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

then, anyone could have been behind the attempts. You made sure he knew that it was one of us. I don’t know how you expected to get away with that.”

“Simple, I made sure Dixie’s fingerprints were all over the knife,” Tony told him with a smug smile.

But there weren’t any fingerprints on the knife, Janet thought. She bit her tongue. That was information she wasn’t meant to have. But what had happened to Dixie’s prints, then?

Theodore frowned. “Why would Dixie kill him?”

“She’s tired of waiting for a proposal. Maybe she didn’t mean to kill him. Maybe she was simply chatting with him while holding the knife when the plane hit some turbulence. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that the police think Dixie is the one trying to kill Bobby.”

“But you haven’t set her up for all of this,” Theodore said.

“I have, in a way,” Tony replied. “Edward has been sleeping with Dixie since we arrived in Paris. She talked him into eliminating Bobby for her. It will all be in the letters. I just have to write them.”

“Can’t you just make it look like a random intruder got in?” Theodore asked. “That would be a lot easier.”

“It was going to be easy. I was going to make it look as if the security guy attacked the nurse and then Bobby heard them fighting and ran out and got himself shot. Then the security guy turned the gun on the nurse and himself.”

“What was wrong with that, then?” Theodore asked.

“Edward turned up to relieve the other guy,” Tony explained. He seemed to think for a moment and then turned to Janet. “Why did you come up here?”

“Bobby wanted me to come back at two,” Janet explained. “The nurse was supposed to wake him at two to check on his head injury. Bobby wanted me to be here to help translate everything.”

Tony nodded. “And now we have to find a way to write you into the story.”

“You could just let me go,” she suggested. “I’m not involved in any way in any of this. I’m just a woman who happened to meet Bobby when he needed someone who could speak French.”

“Surely the security guy could just have shot everyone,” Theodore suggested.

“Why would he do that?” Tony asked.

Theodore sighed. “Why does it matter?”

“Because I don’t want to go to prison for murder. Do you? Because if you do, I’ll happily leave you here and call the cops,” Tony nearly shouted.

“Of course I don’t want to go to prison, but I also didn’t make a huge mess of everything,” Theodore replied.

“Except you’re the one who was about to get fired, which means we had to act fast,” Tony countered. “I told you to be more careful.”

“I was very careful. It isn’t my fault that Dixie stuck her nose in,” Theodore said.

“And discovered that you’d been stealing from Bobby,” Tony added.

“She’s a lot smarter than Bobby,” Theodore said.

“Which is why I was so happy to frame her for his murder. You should have told me he was wearing a bulletproof vest.”

“I would have told you if I’d known. Not that we talk all that often, actually.”

“We have to be careful. You know that.”

Theodore nodded. “I still think all of this could have waited until we were home.”

“Bobby told Lucy that he was going to fire you tomorrow, first thing in the morning,” Tony told him. “That’s why this all had to happen tonight. Now stop arguing with me and help me work out the scene.”

“You know I’m not very creative,” Theodore replied.

Tony sighed. “No, you aren’t, are you? I’ve had to come up with every plan and every idea thus far.”

“I came up with the chainsaw thing.”

“And then executed it very badly.”

“I did my best. I’m an executive recruiter, not an electrician.”

“And not a very good thief, either,” Tony muttered as he crossed to the nurse.

He bent down and checked her pulse.

“Is she still alive?” Theodore asked, walking towards Tony.

“Yes, barely,” he replied, his eyes gleaming. “She’ll bleed out before morning, though.”

“What about him?” Theodore asked, nodding towards Mr. Daniels.

“Drugged heavily but still alive,” Tony said. “He needs to die last, or rather, he did, under the previous scenario. Now I’m not sure what to do.”

Theodore glanced at his watch. “We’re running out of time,” he said. “Someone could find the body in the hallway any minute now.”

Tony frowned. “I forgot that I left him out there. Go and drag him in.”

“He shouldn’t be moved. He could have a head injury,” Janet said anxiously.

Tony stared at her for a moment and then laughed. “He’s going to have a lot more than a head injury soon,” he said. “Go and get him,” he told Theodore.

Theodore nodded and then turned and left the room. Janet thought about trying to appeal to Tony’s good side while she had him on his own, but she wasn’t certain that he had a good side. Theodore was back less than a minute later.

“He’s not there,” he said worriedly.

“What do you mean he isn’t there?” Tony demanded.

“I mean he’s gone. There’s a huge pool of blood on the carpet in front of the elevator, but the elevator door is shut and there’s no sign of the man,” Theodore explained.

“Did you try pushing the button to open the elevator door?” Tony asked. “Maybe he managed to crawl inside the car and is just lying right inside the doors.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Theodore admitted.

“Go try,” Tony said firmly.

Theodore looked as if he wanted to object, but the look on Tony’s face seemed to put him off the idea. He turned around and headed for the door. A loud ringing noise stopped him.

“What was that?” Tony asked.

Janet frowned.