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

assure me. "Since last week he's only worth about the cost of one of his small dinners anyway. Looks like this was personal, family business. It's all politics and pet protesters in fashion this week, and supermodels who wear fur."
    "Sounds like an interesting contract," I remark politely, getting back into the car and returning the Beretta to the glove-box. "What is it, hit-men for hire to go and bag a new endangered species of coat?"
    "Don't joke about it," they chuckle. "You never know what's coming up next."

Chapter 23: Karmachanic

    I greet my workmates, and pay my routine toilet visit when I arrive at work. All on autopilot as my mind's not on it, thinking about Terry Dyer's lucky escape so far. Not that he wasn't killed by a hit-man, but that he was lucky enough to have both his hit-man and his hit-man's executioner on site to assist him, when he almost spontaneously died on his own doorstep. My mind is replaying it over and over, as I stand at the Dyson Blade hand dryer.
    Pascaline strolls in and grunts a monosyllabic greeting, slamming the cubicle door shut behind her. Solange follows like a chirpy balloon, and shouts 'Bonjour!' under the cubicle door.
    Pascaline moans a laconic response, and Solange makes a sympathetic noise.
    "Comme ça va?" she asks, patting on the door. I say nothing, but re-apply some eyeliner and lipstick, pretending it means nothing to me. But I get the general gist of the response as Pascaline pours it out miserably en Français.
    Pascaline has met a girl, it seems, who is being harassed by an ex-partner and it is complicated, as usual. Apparently the ex is threatening her with vaudaux, and has kept samples of her blood and hair. Pascaline is fed up with girls who have sob stories about the sado-masochistic auto-erotic fantasy shit that their last girlfriends were into. But the complicated part is, the girl is afraid she might also be pregnant from one of her ex's 'sex games' and she's afraid of her ex finding out.
    I don't claim to be an expert on either lesbians or the French, so this could be normal relations for either as far as I know. Solange is sympathetic and suggests they talk to the Foreign Language Students' rep at University, who could refer them to a church group for Bible reading, prayers, faith healing, afternoon tea, and pub crawls. I wonder if this is also the French or lesbian way of dealing with a partnership crisis. Pascaline makes reluctantly conducive noises, emerges from the toilet cubicle, and the pair get their phones out and exchange some numbers, then start watching Dutch movie clips on ViewTube. I head upstairs, unable to tell how much pointless information I've just absorbed.
    The bar staff and managers are way too excited for my mood, dressed up in tuxedos and slinky Bond Girl dresses, being drilled in teams of six on how to shake a Martini. Cooper is looking very smug as well, like a kid who's found the cookie jar. When I ask why he's so pleased with himself, he confides that he posted a notice on Facebuddy earlier that tonight's Bond theme is not until tomorrow, and tonight is actually R'n'B Pimps & Ho's night. So he's expecting a completely different crowd in the venue to the red carpet turn-out the Zone staff are hoping for. Aha. Industrial sabotage.
    When he strolls off to organise the front door, Hurst mentions that he posted a similar one on Twaddle saying that tonight's theme is Hillbilly Farmers & Hoes. And Doorman Harry, still stuck at The Plaza with Mgr Diane for company, posted on Blueberry's Viral Spiral networking chatroom that The Zone's theme for tonight is Wizard of Oz gay pride party. Apparently the official Zone website had only got wind of this a couple of hours ago, and hurriedly changed the official website listing from 'Strict Dress Code Policy' to 'Relaxed Dress Code Policy' in fear of upsetting - or rather missing out on - customers rolling up in anything from hay and dungarees, to pink Lycra and feathers.
    I decide to ask D.J. Crank if