Death at the Sign of the Rook: A Jackson Brodie Book

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of physical abuse.

Jackson falls asleep while watching Alice’s house from his car. Alice wakes him up and invites him in. She claims to know nothing about the codicil to Dorothy’s will. When her husband Mark roars into the drive in his Ferrari, she startles, dropping her coffee cup and staining the cream carpet and sofa. Alice desperately scrubs at the stains and looks fearful when Mark enters the room. Jackson takes the blame for the accident, insisting he will pay for the cleaning. While Mark calls a cleaning company, Jackson offers to take Alice and her son “somewhere safe.” When she declines, Jackson leaves her his card.

Jackson visits Dorothy’s neighbor Bob, who confirms that Alice was present when he witnessed the will’s codicil. When Reggie calls, revealing she is stranded in the snow, Jackson rescues her. They drive to Burton Makepeace House and are puzzled when the man who answers the door suggests they join their “fellow sleuths” in the library. Reggie is struck by the man’s good looks.