A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #2
Good Girl, Bad Blood
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Fifteen
Overview
Pip tells Joanna and Connor that Jamie said taking the company card was “life or death,” devastating Joanna. They coordinate next steps: brute-forcing Jamie’s laptop and reviewing party footage. Pip notices a yellow-banded kitchen knife missing, likely gone within four days, raising the possibility of violence and escalating stakes.
Summary
Pip meets Joanna and Connor to share new findings: Jamie followed someone at the calamity party, left at 10:30 p.m., was overheard mentioning the police, and had lied about still working after being fired for using the company card, saying it was “life or death.” Joanna’s composure breaks at those words.
Pip probes possible motives for the money—debts or phone-related needs—but Joanna recalls no unusual spending. They discuss where Jamie went on workdays and who he might have called; Nat da Silva did not speak to him that day. They continue attempts to crack Jamie’s laptop password, and Pip plans to seek a safe brute-force method. Connor will help review party photos and videos focused on the fireplace window.
While Joanna steps away, Connor voices worry about the looming forty-eight-hour mark. Pip studies a birthday photo on her laptop and notices the kitchen’s knife block in the background.
Comparing the photo to the present scene, Pip realizes the yellow-banded knife is missing. Connor frantically searches the kitchen with no success. Joanna can’t recall using that knife since making moussaka on Wednesday, when she typically would have used it, suggesting it disappeared within the last four days.
Pip documents the knife set brand and, without alarming them further, notes the implication: if a knife were used as a weapon, the missing yellow-banded one would fit. The discovery elevates concern that Jamie’s situation may involve violence.
Who Appears
- Pip (Pippa Fitz-Amobi)Investigator; updates the Reynolds family, organizes digital leads, and discovers the missing yellow-banded kitchen knife.
- Connor ReynoldsJamie’s brother; anxiously searches the kitchen, commits to reviewing party media, fixates on the forty-eight-hour mark.
- Joanna ReynoldsJamie’s mother; devastated by “life or death,” helps search for the missing knife, recalls last likely use on Wednesday.
- Jamie ReynoldsMissing person; revealed to have been fired after taking a company card; central to discussions and the knife discovery’s implications.