A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3
As Good As Dead
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Forty-Two
Overview
Pip completes the frame-up of Max by planting his hairs, footprints, and blood traces on Jason’s body and at the scene. She and Ravi then ignite Jason’s SUV and the Green Scene storeroom to summon police attention. The fires mask their cleanup while guiding investigators to the staged evidence and Jason’s body, locking in their narrative.
Summary
Pip drags Jason Bell’s body into the woods, choosing a shallow spot near a gnarled tree so police will find him quickly. She exposes parts of the body and distributes strands of Max Hastings’s hair on Jason’s clothes, hand, and under a thumbnail to imply a violent struggle and contact.
She imagines and builds the story: Max fights Jason, returns enraged, kills him with a hammer, drags and lightly conceals the body. Pip presses distinctive zigzag prints from Max’s trainers into the mud and ensures the body isn’t hidden too well.
Back in the storeroom, Pip steps Max’s shoe into Jason’s blood and dabs Max’s sleeve, planting transfer evidence and dropping remaining hairs into the blood pool. Ravi reports he has vacuumed and wiped Jason’s SUV to remove their traces; Pip notes fire will finish the job.
They siphon petrol from ride-on mowers, gather cardboard kindling, and lay fuel trails through the storeroom and around equipment to create explosive burns that will draw police and explain the broken window. They avoid burning the blood pool so it will lead searchers to the woods.
Outside, Ravi soaks Jason’s SUV and leaves a fuel can inside. Pip lights cardboard and throws it into the SUV; Ravi ignites the fuel trail in the storeroom, triggering roaring fires. They depart in Max’s car, with Ravi hidden, as explosions from the mowers erupt. Pip, disguised as Max, drives past main-road cameras to place him leaving the scene after the murder and arson.
Who Appears
- Pip (Pippa Fitz-Amobi)Stages evidence framing Max: plants hairs and blood, sets fires, and drives past cameras disguised as him.
- Ravi SinghCleans Jason’s SUV, siphons petrol, helps ignite fires, supports Pip and hides in the car during departure.
- Jason BellDead body; positioned and lightly concealed to be found, serving as the centerpiece of the staged narrative.
- Max HastingsFramed suspect; his hairs, shoes, and implied movements are planted to suggest he fought, killed, and burned evidence.