Sins of the Father (13 page)

Brad tipped his head back
and laughed, long and hard. “How come you always know what we’re
thinking?”

“
It’s my job
to know. If there’s one thing I’m an expert on it’s my boys.
Besides, Kel hasn’t stopped talking about how beautiful she is, and
you only get this tense when you’re distracted about something.”
She smiled in that secret way of hers. “She isn’t what you
expected, is she?”

“
No. She’s
nothing like I expected.” He sobered a little, thinking about the
way he’d treated her.

“
It’s not
your fault, you know. That woman is poison. You’re not immune to
poison, Bradley.”

He knew immediately who
she was talking about. “Let’s not let Helen spoil our fun. Why
don’t you guys fill me in on what’s happening in the real
world.

JJ’s smile was sly. “I
only came to rub shoulders with my famous new buddy.” He reached
into his jacket, which he’d flung across the arm of the couch, and
brought out a two-page spread.

Brad groaned when he saw
the picture. “They’re sneaky bastards, I’ll give them
that.”

“
Point is, if
a reporter can get in to take that shot, who else can?”

Susannah turned to
Kelvin, already drawing up a schematic of the studios in her head.
“Could they have taken it with a telephoto lens?”

“
Ask JJ, you
know he’s scoped it out already.”

JJ grinned - they knew he
viewed most things as a problem for him to fix. “Okay, so I might
have taken a quick look on my way in.”

“
And reported
everything to Abe when you made your observations,” Brad said,
watching him over the neck of the bottle.

“
Okay, okay.
So I consulted some.” He held up his hands. “It’s feasible that in
some areas of the studio you can get a panoramic shot. The place is
backed onto a forest so if you’re willing to climb, after you’ve
already trespassed on private land, you’d get a decent shot
in.”

“
I sense a
‘but’ coming on,” Brad prompted, to hurry him along.

“
But it’s not
possible for someone to take that picture without being somewhere
in this zone.” He nodded towards the paper. “All buildings
overlooking that area of the stage belong to post-production, so
whoever got in took it from inside one of these.”

JJ took out a folded A4
sheet from his jeans pocket and knelt to straighten it out on the
floor. He had drawn the buildings surrounding the area where Brad
and Alicia were captured for print. They were represented by stick
people to show their position; four crosses marked the possible
location of the photographer.

“
Jesus,”
Kelvin said, letting out a surprised laugh. “How long did it take
to gather that?”

“
I roped Abe
in, so not too long.”

“
He has an
eye for these things,” Susannah said, slapping JJ on the shoulder.
“A camera’s a little different to a sniper rifle though,
sugar.”

JJ rolled his eyes.
“There’s another possibility, and it’s the one Abe gives most
credit.”

“
That someone
paid a member of staff to take the shot?” Brad was nodding his
agreement.

“
Absolutely,
Abe just needs to nip it in the bud.”

“
Until next
time,” Kelvin said with a hint of resignation.

Brad drained the rest of
his drink to give himself time to think. “Is there anything else I
should know about before the team briefing?”

“
Nothing,
except to fill you in on the protection detail we assigned to Jack
Murphy. I’ll be posted at the hospital first thing. So we’ll both
be conference calling the gang for our daily meeting.” Kelvin
glanced across at Susannah. “Unless we bring out the mobile command
unit and do it that way.”

“
We could do
that.” She shrugged and waited for Brad’s take.

“
Let’s do
it,” Brad said, distracted by JJ’s silly grin at mention of his
favourite toy.

The
Mission
Impossible
alert tone on JJ’s
phone seemed to punctuate his excitement. “That signals a shift
change, so I’m on.” He grabbed for his jacket on his way to the
door. “Sorry, guys, I’ve got to bounce.”

Their harmonious salute
made him chuckle.

“
Later.”

No sooner had the door
closed it was opening again. The first thing they saw was a giant
pizza box, followed by Abe Donovan’s smiling face.

“
I’ll make it
up to you,” he shouted after JJ, who they could still hear
grumbling in the hall.

Abe shut the sound out
and held up his offering. “Hey, guys, I come bearing
gifts.”

“
Then you’re
welcome here, friend.” Brad jumped up so he could relieve him of
the goods.

By the time the box was
opened and the pizza shared out, Abe had a drink in his hand. The
four tucked in with relish, chatting easily about nothing in
particular. When their stomachs were full and they’d set the world
to rights, Abe left to make sure JJ was in position before
returning to his own post.

***

Alicia’s already foul
mood plummeted further when she realised she was out of coffee. She
missed her morning rendezvous with Sarah, despite the torture
chamber they spent the first part of their day in. Her saving grace
would no doubt be the coffee shop at the other side of Stuart’s
office. If she jogged it would lessen the guilt of not
exercising.

When
she emerged from her trailer she was surprised to see the young man
stood to attention outside – a soldier on patrol. She put two and
two together and guessed he was a member of Brad’s team. She just
didn’t know which one. If she were casting for the role of
GI Joe
he would be perfect. His dark blond hair was sporting
a buzz cut, his build athletic and lean – though she could tell he
was packing some muscle. He wasn’t as tall as Kelvin or Brad but he
was still above average and towered over her.

“
Good
morning, Miss Gladstone. I’m Jonathan Jukes, part of the team at
Morgan and Fairchild.” He smiled sheepishly. “And can I just get
this out of my system...wow!”

She chuckled at the last
comment. “It’s nice to meet you, Jonathan. Call me Alicia. Miss
Gladstone sounds like a school mistress, or something I drag out
for Sunday best.”

The star-struck
expression dimmed a little when he realised she was human – his
grin was genuine and quite charming. “Only if you call me
JJ.”

“
Then JJ it
is.” She looked at her watch, pleased it was only 5.30am. “I was
going to jog over for coffee because it appears I’m out and I
wouldn’t wish this mood on anybody.”

“
I could use
a jog.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and tapped a few
keys.

She looked at him with
interest. “Are you reporting we’re on the move? How am I referred
to?”

“
You would be
the principal, but I like to keep it simple.” He turned his screen
so she could read the message. Two for coffee. See you in a
few.

“
Concise. I
like it.”

JJ smiled as he put the
phone away. “How about we go grab that caffeine so you can start
the day in a drug-induced splendour?”

“
Yes, but
that’s all you’re allowed to say about my drug of choice. I’ve
enough people telling me to cut down.” She started jogging at a
gentle pace.

JJ stepped in beside her.
“Ouch! I see what you mean about the mood.”

The surprised laugh had
him chuckling along with her. He was oddly nervous, meeting her for
the first time, but masked his discomfort with humour.

“
You’re
totally different to Brad. I kind of assumed you’d approach the
role in a similar way. Sorry if that’s stereotyping.” She was
enjoying the exercise and the company.

“
I think
there’s an element of flexibility. Although we work to a certain
code, we pick up cues from the client to judge how they work. A lot
of its personality too; Brad’s strong silent bit is who he is – it
can be pretty scary when he wants it to be.”

Alicia thought about
Brad’s presence so far. “I’ve been a little hard on him - trying to
get him to open up. When you spend so much time with someone it
seems only right to get to know them a little.”

“
The big man
can cope. It’s not every day you get to rub shoulders with the rich
and famous. It’s a job. But it has its perks.”

She grunted as they
quickened their pace a little. Both were silent until they reached
the coffee shop.

Alicia ordered two vats
of Kenya’s finest and they sat at one of the tables to enjoy
it.

The set was already
coming to life, as technicians and camera crew prepared for the day
ahead.

“
So, what’s
your story, JJ?” she asked between casual greetings to the
crew.

“
Nothing
printable.”

The response surprised
her. He’d been friendly and open so far. “That just makes you sound
more interesting.”

“
Perhaps
that’s my intention - to remain a man of mystery.”

“
No, I think
that’s something you have in common with Brad. The personal is off
limits.”

He put his head to one
side and studied her for a moment. “I imagine it’s difficult when
everyone knows your business.”

Alicia smiled, nodding
her head in acknowledgement. “Which is a really polite way of
telling me I haven’t earned the right to know about yours. I
apologise, I ask a lot of questions. It’s my nature.”

JJ shrugged off the
apology; it wasn’t unusual for people to be curious. “That’s okay -
professionalism is the only thing stopping me from firing a few
questions in your direction.”

“
If you were
allowed to ask one question what would it be?”

“
I imagine
nothing original. But from a personal standpoint I’ve always been
curious about Gray Jackson. What was he like? I’m a huge fan of his
work.” The questions popped into his head uninvited and he was
sorry for it when her eyes began to cloud. “But to ask a more
appropriate question – why don’t you have a regular security
detail?”

“
Because I
don’t need one, or I didn’t until now. There’s security on site and
if I need protection at major events, Abe deals with that too.” She
shrugged. “I spend my day surrounded by people. By the end of it, I
just want to be normal. I know that doesn’t seem possible, but I
try.”

“
Fair
enough.”

Alicia took a deep
breath. “To answer your first question… Gray was the best. He was
kind, down-to-earth and genuine. He cared about people as much as
he cared about entertaining them. It sounds trite, but he just
wanted to make people happy.”

“
It’s clear
he achieved that goal.”

She smiled, and this time
there was no sadness. “He showed me the meaning of happiness. He
taught me how to trust.”

“
I like to
have movie days. I have his entire collection on disc,” JJ
admitted. He wanted to lighten the mood a little.

“
Me too.” She
drained her cup and stood, needing to be on the move before she
sank into a familiar melancholy. “But right now I need to get back
so I can prepare for the shoot. Thanks for the company.”

JJ was beside her in a
moment. “Are we jogging back or is it a caffeine fuelled
stroll?”

“
Let’s go for
the jog. I’m trying to appease my guilt for cutting gym
class.”

“
Let’s do
it.”

JJ led the way. She
wasn’t surprised he knew the right path - scoping out his
environment was part of the job. It was a pleasant run until they
collided with Brad on his own route.

He jogged alongside them
for a few moments, which would have been fine if it wasn’t so
distracting. She tried hard not to stare, but he looked too good in
his combats and t-shirt. He’d donned a baseball cap with the teams
logo emblazoned on the peak. Not that she paid it too much
attention when she could see every muscle working in his arms as he
ran.

The brief nod he threw in
her direction made her knees go weak. She should have felt anger
that he didn’t speak to her directly, but all she wanted was a cool
shower. He was the reason she hadn’t slept - the way the morning
was going her fantasies would plague the waking hours
too.

Chapter 10

Brad wiped his face on a
towel and took a long swig of water. The run was supposed to relax
him, but seeing Alicia hadn’t done anything for the tension in his
body.

He walked towards the
shower, flexing his overstretched muscles in a half-hearted attempt
at cool down. The sound of his phone stopped him in his
tracks.

‘
Damn it,’ he
muttered, hovering for a second of indecision before he made his
choice. The phone chirped to itself like an incessant bird until he
drowned it out with the sound of running water.

He wasn’t a man to linger
when he had a job to do; he was dressed and ready for duty in less
than fourteen minutes. By that time, his phone has started its
unhappy chirping again.