"A Murder In Milburn", Book 1: Death At A Diner (14 page)

May nodded.
 

“It
is
horrible. We’ve passed by that road and never imagined a body could be buried there!” She said. “A real spate of bad luck for the town.”

Nora, irritated at the look May had given her when claiming it had to be a hitchhiker’s crime, chimed in. “Of course, two bodies, found in such a short span of time, that’s somewhat suspicious isn’t it? They’ve got to be linked. If it helps catch the murderer that’s good luck for the town.”

“Oh, you’ve got a mind for conspiracy theories.” May smiled in a condescending way.
 

“Sheriff said the man has been dead at least ten years,” Ashley said. “So I don’t think the crimes could be linked.”

“Unless the murderer is someone in town,” Nora said. “Unless they’ve waited ten years to strike again.”

Ashley paled again. “It scares me when you say things like that, Nora. It’s terrifying to think of. I’ve taken to locking my doors at night.”

“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” May said, putting a protective hand around Ashley’s shoulders. “Stop it with your theories, Nora. This town is a safe space. We’re neighbors, we’ve known each other all our lives. It would be impossible for a murderer to live ten years among us.”

“Would it?” Nora asked. “I loved my uncles. I thought I knew them, and when the time came, they sold my house and left me homeless without a second thought. The people we think we know can hide their inner natures surprisingly well, at times.”

“I think I know you,” May said. “So tell me, Nora, what hidden nature are you keeping from me?”
 

“Whoever killed Raquel had to have known her,” Nora said. “She wouldn’t have let them into the diner otherwise. There’s people who had motive too, people who benefited from her death.”

“Oh, yes,” May said. “It’s the first rule of being a detective, isn’t it? Your strongest suspect must be the person who’d profit the most from a death. The husband, the kids, any love rival.” May gave Nora a pointed look. “The business partner.”

Ashley swayed a little. “I–I think I-”

Harvey was immediately by her side, leading her to a chair. “That’s it, you’re taking another week off work, Ashley,” he said.

The line of people had halted, and a crowd formed around Ashley. May, however, stayed on the edge of the crowd, and harshly said to Nora, “You did profit, didn’t you? With Raquel gone, you’re sole owner of the diner.”

“I’m sole owner of the loan,” Nora said.

“Oh yes, the loan. The loan you went to ask her parents to pay for,” May said scornfully.

“How did-”

“There’s not much I don’t know,” May said, her words biting. “I know you went to the cult’s ranch. I know you went to see Santino, and, my dear, so does the sheriff.”

Nora looked up, and Sean stepped into the restaurant, hands tucked into his pockets, badge flashing on his chest. “A word, Nora?”

*****

Chapter 21

“Sean.” Nora stepped outside with him, a little confused. “What is it?”

“I got a call from the cult of the supreme truth,” Sean said. “They wanted me to arrest you for trespassing and threatening their lives.”

“That’s a total lie!” Nora said.

“Oh, I know it is, believe me,” Sean said. “I’m just annoyed you went there without asking me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know I needed official permission,” Nora said angrily.

“Nora, don’t do this. You could have been in danger. You sure enough were afterward, when you went to Santino’s. I’ve told you not to mess around with the likes of Harvey or the cult. Is it so hard to understand?” Sean’s voice, always so controlled, was rising like an eagle’s cry.

“Sheriff.” Harvey stepped out too, the paper bags with the sandwiches still in his hands. “Working hard at solving your cases, I see.”

“Butt out, Harvey,” Sean snapped. “I’m talking to Nora.”

“Is she being detained?” Harvey asked.

“Of course not. I--”

“Great,” Harvey hooked his arm over Nora’s shoulders. “You want to go, sweetheart?” Deliberately, he bent down and grazed his lips over hers.

Sean’s nostrils flared, his eyes flaming with anger. Once more, Nora felt that flash of fear. If Sean was provoked, and he felt he was justified, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to hurt Harvey.

“Harvey, I’m really sorry but can I please talk to Sean for just a second?” she said.

Harvey stiffened, and his arm dropped from her shoulders. “No problem.” He looked a little hurt. “I guess I’ll just wait for you in the park then.”

“Harvey…” Nora held on to his hand when he stepped away. He looked back, and she saw the same hurt in his eyes that she’d seen in the car.
 

“It’s all right,” Harvey said. “You need to talk, to clear your mind of suspicions. I understand, I really do. Take your time. I’ll wait.”

“Harvey, no--”

But Harvey only dropped his sunglasses over his eyes again and gave Sean a nod. Sean watched him walk away, then took Nora’s hand and led her away from the gawking crowd that was hanging around Sam’s.

“Nora, I thought we were friends,” he said, sounding disappointed.

“I thought so too,” Nora said. “Sean, I only went to the cult because I wanted to give my condolences to Raquel’s parents. But what I saw there… Stanley’s a dangerous man, Sean, and he’s got a very strong motive to do what he did. You told me once that I should give you my observations? Well, here they are: I think Raquel’s father was forced to hand that money over to Stanley. I think he’s being kept against his will in that compound. You have to save him, Sean, and you have to investigate if Stanley could have--”

“You think I haven’t?” Sean asked. “It was one of the first things I looked into very seriously, Nora. But it’s a dead end. Raquel’s father, David, testified that he’s there willingly, and he seemed to be of sound mind. There’s nothing I could do. I’m not saying Stanley didn’t do it – he certainly has a strong motive – but he has a stronger alibi. All my suspects, in this case, seem to.”

“If you’re talking about Harvey, you’re wrong,” Nora said. “He had nothing to gain from Raquel dying.”

“Oh, didn’t he?” Sean asked. “Why did you go to Santino’s then, Nora? What could you possibly have wanted?”

“How did you know about that?” she asked.

“I knew the second you walked into the reception of his dude ranch. You think I don’t have eyes watching the most corrupt man in the county?” Sean asked. “Though god knows Harvey will probably outrun him for that title soon enough.”

“You’re so biased against Harvey you’re letting your emotions cloud your mind,” Nora said. “Can’t you see he’s innocent, Sean?”

“All I see is a love struck little fool who’s letting a few sweet words blind her to reality,” Sean said. “Harvey’s a creep, and you’re letting his superficial charm and promising kisses lead you down a path you will regret. Is that how little you loved Raquel? Is that how easy it was for you to--”

Nora slapped him then. A brief, hard slap, with barely enough force to hurt, but Sean’s head tilted to the side anyway.

“I suppose I deserved that,” he admitted, shaking the hair from his face as he raised it to look at her. “Nora, I can’t stand to see you like this. I can’t bear the thought that Harvey could be using you. Can’t you see that? All he wants is for you to give him some information that Raquel had. You might not even know what you know, and it might be vitally important to him.”

“That’s not who he is,” Nora said. “You just aren’t willing to see him as anything but guilty, because that’ll make it convenient for you. You never have to suspect ill of your father if Harvey turns out to be a creep, right? Everything’s dandy if he does. This is Alan all over again, a witch hunt you want to undertake for reasons of your own.”

“Alan?” Frustrated, Sean ran a hand through his hair. “What are you talking about?”

“You hated Alan because he had a fight with some girl,” Nora said. “Or maybe you hated him for a different reason altogether, you just needed an excuse to be--”

“Who on earth are you talking about?” Sean said.

“You don’t remember?” Nora sighed. “Well, why would you? Alan studied with us in school. You and your pals treated him so badly that he ran away.”

She saw renewed color seep into Sean’s face as he remembered. “Alan was a freak,” he said. “My girlfriend said he tried to get fresh with her. I was just a teenage boy but I hated his kind of scum even back then. Yeah, I teased him, but he sure deserved it.”

“Oh please,” Nora scoffed. “Don’t use lies to make yourself feel better. I almost respected you for a second there, but you aren’t even willing to admit you could have been wrong.”

“I wasn’t,” Sean said. “If someone comes after a woman I love, I go after them. It’s the first rule in my book.”

“Don’t lie,” Nora snapped. “Alan would never have done that.”

“Sure. Defend the creep. That’s not something you do all the time,” Sean said sarcastically.

“I know he wasn’t,” Nora said. “My father was a psychiatrist, remember? He was treating Alan for depression. Alan was just not interested in girls. Why would he ever--”

“So he gave your father some sob story about being depressed and you think he was a babe in the woods?” Sean said. “You’re so naïve.”

“That’s not--”

“You’re just a terrible judge of men,” Sean said. “Believe me, I know. There was always something about Alan that creeped me out. Just because he was depressed doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t try and force himself on a girl.”

“Alan was gay,” Nora said. “I know because I overheard my father reviewing his clinical tapes.”

Sean opened his mouth, then shut it again. The color seemed to drain out of his face.

“Your girlfriend probably lied to gain sympathy or attention,” Nora said. “You ruined a boy’s life because of it. He ran away because you teased him, Sean.”

“No. No.” Devastation couldn’t begin to define the regret that colored Sean’s voice.

“All I ask is that you believe me when I say Harvey’s innocent.”
 

“Harvey’s done it,” Sean said, his eyes still flashing with anger. The regret that had been in his voice was now blocked out by stubbornness. “I don’t care what you say about Alan. I may or may not have hurt him and my girlfriend may or may not have lied, but I have proof against Harvey, and sooner or later, I’m going to get him. Just be careful that you don’t get sucked into the vortex, Nora.”

“What proof?” Nora asked. “He was with me, wasn’t he? All that night.”

“The perfect alibi, like I said. I believe Harvey conspired with Santino to get rid of Raquel, all because she had proof that he didn’t want to leak out.”

“Proof?”

“Some of Raquel’s last messages are a letter to the IRS, asking them about land fraud,” Sean said. “An innocent question, yes? Just a query. But couple that with another fact our computer expert found. Her laptop recently had a USB flash drive inserted in it, and she transferred a large chunk of her files into them. That USB is now missing. It was probably in her purse the night she was murdered.”

“You don’t think…” For the first time, Nora faltered. Could Harvey have killed Raquel to get those files? That couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. Harvey had been so sincere…

…or maybe, Sean was right. Maybe she had been a fool all along.

“Harvey’s a scamster, through and through. He’s sure got you hooked.” Sean was ruthless in taking his opening when he saw the doubt in her face. “I have a working theory already, Nora. Santino and Harvey got rid of Harvey’s partner Donald a while ago, and now they got rid of the one person who had information that could put them away in jail. It makes sense why her purse was missing, doesn’t it? It makes sense why her phone was missing too. Perhaps she’d sent texts people didn’t want anyone to see. There was something Raquel had, that Santino and Harvey didn’t want anyone to find out about.”

“It’s not true,” Nora said. Her voice was a breath. “Please, Sean, please tell me it’s not true.”

“It’s not you, it’s the court I have to convince of the truth,” Sean said. “They need evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. But you, in your heart of hearts, you know Santino had a hand in her murder, don’t you? You believe it.” His voice was almost triumphant.

“I need to go,” Nora said, tears blurring her eyes. “I need to go somewhere quiet and just… just think.”

“You do that, Nora,” Sean said. “You think real carefully about what I said, and think really carefully about anything –
anything
– Raquel might have told you. If Harvey’s doing his best to get you under his spell, it means you have something, or he suspects you have something, against him.”

“I’m telling you I can’t… I just can’t see him as the kind of man who would do what you say.”

“Can’t you?” Sean asked, looking deep into her eyes. “Look at me, and tell me you don’t have the slightest shred of doubt. I’ll drop the case right now.”

For a moment, their eyes remained locked together, Sean’s blue eyes burning into hers. He was challenging her, but he already knew he’d won. He’d planted a seed in her mind that had blossomed. She no longer knew whether she trusted Harvey.