“Do you know who took ownership of the property?” Detective Potts asked, itching to be done with the questioning so he could leave.
“I’m not sure. They pulled it down a few years ago. I think it’s a car park now.” Helen’s voice turned wistful. She showed more compassion for an old theatre than she did for Johnny Sommers.
“Well, thank you for your time, we appreciate it.” He was already on his feet – the first man Brad knew who saw through her act. Maybe she’s losing her touch.
“You’re leaving so soon?” Her face held a petulant look. They were spoiling her fun.
“We have a number of other leads to follow, Mrs Morgan. Thanks again.”
Detective Potts moved forward before she could object again. He’d almost made it to the door before she rushed past him to pull it open. “If I can be of any further assistance, Detective, don’t hesitate to call. And, don’t be a stranger, Bradley,” she added, closing the door firmly behind them.
The cheap shot made him smile. She was definitely losing her touch. Beside him, Potts sucked in a lungful of air and let it out on a long sigh.
Brad chuckled, slapping Potts on the shoulder. “Tell me about it, buddy.”
As they walked back to the car in silence, Brad could almost hear the curtain twitching behind him.
***
Alicia checked her appearance in the hallway mirror. She would pass. Nothing fazed Jerry. She turned when the bouquet of flowers caught her attention. They were a lovely touch, and brightened the hallway with their fresh and easy grace. It didn’t stop there. A team of people had swooped in, each armed with a vase of flowers and knowing exactly how to draw the eye, spread them around the west wing.
The mobile she’d carried with her since Stuart’s visit chirped happily in her pocket. She flipped the receiver, hoping it was him.
“Listen very carefully, and don’t alert anyone to this call.” The voice sent a chill right down to her toes. He was no longer using a masking device. His own voice sounded worse than the machine.
“What do you want?” Her eyes darted to JJ who, was pretending to read a newspaper, despite being on full alert.
“Can I count on you, Alicia? Your friend’s life depends on it.”
“What do you mean?” She tried to keep the edge from her voice, but it was difficult to pull off when she was full of disgust.
“You’re an actress, so start acting like one, or my new buddy Stuart here will pay the price.”
She turned away so that JJ couldn’t see her face. Actor or not, there was no way she could hide the terror. “I’ve heard it all before.” She was surprised at how level her voice sounded.
“That’s better. Now, very soon I’m going to be paying you a visit. You’ll know who I am as soon as you see me, but you can’t blow my cover. That is vitally important, Alicia. Do you understand?”
“I’m not stupid.”
“Very good, I’m impressed. Maybe you can act after all.” He gave a malicious little chuckle. “Don’t be tempted to tell anyone about this call. If I have any suspicions, I’ll kill him. If I don’t get my way, I’ll kill him, so don’t even think about double crossing me.”
“I can follow simple instructions.” She felt sick. With an effort, she tried to loosen her shoulders. JJ was sharp; he’d know something was off by her body language alone.
“I’ll see you soon, Alicia. Oh, and someone wants to talk to you.”
“Al, don’t-” Stuart’s urgent whisper was cut off when the line went dead. It took a moment, but she willed back the tears and tried to inject a little venom into her voice.
“Listen, Helen, I don’t care what you did to help, I don’t want you calling me anymore. That’s not the point. Goodbye.”
It was a risk, especially if JJ checked in with Brad, but she intended to do everything she could to keep Stuart alive.
She turned back to JJ with a bright smile. “Well, that was pleasant.” The eye roll was a nice touch. “I need caffeine to calm my nerves. Do you fancy a cup?”
JJ stood immediately. “You know me - I never refuse coffee and the company of a beautiful woman.”
“Two beautiful women,” Sarah said coming down the staircase.
“Then that’s three cups, coming right up.” Alicia couldn’t look at her friend, not yet. She knew her too well and she wasn’t that good an actress.
Sarah didn’t seem to notice. She hung back with JJ, complaining that Betty wasn’t there to take better care of them. Alicia knew she’d have to participate – Sarah would be suspicious if not. But there were unshed tears stinging her eyes and a burning ache in her throat. She didn’t know how long she’d be able to keep it up.
***
As Alicia was busy playing the role of her life, Paul Meeks was initiating the next stage of his plan. The beauty of it was they all thought him incapable of such measures. He’d plotted right under their noses, and they were blind to such possibilities. They had absolutely no idea what he was capable of, what the months of planning, and years of hatred could do to a man. It wasn’t going to be easy. Burton House was a formidable place. The security was tight, and the men trained to protect the woman he had every intention of snatching.
He pulled up to the gate of the great house, almost giddy with excitement. To the men on guard duty he looked like television personality Larry Edwards – his own mother would struggle to tell the difference.
The excitement dulled a little when they wasted precious time on their security checks. It really wasn’t necessary; they were as clueless as the rest of them. He pushed aside the urge to show them just how stupid and instead wound down the window – his practised smile in place.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I believe Miss Gladstone is expecting me.” He was ready for the suspicion that crossed the point guard’s face. “My crew are right behind me, they got held up.” That was his first card and relied on their ignorance, he had several more up his sleeve if they turned out to be smarter than they looked. The real Larry Edwards didn’t drive anywhere - he had an army of people doing his bidding. They clearly didn’t know that.
“No problem, Mr Edwards, I’ll let the house know you’ve arrived.”
“Much obliged.”
He closed the window with a snap, anxious to be on his way. It was a stroke of luck the bodyguard wasn’t on site. The guy was usually glued to Alicia’s side. Fortunately, for Paul he’d finally come unstuck. Brad Morgan posed the biggest obstacle because he was under her spell. The poor sap probably had it in his head her life was worth dying for. Paul was almost sad it wouldn’t come to that.
He allowed himself a moment to be impressed by the sheer size of Burton House. The photographs didn’t do it justice. If he’d been a real visitor, he’d have taken some time to admire the grounds.
He parked as close to the entrance as he dared, making sure he could conceal the nasty surprise he had in store. He was just stepping from the car when he spotted Sarah approaching. The blast of excitement, a stunning adrenalin rush, shot through his system. He was pumped.
“Hi, Larry, it’s wonderful…” The expression on her face was comical. It seemed to scream, ‘something’s wrong with this picture’. “You’re not Larry, you’re-”
Her body crumpled to the ground before she could finish the rest. Paul looked up at Joe Wood, the bear posing as a member of the security team. It had taken seconds for him to disable Alicia’s assistant. No dramatic blow to the head for Joe. He’d barely moved – just a flick of the wrist and she was out for the count.
“Impressive,” Paul said, looking down at Sarah with a sneer. “Get her out of here, we need to get moving.”
Joe nodded once, but Paul couldn’t tell if that was in response to his request or to summon his partner, Duncan. Within seconds, the smaller man was stepping into position and helping to lift Sarah off the ground.
He didn’t see where they took her, but wherever it was they were back in less than a minute.
Paul moved towar
ds the front door, flanked now by his very own personal protection.
“Give me a minute,” he said under his breath. The men stilled at once, used to following orders.
He closed his eyes, concentrating now on becoming the man he needed to be. It took only a moment to centre his energy, giving him the strength to push open the door and walk onto his stage.
“Alicia, darling…where are you, lovely girl?”
Where she was, was having coffee with JJ in the kitchen. Somehow, she managed to prevent the mouthful from choking her, or worse showering JJ. She couldn’t quite hide the surprise.
The voice was pretty good, but it wasn’t Larry Edwards. She knew that without having to look. Despite the accent, which was almost perfect, the tone was off. More importantly, Larry would never speak to her that way. He was here. It was time to face the music.
It was difficult to control her shaking legs, but picturing Stuart gave her the motivation she needed to get to her feet. It was also what stopped her from running in the opposite direction.
Working up a smile and straightening her shoulders, she walked towards her worst nightmare. With each step, she prayed Sarah wouldn’t come jogging down the stairs. Her friend was somewhere dealing with last minute preparations.
Paul watched her approach with a mixture of repulsion and loathing. He still managed a little admiration for the way she was holding it together. He was also acutely aware of the man behind her. He recognised him as Jonathan Jukes, or JJ as he preferred. His eyes were as keen as a hawk.
For the first time Paul felt a trickle of fear. He knew things could turn upside down in a heartbeat, despite his meticulous planning. It was why he had a backup plan.
“Larry, it’s been a long time,” Alicia said, having difficulty making her arms work to shake his hand. He saved her the trouble by giving her a rough hug that was just a little bit too tight. “Sarah will just be a minute. She’s dealing with a phone call.”
JJ watched the exchange with a frown. Something was bothering Alicia, he could see the tension in her shoulders. But it wasn’t just that. There was something off about the situation. He’d heard stories about Larry’s legendary crew, and whether they were true or not, it was unusual for him to arrive alone. He was suddenly glad of the additional security in the house.
‘What am I missing?’ he thought as he tapped his two-way.
He didn’t have time to puzzle it out, because Larry was moving with Alicia towards the sitting room.
JJ felt rather than heard the two guards falling into position behind him. Their presence should have made him feel supported but he couldn’t dismiss what the team affectionately called his spidey sense. It was on full alert.
It occurred to him, as he felt the short, sharp pain in his skull, that he had turned his back on the very people who should have been protecting it. Darkness came quickly, pulling him in, but not before he’d called out to Alicia. His last thought as he saw her move towards him was of failure.
Alicia screamed when she heard the crack, turning instantly at the sound of her name. She didn’t see the gun one of the guards was still holding as she rushed instinctively to JJ’s aid. The adrenalin was the only thing that prevented them both from falling to the floor as she caught him. The anger pumped through her blood as she lowered him down.
“How could you do that? You’re supposed to be the good guys?” She screeched at the guards; men she thought she could trust. “And you, you son of a bitch. What have you done to Stuart?”
Paul laughed at her display, enjoying himself immensely. “You were marvellous, my dear. Bravo.”
“Go to hell.” Alicia jumped to her feet and would have rushed towards him with her teeth bared if the treacherous lapdog hadn’t held her back.
“Now don’t overdo it, you’ll ruin the scene.” He nodded at the two men. “Come now, I may need some of that passion to get us out of here.”
The fear seeped its way back into her body now that the adrenalin was on its way out. The guards were far from gentle as they escorted her to the door. She only had time to glance at JJ’s unconscious form and hope there was no permanent damage, before one of the goons dragged her out, and dumped her unceremoniously into a waiting vehicle.
Paul jumped in beside her, his smile triumphant. If it wasn’t for Stuart she knew she’d be doing everything in her power to wipe that smug look off his face.
It was easy to see what put it there. Everything was going like clockwork – all because two men on the team had betrayed the very network they were supposed to be a part of.
She watched as they pulled in front of Paul’s car, positioning themselves so they were the head vehicle to arrive at the gate, and it only added insult to injury, that their car belonged to Morgan and Fairchild.
Alicia wasn’t surprised when the gate began to swing open. The men on duty realised at the last minute that something was wrong. But it was too late.
She tuned out the commotion they left behind. She had no doubt Paul had an escape planned.
“Where are you keeping Stuart? I want to see him,” she said. Praying her friend wasn’t already dead.
The laugh that boomed around the car surprised her, it sounded almost normal.
“I almost forgot about that.” He pulled off the road to where another vehicle was waiting. “Al, don’t,” he said on a whisper, distorting Stuart’s voice enough in anguish that she understood her mistake. The realisation that he’d fooled her by imitating a member of her own family was like a physical blow.
“I suppose I should thank you. If you hadn’t fallen for the bluff, my plan wouldn’t have worked out this well.”
“What?” Her mind reeled from the notion she could have prevented everything that had happened.
“I’m a lot like you really, I’ve had no formal training, but when it comes right down to it – we’re pretty good.” He laughed again as she choked out a string of profanities.
“You son of a bitch.”
“You’ve used that line.”
He reached over to snatch her phone out of her top pocket. “We need to get moving,” he said, already breaking the phone apart.
Alicia looked around them helplessly. There was nowhere to run. If she tried, he would probably kill her now. She couldn’t decide if that was better than what he had in store.
As she followed him to the other car, it was hard not to think about his plans. She knew Brad and his team would find her eventually - that was a certainty. What she didn’t know was whether they’d be too late.
Chapter 23
Brad felt the blow in every part of his arm. The vibration travelled up his shoulder, making his head ring. He didn’t know how long he’d been punching the bag, he just knew he couldn’t stop or the rage would destroy him.
Kelvin found him an hour later, hugging the bag - his body spent from the exertion. “JJ wants to see us.”
Brad managed to stand upright, with some effort, and turn towards Kel. “Give me five minutes to clean up.”
“I’ll wait.” He hesitated for just a moment, trying to gauge his mood. “You need to talk to him. He’s shouldering the responsibility for what happened, and that’s not right.”
“I know who’s responsible,” Brad snapped. When Kelvin didn’t bite, he paused before pushing into the shower room. “Okay, I’ll talk to him.”
Kelvin watched the door swing to and fro, allowing the rhythmic beat to steady his own pulse rate. It was no surprise to him that Brad was willing to take everything on those broad shoulders. They’d been friends a long time so he also knew he wouldn’t listen to reason; not until he stopped thinking with his heart.
They all felt the betrayal – extended or not, they were a team. They had become accustomed to standing beside colleagues who would go down fighting to save one of their own. It was part of the job, the real possibility that things could go wrong. But they’d never lost anyone before. It stung.
“Okay, let’s go,” Brad said, coming back through the swin
ging door. He’d been less than three minutes.
“Feel any better?”
The slight curve of Brad’s mouth almost passed for a smile. “I still feel like hitting something, only now I don’t have the energy.”
“The day I believe that is the day I roll over, but I’ll take your word for it. I can, and will, send you down here again.”
Brad jabbed him lightly on the arm. “It helped to work off some steam. Relax, my friend. I’m fine.”
Kelvin grunted as they took the lift to the office. “That I don’t believe, but we’ll drop it for now.”
Brad stopped before JJ’s office. “How bad is it?”
“Pretty bad – our Mr Fix It has failed in a fundamental way. He only sees the mistake and can’t get past it. At least that’s where he’s at right now.”
He pushed open the door so that Brad had a clear picture of JJ glued to his computer screen. His hair was matted with dried blood from a head wound. He’d refused to go to a hospital to get it checked out; even his makeshift bandage had been discarded.
Despite the tense line of his shoulders, JJ looked as much like a soldier as the first day they met. Brad decided to use it to his advantage.
It wasn’t until he fully entered the room that he noticed Ellen curled up on JJ’s couch. She’d pulled an all nighter, but being as stubborn as JJ, she’d refused to go home. It didn’t surprise either of them to find her there. She was JJ’s self-proclaimed protector – she wouldn’t leave him when he needed her the most.
JJ glanced across at them but didn’t make eye contact. “Hi guys, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been working with Abe and-”
“JJ, look at me,” Brad said, forcing a patience he didn’t feel. When JJ’s fingers skimmed over the keyboard as though Brad hadn’t spoken, he took another step forward. “I said, look at me, soldier.”
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