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

Edward smiled. “I wouldn’t have married her if she hadn’t been so special.”

Christopher grinned. “I hope I get that lucky one day.”

“What sort of woman are you looking for?” Janet asked. “I may know someone.”

The men both laughed.

“I’m a bit too busy to find a woman right now,” Christopher told her. “I may wait until I’m retired to find someone. That seems to have worked out well for Edward.”

“But is he truly retired?” she asked.

Christopher looked at Edward and shrugged. “That’s between him and Mr. Jones. You can ask him. I’m not brave enough.”

Janet laughed. “I may just do that, but not until we’ve worked out who is trying to kill Bobby.”

“You’d better go and see him,” Edward said, glancing at his watch. “He’ll probably want an early night.”

“Whatever he wants, I want an early night,” Janet said. “All this spy business is exhausting.”

The men laughed again and then Christopher held the door open for her. He disappeared out of the building while Edward and Janet got into the lift.

Chapter 13

“Did you enjoy dinner with my family and friends?” Bobby asked when Janet and Edward joined him in his suite.

He was sitting in his pyjamas on one of the couches. A woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties was sitting in a chair nearby, staring at Bobby. Janet assumed that she was another nurse. There was a man in a dark suit standing near the window. He and Edward nodded at one another, but neither spoke.

“It was very nice,” Janet said. “The food was delicious and it’s an amazing location.”

Bobby nodded. “I hope everyone pretended to get along.”

Janet shrugged. “It was fine.”

He laughed. “I’m going to guess that Lucy started something. She and Dixie fight like cats and dogs, although I have both cats and dogs, actually, and they all get along just fine.”

“Lucy wanted to know how you were feeling. She’s very concerned about you,” Janet replied.

“I’ll call her before I go to bed, let her know that I’m fine.”

“And Dixie asked me to tell you that she loves you,” Janet added.

Bobby nodded and glanced over at the woman in the chair. When he looked back at Janet, she spoke again.

“Did she take over from the other nurse?” Janet asked.

“She did. She doesn’t speak a word of English and she won’t stop staring at me. Please ask her to stop,” Bobby replied.

Janet hid a smile as she switched to French and introduced herself to the nurse, and then suggested that the woman might look at a magazine or a book, rather than continuing to stare at Bobby.

“I need to keep a close eye on the patient,” the nurse replied. “He has a head injury.”

“He’s feeling a bit self-conscious with you looking at him all the time,” Janet explained.

“I’ll look away occasionally, then,” the woman replied. She glanced briefly at the door and then looked back at Bobby.

Janet tried not to laugh as the woman’s eyes seemed to continually switch back and forth between the door and the man opposite her.

Bobby looked at Janet and sighed. “I think that might be worse. She looks like she’s watching a tennis match.”

“Just try to ignore her,” Janet suggested.

Bobby sighed. “I’m going to bed,” he announced. “I’ll see you all in the morning. Tell her to leave me alone and let me sleep,” he told Janet.

“Bobby is going to bed,” Janet told the nurse. “Do you still need to wake him periodically?”

The nurse nodded. “Not every hour, but I will want to wake him at least every three hours.”

“She’s agreed to only wake you every three hours,” Janet told Bobby.

He sighed. “We aren’t going to be able to have much of a conversation. Don’t be surprised if I call you at two in the morning to come and translate things.”

Janet frowned. The man was paying her a great deal of money, but she didn’t welcome the idea of being woken up in the middle of the night.

“Which reminds me,” Bobby added. “I don’t have your phone number.”

For a moment, Janet thought about refusing to give him the number. It was just possible, though, that the poor man might need her help. Janet had taken the job. It was her responsibility to help Bobby. She recited her mobile number and watched as Bobby entered it into his phone.

“And now, I’m going to bed,” Bobby said, getting to his feet. “I need you here at seven,” he told Janet. “My first meeting is at eight and we have a lot to go through before that meeting.”

Janet frowned. “Seven?”

“You need to understand some of the things that are going to be discussed tomorrow. I’ll have breakfast delivered. We can eat while we talk. Take a look at the menu and write down what you want,” he replied.

He waved a hand towards the desk in the corner. As Bobby left the room, Janet found the room service menu on the desk and read through the breakfast options.

“Having trouble deciding?” Edward asked as he joined her.

“It all sounds good,” she admitted. There was a small pad of paper and a pen next to the telephone. Janet carefully wrote down her choices and then looked at Edward. “I think we’re done here,” she said softly.

“Let’s go back to your room for a chat,” he suggested.

Janet felt herself blushing as she turned towards the door. Edward walked over to the man in the suit and had a short conversation with him.

“Good luck tonight,” Janet told the nurse. “If you need anything, you can ring me.” She told the nurse her number. The woman wrote it on a slip of