Want You Dead by Peter James Read Free Book Online

was manned by volunteers who lived and worked within four minutes’ drive or bike ride of the station.
    All of them instantly leapt to their feet, hurried out of the mess deck, past the sofas and armchairs, and the rarely used snooker table in the recreation room. The Watch Commander, who had gone first, opened the door to the pole hatch, then in turn they slid down into the muster room, and ran out to the huge garage where the fire engines – the big red toolboxes, as they called them – sat. At the start of the shift, they had each placed their uniforms and boots at their allotted stations outside the vehicles, their boots tucked into their trouser legs like children’s.
    Less than one minute and fifteen seconds after the alarm had first sounded, all of them except the drivers, because they could not drive in boots, had changed into their fire-fighting kit; the garage doors slid upwards and the first two engines, blue lights strobing, sirens wailing, pulled out onto the forecourt, and then, as the traffic stopped for them, out onto the road.

14
    Thursday afternoon, 24 October
    ‘Shall we start upstairs?’ Red said, as brightly as she could. She’d been feeling terrible all day.
    The young couple nodded in unison.
    ‘I love these houses,’ Red said, as she led the way. ‘The Edwardians knew how to build solid homes that would last. And Portland Avenue is such a lovely street!’
    ‘Which are the local schools?’ asked the heavily pregnant woman as they reached the landing.
    ‘Well, the New Church Road area is really well served, Mrs Hovey. There are several schools including Deepdene, a private nursery school, and St Christopher’s, just five minutes’ walk away, which is also private and has a terrific reputation.’
    Her husband peered around with a dubious expression. ‘Rather a small landing, Sam,’ he said.
    ‘Ah, yes,’ Red replied. ‘The thing is, the architect clearly felt the size of the bedrooms was more important. I’ll begin with the smallest.’ She pushed open the door and waited for them both to enter. ‘It would make the most perfect room for your baby, don’t you think?’
    It was pleasant, with a south aspect onto the side wall of the neighbouring house.
    ‘It would!’ the pregnant woman exclaimed. ‘Delightful!’
    ‘Not much light,’ her husband said.
    He was a good-looking man, dressed in a nice suit. His wife was pretty and sparky. Red felt a pang of envy as she saw them hold hands, evidently much in love. They’d sold their flat and were cash buyers, and this was within their price range. She could see them setting up home here, in this semi-detached three-bedroom house just north of New Church Road, a quiet residential area of the city that was close to the sea and within walking distance of a large shopping area. She could see them pushing the buggy around these streets.
    She could happily live in a house like this herself. Up until yesterday, she could have imagined living here with Karl, and being pregnant with his child. How amazing might that have been? Her parents hadn’t met Karl, but she knew they would have really liked him. Her mother, a life coach, was an astute judge of people. She had disliked Bryce from the get-go, but back then Red had been totally smitten with him, and all her mother’s words of warning had fallen on deaf ears.
    She and her mother had fallen out big time over Bryce, and later he had blamed her parents for being behind their break-up.
    It wasn’t until her mother had showed her the evidence that she had finally been forced to realize the truth. That everything about Bryce was a lie.
    She had been a lot more careful with Karl, surreptitiously checking out his background – which had made her feel sneaky, but safe.
    ‘Now, this is a really nice size spare bedroom – with its own en suite bathroom,’ she said, saving the stunning master bedroom – one of the property’s best selling points – until last. She held the door