Thursday Murder Club, #2
The Man Who Died Twice
by Richard Osman
Contents
Chapter 14
Overview
Poppy meets Elizabeth and Joyce, delivering a detailed dossier on Ryan Baird while confessing her discomfort with espionage and desire to write poetry. Elizabeth commits to protecting Douglas and hints at solving the diamond mystery. In a rare reveal, Elizabeth shares her unconventional path into the Service and a secret dream of marine biology.
Summary
Poppy visits Elizabeth and Joyce, candidly explaining her accidental recruitment into the Service after a Foreign Office talk and hospitality in London. She admits she dislikes secrecy and rule-bending, contrasting with Elizabeth’s comfort in that world, and reveals she would rather write poetry.
Poppy presents a file on Ryan Baird—contact details, associates, and digital traces—crediting Douglas for authorizing the access and warning it feels illegal. Elizabeth accepts the material, reiterates their job is to protect Douglas, and promises to keep both Douglas and Poppy safe at Coopers Chase.
Between light conversation about Poppy’s daisy tattoo and Joyce’s anecdotes, Elizabeth presses the group’s parallel aim to solve the diamond mystery, while Poppy insists their mandate is Douglas’s protection. They agree to proceed without being “boring,” and Joyce encourages Poppy’s poetry.
Prompted for her own story, Elizabeth recounts being steered into the Service at university, choosing recruitment over an affair with a professor. In a rare moment of honesty, Elizabeth confides she once dreamed of becoming a marine biologist, and Joyce warmly affirms she would have excelled.
Who Appears
- PoppyMI5 officer aiding Douglas; delivers Ryan Baird’s dossier; uneasy about espionage and yearns to write poetry.
- ElizabethClub leader; accepts Poppy’s intel, commits to protecting Douglas, and reveals her reluctant recruitment and marine biology dream.
- JoyceSupportive friend; hosts with tea, encourages Poppy’s poetry, and reassures Elizabeth about her alternative path.