Sins of the Father (22 page)

Sarah leaned closer to
Alicia, as though Josh could actually hear what she said. “I wonder
how long he practised that.”

‘
Forgive me
for the t-shirt. I couldn’t resist. One of the stunt guys was
wearing one and it just seemed perfect. It wasn’t easy to organise
from here, but as you can see I managed to work something out. I’m
thinking of you, and I’ll buzz you tonight. Big bear hug coming
your way. Bye, hon. Bye, Sarah, and just so you know… this is my
first take. Arrivederci, i miei amici.’

“
Show off,”
Sarah said to the screen.

Alicia smiled as Josh
gave a brief salute and disappeared from view. “It seems I’m not
the only one he knows pretty well.”

“
That was
just a lucky guess.”

“
No. It was
Josh’s knack of winding you up, even when he’s a thousand miles
away.”

Sarah didn’t dispute it.
There was no point. She picked up the t-shirt and held it against
her. “It’s kinda cute.” She started to twirl, dancing at the foot
of the bed in a graceful lone waltz. She stopped abruptly when she
noticed Brad in the doorway.

His eyebrows shot up in
question. “Nice t-shirt.”

“
It’s a
little joke from Josh. You just missed the main show.” She bowed,
still holding the shirt.

Alicia indicated the
stuff spread out across the bed. “It’s his way of making up for the
fact he can’t be here.”

Sarah began to pack
everything back into the box. “Alicia and Josh have a little
competition going, though they deny it. They try to outdo one
another with the most outlandish gift – hence the
t-shirt.”

“
Sounds like
fun.” He turned to Alicia. “I came to let you know that JJ and
Tommy are right outside. I’ll be back soon.”

She nodded, taking in his
ruffled hair. He’d clearly spent too much time raking his fingers
through it. She allowed herself a moment to imagine running her own
through the grooves he’d made. “Thanks. Make sure you get some rest
too.”

He opened his mouth to
respond, but closed it again when he spotted a nurse hovering – she
had a determined look in her eye. Her gaze shot to him. “If you
could give Miss Gladstone a little privacy, the doctor is on his
way.”

He backed out of the room
with his hands in the air, communicating his departure with one
glance in Alicia’s direction. Their eyes met and held – more passed
between them in that moment than all the words spoken. Sarah didn’t
miss it. She’d noticed the way they looked at each other, and she
wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

“
You’ve got
some explaining to do,” she said when they were alone.

“
I don’t know
what you mean.”

“
You know
better than to play the ignorance card. You’re going to tell me
what just happened...” She broke off when the doctor entered,
smiling at him before turning back to Alicia. “As soon as you’ve
spoken to Dr. Hottie over there.”

The doctor moved forward,
sidestepping Sarah when she made room. Alicia caught the small
smile on his face, though he didn’t show any other indication that
he’d heard Sarah’s comment.

As he checked through her
chart and answered Sarah’s questions, Alicia tried to prolong his
visit as long as she could. She wasn’t ready to discuss her growing
feelings for Brad. She’d avoided thinking about it herself, so to
analyse it with her best friend was a little too much like acting
on them.

Chapter
16

Brad spent the better
part of an hour at Lundwood Studios with the investigating team. He
gathered all the information he could, walked himself through
Morley’s plan, and spent a little time in the guy’s
head.

He walked the route
another CPO had taken on the quad, hearing the buzz of the engine
in his memory. The back of Lundwood boasted a conservation site,
land they shared with the local authority. The area made up
Lundwood Forest and incorporated the impressive Narrow Edge Lake.
The jointly sanctioned park, on wasteland at the opposite side of
the lake, drew thousands of visitors every year.

For that reason there was
an additional security team stationed at the rear gate to prevent
people gaining access to a restricted area. The nature path, which
was part of the conservation project, took up part of the land
belonging to the studio. Two large security gates prevented any
visitors from crossing between the boundaries.

Brad checked everything
twice. By the time he walked into Abe’s office he was beginning to
suspect they had underestimated Thomas Morley, or whoever the hell
he was.

“
This guy is
really starting to piss me off,” Abe said without
preamble.

“
Unfortunately, my friend, I think he’s just getting
started.”

There were twelve men
around the long conference table, including Alvin and Frank. Brad
took the only remaining seat.

“
So what have
you got for us, big man?”

He smiled, prepared to
play ball. “I’m sure you already have a preliminary report, but
I’ll sum things up for you. First, our guy is a regular boy scout,
and he came prepared. He had equipment attached to a buoy on our
side of the dam wall, where he stored a grappling hook to get him
across to a boat he had anchored at the other side. Once on land he
chose a path into the forest where he’d stored another bag with a
change of identity.”

“
Which is
where my men found evidence of his character Thomas Morley.” Abe
sat back in his chair, waving for Brad to continue.

“
That’s where
we lost him. Several eyewitnesses saw a jogger cutting through the
park at roughly the same time, which indicates that he opted for an
easy cover – baseball cap pulled low over his face, tracksuit and
runners. The cap would have covered most of his hair and any
moisture would be put down to physical exertion.”

“
So we have
squat,” Frank said, looking like he desperately wanted to crush
something.

“
I’m sure
forensics will pull something out of the bag. In the meantime we
need to discuss security detail.”

Abe pushed a piece of
paper across the table. “I’m way ahead of you.” He grinned. “Well,
okay, I’m something on a par, but I’m sure you’ll agree with the
new plan.”

Brad scanned the
schedule. He noticed that in the interest of shared resources, Abe
had set aside personnel to be at Kelvin’s disposal. Brad was
assigned lead officer for the residential team at Burton House, and
Abe had increased the detail to incorporate the added
risk.

“
That about
covers it,” he said, pushing the paper back across the table. “But
I want Susannah in the loop. She can’t be beaten on coordination
and I need her onboard.”

“
Of course -
she is the oracle, after all.”

Brad squinted at him,
trying to figure out what he was hiding. “She’s been here, hasn’t
she?”

“
Not in a
physical sense. But she’s been the voice in my head for a few
hours.” Abe laughed heartily, taking in his team with a sweeping
glance. “That’s it for now, gentlemen. I’ll see you for the next
hoo-ha.”

Frank turned to Brad with
a sardonic expression. “It’s his new word. We keep trying to tell
him it doesn’t quite fit what we do here. But he likes the sound of
it, so what can you do?”

Brad’s grin was quick and
genuine. “There’ve been many occasions when Abe’s colourful
language has brightened a somewhat difficult situation.” He turned
to Abe. “But I’m not sure about that term, friend, it reminds me
of-”

“
Lady parts?”
Abe winked; completely unfazed by the turn in
conversation.

Alvin roared with
laughter at Brad’s expression. “And this from our fearless leader –
it’s tough to beat that level of maturity.”

“
All right,
get out of here,” Abe said, flicking something across the table
that looked like a peanut.

Brad shook his head,
aiming for derision, but only managing reverence. There had been a
time when he’d almost joined forces with AD Securities. Abe had a
team of over one hundred CPOs. They were allocated to ten senior
officers, each responsible for their own team. AD Securities held
most of the major contracts. He’d served with Abe at the start of
his career, and owed him his life. Not that Abe saw it that
way.

When he was discharged
from the marines, and Brad toyed with the idea of security work,
Abe wanted to bring him on board. In the end, he’d established his
own unit – his family. AD Securities had trained most of their
reserves. They were like an extended family that Morgan and
Fairchild got to bank on from time to time. There were also the
occasions when Abe requested their services specifically. It wasn’t
usual practice for agencies to combine forces, but then there was
nothing typical about Abe Donovan. He was one of the best men Brad
knew, and he’d known some great men.

Their alliance was one
they both counted on, one that couldn’t be broken by politics or
circumstance. They were in the job for the same reasons, no matter
which organisation they worked for - their ultimate goal was to
protect and to serve.

“
What’re you
thinking about, big man?”

He blinked and looked
across at Abe. The rest of his crew were starting to pack up and
move out. “Just that it’s good to be sharing the field
again.”

A sly expression crossed
Abe’s face. “We could join forces permanently. It might be
fun.”

“
I’m sure it
would be. But I said I enjoyed working together. I didn’t say I
wanted to see your sorry ass every day.”

“
Okay, we’ll
break you in gently. What about joining the training
team?”

Brad snorted, only
slightly impressed that Abe had managed to guide him down this
road.

“
You there,
sugar?”

He held up a hand when
Susannah spoke in his ear. “Give me a minute, Suez. I’m just
finishing up with Abe.” Brad shrugged when one of Abe’s eyebrows
rose. “I guess we’ll have to continue this discussion another time.
I’ll keep in touch,” he said, tapping his earpiece.

They stood in unison.
“Talk to Kel,” Abe said, extending his hand for an age-old ritual
Brad had all but forgotten.

He shook his head. “We
haven’t done that for years.”

“
You were the
one to get all misty-eyed thinking about the past.”

“
I did not go
misty-eyed.”

“
Humour me -
for old-time’s sake.”

Brad chuckled softly and
put his hand into Abe’s, following through with a handshake he
hadn’t practiced in over fifteen years, but somehow remembered. He
was still shaking his head when he walked out of the
office.

“
Talk to
Kel,” Abe shouted after him. He raised his hand in acknowledgement,
half expecting an echo of the request in his ear. All was silent so
he took that as a good sign and caught up with Susannah as he
headed back to the hospital.

Kelvin was waiting for
him when he entered the ward. “How’d it go?”

“
Abe was very
accommodating. He gave me lead on the residential team. Basically
he has our back on this.”

“
I could have
told you that and I wasn’t in the meeting. I meant the studio. Do
we have anything new?”

“
Not yet. But
this guy just made himself a whole heap of trouble.”

Kelvin grinned. “Okay,
action man. Have you got it from here?”

“
Meaning can
I keep it together considering how I feel about her?”

“
Don’t put
words in my mouth. You need to do something to get rid of that
tension.”

His laugh was bordering
on wicked when he caught the gleam in Brad’s eye. “And stop with
the pictures in my head.” That earned him an eye roll, but Brad
couldn’t stop the slow smile.

They walked the corridor
in companionable silence. “Abe wants us to join his training team,”
Brad said, knowing what his partner’s response would be.

“
We’re not
made for the classroom. Besides, we teach plenty on the
job.”

“
I had to
ask.”

As they rounded the
corner, Tommy and JJ came into view. “And you did. Let’s catch up
with the boys and get this show on the road.” He looked over at
Brad when he heard the rumble in his throat – amusement he couldn’t
hold back. “What?”

“
Nothing,” he
said, thinking about Abe’s new word. “You had to be
there.”

Kelvin smiled; a
lop-sided effort. “Please don’t tell me he’s still using that old
favourite.”

I can’t
get anything past you, can I?
“You rock, Kel, you know that, right?”

“
Absolutely,
and don’t you forget it.”

***

“
Put the
glasses on, Al. If you don’t, one look at that nicely coloured work
of art and Josh will be on the first plane home.”

Alicia put her shades on
with a rueful look. “Just take the photo, Jack.”