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Authors: Andy McDermott
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rang. He sighed and fumbled in his pocket. ‘Can you answer that for me, Nan?’ he asked, handing it to her. ‘Don’t want to get in trouble with the police on my first day back in the country.’
He expected it was Nina calling, as he doubted Holly would have got her new phone charged up so quickly, and the likelihood of Elizabeth’s phoning him for a chat was extremely small. ‘Ooh, hello, Nina,’ Nan said, proving him right, before adding unnecessarily: ‘It’s Nina.’
‘Thought it might be,’ he replied, opting not to treat his grandmother to any of his usual sarcasm. ‘What’s she want?’
A procession of increasingly surprised oohs and aahs followed, Chase glancing sideways to see Nan’s expression turn to one of utter disbelief. ‘What?’ he asked.
‘She says the man she went to see was just assassinated, and she’s chasing another man who stole her laptop round the hotel.’
‘Oh, sh . . . oes,’ blurted Chase. He shoved down the accelerator.
‘You know, I didn’t get the impression she was the type for practical jokes.’
‘She’s not,’ he told Nan grimly. ‘I can’t bloody take her anywhere!’
Nina rounded another corner - to find herself facing a dead end. The bearded man lurched to a stop ahead of her, letting out another angry exclamation. He turned and glared at Nina.
‘Er . . . hi,’ she said, horribly aware that their roles in the chase had suddenly reversed. He took a step towards her. ‘Okay, how about you keep the laptop? It’s insured . . . I think . . .’
The man took another step. Nina fearfully backed away, passing a bright red fire extinguisher attached to the wall.
A weapon—
She yanked it from its clips, and hurled it at him with all her strength.
He brought up a hand, but too late, taking the blunt end of the extinguisher on his face with a flat metallic blong . He reeled back . . .
And smiled at her.
‘ Daaaa ,’ he moaned almost ecstatically through bloodied teeth. His demented grin widened, eyes fixing on Nina.
‘Aw, crap . . .’
He grabbed the fire extinguisher, and flung it back at her. She dived out of its path, the end of its hose slashing across her back. The extinguisher hit the opposite wall with a bang and punched straight through it like a giant bullet, wood and plaster splintering.
Nina expected him to attack while she was down, but instead she heard a crack of breaking wood. Looking up, she saw he had kicked a door off its hinges and entered an emergency stairwell.
Wincing at the cut on her back, she went after him. The smell of food wafting up from below told her she was heading for the hotel’s kitchens. There was a loud crash of doors being flung open followed by angry yelling, then a metallic cacophony of cascading pans and a shriek of pain.
Nina reached the bottom of the stairs. The doors were still swinging wildly like the entrance to a Wild West saloon. She barged through them, seeing a man in chef’s whites - now spotted with red from his broken nose - sprawled on the tiled floor amongst pans from an overturned trolley. Other staff were desperately trying to get out of the bearded man’s way as he ran for another set of doors at the kitchen’s far end.
She jumped over the battered chef, her heel catching one of the pans and sending it clanging across the aisle. The man glanced back and saw her. Another foreign curse - and then he yanked a cleaver out of a side of beef and threw it at her.
Nina yelped and dropped to the floor as the razor-sharp slice of steel whistled over her head and buried itself two inches deep in the wall. She took a cautious look over the edge of the nearest counter, hurriedly ducking back as the hefty chunk of meat itself bounced off the metal just above her. More heavyweight culinary missiles followed - a bucket-sized can of baked beans, a whole turkey, and a glass jar that exploded on impact and showered her with pickled onions. Vinegar splashed the cut on her back, stinging.
‘What
He expected it was Nina calling, as he doubted Holly would have got her new phone charged up so quickly, and the likelihood of Elizabeth’s phoning him for a chat was extremely small. ‘Ooh, hello, Nina,’ Nan said, proving him right, before adding unnecessarily: ‘It’s Nina.’
‘Thought it might be,’ he replied, opting not to treat his grandmother to any of his usual sarcasm. ‘What’s she want?’
A procession of increasingly surprised oohs and aahs followed, Chase glancing sideways to see Nan’s expression turn to one of utter disbelief. ‘What?’ he asked.
‘She says the man she went to see was just assassinated, and she’s chasing another man who stole her laptop round the hotel.’
‘Oh, sh . . . oes,’ blurted Chase. He shoved down the accelerator.
‘You know, I didn’t get the impression she was the type for practical jokes.’
‘She’s not,’ he told Nan grimly. ‘I can’t bloody take her anywhere!’
Nina rounded another corner - to find herself facing a dead end. The bearded man lurched to a stop ahead of her, letting out another angry exclamation. He turned and glared at Nina.
‘Er . . . hi,’ she said, horribly aware that their roles in the chase had suddenly reversed. He took a step towards her. ‘Okay, how about you keep the laptop? It’s insured . . . I think . . .’
The man took another step. Nina fearfully backed away, passing a bright red fire extinguisher attached to the wall.
A weapon—
She yanked it from its clips, and hurled it at him with all her strength.
He brought up a hand, but too late, taking the blunt end of the extinguisher on his face with a flat metallic blong . He reeled back . . .
And smiled at her.
‘ Daaaa ,’ he moaned almost ecstatically through bloodied teeth. His demented grin widened, eyes fixing on Nina.
‘Aw, crap . . .’
He grabbed the fire extinguisher, and flung it back at her. She dived out of its path, the end of its hose slashing across her back. The extinguisher hit the opposite wall with a bang and punched straight through it like a giant bullet, wood and plaster splintering.
Nina expected him to attack while she was down, but instead she heard a crack of breaking wood. Looking up, she saw he had kicked a door off its hinges and entered an emergency stairwell.
Wincing at the cut on her back, she went after him. The smell of food wafting up from below told her she was heading for the hotel’s kitchens. There was a loud crash of doors being flung open followed by angry yelling, then a metallic cacophony of cascading pans and a shriek of pain.
Nina reached the bottom of the stairs. The doors were still swinging wildly like the entrance to a Wild West saloon. She barged through them, seeing a man in chef’s whites - now spotted with red from his broken nose - sprawled on the tiled floor amongst pans from an overturned trolley. Other staff were desperately trying to get out of the bearded man’s way as he ran for another set of doors at the kitchen’s far end.
She jumped over the battered chef, her heel catching one of the pans and sending it clanging across the aisle. The man glanced back and saw her. Another foreign curse - and then he yanked a cleaver out of a side of beef and threw it at her.
Nina yelped and dropped to the floor as the razor-sharp slice of steel whistled over her head and buried itself two inches deep in the wall. She took a cautious look over the edge of the nearest counter, hurriedly ducking back as the hefty chunk of meat itself bounced off the metal just above her. More heavyweight culinary missiles followed - a bucket-sized can of baked beans, a whole turkey, and a glass jar that exploded on impact and showered her with pickled onions. Vinegar splashed the cut on her back, stinging.
‘What
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