The Armstrong Assignment (A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Book 1)

by Diana Xarissa

  “So only a limited number of people would have had access,” Janet mused.

  “I suggested that, but he told me that he sometimes leaves it parked in a large car park just inside the entrance to the ranch. They have livestock sales there and, less than a week before the brake failure, a group of environmentalists staged a protest in that car park. Bobby couldn’t remember if his truck had been parked there that day or not.”

  Janet frowned. “Is it possible that the brakes were cut by one person and the other attempts were done by someone else?”

  “Anything is possible, and I’m keeping an open mind. Having said that, I’m inclined to believe that all of the attempts have been made by the same person.”

  “Bobby did say that the brakes may have simply malfunctioned.”

  “Which would be an odd coincidence in light of what’s happened since.”

  Janet sighed. “What happened next?”

  “He was shot at, and I’d really like to know more about that incident.”

  “He didn’t tell me much.”

  “He told you more than he told me. When we talked, he barely mentioned the incident and then suggested that someone had been working on target practice and simply misfired.”

  “And he didn’t file a police report.”

  “He did not. According to Mr. Jones, there’s no record of any such incident in the past six months anywhere in Texas.”

  Janet sighed. “I would have rung the police immediately.”

  “I may try to speak to some of the others about the trip to the rodeo. Maybe I can pretend to be interested in such things.”

  “And they can all simply deny knowing anything about anyone shooting at Bobby.”

  “True. Frustrating, but true. After that was the problem with the chainsaw. Again, Bobby told me next to nothing about the incident.”

  “And again, he didn’t ring the police,” Janet sighed. “His private detective said anyone could have found a way into his workshop, though. None of the incidents thus far can be definitely tied to the people here in Paris with Bobby.”

  Edward nodded. “I’m keeping an open mind. The next incident, the poisoning, could have any number of suspects as well. I’d love to find out if anyone brought him a drink or even prepared a plate of food for him.”

  “I should have asked.”

  “From experience, I believe he would have ducked the question,” Edward sighed. “When I asked him, he told me that he couldn’t remember much about the evening, especially not after having spent several hours in hospital having his stomach pumped. Apparently it was a very unpleasant experience.”

  Janet made a face. “It sounds unpleasant, but it almost seems as if Bobby doesn’t want whoever is behind this to be caught.”

  Edward nodded. “That’s the feeling I’m getting as well. I think he’s hoping that we’ll be able to stop future attempts, but I also think that he’d prefer to deal with it all by himself.”

  “Do you think he suspects someone he wants to protect?”

  “It’s difficult for me to believe that he’d want to protect someone who is trying to kill him, but I did wonder that, actually. To my mind, that makes Lucy the top suspect.”

  “Or maybe Dixie,” Janet suggested. “He seems very fond of Dixie.”

  “Let’s finish talking about the attempts, then. The next incident was the hotel fire. Bobby wouldn’t tell me anything about that attempt and the police in New York aren’t interested in cooperating with us.”

  “It seems an odd way to try to kill someone,” Janet said thoughtfully. “I mean, Bobby was never in any real danger, was he?”

  “Not the way he tells the story, anyway.”

  “Maybe someone is simply trying to scare him or manipulate him in some way,” Janet suggested.

  “I will admit that some of the attempts have been rather amateurish, but others have been more serious. Someone did shoot at him and he was stabbed.”

  “How much do you know about the stabbing?”

  “Not much. Bobby claims that he slept through the entire thing. He removed the knife himself and gave it to the police at Heathrow. His were the only fingerprints on the handle.”

  “At least he rang the police that time,” Janet said.

  “Actually, it was the pilot who rang the police. Dixie went into Bobby’s compartment to wake him after the plane landed. When she opened the curtains and saw the knife, she started screaming. The pilot heard the shouting and rang for security before he went back to investigate. When Bobby woke up, he didn’t want to speak to the police, but they insisted on interviewing him and taking the knife away for tests.”

  Janet frowned. “Could Dixie have stabbed him just before she started shouting?”

  “According to the report that was sent to me by the security team at Heathrow, Dixie was chatting with Lucy as she walked down the aisle. Once she reached Bobby’s compartment, she pulled the curtains open and then gasped and screamed. Lucy insisted that there was no way Dixie could have reached Bobby from where she was standing.”

  “Whoever is behind all of this has to know that he or she has now dramatically shrunk the pool of suspects,” Janet said.

  Edward nodded. “It seems as if our would-be killer is getting increasingly desperate.”

  “And then there was today’s attack,” Janet said. “I wish I’d been paying more attention to where everyone was, but I was looking at the scenery and enjoying Paris.”

  “I was watching everyone, or, rather, I was watching everyone that I could see. Based on that, I can tentatively eliminate Tony and Dixie from the list of suspects.”

  Janet frowned. “I really thought Tony was behind it all. I don’t like him. He has cold eyes.”

  Edward nodded. “But he wasn’t anywhere near Bobby when he fell into the road.”

  “Fell? Does that mean you didn’t believe Bobby when he said he was pushed?”

  “I’m not certain what to believe. Mr. Harrison was standing right next to Bobby and didn’t see anyone push him, but it’s possible that whoever did it managed to stay out of Mr. Harrison’s line of sight. He’s admitted that he was watching the traffic and a group of pedestrians who were coming towards him rather than watching Bobby.”

  “And you were too far behind to see exactly what happened.”

  “We were surrounded by people coming from every direction. I’d already warned Bobby about going out in crowds, but he didn’t want to listen to me.”

  Janet could hear the frustration in Edward’s voice. “Bobby doesn’t seem to be taking any of this very seriously.”

  “Yes and no. On the one hand, he won’t listen to my advice about staying safe. On the other hand, even when travelling with the people that he claims to trust completely, he chose to sleep in a bulletproof vest.”

  “So he must suspect someone in his entourage, no matter what he claims to the contrary.”

  “I believe so. I believe he suspected someone in his inner circle from the very beginning, which is why he’s tried so hard to cover up everything that’s happening. Either he wants to protect someone or he simply would prefer to deal with the matter himself rather than involve law enforcement.”

  “We should talk about the suspects,” Janet suggested, glancing at her watch. They still had just over an hour.

  Edward nodded. “Where would you like to start?”

  “I don’t know what to think of Lucy. How old is she?”

  “She’s forty-one. Her parents fought a bitter custody battle over her that lasted for years. At one point, her mother took her to North Dakota and hid with her for six months. After that, Bobby was awarded sole custody.”

  “Why would the mother do that? Did she claim that Bobby had been abusive?”

  “She did not. She simply said that she wanted her daughter all to herself. A short time after Lucy was returned to her father, her mother checked herself into a mental health treatment facility. Apparently, Bobby paid the bills for her and she stayed there for over
a year. When she was released, she remained in North Dakota. She didn’t see Lucy again until Lucy turned eighteen and decided to visit.”

  “Does she see much of Lucy now?”

  “According to my sources in North Dakota, Lucy visits her mother every year for her mother’s birthday. The woman has been married four more times, but she’s never had any additional children.”

  “Four more times?”

  Edward nodded. “Her most recent husband, a man named Randy Washburn, has a criminal record. He also travels a great deal, and has made several trips to Texas in the past year.”

  “What’s he been doing in Texas?”

  “Visiting family. He has an aunt and some cousins in the Dallas area, so it’s possible he’s just been visiting them, but Bobby’s private detective was convinced that Randy had also been stalking Bobby.”

  “Even if he was, there’s a vast difference between stalking and attempted murder.”

  “And before the attack on the plane, Bobby’s detective suspected that Randy was behind everything that had happened to Bobby in the past two months.”

  “But now he’s been ruled out,” Janet argued.

  “Maybe. He can’t have been responsible for the stabbing on the plane or today’s incident. Randy doesn’t even have a passport, and Bobby’s detective is keeping a close eye on him, anyway. That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t responsible for some of the earlier attempts, but we know he wasn’t in New York the night of the fire, either.”

  Janet opened her mouth to reply, but Edward held up a hand.

  “Before you say anything, I’ve just given you the argument that I’m getting from Bobby’s detective. I still believe that all of the attempts have been made by a single person, one of the men or women here in Paris with Bobby.”

  “I’m not certain that I agree,” Janet replied. “What about the environmental group that Bobby mentioned?”

  “Bobby’s detective spent a lot of time and effort infiltrating the group, but he hasn’t provided any evidence that anyone associated with the group has had a part in the things that have happened to Bobby. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve been ruled out.”

  Janet nodded. “Where were we? We were meant to be talking about Lucy.”

  “She’s been engaged dozens of times, but she’s never made it to the altar,” Edward told her. “Her longest engagement lasted three months, and she and Tony have been engaged for two and a half, so if I were him, I’d be getting nervous.”

  “Nervous enough to step up attempts to murder her father?”

  “Maybe. Tony was at the top of my list until today. As I said earlier, I was watching him as we walked to lunch, and he wasn’t anywhere near Bobby when Bobby fell.”

  “Anything else about Lucy?” Janet asked.

  “I’ve not really had a chance to speak to her, not yet, anyway. I’m hoping we’ll all get drinks in the bar tonight after dinner and that I’ll have a chance to speak to each person individually, at least for a few minutes.”

  “That sounds good. I’d quite like a chance to speak to everyone myself.”

  Edward frowned. “You know I’m happy that you’re here, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not worried about involving you in the case. Promise me that you’ll be careful when you speak to any or all of the suspects.”

  “Of 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 other possibility,” Edward said. “It’s only just possible that Bobby himself has been behind everything that’s happened.”

  Janet sat back on the couch and stared at him. “He’s been making attempts on his own life? To what end?”

  “That’s a very good question. I wish I knew. At the end of the day, though, we’ve very little evidence that anything Bobby has told us about has actually happened. His refusal to involve the police could be seen as suspicious, as well.”

  Janet ran through the various incidents in her head. Edward was correct. Bobby could have made some of them up and he could have been behind the others, as well. Perhaps he’d been wearing a bulletproof vest because he’d known for certain that he was going to be stabbing himself.