I placed my hands, tentatively, on his back, not knowing what else to do. I knew I couldn’t roll him over. I’d only been playing amateur private eye for a few hours, and hadn’t expected to run into anything like this, but I knew enough from watching TV that I wasn’t supposed to move the body.

Except I was sure I felt the body move, ever so slightly, under my hand.

Lawrence was breathing, just.

He was alive.

Chapter 18

18

I put my weight gently on the bed, careful not to jostle Lawrence, and leaned in close to his ear. “Hang in, man, I’m getting help.” I had no way to know whether he understood what I saw saying or could even hear me.

There was a phone on his bedside table and I was about to snatch the receiver off its cradle when I thought, “Don’t touch anything.”

So I got out my cell and punched in the three emergency digits. Before the operator had a chance to get in a word, I barked out the address, then told her there was a man here, very seriously injured, who’d lost a lot of blood. I couldn’t pry my eyes off Lawrence as I spoke. Looking at him, I couldn’t see any signs that he was still alive. His breathing was too shallow to make his back rise and fall.

“How was the injury sustained?” the operator asked.

“I haven’t turned him over. But someone’s tried to kill him. He’s been attacked. He might have been shot, he might have been stabbed, I just don’t know. Is the ambulance already on its way?”

“Yes, sir. Don’t try to do anything yourself. Wait for the paramedics.”

“Hey, don’t worry. They may have a hard time finding this place. It’s just a door between two shops. I’m gonna go down and—”

“Sir, please don’t leave the phone—”

“I don’t have to. I’m on a cell.” I held on to the phone, but didn’t bother holding it to my ear as I ran out the apartment’s main door and down the narrow stairwell, and turned back the deadbolt on the door that opened out to the sidewalk. The cabby was still sitting where I’d left him. I opened the front passenger door.

“You’re running up quite a fare,” he said, only half glancing up from his crossword.

“I need you to stay here,” I sad. “There’s going to be an ambulance here any minute now, and when you see it, direct them to this door.”

“An ambulance? What’s an ambulance—”

“Once they’re here, you find me, I’ll pay you what I owe you for the cab. I don’t know if I’ve got enough cash, but if not, I’ve probably got a blank cab chit from The Metropolitan in my wallet.”