Binding Attractions

Chapter 6

The police are warning the public not to engage or try to apprehend Glisson Barkley if seen. But to call any emergency line and allow the officers to handle the situation and hopefully bring Glisson Barkley into custody safely.

Glisson Barkley was recently named in the plot to assassinate prominent politician Matthew Parsons’ only daughter, Jessica Parsons, aged seventeen. He is also allegedly linked to fifty other unsolved murders spread out around the country.

Several law enforcement offices are working together to build this case and bring Barkley to book. However, the police have refused to comment on how they got the information about the assassination attempt, stating that the matter is still under investigation.

Further details…

“Are you still following that story?” Gabriel asked as he walked into the living room with a bowl full of grapes in one hand and a bottle of chilled water in the other.

Trick mute the television and turned to face his friend. “Just curious about it. I have a feeling there is more to Barkley than just being an assassin for hire, and I wonder if the police will figure it out.”

Balancing the bowl of grapes on his thighs as he made himself comfortable on the couch, Gabriel nodded in agreement. “The guy has probably gone off the radar by now. The police will be lucky if they catch his scent. With the kind of kills they are connecting to him, I bet he has a nice nest egg to survive on for a long while until the heat dies down.”

“I could find him if I looked into it.”

Gabriel paused with a fat, juicy red grape halfway to his mouth. “Why would you want to get involved?” He threw the juicy fruit in his mouth and chewed before he continued talking. “We just dealt with some heartless psychos and you want to attract the attention of a trained killer?”

Trick shot Gabriel a glare. “I didn’t say I wanted to invite him over for coffee and biscuits.”

“Even if you are inviting him over for a glass of wine and steak, I still say… stay the hell away from that matter. It doesn’t concern us.” Gabriel finished with a head shake like he couldn’t believe Trick was even considering it, and then threw two more grapes into his mouth and chewed loudly.

Trick frowned. It wasn’t like he was considering sticking his nose in police business and attracting the attention of a killer on their doorstep. He just knew the police were nowhere near his talents. And if Glisson went underground, they would never fish him out. Trick just thought the world would be better with such a man not roaming the streets as free as a bird.

It had only been months since their trouble with Ted and Philip Montero, the heartless psychos, as Gabriel referred to them. So Trick understood Gabriel’s strong feelings about poking their nose in a matter that didn’t concern them and involved a professional killer.

They had nearly lost Trey and Abigail in that mess. And Lorenzo had been ready to never see Abigail again, if only to guarantee she would be safe for the rest of her life. Those had been dark weeks and Trick wouldn’t fancy a repeat.

Following that fiasco, they were on the verge of cleaning up their businesses from all the dirty, illegal connections. A very strong decision resulting from their near death experience. But Trick knew just as much as everyone else in their family that they would never be squeaky clean. So, making friends with the police really wasn’t a good idea.

However, despite all his logical reasoning as to why he should stop paying attention to the story on the news, Trick’s mind still wandered that way. He looked back at the muted television. The newscaster had moved on to another story, but Trick’s mind was hooked to Glisson’s story. “Who do you think tipped off the police?”

“Don’t know.” The answer came muffled.

Trick turned his head, wondering why his friend sounded funny. Only to discover Gabriel had stuffed his mouth full of grapes and looked like a squirrel with its cheeks full of nuts and seeds for the winter. He was even having a hard time chewing, by the looks of it.

“How old are you? Five?”

Whatever Gabriel answered was muffled and distorted by his full mouth, and Trick didn’t get a single word. He shook his head and then launched towards the bowl and grabbed a handful of grapes from a protesting squirrel look alike.

It took a moment for Gabriel to finally swallow and free his mouth. And then he was glaring at Trick.

“Go get your own. You know where the kitchen is found.”

Trick grinned and ate the last of his stolen fruit. “Much more fun to get yours. Besides, I’m helping you to stop being a pig.”

“I’m trying to finish them before Abigail catches me,” Gabriel told him in a whisper.

The way Trick paused mid swallow and blinked at him before lowering his voice and asking the obvious was almost comical. “Those are Abigail’s grapes?”

This time, Gabriel grinned mischievously and nodded his head way too eagerly for a grown man. “And we ate them together. So if I go down, you go down.”

Instinctively, Trick looked toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms before looking back at his friend. “I didn’t see anything,” he announced and stared back at the TV.

Gabriel burst out laughing before putting the last of his stolen fruit in his mouth and hiding the bowl behind the pillows next to him.

“That will get you caught,” Trick warned, not removing his eyes from the television.

“I will move it later.”

“The dog will sniff it out.”

“Renzo is outside with Abigail. I will move it before they come back inside.” Gabriel rearranged himself on the couch so he was fully facing the TV now. “Put something nice.”

“I’m still watching this,” Trick protested.

Gabriel gave the TV a bored stare. “It’s the same thing you watched an hour ago. Tune back to this three hours from now and it will still be the same shit.”

Trick threw his friend a disapproving glare. “Just because we live in the middle of the forest doesn’t mean we don’t keep ourselves informed about what is happening around the world.”

His little reprimanding speech washed over Gabriel like water off a duck’s back. His friend merely extended his hand expectantly for the remote control that Trick held.

After a moment, a huff escaped Trick as he passed over the remote control. But he couldn’t help adding, “You know, you do happen to have a perfectly functioning TV in your room last I checked.”

Gabriel shot him a side eye before going back to bruising the movie options. “So do you. Quit bitching. You know you want to sit with me and actually watch something interesting.”

It wasn’t something Trick could deny, or even wanted to deny. Of course, he enjoyed the moments they spent together, even when they got on each other’s nerves. So there was no point in responding to that. Especially not when Gabriel seemed to be in a mood.

Trick stretched out his legs and made himself comfortable. “Better put something damn interesting.”

Gabriel snorted and finally landed on some latest action movie. From the looks of it, Trick was sure there would be a lot of explosions and shooting. Not forgetting heros that would fall off buildings forty feet off the ground and keep running without so much as a limp. Perfect.