Free Sins of the Father by Melissa Barker-Simpson Page A

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