Sins of the Father (30 page)

Brad roared with laughter
when she wiggled her brows. She had a way of surprising him. “What
time is Sarah due in?” He cast a glance over his shoulder and felt
a small thrill that they couldn’t see the house. More to the point,
they were beyond the perimeter of a stationed surveillance camera,
unless they moved a few feet.

“
Oh!” Alicia
slapped her forehead in comic fashion. “I completely forgot. Larry
Edwards called. He wants to do the interview this afternoon
instead. He’ll be here with his crew at 3pm.”

“
Okay, I’ll
make sure the guys are expecting him.” He stopped walking and
pulled gently on her arm so that she spun around and landed against
his chest. “I’ll take care of it as soon as I’ve done… this.” He
lowered his mouth to hers, plunging his fingers into her
hair.

Alicia pressed herself
against him, shocked by the ball of lust gathering in her belly.
The needs he stirred in her spread until they clutched, threatening
to consume her.

“
Oh God, I
want you,” he breathed against her mouth.

And just like that she
came undone. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him
backwards, further into the garden. More than once, she lost her
footing, but finally her back hit the cold wall she’d been aiming
for.

“
Alicia...”
Brad was grasping for control. They were out in the open, hidden or
not.

“
Please,
Brad, I want you too. I want you now.”

He groaned against her
mouth. She was everywhere. It was impossible to think, to ignore
the distant voice in his head that told him it was wrong to take
her this way, but he had to have her. He could feel her body
vibrating against him. She wanted him too.

Alicia wound her arms
around his neck and slid her hands into his hair. She was still
reeling from the sudden and violent needs that were wracking her
body. One moment they had been taking a walk in the garden, the
next she wanted to claw at him like an animal. It was a little
frightening.

The hands that were busy
heating the fire inside her suddenly stilled, and Brad tore his
mouth away from hers on a curse. “Alicia… I’ve never wanted anyone
this much in my life, but I can’t do this. I need to be able to
protect you, and I can’t protect you like this.”

The heat vanished, making
her shiver. “I... please step back, I need some air.”

The hurt in her eyes tore
at him. He wanted to tell her how difficult it was, that given a
few more seconds he’d have damned responsibility and taken her
right there. But she wasn’t ready to hear it. The hurt turned to
shame and that was worse somehow.

“
I don’t
normally behave this way,” she said, almost to herself.

“
Alicia,
stop. Look at me.”

Her eyes flicked up to
his, and when she read all that was in them, she didn’t know
whether to laugh or cry. She chose laughter.

Brad simply stared at her
as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“
I can’t
believe we just did that…like a couple of horny
teenagers.”

He grinned at the
description. That was exactly how she made him feel. She never
failed to take him by surprise.

He bent to rest his
forehead against hers. “You make me crazy, so crazy that when I
have you all to myself tonight I’m...” He straightened again,
turning his attention to the path. “Someone’s coming.”

Alicia covered her mouth
with her hand, stifling another giggle at almost being
caught.

He took the other hand
and led her back to the path, just as Sarah came around the corner
with Detective Potts.

“
Good
afternoon, Miss Gladstone,” Potts said, nodding in Brad’s
direction.

“
Hello,
detective, I hope this visit means there’s been a break in the
case?”

“
We may have
a lead.” The detective looked from Brad to Alicia. “Does the name
Johnny Sommers mean anything to you?”

“
No, should
it?” She felt Brad tense beside her.

Potts shook his head.
“Not especially. Perhaps we should go up to the house and I can
tell you what I know.”

Alicia waited for Brad to
say something, to explain his reaction. When he didn’t, she
gestured with her hand. “Let’s go.”

Sarah fell into step
behind her, Potts slightly in front and Brad bringing up the rear.
She resisted the urge to smooth down her hair.

Alicia entered the
kitchen first, gesturing for Potts to take a seat at the long
island in the centre, as she moved to the cupboard. She busied
herself for a few moments collecting her thoughts, as well as the
cups.

“
Can I get
you a drink, detective?”

“
A coffee
would be great.” He sat on a stool and watched her prepare the
coffee. The large machine made him drool in envy, the type that
produced coffee on demand. It would go down a treat at the station,
if he could think of a way to sneak it into the budget.

As she poured, Alicia
glanced briefly at Brad. He was thinking about something, she could
see the way his jaw clenched, a sure sign that something was
bothering him.

“
Okay, tell
me what you’ve found out,” she said, sliding a cup across the
counter.

“
We received
a friendly tip,” Potts began, aiming a smirk in Brad’s direction.
“Involving a young man named Johnny Sommers.”

“
He was one
of your mother’s lovers,” Sarah added, placing a hand on Alicia’s
shoulder.

“
Okay.” She
was proud of the fact her voice didn’t shake, despite the feeling
of dread in her stomach.

The detective sighed a
little at the interruption. “Johnny Sommers was born John Henry
Meeks. He was severely injured in a car accident about fifteen
years ago.”

Alicia sucked in a
breath. “The one Helen was in?”

“
Yes, Helen
Fairfax was also injured in the collision. Johnny Sommers never
fully recovered. He was in a care facility until twelve months
ago.”

She felt a wave a nausea
wash over her. “He died.”

Detective Potts merely
nodded. “His father, a Mr Paul Meeks, financed his care. We’re
hoping to bring him in for questioning in order to pursue a line of
enquiry.”

“
You think
he’s the one?” Her stomach churned uneasily. She’d known it would
all come back to her mother.

“
It’s a
possibility.”

Sarah squeezed Alicia’s
hand. “He disappeared six months ago – went off the rails when his
son died and nobody’s seen him since.”

She ignored the
exasperated look Detective Potts threw in her friend’s direction.
There was something else. She could see it in his face. “What
else?”

He covered the look of
surprise with a smile. It was almost friendly. “We have, of course,
interviewed several people who knew Paul Meeks and could attest to
his behaviour at the time of his son’s death. It appears he
suffered a breakdown following his son’s accident and has been
receiving treatment on and off for years. We have been unable to
question his psychiatrist to work up a profile.” He didn’t normally
divulge so much information about a case, but he suspected Sarah
knew all there was to know about Paul Meeks already. She made it
her business to know. He wasn’t particularly interested in the
how.

“
And by
unable to interview, you mean he or she is dead.”

Again, he nodded, as
though he’d been perfectly clear in the first place. “The official
cause of death is heart failure, but there is enough doubt to
reopen the case.”

Brad felt his temper
rising. He’d shown amazing constraint listening to the way Potts
fumbled his way through the information. He liked the guy well
enough, but he had an odd technique when it came to dealing with a
victim, and it was starting to piss him off. He wanted answers and
he was tired of waiting.

“
Okay, let’s
cut to the chase. It’s more than a possibility Paul Meeks is our
guy, so what do we know about him and how can we get ahead of the
game?”

Detective Potts shot him
a look. “Okay, Morgan, take a seat and I’ll tell you where we’re
at.”

Alicia relaxed to enjoy
the show. There were politics at play that she knew nothing about.
The Detective clearly respected Brad enough to tolerate his
interference; there was a history between them.

“
We’ve
interviewed a number of people, but have been unable to paint a
reliable picture of the man he was after the accident. All we know
for sure is that he spent a few months in a psychiatric facility,
and then basically gave up his previous life to care for his son.
He even moved closer to the care home to make his commute easier.
We didn’t get anything from his work colleagues; he was a ghost,
people worked with him for years and didn’t even know
him.”

“
There is
someone you could talk to. You might even find the answers you’re
looking for.” Brad was riding on an image of choking the
information out of her.

“
I have an
appointment with Ms Fairfax in an hour,” Potts said, a little
smugly. “Care to tag along? You might be useful.”

He only hesitated for a
second. He knew he’d have a better chance of getting what they
needed from her, because he knew exactly which buttons to press.
“I’ll make the arrangements and update the team. Give me twenty
minutes.” He saw the concern on Alicia’s face, and was about to
reassure her, when Sarah got there before him. She was way ahead as
usual, so he slipped out to make the call.

Alicia listened to the
questions Sarah threw in Detective Potts’ direction. He didn’t seem
to mind Sarah’s demands, perhaps he even expected them.

It was, in an odd way,
easy to make small talk with him. She’d seen his sense of humour
surface more than once in the past, so it didn’t surprise her he
was an amiable guy when he let his guard down.

After his second cup of
coffee and some pretty clever dodging around the intricacies of the
case, Detective Potts thanked them for their cooperation and
left.

A few moments later, she
heard the door open and close and knew Brad was back just by the
changes in the air. She went out to meet him, ignoring the childish
kissing noises Sarah was making.

Brad watched her
approach, fighting an unexpected feeling of panic. ‘You shouldn’t
be leaving her,’ a little voice mocked inside his head.

“
What’s
wrong?” She could sense his emotions in a way no one but his family
could; more than that, she saw him every bit as clearly as he saw
her.

“
I think I’ll
let Potts fend for himself, it’s not a good idea to leave right
now.”

She arched a brow. “So
you’d send him into the lion’s den?”

His grin was warm and
appreciative. “He’s a big boy.”

“
It’s right
that you stir things up a little. You know she’ll be more
vulnerable then.”

“
That was my
motivation, but-”

“
No buts,
I’ll be fine.” She studied him a moment. “You’re not telling me
everything.”

“
I knew it
had something to do with her, and yet I didn’t push hard enough for
the answers. I know her history, I knew about Sommers, and I should
have raised it as a red flag.”

Alicia shook her head.
“From the byplay I witnessed earlier, I’d say your team had a hand
in piecing things together, so give yourself a break. Now you need
to finish it, so go. Do what you can.” When still he hesitated, she
laid a hand on his arm. “Brad, you’ll be gone no more than an hour
or two. I’m safe here.”

“
Okay.” He
let out a breath, stepping closer for a moment just for the
contact. “Okay, you’re right. I’ll be back soon.” He kissed the top
of her head. “JJ is on his way in. He’s right outside running
things through.”

“
Thanks. Good
Luck.”

He crossed himself and
backed out of the door with a chuckle when she made a scary
face.

Alicia stood where she
was for a moment, feeling a multitude of emotions and not really
knowing what to do with them.

“
Wow, I’m
practically on fire with the heat you two were giving off – hot,
hot, hot.” Sarah was standing in the kitchen doorway, flapping a
hand dramatically in front of her face.

“
You’re lucky
you didn’t find us in the garden five minutes earlier,” Alicia
said, feeling the laughter bubble in her throat.

“
Oh my God,
tell me you weren’t doing the vertical shuffle out there.” Sarah
rushed forward to pull Alicia back into the kitchen.

She allowed Sarah to
manoeuvre her onto a stool, feeling giddy and light-headed. “Let’s
just say I almost seduced him into a very awkward position...no pun
intended.”

Sarah clapped her hands
together, her big green eyes dancing merrily. “What
happened?”

“
He came to
his senses and defended my honour.”

Sarah put a hand to her
heart and sighed. “Oh, man, that is so...heroic.”

Their giggles were cut
short when they heard JJ call out to them from the door, and then
started again as soon as they looked one another in the
eye.