A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3
As Good As Dead
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Thirty-Six
Overview
Pip infiltrates Max’s house while Nat distracts him at the front door. She spikes Max’s water bottle with drugged powder to advance the frame job. After Nat escalates the confrontation and threatens to testify, Max reacts, forcing Pip to hide in a cupboard as he approaches, leaving the plan in peril.
Summary
Pip circles to the back of Max’s house as Nat rings the doorbell to draw him away. Finding the patio doors unexpectedly unlocked, Pip slips inside, moving toward the living room where Max talks with Nat at the front door.
Seeing Max’s blue water bottle on the coffee table, Pip crawls behind the sofa. As Nat challenges Max about the libel suit against Pip, Pip opens the bottle and pours in green powder, carefully swirling it to dissolve before reassembling and replacing it exactly.
Nat intensifies the conversation, stating that the recorded confession is real and that multiple victims will testify if Max proceeds with the lawsuit. Hearing movement and a scuffle, Pip abandons her planned exit through the dining room and dives into a cupboard beneath the stairs.
The front door slams, followed by rapid footsteps. Max stops right outside the cupboard where Pip hides, leaving her silent and trapped as the chapter ends with immediate danger to their operation.
Who Appears
- Pip (Pippa Fitz-Amobi)Infiltrates Max’s house, spikes his water bottle with drugged powder, and hides in a cupboard to avoid discovery.
- MaxTarget of Pip’s frame; confronted by Nat about the libel suit and past assaults; nearly discovers Pip inside his house.
- Nat da SilvaDistracts and confronts Max at the door, threatens to testify against him, and buys Pip time to spike the water.