Dead by Midnight - Beverly Barton [81]
“Tell us about the raccoon, Daddy.” Hannah tugged on Mike’s arm again.
Lorie glanced around the room as if searching for someone, then said, “If y’all will excuse me, I want to find Cathy and bring her up to date on Treasures of the Past business.” Before waiting for anyone to respond, she escaped. Shelley Gilbert, who had been standing nearby and being as inconspicuous as possible, followed Lorie.
Mike watched them until they disappeared into another room. Only then did he realize that not only were his children demanding details about his childhood pet raccoon, but Abby had been watching him watch Lorie. And his mother stood there smiling, looking as innocent as the day she was born.
Cathy actually found Lorie and not the other way around. In truth, Lorie had used Cathy as an excuse to make a hasty retreat. The last thing she wanted was to cause trouble between Mike and Abby Sherman. Apparently, Mike liked the woman a great deal; otherwise he wouldn’t have been dating her and only her for several months now. Neither the fact that his mother obviously felt she was the wrong woman for him nor the fact that his children seemed to dislike her was any of Lorie’s business. Mike’s personal life was strictly off-limits to her. She had given up any rights she’d had to Mike seventeen years ago.
“There you are.” Cathy discovered Lorie hiding out in the kitchen. “What are you doing in here all alone?”
“I’m not alone.” Lorie nodded toward the open door that led to the adjacent mudroom. “Shelley’s out there. She got a phone call, probably from the Powell Agency.”
“Why didn’t you call me and tell me what was happening?” Cathy asked. “Jack and I could have cut our honeymoon short and come home immediately.”
“That’s the reason I didn’t want you to know.” She looked Cathy in the eye. “How did you find out so quickly? You haven’t been home fifteen minutes.”
“Buddy Pounders just told Jack. As soon as Jack told me, I started searching for you so we could talk. I’m your best friend and yet I’m one of the last to know that your life is in danger.”
“I’m sorry, but I refused to allow this insanity to intrude on your honeymoon. Besides, there was nothing you could have done. There’s nothing you can do now.”
Cathy grasped Lorie’s hands. “I want you to move back in here and stay with us, you and Ms. Gilbert.”
“No. I’m fine at home. Really. Shelley provides around-the-clock protection and Mike’s seen to it that for several hours around midnight every night, a deputy is stationed outside the house in a patrol car. There’s no way I could be any safer. Besides, I do not want to run the risk of putting you and Jack and Seth in harm’s way.”
Cathy squeezed Lorie’s hands. “They will catch him and put him away where he belongs. I’m sure of it.”
Offering her friend the best confident smile she could muster, Lorie pulled free and said, “You’re absolutely right. Not only is the Powell Agency involved, but the FBI has formed a task force. The killer doesn’t stand a chance.”
Cathy returned the smile, hers more fragile and uncertain. “I couldn’t help but notice that Mike escorted you here this evening.”
“It wasn’t anything personal. After the press showed up at the house this morning and somebody distributed flyers of my Playboy centerfold all over town and half the county, Mike thought it was a good idea for him to bring me here tonight.”
“He could have gotten Buddy or one of the other deputies to escort you.”
“I suppose he could have, but—”
“If there’s a silver lining inside this horrible cloud you’re living under, it just might be Mike realizing how much he still cares about you.”
A gasping laugh erupted spontaneously from Lorie’s lips. “I’m not going there. I will not wish for the impossible or hope for something that can never be. I’ve wasted too much of my life waiting for Mike Birkett to forgive me.”
“Never say