Thursday Murder Club, #2
The Man Who Died Twice
by Richard Osman
Contents
Chapter 15
Overview
Douglas is confronted at night by a professional intruder who breaks into his locked bedroom. Realizing help will not arrive, Douglas hides, is discovered, and refuses to disclose the diamonds’ location. The gunman shoots him, while Poppy’s failure to respond suggests internal betrayal and sharply escalates the stakes around the stolen diamonds.
Summary
Late at night, Douglas Middlemiss hears his flat door open softly and realizes only a professional could enter so quietly. He considers whether the intruder is a burglar or assassin, laments not having a gun, and worries that Poppy has not reacted.
Hearing the bedroom padlock cut, Douglas quickly makes the bed look unused and hides in the wardrobe to buy time. As the intruder enters with a gun, Douglas fears Poppy’s silence means she has been told to stand down, suspecting a sanctioned hit to tidy up the diamond theft.
The gunman discovers Douglas in the wardrobe and questions him about the stolen diamonds. Douglas refuses to reveal their location, believing he will be killed regardless. Seeking one last answer, he asks who sent the assassin, but the man declines to say and pulls the trigger.
Douglas is shot, and Poppy’s lack of intervention deepens suspicion of MI5 involvement. The attack confirms that the diamonds have drawn deadly attention and that Douglas’s protection has failed.
Who Appears
- Douglas MiddlemissTarget of a nighttime assassination; hides in a wardrobe, refuses to reveal diamond location, and is shot.
- Unknown gunmanProfessional intruder who breaks in, demands the diamonds, discovers Douglas, withholds his employer, then shoots him.
- PoppyDouglas’s MI5 handler; does not intervene during the break-in, prompting suspicion of complicity or orders to stand down.