Face in the Frame Read Online Free PDF Page A

chiffon.
    “What about this?” she said, giving another twirl, causing the light, floaty material to lift, the slit up the side revealing a lot of thigh.
    This time he took a moment to ensure his lips were working properly before replying. “That’s much more like it. Very attractive but classy. Your hair though…”
    “What’s wrong with it?” she said, patting her incredibly long dark hair, which was piled up into a French twist.
    “He’s an artist, I think it might intrigue him more down. Your hair makes you stand out from the crowd.” As well as that killer body .
    “You might have a point there,” she said before removing the clip holding her hair in place, sending it plummeting down her back. Brodie felt his palms start to sweat again.
    “Well?” she said.
    “Perfect,” he replied before clearing his throat. He got to his feet and took out the tiny microphone. “You need to wear this.”
    She looked down at the dress. “Where?”
    “Err, where do you think?”
    She took it from him and his breath caught in his throat when she stuffed it down her cleavage. If there was such a thing as reincarnation he wanted to come back as a bugging device.
    “So you’re all set,” he said. “Be careful, won’t you?”
    “I’ll be fine Bossman.”
    “Code word for tonight?”
    She thought before replying. “Canapé. Should be plenty of those kicking about.”
    “Canapé it is. Just say the word and I’ll come running.”
    “I know you will,” she said with a fond smile before pulling on her wrap, picking up her clutch bag and heading to the door. “See you later,” she said before departing, leaving Brodie standing alone in her living room, heart racing.
     
    By the time Cass arrived at the exhibition the party was in full swing. Jennifer was waiting for her by the door and they went in together, Jennifer handing over the tickets.
    “Why is Brodie so interested in Lucas Thorne?” she asked Cass.
    “He gets curious sometimes,” she replied in a way that indicated no further information would be forthcoming.
    “Then it’s none of my business?”
    “Afraid so.”
    “Champagne?” said a waiter dressed in a white shirt with black tie.
    “Don’t mind if I do,” said Cass, accepting a glass. She wasn’t a drinker, preferring orange juice to getting wasted, but she was a sucker for champagne. She could just imagine Brodie listening to every word. Go easy on that, you’re working he’d be chiding her but she couldn’t hear him so she took a sip, smiling into her glass.
    Cass and Jennifer meandered around the room together, studying the exhibits. Lucas hadn’t made his grand entrance yet. Cass could understand why Brodie thought it was a creepy display but she was able to appreciate the detail in the faces, the incredible way they aped genuine human emotion. All except the eyes, it didn’t reach the eyes, which marked them as copies of the real thing.
    “What do you think?” Jennifer asked her.
    Cass stared at the face of a woman about her own age with smooth peachy skin and long fair lashes. A little reluctantly she pushed the button beside the face and was startled when its eyes flew open, sparkling a vibrant blue. “Very clever,” she said.
    The face then launched into a tirade, slurring its words like a drunk woman on a night out, the expression in the face astonishing.
    “You still don’t look too sure,” said Jennifer.
    “I’m not. I loved his last exhibition but this is a bit…”
    “Odd?”
    “Yeah. They’re just so lifelike.”
    “The man’s a genius.”
    “He is that,” she said, studying the face closer, which suddenly went silent, eyes and mouth closing, making it look dead.
    She hastily moved onto the next face, the one Brodie insisted was Fred. She had to admit there was a resemblance, even the voice sounded like his, ranting about an alien conspiracy. However, unlike Brodie, she thought Lucas had probably modelled it on Fred. It was inconceivable that a serial