CHAPTER 2: SHOCK
Jeffrey knocked the bat on the table in concentration. His younger brother, Mark, was about to hit the small ball towards him. They were playing table tennis in a room filled with sporting equipment. In a corner of the room was a closet filled with all sorts of balls, ranging from golf balls to rugby balls. Behind Mark was a brand new fitness cycle. Only 5 kilometers were cycled with it. It was one of the latest models and it had a sophisticated computer embedded in its white surface. Behind Jeffrey was a device used for lifting halters. It was something that was too complicated to explain. Near the only door to the room was a small cabinet that was filled with towels. They often used those towels to remove sweat from their bodies after an intense workout. Mark served the ball extremely well. It passed just high enough over the net in the middle of the table to get to the other side. But since that was very low Jeffrey couldn't turn the ball back. It bounced off the outer edge of the table and hit the wall behind him. Jeffrey sighed. Even though they had both played professional table tennis back home in Australia, it still felt stupid losing from your little brother.
"OK!" he said, agitated. "21-20. You win." Although it had been a close finish Mark was proud of himself. This was only the second time in his life he had managed to defeat Jeffrey.
Mark smiled at Jeffrey as they both dropped their materials and walked towards the door. Jeffrey got a towel from the cabinet, handed Mark one and buried his face in his own towel. Mark did the same. The difference in age was not relevant to the game in any way. They were both fast, strong and persistent, qualities that are essential to the game. The game had been so fast they were sweating all over their bodies. Jeffrey and Mark removed the sticky shirts from themselves and tried to get the sweat of with the towel.
Jeffrey had a muscular shiny chest. His younger brother, however, didn't seem strong at all. Jeffrey was still guessing where he got his strength and speed for playing table tennis.
Across the side of Mark's chest was a large scar that reminded them of the accident they had a few months. Jeffrey never really told anyone how he felt about it. He talked Mark into going to a party with him. He offered him the seat he usually used when he traveled with the car. The seat behind the driver, that is. Mark accepted. Just three blocks away from the party it happened. Some guy in a black car put the nose of his car in the side of their car. The man got out of his car and ran away. Lloyd had jumped out of the car and followed him, but he had to give up when he lost the man in the crowd. Meanwhile Mark was crying in pain. The memory of the sight still made a quiver go down Jeffrey's spine. His brother had broken his leg and he was covered in glass. Mark had been very lucky… The doctors managed to close the gash in his aorta. If they didn't, he certainly would have died from blood loss. They were too late to treat the damage to his hearing (if they could have). The crash had crushed some essential bones in his ears that couldn't be replaced. The large scar on his chest was the place where the doctors made the incision to operate on his aorta. The man that caused the accident was never found. Jeffrey felt guilty, because he thought he should've been the one in his seat. He tried to do anything to make life nice for his little brother. He refused to believe the fact Mark never blamed him for the accident.
"I'm going to take a shower." Mark signed after tapping Jeffrey on the shoulder. It had brought Jeffrey back from his thoughts.
"Oh, OK!" he just said. Mark left the room and Jeffrey remained there pondering. Suddenly the phone that was on the towel cabinet ringed. It took Jeffrey close to no time to answer.
"Hello, Jeffrey Brisbane." he said after picking up the receiver.
"Quickly! Turn the TV on!" a voice called from the other side. Jeffrey recognized it as Bo's. He seemed to be distressed. Before he could ask what was going on, Bo had broken the connection. Jeffrey decided to do as Bo had asked. He dropped the towel around his neck and sped through the house to the nearest TV and turned it on. A woman in a blue suit appeared.
"-- solved a series of robberies that had Redington in its grip for the last two weeks. The theft of several rare pieces of art seem to have been solved with the arrest of a Sussex Academy student. The police was not available for comment, but we do have a photograph of the suspect." As the picture appeared on the screen Jeffrey fell back in the couch behind him, stunned by what he saw. The woman continued talking as if nothing had happened. "The suspect was found in the house of a miljonair trying to steal his collection of rare coins. Upon searching the house of the suspect part of the stolen art was recovered. Where the rest of the pieces is, is unknown at this time. Other local news today…" With shaking hands Jeffrey pushed the off button on the remote control. "This is impossible." he said to himself. He was talking about the picture he saw on the TV. It showed the face of none other than Shirley Holmes.
TO BE CONTINUED…