or three months.”

“She’s never been married?”

“No, and I doubt she’ll ever get married. She’ll never find herself a man who isn’t primarily interested in her money.”

“Do you suspect anyone of being behind the murder attempts?”

“I wish I did. I truly can’t imagine why anyone would want to