Thursday Murder Club, #2
The Man Who Died Twice
by Richard Osman
Contents
Chapter 21
Overview
Douglas lies low in an MI5 safe house in Hove, guarded by Poppy, and suspects his location has been leaked. He questions allies inside MI5, reflects on his declining charm and past betrayals, and doubles down on escaping with Lomax’s diamonds. He resolves to trust only Elizabeth and prepare for threats from Lomax and possibly the Service.
Summary
At dawn in an MI5 safe house in Hove, Douglas Middlemiss enjoys a sea view despite orders to keep away from the windows. Poppy, stationed in a rear bedroom as protection, has already proved capable by shooting Andrew Hastings, a Lomax enforcer who came to kill Douglas.
Douglas broods on how Lomax found him and concludes there must be a leak. He runs through suspects—his superiors Sue and Lance, even Poppy—while weighing the consequences of having exposed himself on CCTV and put the Service in a bind.
His thoughts turn inward: once popular and glib, Douglas now recognizes his outdated attitudes and missteps, recalling a failed sensitivity course, his affairs (notably with Sally Montague), and the collapse of his marriage to Elizabeth, who always saw through his act. He acknowledges that the world has moved on and that his “charm” no longer works.
Despite paranoia about a betrayal within MI5, Douglas decides the diamonds remain his escape plan. He imagines disappearing under a new identity abroad and accepts he must think his way out of the danger from Lomax and possibly colleagues.
Douglas concludes there is only one person he can trust: Elizabeth. Buoyed by that, he resolves to face the day—readying himself for tea, marmalade on toast, and the coming fight.
Who Appears
- Douglas MiddlemissIn hiding at an MI5 safe house; suspects an internal leak, reflects on past failings, trusts only Elizabeth, plans escape with diamonds.
- PoppyMI5 handler guarding Douglas; previously shot Andrew Hastings; remains a potential suspect in his paranoid calculations.
- ElizabethDouglas’s ex-wife; the only person he decides he can trust amid fears of betrayal.
- Martin LomaxCrime boss seeking his stolen diamonds; his reach prompts Douglas’s fear of a leak.
- SueMI5 superior Douglas suspects might have disclosed his location to placate Lomax.
- LanceColleague from the Lomax break-in; Douglas questions his reliability and motives.
- Andrew HastingsLomax’s protection officer who attacked Douglas; shot dead by Poppy earlier.
- Sally MontagueDouglas’s former affair and ex-wife; emblem of his repeated betrayals and decline.