Dead by Midnight - Beverly Barton [47]
“Thin-sliced turkey,” Derek told her, and when she gave him a questioning look, he explained. “The sandwiches are turkey. I added lettuce and tomato, but left off the onion. No mayo for you. Mustard only.”
She picked up a halved piece of the sandwich and took a bite. “Delicious.”
“We aim to please.” He bit off a large chunk of his sandwich, chewed, swallowed, and reached for the iced tea glass.
“Sanders is having the office compile a list of porno film crazies, guys who have stalked porn stars or made threats against them.”
“That could be a very long list. There’s no way Powell’s can check out all of them unless we’re going to spend the next year tracking them down.”
“We’ll have to do some process-of-elimination work,” she said. “See if any of them were obsessed with this one particular film or the stars.”
“So, Powell’s is starting with warning the actors while you and I branch out and interview everyone else associated with Midnight Masquerade, right?”
“Right. On Monday, we’re going to interview the movie’s producer, who was also the agent for a number of the actors, including Lorie. Travis Dillard’s bio reads like a trashy erotica novel. The guy sounds like a real sleaze.”
“I thought you just skimmed the info Sanders sent.”
“I did, but the info on Dillard…well, let’s just say a few words here and there caught my attention.”
“Any of those words imply potential killer?”
“No, not really. But they more than imply scum of the earth.” After finishing off half her sandwich, Maleah nibbled on the potato chips Derek had put on their plates.
“I’d never peg Lorie Hammonds for the kind of woman who would have gotten involved in the porno business.” Derek munched on his dill pickle.
“She was young,” Maleah said. “She made a huge mistake and she’s been paying for it ever since. Nobody in this town has ever let her forget she bared it all in Playboy and then did even worse by getting a bit part in that one movie.”
“Why did she come back here? She had to know she would have to deal with the town’s scorn. She could have started over someplace else where no one knew her.”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask her, but my guess is that, at the time, Mike Birkett had something to do with why she came back to Dunmore.”
“Birkett, huh? The old boyfriend? I picked up on some strong vibes between them the first time I saw them together.”
“I was about thirteen when Mike and Lorie were engaged. She walked out on him before the wedding and went to California,” Maleah said. “I haven’t lived in Dunmore since I left for college, so I haven’t exactly kept up on local gossip. All I know is what my brother told me. It took Mike quite a while to get over Lorie, but he finally married someone else, had a couple of kids, got elected sheriff, and—”
“Lived happily ever after.”
“Not hardly. His wife had cancer. She died four years ago.”
“Tough break,” Derek said.
“Yeah, it was. Mike’s a good guy.”
“And Lorie?”
“What about Lorie?”
“I sense that she’s a good woman despite her notorious past.”
“On that, Mr. Lawrence, we can agree. I think fate handed Lorie a raw deal. She’s already more than paid for her sins. And now she’s on a killer’s hit list and unless we can keep her safe…”
“We will,” Derek said. “Powell’s will keep her guarded twenty-four/seven and local law enforcement will do their job as backup. But what you and I accomplish by interviewing everyone associated with Midnight Masquerade could well result in our finding the killer and stopping him before he can get to Lorie.”
“Dear God, I hope so.”
Chapter 10
The Powell jet landed shortly before noon, Eastern Standard Time. Sanders picked up Nic and Griff at the private airport and drove them home. On the ride to Griffin’s Rest, they talked business. Sanders brought them up to date on the three new Powell Agency clients and how the cases had turned out to be related.
“Hell of a coincidence,” Griff said.
“Three separate