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

by Diana Xarissa

  “I’m sorry I didn’t ring you back,” Janet replied. “Things got a little bit crazy, but everything is fine now.”

  “Go on, then, tell me everything.”

  Janet sighed. “I’m not certain I can talk about any of the things that happened.”

  “Don’t tell me Edward dragged you into one of his secret missions. He promised me when you got married that he was well and truly retired. Even if he did end up getting pulled into something, he should never have allowed you to become involved. What happened?”

  Janet swallowed another sigh and then gave her sister a very abbreviated version of events, glossing over the whole being-held-hostage-at-gunpoint situation. Joan was still upset when Janet finished.

  “Edward should be ashamed of himself for allowing you to be in danger,” she said tartly.

  “It wasn’t his fault. I stumbled across Bobby entirely by accident and found myself working for him before I’d even realised that he was the man that Edward was trying to protect,” Janet said, stretching the truth a tiny bit.

  “Still, Edward should have insisted that you leave immediately when he discovered that Bobby had hired you. I get the feeling you’ve left things out of the story, too.”

  “I may have done. I got very little sleep last night, and there are still things I don’t properly understand, as well. We’ll talk about it properly when I get home. I need to go and see how Edward is today, and then we need to get back to our honeymoon.”

  “Ring me again in a few days.”

  Janet laughed. “Don’t worry if I don’t. I expect we will be having fun and making up for lost time.”

  Edward was sitting in a chair in his room, fully dressed and reading a stack of papers.

  “How are you?” Janet asked as she entered the room.

  “Much better, thanks. I overslept, but I think I needed the sleep.”

  “I overslept as well, and then I had a long conversation with Joan.”

  “Oh?”

  “I rang her when you disappeared. She’s been worried about me ever since.”

  “She’s probably furious with me. No doubt she blames me for the danger you were in.”

  “She does, but it doesn’t matter. I may have left out some of the worst parts of the story, though. I didn’t want her to worry too much.”

  Edward chuckled. “Very good. Maybe she won’t refuse to let me back into Doveby House after our honeymoon is over.”

  “It’s as much my house as hers. She can’t keep you out.”

  Edward pulled her into an embrace. When it ended, he picked up the papers that he’d tossed aside.

  “Interesting reading,” he said.

  “Really?”

  “Theodore and Tony are brothers. Theodore is older. Authorities in the US have spoken to their mother. She claims her husband was abusive and that she ran away when she found out she was pregnant a second time because she was afraid for her life and for the life of her unborn baby. Apparently her husband didn’t want any more children.”

  “She left Theodore with her husband?”

  “She did. He and Theodore never knew she’d had a second child, and she never told Tony anything about her marriage or his older brother. She changed her surname to match that of the man she became involved with some years later, and he formally adopted Tony when Tony was around six or seven. It appears that Theodore and Tony met a year or so ago, entirely by chance, and somehow discovered that they were related.”

  “That must have been a shock for both of them.”

  “According to Theodore, everything that happened next was Tony’s idea,” Edward told her.

  “So much for brotherly love. One more question, though. Tony said that the knife he used to stab Bobby on the plane had Dixie’s fingerprints on it. I thought Bobby’s fingerprints were the only ones found on it, though.”

  “Bobby thought Lucy was the one behind the murder attempts,” Edward replied with a sigh. “That’s why he didn’t want to discuss them. He loves her and he wanted to do whatever he could to protect her. He brought in bodyguards to keep himself safe, but he also did everything he could to make any investigation into the attempts as difficult as possible. When he woke up and found the knife in his chest, he wiped it clean before he handed it to the police.”

  Janet sighed. “What a mess.”

  Edward nodded. “But you need to go back to Paris and pack your things. I’m looking forward to getting back to our honeymoon hotel. I hope you didn’t check out?”

  “I didn’t,” she assured him.

  “I have to see the doctor in an hour or so. Assuming he approves, I’ll be released some time after that. You go and get your things from number fourteen and I’ll see you back in our room before six o’clock.”

  “Ring me if anything changes,” she told him after a lengthy kiss.

  “I will,” he promised. “There’s a car waiting for you outside. Take this.”

  He handed her the marble heart and she slipped it back into her pocket.

  Janet chatted with the driver as he drove her back into the city.

  “I’ll just wait here for you,” he said as he pulled up outside the hotel.

  “I’ll be as quick as I can,” Janet replied.

  She took the lift to the fourth floor and used her keycard to get into her room. It didn’t take her long to pack her bags. When she got off the lift in the lobby, she nearly walked into Dixie and Lucy.

  “Hello,” she said, uncertain of what sort of reception she’d get from the two women.

  “Janet,” Dixie cried. “Are you okay? Did Tony really hold you hostage at gunpoint?”

  Janet nodded. “He thought that would help him get away.”

  Lucy frowned. “I’ve never had good luck with men, but none of them have ever tried to murder my father before. It’s quite disturbing, really.”

  Dixie patted her arm. “He had us all fooled,” she told her. “I didn’t care for him, but I never thought he was a killer.”

  “It’s going to be very difficult for me to trust anyone again,” Lucy sighed.

  “You’ll feel better after our vacation,” Dixie assured her. She turned towards Janet. “I’m taking Lucy to the Virgin Islands for a month. She needs to be somewhere for a while where people aren’t talking about this. And I need time to get to know her better.”

  Lucy smiled wanly. “Neither of us has given the other a fair chance. We’ve both always felt as if we were competing for Daddy’s time and attention. Daddy isn’t coming to St. Croix with us, though.”

  “How is Bobby?” Janet asked.

  “According to the doctor I spoke to this morning, he’s going to be fine. Bobby wants a second opinion, though, and he wants it from his own doctor. He’s been cleared to fly home first thing tomorrow,” Dixie told her.

  “We’ll be flying with him and then leaving him in Texas before we head to St. Croix,” Lucy added.

  “I hope you have a wonderful time in St. Croix,” Janet told her.

  “Thank you, and thank you for everything that you did for Daddy. According to the policeman I spoke to, Tony might have killed Daddy if you hadn’t been there,” Lucy said.

  Janet shrugged. “I was just in the wrong place at the right time,” she said. “I’m glad everyone is going to be okay.”

  “And Tony and Theodore are going to prison for a long time,” Lucy said with satisfaction. “I shall choose my next boyfriend much more carefully.”

  Dixie laughed. “I wish I could believe that.”

  Lucy shrugged. “I can try.”

  All three women laughed, and then Janet continued on her way out of the building. It had been an interesting interlude, but she was more than happy to be heading back to the other hotel and to her interrupted honeymoon.

  After she’d unpacked, she dug out the itinerary that Edward had sent her and read through what she’d missed.

  “No regrets,” she said as she crossed off the missed days. Tomorrow she and Edward were supposed to be ha
ving lunch at the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. She wasn’t sure if she was looking forward to it or not.

  Edward arrived a few hours later, while Janet was taking a nap. He woke her with a kiss.

  “I’m starving,” he said some time later. “Let’s get room service and just stay in bed until morning. We can get a bottle of champagne to toast the new year at midnight, if we’re still awake.”

  “That’s a perfect plan,” she sighed happily.

  “But tomorrow we start the new year by enjoying Paris,” he added as he reached for the telephone.

  Over a week later, after yet another day spent seeing the sights, enjoying Paris, and falling even more in love, Janet and Edward walked back into their hotel room to change for dinner. Mr. Jones and Christopher were sitting on the couch.

  “This is a surprise,” Edward said coolly.

  Mr. Jones nodded. “I’ve been busy, but before you head to Venice, I wanted to thank you both for your good work on the Armstrong assignment. Mr. Armstrong is grateful, as are the police in Paris, London, New York, and Texas.”

  Edward shrugged. “Just doing my former job,” he said, putting heavy emphasis on the word “former.”

  “Yes, of course. But that isn’t the case for Mrs. Bennett. Your actions were both smart and brave,” he told Janet.

  “Edward insisted that I learn some self-defense,” Janet told him. “I don’t think he was expecting me to need it in a hostage situation, but I did my best to remember everything that he’d taught me.”

  “Yes, well, thank you again, both of you,” Mr. Jones said as he got to his feet.

  “I’m retired,” Edward said softly.

  Mr. Jones nodded. “Of course you are,” he said as he reached for the doorknob. Just before he opened the door, he turned back and looked at Janet. “I did wonder,” he said slowly, “whether you both might be available for, well, certain special assignments. Edward, you know we still need you, but your lovely wife, well, she seems to have talents of her own. I would never send you into anything dangerous, but now and again, if I have a small something that needs investigating, maybe I could ring you and see if you’re both available.”

  Edward looked at Janet. “Nothing dangerous,” he said firmly.

  “Of course not,” Mr. Jones agreed.

  “And we’re a team,” Edward told him. “Janet goes where I go, or I don’t go.”

  “It’s all highly irregular, of course,” Mr. Jones said. “It’s entirely possible that we won’t need you at all.”

  He pulled the door open and left the room. Christopher got up and followed more slowly. As he walked past Janet, he stopped and pulled her into a hug.

  “Welcome to the family,” he whispered in her ear. “We’ll be in touch, probably soon.”

  He was gone before Janet could reply.

  The Blake Assignment

  Release date: June 18, 2021

  Click here to pre-order.

  Getting a man from London to Edinburgh doesn’t sound as if it’s going to be a very difficult assignment for Janet and Edward Bennett, not even if the man is somewhat particular about how he gets from one place to another. They are surprised and not happy when the man in question invites his new girlfriend to come along on the journey.

  As the assignment gets both more convoluted and increasingly dangerous, Janet starts to wonder if anyone can be trusted. Edward doesn’t wonder. He simply stops sharing their plans with everyone until he can make some plans of his own.

  Can Janet and Edward get Maxwell Blake and his laptop to Edinburgh safely? Is his girlfriend, Cressida, working for the enemy or is she truly just crazy in love with Maxwell? And who is the mysterious American stranger who seems to be following them wherever they go?

  A sneak peek at The Blake Assignment

  A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller

  Release date: June 18, 2021

  Click here to pre-order.

  Please excuse any typos or minor errors. I have not yet completed final edits on this title.

  Chapter One

  “We’re going to have a visitor later today,” Edward Bennett told his wife, Janet, over breakfast one morning in late January.

  “Are we? Anyone I know?” Janet asked.

  Edward winked at her. “Wouldn’t you rather wait and be surprised?”

  Janet thought for a minute. While she was thinking, her sister, Joan, interrupted.

  “Do Michael and I need to be out of the house while your visitor is here?” she asked.

  “Janet and I will need to speak with him privately, but I’m certain we can find a place to do that without you and Michael having to leave,” Edward replied.

  “We may be across the road, anyway,” Joan told him. “We’ve a great deal to get done over there.”

  Edward nodded. “But you are making progress, I believe.”

  Joan shrugged. “I’m not certain about that. I feel as if we’ve been working over there for months, and the house doesn’t seem any closer to being habitable than it was when we started.”

  Michael, Joan’s husband owned a semi-detached property just across the road from Doveby House, the seventeenth-century manor house that Joan and Janet owned. Some six months earlier, while Joan and Michael had been on their honeymoon, a fire had destroyed the other half of the property. Michael’s house had suffered little damage, although the smell of smoke had penetrated just about every inch of the property and its contents.

  Fortunately for the couple, they’d been planning on living at Doveby House after their marriage anyway. Joan had a large suite of rooms right next to the modern kitchen on the ground floor of the house. Prior to Joan’s marriage, the sisters had used the property as a bed and breakfast, renting out two of the three large, en-suite bedrooms on the first floor. Janet’s room was the largest of those three bedrooms.

  A few months after Joan’s wedding, Edward had proposed to Janet. They had been married only a few months later and had only recently returned from a lengthy honeymoon in both Paris and Venice. The early days of the holiday had been interrupted when Edward had unexpectedly needed to go back to work.

  Edward had spent his career working for a top-secret government agency. He was meant to be retired, but because a man’s life had been at stake, he’d been persuaded to return to service. Janet had managed to get herself involved in the case and, once it was over, it had been suggested that the agency might call upon her and Edward to help with assignments in the future.

  If today’s visitor needed to speak privately with her and Edward, then Janet was fairly certain she knew whom was expected. “Mr. Jones?” she asked Edward.

  He nodded.

  “Is he bringing Christopher with him?” was her next question. Mr. Jones was the man responsible for giving Edward his assignments and overseeing his work. Janet wasn’t entirely certain what Christopher Porter’s job was. He was either an assistant to Mr. Jones or was being trained to replace him. Whichever, Janet quite liked Christopher, who was much more personable than Mr. Jones.

  “I don’t know. Mr. Jones didn’t say. I didn’t actually speak to him. He simply texted to say that he would be here at ten o’clock,” Edward told her.

  “This morning or this evening?” Janet asked.

  Edward chuckled. “Now that you mention it, it could be either. I hope it’s morning, as I’ve grown rather accustomed to having early nights since we’ve been married.”

  Janet felt herself blushing. “He didn’t tell you what he wanted, then?”

  “Not at all. I assume he has a job for us, though,” Edward replied.

  “I hope not,” Joan said sharply. “From what I’ve heard, his jobs put you both in danger.”

  Janet had told her sister as little as possible about the things that had happened in Paris, but she couldn’t completely explain away Edward’s concussion and hospitalisation. Joan had always been the more cautious sister. She and Janet had lived together all of their lives, and Joan had done her best to instill the same w
ariness in Janet.

  “You know I would never willingly put your sister into any danger,” Edward said, reaching over to squeeze Janet’s hand.

  Joan nodded, but she didn’t look convinced.

  “I’m quite capable of making my own decision, once we’ve spoken to Mr. Jones,” Janet said tartly. “All we’ve done since we’ve been back from our honeymoon is read books and watch television. That’s all well and good, but I’m already starting to get a bit bored. I’m sure Edward is even more bored than I am, seeing as how he had a much more exciting life before he married me.”

  “I don’t mind the quiet life,” Edward countered. “I’m still getting to know you, which is a wonderful way to fill my time. Besides, I did retire so that I could stop racing around the world, stopping or starting coups, protecting heads of state, or infiltrating criminal organisations.”

  “You should write a book,” Joan suggested.

  Edward laughed. “I’d never be permitted to write about anything I’ve done.”

  “Do you really think this Mr. Jones is going to have a job for you?” Joan asked Janet as the sisters cleared the breakfast table.

  Janet nodded. “I can’t imagine why he’d be coming to Doveby Dale otherwise. He isn’t the type to simply want to visit.”

  “Maybe it will be a job for Edward alone,” Joan suggested.

  “Edward told him that I had to be a part of any assignments going forward,” Janet told her. “I can’t see him trying to persuade Edward to change his mind on that.”

  Once the dishes were safely stacked in the dishwasher and the kitchen had been tidied, Joan and Michael, who’d had his breakfast more than an hour earlier, went across the road to Michael’s house. Edward was reading in the library when Janet found him.

  “What shall we do this morning?” she asked him as she sat down next to him on the small couch.