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

Janet grinned. “She’s a clever girl.”

“She is, and she may well be capable of picking up on your tone when you discuss people. No doubt she can tell when you don’t care for someone and then reacts to that.”

“But there have been cases where I haven’t cared for any of the suspects, and Aggie still only reacted to the actual criminals,” Janet told him.

“We shall have to test her, then, maybe on some cases that I’ve solved in the past. It can be a fun project for when we get home.”

“You think I’m crazy.”

“Not at all. I’m certain that Aggie is very clever. We need to try to find out just how clever she can be.”

“Maybe she’ll stop being clever now that we’re married.”

“Maybe. It’s going to be an adjustment for her.”

“It hasn’t been much of one for me yet,” Janet said in a low voice.

Edward pulled her close and kissed her. “You are letting me stay here tonight, aren’t you?” he asked when he lifted his head.

“I’m a married woman,” Janet said primly.

“If your husband is dumb enough to leave a woman as wonderful as you alone on her honeymoon, he deserves to be cheated on.”

Janet laughed. “What happens if Bobby finds out that you stayed with me tonight?”

“Then your reputation will be ruined,” Edward replied. “I’m more worried about Mr. Jones finding out.”

“Will you get into trouble?”

“I shouldn’t. What I do with my time after hours should be my business. Bobby has Mr. Daniels standing guard and a nurse on duty. He should be fine.”

“I can live with my reputation being ruined,” Janet told him. “I can’t live without you.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Oh, and thank you for the marble heart,” she told him.

He smiled. “My sister gave that to me when I joined the agency. She told me it was a good luck charm. I’ve carried it everywhere I’ve been for the last forty or so years. I gave it to you so it could protect you until we could be together again.”

“I’m not sure which of us needs it more now,” Janet muttered as she took the stone out of her pocket and put it on the bedside table.

They were sleeping, with Janet wrapped tightly in Edward’s arms, when her mobile rang. For a moment, Janet wasn’t certain where she was or what was happening. Edward was wide awake in an instant.

“It’s Bobby,” he said as he handed Janet the phone.

“Oh, great,” she muttered as she tapped the answer button.

“Hello?”

The sound was muffled, and at first, Janet wasn’t sure what she was hearing.

“…need to do this. We can talk. What do you want?” Bobby was saying. He sounded quite far away.

The reply came down the line far too clearly.

“I want you to die.”

Chapter 14

“That’s Tony’s voice,” Janet whispered to Edward.

He nodded. “I suspect that he surprised Bobby and Bobby dropped his phone. I don’t know if either of them realise that he managed to ring you first.”

“We have to go and help him.”

“Yes, but we can’t just rush in. We need a plan.”

Janet jumped out of bed as she heard a crashing noise from the phone. “We don’t have time for a plan,” she told him.

“Let me arrange for backup and then I’ll go,” Edward replied. “You’re staying here.”

“I am not.”

Another crashing sound made them both jump.

“You are definitely staying here,” Edward said sternly.

“This marriage isn’t going to last long if you start telling me what to do,” Janet snapped.

“It isn’t going to last long if you get yourself killed, either,” Edward shot back. “This isn’t a game. Tony is going to kill Bobby and anyone who gets in his way.”

Janet opened her mouth to argue and then sighed. “Go, then. Go and save Bobby.”

Edward had been pulling his clothes on while they’d been arguing. He nodded and then headed for the door. “I love you,” he said as he pulled the door open.

“I love you, too,” she said as the door swung shut behind him. “And I’m not just going to sit here, worrying, until you get back,” she added in a whisper.

It only took her a moment to pull on a pair of black trousers and a plain black T-shirt. She slipped her phone and her keycard into her pocket and then opened the door. There was no sign of Edward anywhere. The phone had gone ominously silent, but the line was still open.

Janet looked at the lifts. The lights showed that one was on the ground floor and the other was on the top floor. Edward must have taken it up. She waited a moment to see if it would come back down and then decided to take the stairs. Her keycard wouldn’t let her take the lift to the penthouse level, anyway.

The stairs were at the opposite end of the corridor from the lifts. Janet slowly opened the door and then listened. After a moment, she eased the door shut and then began to climb. After the second flight of stairs, she started to regret her decision.

“You could have taken the lift to the tenth floor and then used the stairs for the last flight,” she muttered as she continued on her way, wishing she were in better condition.

“…takes care of that,” a voice came down the phone. “I just need time to get this all set up.”

“Why are you doing this?”

Janet was certain that the question had come from Bobby.

“I don’t have to explain anything to anyone.” The cold voice was Tony’s. But where was Edward?

The phone fell silent again as Janet finally reached the top floor. She slowly pushed the door open and started on her way down