Sins of the Father (4 page)

Alicia snickered at the
old man comment. “Okay, I can do that. But do me a favour, call the
police before you phone Greg because I want a few minutes before he
arrives.”

“
Deal.”

She threw him a smile as
she hurried towards the bathroom.

Sarah rang before she’d
even set the shower running; grateful for hands-free she flipped
the switch. “Wow, you either do know everything, or this is just
weird timing.” She had to raise her voice above the noise of the
water.

“
I dropped by
to see you. I’m in your trailer and you’re not here
so...”

“
Do me a favour and come over to Stu’s office. I’m just
grabbing a shower...don’t ask, just get here and he’ll fill you
in.”
Relax, nothing’s going
to happen.

“
Okay, I’m on
my way.”

Alicia ended the call and
stepped out of her clothes. There wouldn’t be time to linger now
but she needed to wash away some of the tension.

The heat from the water
did its job; she had almost four full minutes before Sarah came
bounding into the room. She could tell it was Sarah, from her scent
and her energy.

“
Before you
start ranting, do me a favour and pass me that towel.” Alicia
peered around the curtain and tried not to smile at the outrage on
Sarah’s face. Her red curls were tied back into a loose bun, her
green eyes turned impatient when they met hers.

“
How can you
be so calm? Someone wants to hurt you, Al. Didn’t I tell you that
there was something different about that last letter.” She passed
the towel, but didn’t immediately let it go.

“
I’d
forgotten about that.”

“
How can you
forget someone threatening your life?”

“
I suppose
the only thing on my mind at the moment is the note. When I think
about it, think about how someone tried to hurt Jack, I see red.
The police should be on their way so we’ll deal with it.” She
stepped out of the cubicle and wrapped the towel around her before
taking one of Sarah’s hands. “Whatever plan of action we take on
this, I’ll follow your lead. You have my cooperation.”

“
If I didn’t
love you so much I’d strangle you right now.” Sarah softened the
words with a smile. “It’s not about following orders, Al. It’s
about protecting yourself. I know you’re angry about Jack, but what
about you? You have to take this seriously.”

“
I am. I
will. As soon as I get dressed...” She stared open-mouthed at the
bag Sarah was holding up. “You brought a change of clothes? Christ,
what did you do? Teleport over here?”

The exaggerated sigh of
response was something Sarah had down to an art form. “I knew
something was wrong, so I grabbed these in case you hadn’t. It’s
not as though I had to go far, your bedroom is the size of a
postage stamp.”

“
You’re my
best friend, and I love you. But how lucky am I that you also
happen to be the best personal assistant in the world?” Alicia
dodged a poke heading for her ribs as they walked through to the
other room.

“
Pretty
lucky, though you might not feel that way when you hear Dad’s on
his way.” Sarah’s smile turned sly as she continued towards the
door. “Get dressed. I noticed Stuart raiding one of the cabinets on
my way in. I get the feeling it’s where he keeps his
stash.”

“
He doesn’t
like to share his bourbon,” Alicia shouted after her. The sound of
Sarah’s snort of laughter brought a giggle to her lips. Stuart was
no match for either Munroe; he would soon be entertaining
both.

Chapter
3

“
Is this the
first threat you’ve received?”

Alicia looked at the
young officer and swallowed a groan. He was looking at her as
though he expected her to start screaming a list of demands – those
befitting a true prima donna. The truth didn’t matter, most people
believed what they read without giving her a chance. His name was
Jones, and so far, he had done most of the talking.

He was accompanied by
Detective Potts, the strong, silent one who kept his expression
purposely blank. She gave him extra points for not being
intimidated by Greg’s presence. It took control to appear
completely unfazed by Greg Munroe.

“
I received
this last month.” She handed the single-sided sheet to Detective
Jones and gave him a minute to scan its contents. “It’s the first
serious threat I’ve received. There are fans that confuse me with a
character or believe what they’ve read in a magazine and get a
little vocal. But it doesn’t go beyond that.”

Stuart cleared his
throat. “There was that one time…” He looked at Alicia before
continuing. “It’s a few years ago, but at the time it set off all
kinds of alarm bells. The sender knew things – personal things that
haven’t been in the press.”

She’d started to remember
as soon as he spoke. Now she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten. Both
officers focused in on her.

“
I don’t
suppose you have a copy?”

She looked at Potts. It
was his first direct question. “I’m sure Sarah kept it on file. It
was a long time ago.”

“
We’ll need
to see it. Is there any possibility it’s the same
person?”

Alicia tried not to be
irritated by his tone. She hadn’t withheld the information
purposely.

“
I doubt it.
It certainly had nothing to do with Jack.”

“
Let me get
you a copy on screen,” Sarah said, plucking a laptop from the air.
A few taps and clicks later she was handing it over to Detective
Potts. “I keep an electronic copy of everything.”

Detective Jones leant
forward a little, as though his voice would affect his partner’s
ability to read. “I don’t think we can assume anything. Mr Murphy’s
accident has been all over the news so the note could be a clever
ploy to scare you.”

Alicia looked at him in
disbelief. “I think it worked, don’t you? ‘You’re next’, after I’ve
spent the best part of twenty-four hours in the
hospital.”

“
I understand
how you feel, Miss Gladstone.”

“
With all due
respect, Detective, you have no idea how I feel. Yesterday was one
of the worst days of my life, akin to a day very much like it four
years ago. That one didn’t have a happy ending.”

Greg reached out to take
her hand in his before addressing Detective Jones. “Young man, you
must understand the significance of all this. We lost Gray Jackson
and Eric Sutherland in a car accident, which echoed what almost
happened yesterday. If that was intentional, Alicia’s life could be
in danger.”

“
I’d say that
Miss Gladstone is almost certainly at risk. I’m not an expert, but
the letters seem like the delusions of one person,” Detective Potts
commented, passing the laptop to Jones. “But whether or not Mr
Murphy’s accident was an attempt on his life remains to be seen.
You can rest assured we will be looking into it.”

“
Do you know
the expression ‘children pay for the sins of their father’? Well,
in your case, you’ll be paying for the sins of your
mother.”

They all turned to
Detective Jones. It wasn’t clear if he was even aware he’d been
reading aloud. He looked up, a little surprised to have the
floor.

“
There’s
classic transference here. The author switches between pronouns
continuously.”

Greg nodded his
agreement. It was something he’d picked up on too. “The main thing
we were concerned about, at the time, was the accurate description
of Alicia’s mother. We managed to keep any reference to Helen
Fairfax from the press, though there are various blog sites who’ve
worked out the connection - the die-hard fans of film who know
their stuff.”

Alicia let out a breath,
more tired than she cared to admit. “My mother gave me up when I
was a child. I have very little recollection of her, but the person
who sent the letter appears to know her pretty well.”

Detective Potts made a
few notes as she spoke. “Can you email me a copy of the letter?”
His eyes went from Alicia to Sarah and back again.

Sarah reached for the
laptop so that she could access her mail account. “Type your
address in there,” she said, swinging it back to him with a
smile.

“Thanks.” Potts threw a
look to his partner as Sarah did the honours.

“That’s about it for now.
We’d like to speak to the residential security team and crew
members who have access to this part of the lot.”

“Of course, I phoned
ahead and spoke to Abe Donovan. Abe runs the show. He’s expecting
us.” Stuart scooped up his pass from underneath a pile of papers on
his desk. “We carry identification at all times. The odd fan or
members of the press occasionally try their luck, as you can
imagine, but this is the first serious security breach. Certainly
the first time anyone got so close to Alicia.”

You
can’t be everywhere at once.
“It’s not your fault, Stu.”

Greg swung his arm around
her. “She’s right. You aren’t responsible for everything that
happens. We’ll get to the bottom of this and until then we increase
security.”

Detective Potts nodded
his approval. “I think any extra precautions you take are important
right now.” He held out his hand to Alicia. “Thanks for your time,
Miss Gladstone. We’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you,
Detectives.”

She watched as Stuart led
them out, knowing he would wait until they were out of earshot to
start firing questions at them.

“
Well, that
was pretty painless,” she said, laying her head on Sarah’s
shoulder. “Maybe I can grab an hour before I go back to the
hospital.”

“
I’ll wait
for you. I want to check on Jack anyway.” The tone of Greg’s voice
cut off the protest on her lips.

“
I don’t
suppose I’m going anywhere alone for a few days.” She pulled a
face.

“
Enjoy it
while you can.” Sarah nudged Alicia’s head away from her shoulder
so she could pull them both up. “There’s no way you can deter
Stuart from a bodyguard now.”

“
How about
you play bodyguard,” Alicia said, prodding her in the ribs for
looking so smug.

Greg swung his arms
around them. “You could always find a part for me in the movie.
That way I can keep an eye on both my girls.”

“
As great as
that would be - go find your own job.” Alicia laughed when he hung
his head in rejection and turned his appealing eyes towards her;
eyes as green as his daughters.

“
Aw, come on,
you’re not playing fair.”

He grinned at her, using
the full power of his formidable charm. There were women all over
the country who would bow at his feet if he turned that look on
them. With his dark brown hair, greying slightly at the temples,
those expressive eyes and Scottish brogue, he was hard to
resist.

“
Stop it, you
know you can come by anytime.”

Greg and Sarah laughed
heartily at how easily she caved; they had both used their powers
of persuasion in the past. It worked every time. Alicia tried to be
annoyed as they left Stuart’s office arm in arm, but she wasn’t
fooling anybody.

The trio were so absorbed
in each other that they didn’t notice they were being
watched.

Chapter
4

Brad Morgan loosened his
grip a little, relaxing the hand around Chris Riley’s throat. He
watched as oxygen returned to the weasel’s brain, so that his eyes
came into focus. Chris Riley had features that fit his personality
– slimy and unpleasant to look at.

“
The lady
quite clearly told you to leave,” he said, his voice quietly
threatening.

“
You can’t
stop me from seeing my own damn wife.” The sound that came out of
Chris’s throat was a high-pitched whine. There was no conviction in
it.

Brad narrowed his eyes
and worked on his control – what he wanted to do was wipe the floor
with the wife-beating piece of shit.

Imogen Downes, who stood
guarding the entrance to Ashbury House like a restless warrior,
felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She felt no sympathy
for Chris Riley; she’d searched for a shred but came up empty. From
his perspective, or at least from his current position, Brad had to
look like a giant oak – tall, broad-shouldered and immobile. At 6ft
4, he towered over Chris, but it was his quiet confidence that
intimidated.

“
Let’s start
with what I can do,” Brad said in that quiet, authoritative tone
Imogen knew well. “I can hurt you – a lot. That’s exactly what’s
going to happen if you come back here uninvited.” He turned to
Imogen. “Do you think he’s going to get an invite anytime
soon?”

She smiled without
humour. “Not in this lifetime.”

“
I’m a
personal friend of Miss Downes, and any friend of hers…well you get
the drift. Your wife has no desire to see you, so if I find out
you’ve been bothering my friends again, I won’t be this
polite.”

“
You have
your fucking hand around my throat,” Chris choked out, squirming
without much effort.