Sins of the Father (9 page)

“
Alicia
received a package and I’d like someone to check it over. How’re
you fixed?”

“
What no
preamble? We’re cutting out the pleasantries
completely?”

Brad ignored him. “I have
a hunch this is the next stage in his plan.”

He heard the bounce of
keys, and saw that Kelvin was reading something from a different
screen. After a moment, he turned back to the camera. “Okay, I’ll
bring the equipment over as soon as. How’s it going so
far?”

“
Not
great.”

“
Better than
I expected.” Kelvin grinned – his image spiked for a moment when he
turned to respond to someone in the background.

“
And the
jokes just keep coming. See you soon.”

“
Later.”

Brad closed his system
and sat back to drink cold coffee. His observations so far told him
the crew were harmless enough. The only person he hadn’t decided
about was the dialect coach, a man named Thomas Morley. There was
something about the man he didn’t like; something felt off about
the way his eyes darted around. He avoided eye contact in a way
that said to Brad he had something to hide.

He searched the lot,
trying to locate him. It was possible he was working with a member
of the cast; he’d seen him talking to the script supervisor. The
mental to do list in his head was getting longer, but he made
catching up with Thomas Morley a priority.

Chapter
7

Alicia stood under the
cold spray, revelling in the way it cooled her skin. She was on a
deadline so she didn’t have time to waste languishing in the
shower. First on her list was a visit to her brother, but she’d
already convinced herself a few extra minutes wouldn’t
hurt.

The fact that Brad was
out there somewhere, made her stomach flutter nervously. She could
see him standing to attention like a sentry on guard; he had a
quiet strength about him that she admired.

When she was tempted to
stretch her few minutes into several more, she turned off the
shower and reached for a towel. Without the sound of running water
to mask the sound, she could hear her mobile chirping away in the
other room. It was her private line, so her mind automatically
jumped to Jack and had her rushing through to pick it
up.

She didn’t even look at
the display. “Hello?”

“
Hello,
Alicia.”

Her heart rammed hard
against her chest. The voice was artificial, a synthesised replica
of the real thing. It didn’t take a genius to guess who it was.
“What do you want?” She was surprised at how level her voice
sounded.

“
So much for
the Gladstone charm I’ve read so much about. Did you like your
gift? I put a lot of thought into it.”

Her heart kicked up a
notch – Brad had been right about the parcel. She dug deep to find
the anger disguising itself as a hard ball in her stomach. It
wouldn’t do to give the sick son of a bitch a platform for his
dramatics.

“
Got to
hell.” She slammed the phone shut, feeling good about regaining
some of the control. ‘See how you like this,’ she muttered and
ripped the battery out. It was satisfying to imagine his
frustration when he called back. The annoyingly pithy tone
informing him she was unreachable had to hurt a little.

With forced calm, she
walked to the bedroom and threw on a pair of jeans and an old
sweatshirt. The adrenaline was starting to work its way through her
system. It made her hands unsteady, so instead of pulling her hair
back she ran a comb through it as she headed for the
door.

As she pulled it towards
her, Brad was on the other side about to rap his knuckles on the
smooth surface. It caught them both by surprise - Alicia with one
foot posed to exit and Brad’s fist suspended in mid-air.

“
We…”

“
I…”

The laugh escaped her
before she could stop it; she was feeling a little giddy. “You
first.”

It took him a moment to
form a coherent sentence. He was mesmerised by the way she looked,
it never stopped taking him by surprise. Her hair was damp and hung
around her shoulders in silky waves. The image of her in the shower
was as distracting as hell.

“
We scanned
the parcel. I thought you’d like to know.”

“
It’s from
him, or at least I think it’s a him...the voice was disguised. It
sounded like a man.” Alicia was embarrassed to find herself
babbling.

She watched the storm
play across his face, fascinated by the speed in which he
controlled it. “He called you?”

“
Yes, he rang
to brag about the gift, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction.
Hang on.” She ducked back inside to retrieve her phone. “It’s my
private line, so I have no idea how he got his hands on the
number.” She passed him the phone.

“
There’s a
model of some kind inside the box. We detected a toy car, and
judging from the dimensions it’s probably a replica of your own.
There are no electrical components or hazardous materials, so it’s
safe to open.” He waited for her to secure the lock, a recent
precaution, before leading her across set. “I have a make-shift
office set up if you want to take a look. My partner, Kelvin
Fairchild, has given the all clear.”

“
I’m tempted
to destroy it, but I have to admit I’m curious.”

His responding grin was
infectious; it gave her a feeling of alliance. She watched with
interest when he replaced the battery in her phone and began
punching numbers; his long fingers gliding with a familiar ease
over the keypad. After a brief scan of the screen, he dismantled it
again and dropped it into his pocket before retrieving his
own.

“
Hello,
Cherie. I need a favour. Yes, I know. All in good time, learn a
little patience.”

Alicia surmised he was
talking to a member of his team. He was actually using a hands free
device she hadn’t noticed. His hair fell over his ears, cleverly
disguising the equipment - to an observer it would appear that he
was talking to her. She listened as he read out her mobile
number.

“
I need you
to put a trace on a call. Yes, it just came in. Okay, sure,
thanks.” He looked across at Alicia. “Susannah will inform Abe
about the breach in protocol. There has to be some reason the
package made its way to you without going through normal
channels.”

She could only nod; she
was already writing how the scene would play out. It was a
habit.

They had arrived at the
building which housed the dressing rooms. She allowed Brad to lead
her to his own section of the premises. The closer they got the
more her nerves kicked in; she had to quiet the voice that told her
to dispose of the package without opening it.

All thoughts went out of
her head as soon as she spotted the man sitting in one of the easy
chairs. The legs that were stretched out in front of him looked
like the branches of a great tree. His hair was cut close to his
head, military style; it suited him. A pair of light brown eyes,
the colour of honey, stared back at her with some
amusement.

“
Wow, do they
keep all marines in grow bags?” she said, as he got lazily to his
feet and stood towering above her.

“
No, we just
eat our enemies!”

Alicia laughed, liking
him instantly. “You must be Kelvin.”

His lips curved to
display a row of pearly white teeth. “And you, Miss Gladstone, are
lovelier in real life.” He sounded genuine, and she was oddly
touched.

“
See I was
just thinking how much I liked you and you’ve just sealed the
deal.”

Kelvin threw his head
back and whooped with delight. She was his kind of woman. “I like
your style.” He took her hand so he could plant a kiss on her
knuckles. “I’m enchanted.”

Brad stepped forward, and
immediately the space got smaller. “Alicia just got a phone call
from her number one fan, or maybe her number two judging by the
expression on your face.”

“
Easy there,
big guy.” Kelvin threw his friend an impish grin.

Alicia couldn’t stop the
giggle. It was harder when she saw the muscle work in Brad’s jaw,
betraying his irritation.

Kelvin continued
regardless of his friend’s sour expression. “I presume you ordered
a trace?”

“
Yes. It’s
worth a shot.”

“
I agree. But
right now we have other things to deal with. Why don’t we look in
box number one to see what kind of sicko we’re dealing
with?”

Alicia stepped towards
the desk where the package loomed ominously in the centre. The way
they all focused on it acted like a kind of spotlight. The drum
roll she heard in her head was probably overkill.

“
Here, let me
help.” Brad appeared beside her. He’d caught the slight tremor as
she picked at the sellotape. In one swift motion, he dragged a
knife down the centre and pulled back the tabs.

“
Thanks.”
Alicia dug into the packaging and lifted the model out before she
could change her mind. It resembled an A-level art project – one
that didn’t make the grade. She placed it on the desk so they could
all take a better look.

She tried to look at the
board objectively; the sculptor had created a street scene with a
Mini Coupe at the centre of it. The toy car had lost a fight with
some heavy-handed equipment, and judging from the smashed,
half-missing windscreen it had to be a hammer.

The really sickening part
was the small figure lying face down in front of the car. Whoever
created the macabre set piece had clearly wanted to work to scale,
using improvisation to create the illusion. The figure had hair the
colour and style of Alicia’s; she had to swallow a lump in her
throat when she realised the hair was real.

“
This is one
sick son of a…” Kelvin started to say.

“
He’s just
playing at this point.” Brad interrupted. “This is part of the
entertainment. I don’t think he’s got any intention of recreating
the scene.”

“
Yeah, if
we’re talking box of tricks he’s already used that one.” Alicia
tried to cover the quiver in her voice and failed
miserably.

Kelvin reached down to
retrieve his camera. He began snapping away, taking the model at
different angles. “I’ll get these processed. I can take it off your
hands if you like.”

Brad nodded his
agreement. “Thanks, Kel.”

“
Not a
problem.” He swung the camera around his neck and moved to pick it
up.

Alicia found she couldn’t
drag her eyes away. The image was burned into her brain, even when
it was back inside the box she could still see it as clearly as if
it were still on the desk.

“
We should
get to the hospital,” Brad said, laying a hand gently on her arm.
The contact left a trail of heat.

“
Yes, we
probably should.” She shook her head a little to clear it and
turned with a smile to Kelvin. “It was good to meet
you.”

“
It was a
pleasure to meet you too, Alicia.”

Brad gave him a nod as he
moved to open the door for her. “I’ll catch up with you a little
later.”

When they got outside, he
motioned her towards a jeep parked on their right. “You’re about to
meet another member of the team. Justin is, among other things, a
security driver and excellent at losing a tail. His skills will
come in handy if we encounter any press camped on the
perimeter.”

She had to hand it to
them. They ran a very smooth operation. “They’ll be at the hospital
anyway, but I suppose you knew that.”

“
I factored
it in. There’s a private entrance, not completely secure, but
enough to keep most of them out.” He looked to the young man behind
the wheel. “Hi, Justin.”

He was fresh-faced and
eager, and had the whole hero worship thing going. She recognised
the look he gave Brad. “What’s up, BM.”

Alicia suppressed a
smile, trying to decide if the abbreviation was Brad’s initials or
short for ‘big man’, she suspected it was the latter.

“
I preferred
it when you called me sir,” Brad muttered, opening the door for
her.

“
You don’t
mean that.” Justin looked at Alicia through the mirror. “Hello,
Miss Gladstone. I’m a big fan of your work.”

“
Thanks,
Justin. I appreciate that.”

Brad waited until she was
secure before signalling to the car behind them. He heard the
engine gun to life as he climbed in next to Justin. He met Alicia’s
eyes in the rear view mirror briefly. It was enough to settle the
nerves that had been fluttering in her stomach.

Brad’s own stomach was a
mass of tangled knots. If he had been uneasy before, it was nothing
compared to how he was feeling now. To distract himself he listened
to Alicia and Justin’s casual banter. The kid had a way with
people. It was one of the many things he admired about Justin -
everyone was a friend until they proved themselves an
enemy.

***

As soon as Brad walked
into Jack Murphy’s hospital room, it all fell into place. That he
hadn’t figured it out before was just more proof he was off his
game. Of course Jack was Alicia’s brother. He swallowed down the
irritation at not being informed; he was more annoyed that he
hadn’t pieced it together himself.