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

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.
    He watched as Alicia
tried to find a way to hug Jack without hurting something. She
settled on laying her forehead against the bandages that covered
his.
    “ You look a
little better,” she said, moving to take his hand.
    “ Say that
again and my body might listen.”
    Brad couldn’t help
smiling. He’d been there before; when every part of his body ached
so much he’d felt trapped inside a broken machine. Maybe that
wasn’t exactly how Jack felt, but it was close enough.
    Alicia pulled a funny
face as she repeated her