Sins of the Father (15 page)

Alicia nodded, taking
Sarah’s hand as they followed them out.

“
Do you need
any help?” Sarah asked, shocked at the chaos around
them.

“
I think we
have it covered. You go with Al, and I’ll keep you
posted.”

Alicia saw a sea of
concerned faces everywhere she turned. She tried not to feel a
sense of guilt that it was all happening because of her.

Justin was already
waiting for them. He ushered her into the jeep with Sarah following
close behind. The urgency in the air scared her. It felt surreal,
like they were shooting a scene.

She saw Brad communicate
with the car behind, instructing Justin to exit using the planned
route.

“
It’s going
to be all right,” Sarah whispered, sounding strong and solid beside
her.

Alicia nodded but didn’t
respond. She was too busy watching the organisation going on around
them.

A dozen shuttle buses
were lined up to escort the majority of their crew off site. She
was amazed at the military precision in which they were being
guided through the process.

The team within Lundwood
Studios were no doubt thankful that they had additional expertise
at hand.

“
This could
be a ruse to get close to her, keep your eyes open.”

Alicia turned towards
Brad. The command in his voice was unmistakable. “Do you really
think it’s him?” she asked.

“
I don’t
believe in coincidence. I suspect it’s a test to find out what
resources we have and how well organised.”

“
If that’s
true our buddies at the station need to be more cooperative,”
Justin said, expertly weaving in and out of the action.

“
Are you
having an issue with them?” Sarah was surprised at the
idea.

“
No. Justin’s
feeling a little sore because we don’t have complete control. He
doesn’t play well with others.”

“
That’s not
true, BM, I always share my toys!”

“
I suppose if
he wanted to get in and snoop around, now would be the time to do
it,” Alicia mused.

“
I think that
would be too risky. If our guy’s smart, he won’t put himself in
plain sight.”

“
But you
think he’s watching.”

Brad looked at her
through mirror. “Yes, I think its all part of his plan.”

Sarah shook her head.
“There should be cameras rolling. I can’t help but see the uncanny
resemblance to the script. It scares me.”

“
I think
that’s the point. He wants to create drama, and he’s pulling out
all the stops.” Alicia felt surprisingly calm now that she knew
things were under control.

“
Then for
god’s sake, change the ending to your movie.”

She laughed. “I doubt
this has anything to do with my writing skills. Unless the writing
team want all the credit and are prepared to blow me up to get
it.”

“
That’s not
funny.”

“
Yes it is.”
She squeezed Sarah’s hand.

“
Home, sweet,
mobile home,” Justin said to Brad, grinning as he pulled up behind
an RV. It did look deceptively like a motor home, though she
suspected it was extensively modified.

“
Let’s go and
meet the team.” Brad jumped out and walked around to Alicia’s door.
He stood to the left, shielding her with his body as he pulled her
down to the street.

The two CPO’s following
were already in position. Justin joined Brad, standing on her right
so she was boxed in.

She tried to turn but
Brad’s hand was pressed into her lower back. “What about
Sarah?”

He turned his head once,
surveying the scene behind them. “It looks like she’s on crowd
control. The press got wind of this pretty quick.”

“
They
probably had a little help.” Alicia stepped into the RV and took a
moment to adjust. The first thing she noticed was the equipment
banked along the wall in front of her – the array of monitors
confirmed her hunch that it was a mobile base of
operations.

She let her eyes sweep
all the way round to a plush seating area at the back, currently
occupied by a group of people she could only assume were Brad’s
team. All eyes were on her.

“
These are my
people,” Brad said, gently pushing her forward.

She counted five
expectant faces – they made an intimidating audience.

“
Don’t you
ever sleep?” she asked JJ. He didn’t look like a man who’d been on
duty all night.

“
I have an
appointment with that bunk as soon as we’re through here.” Alicia
followed his gaze to the bed above them. “But as the big man isn’t
going to introduce us let me do the honours.” She looked back at JJ
with a smile, her eyes automatically falling to his left when he
motioned towards the petite woman at his side. “This is
Susannah.”

“
It’s lovely
to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Alicia motioned to the
others. “All of you.”

“
It’s good to
meet you too, sugar. You’re certainly keeping our boy on his toes.”
She had a low, husky laugh that somehow suited her slight
frame.

“
They’re
doing a great job – all your boys.”

The woman on JJ’s right
swung an arm around his shoulders. “You’ve just made Jon’s day.
He’s a fan. But I’m sure Mr Fix-It here already told you
that.”

“
This is
Ellen, by the way,” JJ said, pulling a face that had her howling
with laughter. “The name’s nothing original, we’ve just earned
various names during our career and I’m Mr Fix-It.”

“
Even though
he couldn’t fix his way out of a paper bag.”

Alicia looked at Ellen,
sensing she was the joker of their family.

“
That doesn’t
even make sense - fight your way out of a paper bag I get, but fix,
nah that’s just-”

The person sitting at the
other side of Ellen raised his hand to cut JJ off. “Okay, you two,
we get the point.” He smiled at Alicia. “I’m Tommy…the Peace Maker,
and this,” he said, pointing with his thumb to the woman on his
left “is Liz, aka Mother. As you can see we have our work cut out
for us.”

He had a soothing voice,
rich and confident – perfect for his role.

Brad saw his opportunity
to step in. “So, that’s our team, add Kel and Justin and it makes
us eight.”

“
You just
missed Kelvin, on the big screen anyway. We went ahead without
you,” Susannah said. “I’ll catch you up later.”

“
Do you
always meet like this?”

Susannah looked at
Alicia, pleased that she was showing an interest. “We have a daily
team briefing. Some of us are more present than others.”

“
Present and
accounted for,” Justin said as he pushed his way in with Sarah in
tow.

After they’d listened to
Sarah make cooing noises at all the equipment, they made room for
her at the table. It didn’t matter that they’d only met her once,
she fit; she always did.

Alicia felt a sense of
security akin to family – it was like coming home. It was also as
chaotic and rambunctious as any gathering.

Sarah’s seat was barely
warm before the door opened again. This time it was a handsome
stranger. Though not part of the team, Alicia could see he too felt
completely at home.

She watched with interest
as his eyes swiftly roamed the room before honing in on Susannah.
The air should have vibrated around her from the sheer force of his
gaze alone. He was clearly bewitched, and from the look on
Susannah’s face, the feeling was mutual.

“
Charlie, to
what do we owe the pleasure?” Brad stood to make room – if anything
the space looked smaller.

“
I need five
minutes of your time.” He didn’t elaborate.

“
Who’s that?”
Sarah whispered. She was also watching Susannah closely.

“
Charles
Macavoy from CID - we’ve known him for years. He’s one of
us.”

“
It’s a
little crowded in here. Why don’t we go for a walk?” Brad turned to
JJ with a look that said the floor was his until he
returned.

“
Okay,
Charlie, you’ve got five minutes.” He directed the last part at
Alicia before he followed Charlie outside.

He waited until they were
out of earshot to speak again. “So, why the mystery? We have
telephones now, my friend.”

Charlie chose to ignore
the dig. “I overheard a discussion this morning between Dan Potts
and his partner. It concerned me.”

“
What was the
discussion about?”

They had arrived at
Charlie’s car. Brad got in without being invited.

“
Let’s put it
this way, the name Helen Fairfax came up in the same sentence as
yours.”

“
Is there a
point to this, Charlie, other than busting my balls?”

“
I’m worried
about you. If there’s a possibility she’s involved…”

“
Are you
saying something new came up?”

“
No, that’s
not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is be careful. When I found
out you’d accepted the case I had to come and check in. I wouldn’t
be honouring your brother if I didn’t look out for you.”

Nathan Morgan had been
his partner. Before Nathan died, he’d made Charlie promise to look
out for his brother – the only thing he expected of their
friendship.

“
I appreciate
that. But I’m handling it.”

Charlie nodded, knowing
that it was all he could expect. “Like I said, I wanted to come and
see that for myself. I was passing… just call me if you need
anything. I mean it. Don’t get yourself in trouble over that bitch,
she’s not worth it.”

“
You’re
preaching to the choir, my friend. Right now I have a job to do,
and my responsibilities are to her daughter.”

“
She’s a
beautiful woman. That’s got to be as distracting as
hell.”

“
Like you
even noticed with Susannah in the room.”

Charlie chuckled, not
bothering to deny his crush on Brad’s number one. “I guess I’m
pretty obvious, huh?”

“
Obvious -
you all but drooled on the carpet.” He was relieved they were back
on an even keel.

“
Get out of
here, tough guy. You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

“
Good to see
you, Charlie.”

He stepped back out of
the car, not needing or wanting to say more. A quick glance over
his shoulder told him the reporters had spotted him; they had been
waiting for him and were now closing in like a pack of hungry
wolves. He averted his face when the first flash exploded,
quickening his step to put distance between them. It was a relief
when the RV door opened and JJ let him in; his face spread into a
grin, which was thoroughly caught on camera.

Chapter
11

Alicia looked at Jack’s
face on the screen and felt things settle again. They’d been given
the all clear to return to work, but she’d missed her afternoon
slot with him.

“
I heard
about the excitement,” Jack said, unable to hide his
concern.

“
A false
alarm. It’s all over now.”

“
I don’t like
it. Are you sure it’s safe to be there?”

If she’d been in the room
with him she’d have ruffled his hair, as it was she mimicked
patting his screen head and made him laugh. “There’s more security
on site than at Buckingham Palace. I’m safe.”

“
Okay.” She
watched the fall of his chest, seeing rather than hearing his
gentle sigh.

“
It’s hard
being stuck here. I feel helpless.”

“
You need to
concentrate on getting well. Nothing’s going to happen to me,
Jack.”

He nodded, relieved that
she understood. “There’s little to do but worry when you’re stuck
in a room 24/7. If it wasn’t for Kel, I’d die of
boredom.”

Alicia laughed, even as
she caught the signal from Doug. “He’s not there for your
entertainment.”

“
You’re the
prima donna in this family, remember. I take it from that subtle
glance towards the action you need to go?”

"Yes, we’ve lost a lot of
time today.” She looked at him for a minute, smiling into the
camera. “I love you, kid. I’ll get by to see you soon.”

“
I love you
too, sis. Stick close to the big guy.”

“
Count on
it.”

She caught Brad’s eye,
mouthing her thanks as she closed the laptop. He inclined his head,
making her smile; she was growing used to his small but subtle
movements.

He watched her walk
across to Doug Chambers. She was handling the disruption admirably.
In part, he suspected it had to do with her earlier life
experiences, but the main reason was the unwavering faith she put
into her friend. He believed in giving credit where it was due and
Sarah had organised up a storm. It was impressive to watch. He was
curious about her.

“
Hi, Brad.”
Tim appeared beside him, holding out a cup. “I thought you could
use a little caffeine buzz. I never see you take a
break.”