Death & the City Book Two by Lisa Scullard Read Free Book Online

with his neck muscles generally.
    "Is he having a heart attack?" Pizza Boy asks. "Oh yeah, er, ambulance please."
    "Either that, or a stroke," I correct him. "Too many additives in his diet."
    A sudden piercing siren makes us both jump, and I realise it's my car telling me the driver's door is open.
    "Can you shut that off?" I ask head office on my mobile, and the car door slams with a beep, notifying the end of the alarm. "Cheers." I catch Pizza Boy's eye as he's giving the address and his phone number. "Just talking to my poltergeist."
    "Yeah, Yuri had to install automatic and remote lockdown on your car since the last upgrade," head office confirm. "We've got an ambulance at the petrol station at Scamways, can get it to you in three."
    "Not Adam Grayson," I say.
    "He can get rid of that pizza box as biohazard. Make sure no-one else touches it."
    "Yeah, it's my Dad," I hear Pizza Boy saying. "Terrence Wilberforce Dyer. He's forty-four."
    Points to me, I think.
    He disconnects and looks at me.
    "Three minutes," he says, and I nod. He looks down at my gun again suspiciously. "Who are you working for?"
    "Him," I say truthfully, pointing at Terry. "I'm one of his door staff."
    "Oh," he says, and his attitude changes slightly. "He said he gets someone to watch the house occasionally. Usually when he's away."
    "One of the small benefits of running your own security firm," I shrug. "What's your name?"
    "Ian Dyer."
    "Everything okay?" head office ask me.
    "Yeah, it's all good," I report. "Got his next of kin here. Can go in the ambulance with him."
    "Who's that you're talking to?" Ian asks.
    "The police," I tell him. A wink of light catches my eye, and I look up at the rooftops opposite. "They've been keeping an eye on your Dad too."
    Ian's gaze wanders uncomfortably to the pizza parcel.
    "I'll have to call work and tell them where I am," he says miserably.
    "Yeah, you can sort that out when Terry's fixed up," I tell him, and a flashing blue light announces the arrival of the ambulance. The big lemon-yellow van pulls up, and Adam Grayson gets out and approaches, while two other paramedics open the rear doors and pull the stretcher down. "Hey, there. Got a cardiac or stroke victim for you."
    "Okay." He surveys the scenario quickly. "All right, fella, you're off to hospital. What's that?"
    He points with the pen in his purple latex-gloved hand, at the dark blue pizza bag on the ground.
    "Biohazard. Yellow bag job."
    "That bad, huh?" He looks questioningly at Ian the Pizza Boy. "You get this reaction to your food often?"
    "First time ever," Ian mutters. Adam looks at me. His blonde cropped punk hairstyle hasn't changed in ten years since I last saw him. He adjusts the wireless hands-free earpiece in his ear, and I recognise the tinny sound of head office talking to him on another line.
    "No contact," head office remind me on my phone, in unison. "The weapon's on the ground, it's a non-hit."
    "Put that away," Adam says quietly, touching the back of my hand which has the gun in it, as the other paramedics approach. I shove it into my overalls pocket. He turns to Ian. "Right, we're going to assess your Dad in the ambulance on the way to hospital, we need to treat him ASAP . You can give us the details on the way." He unzips his green equipment satchel to take out a yellow biohazard disposal bag, while the other two ready the stretcher, lengthening the safety straps. "Chuck your delivery box in here. Nobody's going to want that now."
    Ian complies, and Adam seals it.
    "Hazard secure," Adam and I both report at once.
    "Clear the scene," they tell me, as Terry is loaded onto the trolley, Ian helping by lifting his feet. "Your part is done. We'll get the kid counselled in A&E and find out what's going on with him."
    "Cool, I need to get to work," I say. I nod at Adam in passing and head for my car, which unlocks as I approach it, taking the key fob out of my pocket. "Give me a shout if there's anything else."
    "We'll look after Dyer," they