Free Sleep No More by Iris Johansen Page A

“I just wanted to tell you that everything is going well with poor Beth. She’s safely back at the hospital.”
    Rick smiled with relief. “That’s good. I was worried.”
    “But you let me take care of everything.” She added meaningfully, “And that’s why things turned out as they should. If you’d gone out there as you wanted, it would have ruined everything. After all, there was no reason. You haven’t even seen Beth since the accident.”
    “You told me that she wouldn’t even know me.”
    “That’s right, and it would have upset her.” She put her hand on his arm. “And she’s much worse now, Rick.”
    “I know.” He shook his head. “Sad … she means so much to me, Mother. I didn’t get to see her very much when she was little but later I grew to know and love her. And I think she loved me, too.”
    “And we’re going to take care of her just as we always have.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Now go in for your swim. Ken tells me you were wonderful last night. You’re so good with handling people.”
    “It’s fun. The speeches are almost the same every time, but most of the people who attend those rallies are pretty cool.” He was still not smiling. “I’ve been thinking about Beth a lot lately. I’m glad that she’s safe.”
    “I know you are. But you have to forget about her now. We have too much to do.” She stepped back. “Bye, Rick. Have a good day.”
    She was halfway back to the house when she heard a splash as he dove into the pool. A moment later, she heard him laugh and say something to Ken. Hopefully, she had stopped him from dwelling on the Beth problem. Thank God he was usually easy to distract. Though he had been very stubborn about Beth, and she hadn’t been able to budge him, dammit.
    Beth had been a problem for years, and Nelda had always known she could be a threat to her plans for Rick.
    She wouldn’t allow it.
    If Pierce had bungled it, she would take care of eliminating that threat herself.
    Seventeen Mile Drive
11:40 P.M.
    IT WAS RAINING AGAIN.
    She was wet to the bone, Beth realized as she ran down the beach toward the big house. It had been raining hard all day, and that wasn’t bad as far as she was concerned. This was California, where rain was probably not that common, and people tended to stay inside, not tempted to ask questions if they saw her on the road or beach.
    She liked the rain on her face. It felt good. She had never been permitted to go outside when the weather was nasty or threatening. The doctors had to keep her well and free from germs or disease. Why? Why be so careful to keep her well, then try to kill her?
    Don’t think. Just keep moving. She could puzzle everything out later.
    Now she was climbing the dunes toward the house on the hill. All she had to do was reach the front door and enter the security code. Billy had given her the code, and there weren’t supposed to be any guards on the beach side of the property at this hour. She’d go inside and dry off and be safe for a little while.
    But only for a little while. Billy had told her that she couldn’t trust anyone, that she had to figure out things for herself once he got her away from the hospital.
    She felt a tingle of fear. Figure out things for herself? No one had let her think at all during these years. It was like a cripple learning to walk with no one standing beside her to hold her up if she fell.
    But she wasn’t a cripple. She would not fall. Memories were coming back to her all the time about her life before the hospital. She had not been weak then, and she would not be weak now. Billy had told her she was to take this time to remember and find the answers he couldn’t give her.
    “Hey, there! This is private property. You’re trespassing.”
    A man in a security uniform was coming toward her! Dammit, Billy had told her there would be a guard, but she’d forgotten.
    She whirled and stumbled back down the dune toward the beach. Go away and hide and come back