Dead by Midnight - Beverly Barton [91]
“Nope, yours is still in the box. This is our copy of today’s Huntsville Times,” Jack said. “Page B-1, on the front page of the Region section.”
Cathy stared at the newspaper as Lorie pulled out the Region section and discarded the rest, letting the pages fall haphazardly to the floor. The headline read: PORNO STAR ON KILLER’S HIT LIST. The cropped photo accompanying the article had been taken from an eleven-year-old publicity photo. In this particular shot, she’d been wearing a thong and a come-hither expression and nothing more. The picture had been altered to make it acceptable for the north Alabama readership.
“Oh, Lorie, I’m so sorry,” Cathy said.
“Half the town gets the Huntsville Times.” Lorie quickly scanned the article, then read one brief paragraph aloud. “Ms. Hammonds, co-owner of Treasures of the Past, a Dunmore antique shop, is the former fiancée of county sheriff Michael Birkett. The sheriff’s department has taken a special interest in protecting Ms. Hammonds, at taxpayers’ expense, even though a private female bodyguard has been provided to protect Ms. Hammonds twenty-four/seven.”
“That damn little weasel.” Lorie glared at the byline. Ryan Bonner. “Mike is going to be furious when he sees this.”
“He’s seen it,” Cathy said. “Jack has spoken to him twice this morning. First to tell him about seeing Special Agent Wainwright’s interview and then to tell him about the article in the Times.”
“It’s not fair that Mike will be judged guilty by association.” Lorie crushed the newspaper in her hands.
“It’s not as if most folks didn’t already know that you and Mike were once engaged,” Cathy told her.
“But that was old news, dead and buried in the past,” Lorie said. “Ryan Bonner has made it current news. How is something like this going to affect Hannah and M.J.? Don’t you think some of the other kids at school are going to ask them about it? And you’ve got to know that there will be at least one smart-mouthed kid who’ll ask what they think about their dad having nearly married a Playboy centerfold.”
“You let Mike worry about his kids,” Cathy said. “You have enough to worry about as it is without—”
The phone rang. Four sets of eyes stared at the cordless telephone on the kitchen counter. Shelley picked up the phone and checked caller ID.
“It’s a local number.” She hit the On button. “Hammonds residence.” She frowned. “Do not call again or I’ll report you to the authorities.” She laid the phone back on the counter and faced the others. “It’s started again. I’ll have to disconnect all the land lines so we don’t have to deal with the phone ringing all day long. If the security system didn’t require a landline phone, I’d leave them disconnected.”
“Let them ring,” Lorie said. “I won’t be here. I’m getting ready and going to work.”
“I don’t recommend your doing that,” Jack told her.
“Are you my keeper now?” she asked. “Did Mike turn me over to you?”
“He placed me in charge of your case.”
“Fine. I knew he planned to…” Lorie paused to take a deep, calming breath and quickly rethought her decision to rush off to work. “How long do you think we’ll have to keep Treasures closed?”
“I don’t know,” Jack said honestly. “A few days, maybe longer. It depends on whether or not there are more articles about you in the newspaper.”
“And if there are?”
“Then the best course of action is to keep Treasures closed indefinitely.”
Maleah and Derek had been brought back to Knoxville via the Powell jet at the crack of dawn that morning and had arrived at Griffin’s Rest in time for breakfast. Although Griff and Nic were dealing with the murder of Powell secretary Kristi Arians, they had set up a meeting for all the top agents involved in the Midnight Killer case. The agency had been hired by the next of kin of two of the victims and they expected a call from Anthony Johnson or his representative before the end of the day. And they were representing, pro bono, Charlie Wong’s family. The facts that Lorie Hammonds was Maleah’s sister-in-law