Dead by Midnight - Beverly Barton [163]
Terri patted her chest and then pointed to him.
“Yes, I’m afraid there’s been another murder. The Midnight Killer has struck again. He killed Jean Goins this time. You and Jean were great friends at one time, if I remember correctly. She was certainly nice to me whenever Uncle Clement took me to visit you. Dad still doesn’t know anything about those secret trips, does he?”
Tears welled up in Terri’s eyes as she stared at her son.
“You mustn’t worry,” Tyler said, his voice soft and soothing. “You’re safe. No one can get near you except those I personally allow to visit.”
“Ra…ra…so,” Terri mumbled.
“Ra-so. Ra-so. Are you trying to say Ransom?”
Terri nodded.
“Is that what this is all about? You’re afraid Dad will try to get in here to see you?”
Terri patted her chest again.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.”
She lifted her right hand, pulled back three fingers, and using her thumb and index finger, formed the shape of a gun. She pointed directly at her head. “U…Ra-so…hup.”
Tyler stared at his mother, a stunned expression on his beautiful face. “You can’t be saying what I think you’re saying.” He laughed nervously. “You want me to protect you from my father. That’s it, isn’t it?”
Lila barely managed not to gasp aloud. She stepped back away from the door and closed it quietly. Why did Mr. Tyler think his mother was afraid of Mr. Ransom? Lila had never seen any indication that his visits upset her or that she was in the least bit afraid of him.
What to do, what to do! Should she call Mr. Ransom and tell him what she had overheard? The man had a right to defend himself, didn’t he? Besides, if Terri was beginning to form words that could be understood, it would be only a matter of time before she told Mr. Tyler that Mr. Ransom had been visiting her on a regular basis. And then, the shit sure enough would hit the fan.
Lila hurried up the hall, went into the nurses’ lounge, and when she saw that it was empty, she removed her cell phone from her pocket and dialed the phone number Mr. Ransom had given her when he’d called her that morning.
Chapter 33
Carrying a newspaper under his arm and with the straps of a midsize backpack hanging over one shoulder, Casey Lloyd got off the bus at the Greyhound terminal on Wedington Drive in Fayetteville Saturday morning. Unfortunately, he’d already missed his SAA meeting, but it couldn’t be helped.
After each trip, he felt like celebrating because he knew he was coming closer and closer to achieving his ultimate goal. But what did a guy who had sworn off liquor, drugs, and addictive sex do in order to celebrate? He had a little money left in his wallet, enough to buy himself a steak for lunch, and then afterward, maybe he’d go see a movie. But first, he needed to run by his friend Jason’s house and leave his backpack. He kept his personal items stored at Jason’s for safekeeping. He trusted his friend not to break open the locked case containing these items and pilfer the contents.
When he passed a garbage can, he stopped and tossed away the newspaper. While away from Fayetteville, he had kept up with the news, so he knew the whole nation was abuzz about the Midnight Killer’s latest murder.
Casey remembered Jean Goins with affection, mostly because Jean had despised Laura Lou with a passion and had often called her a hack who couldn’t write her way out of a paper bag.
Poor Jean. Destined to die along with her Midnight Masquerade costars. There were only four of them still alive: Sonny Deguzman, Charlene Strickland, Terri Owens, and Lorie Hammonds. He hoped the final four were living it up these days, enjoying life to the fullest. It was only a matter of time before the Midnight Killer executed each of them.
And who knew, maybe when the great executioner, the righter of wrongs, finished with the actors, he might get rid of the producer and the head writer. Casey knew one thing for sure—the world would be a better place without Travis Dillard and Laura Lou Roberts.
Derek Lawrence kicked back on the sofa and placed