Dead by Midnight - Beverly Barton [111]
“I have had no communication with anyone in the past six years…well, except for Sonny Deguzman,” Grant said. “Sonny came to see me and asked for my help. He wanted money, of course. At first I refused him, but then he convinced me that he truly wanted to change, to find salvation. He joined the church and even worked with us for several months. Unfortunately, he stole from us and I had no choice but to let him go.”
“Grant could have had him arrested,” Renee said. “But he didn’t.”
“How long ago was that?” Derek asked.
“A little over two years ago,” Grant said. “And about eight months ago, I received a note from Sonny and a check for the amount he had stolen.”
“Do you know where he was at that time?” Maleah asked.
“Somewhere in Europe.” Grant looked at his wife. “Do you recall exactly where?”
“In Italy, I believe, some seacoast town,” she replied. “He mentioned that he was fishing every day and enjoying the simple things in life.”
“Messina!” Grant slapped his hands together. “That’s it. That’s where he was living eight months ago.”
Maleah nodded. “That information should help us track him down and warn him. Is Sonny the only person from your days at Starlight Productions that you’ve heard from in the past half dozen or so years?”
“Yes, he’s the only one.”
“Do you recall anything in particular that went on during the filming of Midnight Masquerade that resulted in threats being made?”
For the next twenty minutes, Maleah and Derek went through the series of questions they had asked the other possible suspects. And Grant’s answers pretty much echoed what everyone else had said. Everyone had disliked Travis Dillard and hinted that if anyone from their past might be the Midnight Killer it was the owner of Starlight Productions, the man who had produced Midnight Masquerade. To a person, they had all agreed that Hilary Finch had been a first-class bitch and Charlie Wong had been a nice guy with a great sense of humor.
“Yes, of course I remember Lorie Hammonds. She was a good kid. She wasn’t the usual type, if you know what I mean,” Grant said. “Gorgeous and sexy, but classy, the type who came across as a lady. I’ve prayed for her and felt in my heart that she had probably found the Lord.”
“One final question.” Maleah knew that while she had done most of the talking for the two of them, Derek had been observing. After all, that was his area of expertise, using his off-the-charts IQ and noteworthy sixth sense to profile the people they interviewed.
“Certainly,” Grant replied confidently.
“Can you account for your whereabouts at the time Dean Wilson, Hilary Finch Chambless, Charles Wong, and Shontee Thomas were murdered?”
Heath Leroy grumbled under his breath and then as he walked toward his father, he said aloud, “Damn it, Dad, I told you that you shouldn’t have agreed to this interview without your lawyer present!”
Waking suddenly, Lorie shot straight up in bed. Her heart hammered maddeningly, the sound drumming in her ears. What had awakened her? She hadn’t been dreaming, at least she didn’t remember if she had. She sat quietly and listened, but heard nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual creaking and popping sounds that a house made. The foundation settling, the water pipes moaning, the wind sighing softly around the eaves.
A dog howled in the distance.
Once her breathing returned to normal, she reached over and turned on the bedside lamp, then tossed back the covers and got out of bed. She checked the clock. 3:15 A.M. Well past the witching hour. Or in her case, “the hour of death.” Not bothering to slip into her house shoes and put on her lightweight robe, she left her bedroom and walked into the hall.
Why was she so jittery when there was no reason to be? The Midnight Killer murdered once a month, and always around the hour of midnight. It had been only a few days since Shontee’s murder. There was no reason to be so scared. The timing was wrong, both the month and the hour. She knew that the alarm system was armed and Shelley Gilbert was here. Shelley, a trained bodyguard who knew how to use the gun