The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1923

After hearing that, Hans turned to his sister, "What do you think, Sis?"

"Beverly said the driver's clean; she ran a background check and everything. I asked him to hit the restroom, and as he was scrambling to leave, a folding knife fell from his pocket. He even gave us a deliberate look before hurriedly picking it up. Suppose he was here to off Erik, wouldn't he have to be a top-notch assassin? No way he'd blow his cover in broad daylight, especially not by dropping his weapon."

Hans nodded, "Your point makes sense."

"But there's something off about that driver," the head of the bodyguard still felt there was something eerie about the driver, like something didn't add up.

"Did you get a good look?" Arabella's gaze fell on the head of bodyguard, "When that folding knife fell, what kind of pocket lets a knife just slide out? You're wearing a suit too. Sure, the pockets are slanted, but have you ever had your phone or keys just drop out frequently?"

The head of the bodyguard shook his head; that had never happened.

"It was exactly then, before he was clear of suspicion, that the knife fell. What does that tell you? It means that blade didn't drop accidentally - he wanted us to see it. He gave us enough time to see the knife on the ground before he nervously picked it up. Why would he want to deepen our suspicion?"

"Why??" At that moment, David piped up, his face full of curiosity.

The chef had just whipped up some coffee and pastries, and David had grabbed a plate to find his sister, hoping to treat her to some, only to stumble upon this "big case" discussion.

Arabella had heard his footsteps earlier. Since he was family, she didn't hold back and laid it all out.

"Whether he dropped the knife on purpose or the way he looked back at us after tucking it away, it was all to make us more suspicious. He's doing this for one reason only - he wants us to investigate him."

The head of the bodyguard was confused. Why would someone want to be checked out??

"If we suspect Beverly and we check out Harry the driver, only to find his record is squeaky clean; won't we feel like we've accused the wrong person and misunderstood Beverly and her driver?"

"That makes sense," David agreed, nodding.

"Once we clear Beverly, wouldn't we shift our focus to others and stop watching Beverly so closely? So, if I'm not mistaken, back in the living room, she probably felt we were onto them, which is why they staged this whole thing. We can leave the driver out of this; whether or not he's clean, just Beverly's actions alone are a dead giveaway, aren't they?"

"Wow, Sis, you're a genius!!" David finally got it, "Beverly must've thought she could clear her name by leading us to her driver, but she had no idea you've got a head full of smarts. So, does this mean Beverly really is involved? Was she part of what happened back then?"

Arabella and Hans nodded together, speaking in unison, "Possibly."

If Beverly hadn't acted this way, they might not have suspected her so soon. Now, it was definitely time to dig deeper; not into the driver, but into her and her husband.