Chapter 4 gives readers a quieter, more intimate follow-up to the tension of the previous chapter, as Dean and Bob’s ghost are left alone in the family room to sit with an afterlife neither of them expected. The banter between them is oddly touching — Bob is just as confused about being a ghost as Dean is about hosting one, and their exchange about “not getting a handbook” lands as gallows humor that softens the guilt Dean is clearly still carrying over his patient’s death.

The chapter’s real payoff comes when Jaz returns with a death-ward pendant pulled from the family safe, and Bob’s apparition fades to nothing the moment she gets close. It’s a satisfying, concrete piece of magic-system worldbuilding, and it raises the stakes in a very grounded way: if a warded pendant is what it takes to keep spirits away from their home, something serious is happening to Dean, not just a one-time fluke tied to Bob.

What makes this short chapter linger is Dean’s continued dishonesty with Jaz. He agrees to wear the pendant and promises to seek help if the crooning and visions don’t clear up, but the persistent sound following him even with the amulet on, paired with his refusal to tell Jaz the full truth, makes clear this isn’t over. The chapter closes on a hopeful, deliberately misleading note — an invitation to a social event in the Unusual security community — that readers will recognize as the calm before whatever comes next.

📖 Start Dean’s next case — get The Paramedic’s Siren on Jamie Davis’s site:

jamiedavisbooks.com/books/the-paramedics-siren/

 

The Paramedic’s Siren — Chapter 4

Dean paced around the family room while Bob floated in the corner nearby. The soft singsong crooning continued in the background. “Aren’t you supposed to go toward the light or whatever spirits do after death?”

“I don’t know. First timer.”

Dean blinked. “Seriously?”

Bob gave a spectral shrug. “I wasn’t issued a handbook.”

“Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?” Dean pressed down the guilt he felt about the man’s death and focused on the intrusion into their home.

“I didn’t mean to sound flippant, Dean. I don’t know why I’m here with you, either.”

Dean stopped pacing to face the ghost. “At least stop that damned sound you’re making.”

“What sound?”

“Don’t you hear that song in the background? I heard it at the station, too. You must be causing it.”

“I’m sorry.” Bob shrugged with his hands out to either side. “I don’t know what that is. I don’t think it’s me that’s doing it.”

Dean squinted at Bob. “Hey, I think you’re fading. I can definitely see through you more easily now than in my daughter’s room.” The crooning sound had dimmed some, too.

“I feel the same,” Bob said, “but you look a little hazier than before.”

Jaz turned the corner, holding out a silver chain with a small round emerald stone mounted on a silver pendant. As she got closer to where Dean stood, Bob’s form faded significantly until only the barest outline appeared against the wall.

“Aha, yes\!” She let out a burst of relieved laughter as the ghostly form disappeared entirely.

“What did you do?” Dean asked.

“This was in the safe. A death-ward pendant.”

“But he wasn’t hurting anything. Maybe he needs our help?”

Jaz spun around to face her husband. “Dean, he came here to our home, uninvited, bypassing all our protections with ease. That’s not harmless in my book.” She held out the pendant. “Put this on.”

“Why? I don’t need any protection.”

“He came here because of a connection to you. What’s keeping him from coming back the second I leave the room to put this away? Nope. Wear it.”

Dean knew that tone of voice. She wasn’t kidding, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Besides, it was only a small chain and pendant. He took the chain from her and looped it over his head to hang down against his chest.

“When can I take this off?”

“You can put it back in the safe when you figure out why a dead patient is following you around.”

Dean winced at the reference to Bob dying. The soft crooning continued despite the amulet, carrying him back to the scene of the werewolf’s death.

“Dean. Snap out of it.” Jaz clapped her hands in front of his face. “Where were you just then?”

Dean shook his head. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about the call earlier today. I’ll get over it.”

“Maybe we should call the department in the morning. They have people on staff to help with stuff like this.”

“No, I can handle it. I’ll get over it.” Even as he spoke, he felt his fingers twitch toward the amulet, as if to reassure himself it was still there.

Jaz held his gaze, worry creasing the skin at the corners of her eyes. “You’d better not be lying to me about this. There’s no shame in getting help if you need it. I’ll support you. So will Brynne and everyone at work.”

“I promise. I’ll get help if my head doesn’t clear by the time I go back to work in a few days.”

“Okay, I’ll hold you to that.” Jaz reached out and clasped her hands around his. “You mean too much to Jo and me to let anything keep you from being safe when you come home. Now, come and get some dinner. We can talk about something else for a change. We got an invitation in the mail from a client of mine. She’s in town for a quick trip and invited us to come to a get-together with her and some others in the Unusual security community. It might be fun to get a sitter and go out for the evening as grownups.”

“That sounds great.” Dean followed her into the kitchen, failing to tell her about the persistent low crooning he still heard despite the protection amulet around his neck.

📖 Loved Chapter 4? Get the full story — get The Paramedic’s Siren on Jamie Davis’s site:

jamiedavisbooks.com/books/the-paramedics-siren/