Page 40 of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

He inched closer. “Because I’m the guy who takes the bullet.”

What were they talking about?Maggie couldn’t remember. She could only feel his stare and hear his breath and see the spark in his eyes, like a challenge and a dare and a promise, and right then Maggie wasn’t sure why she hated the man in front of her. She didn’t know if she should hit him or kiss him or kick him in the shins. She just knew she couldn’t... shouldn’t... wouldn’t look away.

“Which is why”—he took a slow step closer—“we have to call the police.”

And just like that the spell was broken. She shook her head and pushed away. “You may be an expert on rifles, but I’m an expert on Eleanor Ashley, and I’m telling you.This is all a test.”

He was opening his mouth to argue when a scream broke through the silence, vicious and shrill and coming from the second floor, and before Maggie knew what was happening, Ethan was turning and running and she had no choice but to follow—up the stairs and down the hall and to the door of Eleanor’s office, where Cece was shaking and screaming and white as a ghost.

And Sir Jasper was lying, unmoving, on the floor.

Beside her, Ethan whispered, “You were saying?”

Chapter Thirty

Maggie had been imagining crimes most of her life. Hundreds of them. Thousands of them. She’d read them in other people’s books and written them in her own. She’d listened to podcasts and watched movies and she knew what people always said.

It happened so fast...

It was all just a blur...

But right then, in that moment, for the first time in her life, she believed them.

Cece had stopped screaming and was standing, frozen, in the hall, but James and Dr. Charles were rushing up the stairs. Kitty came out of the bedroom—a crying baby on her shoulder, Rupert and Nanny Davis right behind her—as everything blended into a blur of shouts and cries and chaos.

“What is all this racket—”

“What’s going on up—”

“Will you stop that screeching—”

“What is the meaning of—”

“Good god, is he dead?”

Suddenly, the hall went silent as all eyes turned to Ethan, who was already crouched over Sir Jasper and feeling for a pulse. It seemed to take an hour for him to look up. “He’s alive.”

And then the world turned into a totally different kind of chaos.

“Rupert, take her.” Kitty thrust the baby at her husband (who simply passed the child to the nanny) and tried to push through the crowd. “Let me through!”Kitty’s a nurse, Maggie’s frozen brain remembered.

“Get out of the way!” Dr. Charles cried before kneeling on the rug beside Sir Jasper and starting CPR.

They had a doctor there. And a nurse. And...

Maggie looked down at SirJasper, the way he was sprawled on the floor, lying half on top of the overturned tea tray, cookies and crumbs and pieces of shattered porcelain all around him.

“Oh, what have I— Crikey! Is that man dead?” Freddy Banes skidded to a stop in the doorway.

Maggie was turning to Ethan. “Ambulance,” they said at the same time.

“Sir”—James was shaking his head—“I’m afraid the phones are—”

“I was able to make a call this morning. Just for a minute.” Maggie felt guilty as she cut her eyes at Ethan, but he didn’t react at all, noI told you so. No sarcastic reply or cocky grin. “In the east wing. The top floor of the tower...”

“I’ll go.” Freddy took off at a run.

“Now what are all of you doing standing out...” The duke was striding down the hall like a man who didn’t have a care in the world, but he trailed off as soon as he saw Sir Jasper. “Good Lord. Is he—”