A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3
As Good As Dead
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Forty
Overview
Pip returns home, feigns normalcy, and secures evidence destruction before sneaking out to meet Ravi. They confirm their movements and collaborators’ actions framing Max, including planting Max’s phone and staged timing. They head back to rotate Jason’s body to manipulate time-of-death indicators, tightening their alibi and cover-up.
Summary
Pip arrives home after midnight to parents waiting up. She claims she lost her phone on a run and bids them goodnight, ensuring her mother hears her settle in. In her room, she checks a bleach bucket with clothing, duct tape, and bloodstained trainers, confirming stains are fading as planned.
Pip waits for her mother’s light to go out, then quietly sneaks out, timing creaky stairs and locking the door softly. She walks through the dark, feeling only a muted fear compared to earlier events, and heads toward the rendezvous point.
Pip meets Ravi in Max’s black Audi. Ravi is anxious about her lateness, but they steady each other and review tasks. Ravi used his card at an ATM and petrol station to build his alibi; Rahul merely noticed distraction. Pip confirms she retrieved what she needed from Max’s house, that Nat struck Max to support their narrative, and that Connor and Jamie planted Max’s phone around 9:40, after which Pip called DI Epps.
Pip confirms her own alibi is camera-backed from 9:41 to just after midnight, and her mother heard her go to bed. They hope these steps push the perceived time of death by at least three hours.
Preparing for the next stage, Pip and Ravi don beanies and latex gloves. They agree to take back roads to return and turn Jason’s body again, controlling lividity to align with their engineered timeline and solidify the frame against Max.
Who Appears
- Pip Fitz-AmobiProtagonist; stages normalcy at home, destroys evidence with bleach, sneaks out, coordinates alibis, and returns to adjust Jason’s body.
- Ravi SinghMeets Pip in Max’s car; confirms card-based alibi, discusses collaborators’ actions, and drives with Pip to rotate the body.
- Pip’s mumHalf-awake, admonishes Pip for lateness; her light going off cues Pip to sneak out.
- Pip’s dadDrowsy and largely silent presence; his snoring helps mask Pip’s movements.
- Max HastingsUnconscious at home; his car is used, and he’s being framed via planted phone and timeline.
- Nat da SilvaHits Max to bolster the staged narrative and buy Pip time during the setup.
- Connor ReynoldsHelps plant Max’s phone around 9:40 to support the frame.
- Jamie ReynoldsAssists Connor in planting Max’s phone before Pip’s call to Epps.
- DI EppsReceives Pip’s timed call to reinforce the constructed timeline.
- RahulNotices Ravi’s distraction at work, innocuously supporting Ravi’s alibi context.