A Murder In Milburn Book 2 Death Of A Deputy REVAMPED June 2016 SCRIVENER (7 page)

“So you decided to come harass me instead,” Nora teased. “What happened to your many committees?”

“Every once in a while,” Tina said, “Every once in a while, I channel my inner child. And as a child, let me tell you, I was notorious for bunking school. Well, here I am.”

“You bunked school a lot?”

“Are you kidding? I think I had about a 5% attendance. I got away with it too because my dad owned a bit of property here and there.”

“A bit of property here and there? Your dad was a proper magnate,” Nora said.

“Yep. So’s Sam,” Tina stretched. “It’s nice to be filthy rich and never have to work if you don’t want to.” Seeing Nora’s face, she dropped her hands and looked apologetic. “I mean… I’m… Nora. Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s all right,” Nora laughed. “I’ve known you since school. You were never able to keep your tongue from flying out of your face every once in a while.”

“I mean I admire you,” Tina said. “I love how hard you work to get the diner running. It makes me want to cheer you on.”

“Poverty’s not very noble,” Nora said. “Most of the times it’s a grinding bore full of stress and anxiety. Don’t worry, I completely agree. It
is
nice to be filthy rich and never have to work if you don’t want to. I think that’s one my goals in life.”

“How about fame and fortune?” Tina asked.

“Never had much interest in those,” Nora said. “I used to work in a really good restaurant in New York. We had celebrities coming in every day. Funny thing is, I never saw a famous person who also looked happy. I’m talking the kind of contentment you see on the faces of some of the people in town. People making an honest living and having their family close by. They have a contentment that radiates out of them. In New York, it was mostly just stress that everyone radiated. Me included.”

“Small towns aren’t some placid, content retirement houses,” Tina said indignantly. “We’re full of stress down here.”

“Oh I know we are,” Nora said. “Still, there’s that sense of community you don’t get anywhere else.”

“What did Anna want to see you for, anyway?” Tina asked.

“She was interested in sponsoring the diner,” Nora said. “She told me that she could help me with the investment money, if I gave her a share of the equity, or if I worked for her for six months.”

“Huh. Funny. You’re not thinking about it, are you?” Tina asked. “You’re going to say no, aren’t you?”

“I’m… considering it,” Nora said.

“What?” Tina’s eyebrows shot up. “But… but you refused to, I mean…” she kept her hands folded on the table, and concentrated on them.

“Say it, Tina.”

“The entire town knows Harvey broke up with you because you refused to let him invest in your diner,” Tina said.

“Why is everyone so fascinated with me and Harvey anyway?” Nora asked testily.

“Because you’re the town’s version of Ross and Rachel,” Tina laughed. “We’re all making bets on who it’ll be.”

Nora glared at her. Tina was friendly and sweet, but there were times when Nora really had to resist the urge to smack her.

“I should probably quit talking now,” Tina said.

“If you have a rewinding mechanism, five minutes ago would be ideal for a restart point,” Nora said coolly.

“I’m sorry,” Tina sighed. “My brain needs a filter installed between it and my mouth.”

“Never mind,” Nora said, a little more kindly. “What’s new with you, anyways?”

“Well, nothing much till I met you,” Tina said. “But now, I’m getting a few ideas.”

“What do you mean?” Nora asked.

“I mean… look, being a graphic designer and marketing manager at Sam’s Spurs is all okay,” Tina said. “But the truth is, the main work in that joint is designing and manufacturing the spurs, which is all Sam’s job. He’s nice to me and I contribute, but I need something more challenging.”

“Thinking of quitting the family business?” Nora asked.

“Only if a certain friend lets me buy my way into her operation,” Tina said.

Nora stiffened. “What are you saying?”

“I want to give you money for the diner,” Tina said. “I know that you’ve got everything set up. You just need a few hundred thousand dollars more--”

“A
few
hundred thousand dollars more,” Nora laughed. “Tina, did you even hear the casualness with which you said that? It’s an insane amount of money.”

“Well I
have
an insane amount of money,” Tina said. “I’ve been thinking about it for three months now, Nora. I turned 35 and inherited all that money from my trust fund opening up. I got to invest it all some place. I would have asked you before, but I thought that if you refused Harvey, I had no chance at all.”

“I can’t take your money,” Nora said, stiffening.
 

“Why not?” Tina asked. “You’re fine with taking it from Anna.”

“Because you’re giving it to me from the same reason Harvey did,” Nora said. “Pity.”

Tina’s jaw seemed to come unhinged. “Wh-”

“Tina, the kind of people who can throw around money like this on a whim…” Nora shook her head. “I’m sorry but they’re the kind of people I’m scared of. You haven’t looked over my business plan, you haven’t seen any of my past work, and you’re ready to invest
a few hundred thousand
into my business? That’s just scary. No, I’d rather work a few more years and have the bank give me a loan, or get a loan from Anna and buy back the equity eventually.”

Tina scoffed. “You’re being closed minded, Nora. I’ve eaten what you’ve cooked. That’s the only thing I need to want to invest in you. Well, that and the fact that I know how hard you work. You don’t need a genius to know that the diner will succeed.”

“Success isn’t always just about how good your product is or how hard you work,” Nora said. “It’s a combination of luck, timing and opportunity.”

“Well said,” Tina said. “But here’s the thing, Nora. You’ve got the opportunity, right in front of you. I’m willing to invest but you’re saying no. What’s up with that?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Nora said, angrily.

“I think you should,” Tina said. “I think you should have a talk with yourself about why you
really
refused Harvey’s money. Why you’re refusing mine.”

“What are you saying?”

“Do you really
want
to achieve your dream?” Tina asked. “Or do you want to be a caterer doing odd jobs all your life?”

Nora shoved back her chair. “I don’t have to listen to this.”
 

“No. You don’t,” Tina agreed. “But you’re going to listen anyway, because I’m your friend. You pushed Harvey away on the flimsiest of excuses. Now you’re pushing me and my money away too. You told me that you’d probably have enough money to think of asking the bank for a loan after the Viking festival, but you haven’t approached anyone, have you? Instead, you’re telling yourself you’re chasing your dream of owning a diner when you’re not. You’re going to talk to Anna, you’ll take her money, you’ll work for her for six months, and at the end of that time, you’ll make new excuses about why you don’t want to start the diner.”

Nora’s face hardened. “I don’t want to see you again, Tina,” she said. “You can keep your armchair psychology to yourself.”

“I’m telling you this because I love you and I’m your friend, Nora,” Tina said.

“I had a friend,” Nora replied. “I had a best friend already, and you, no matter how hard you try, aren’t ever going to come close.” So saying, she tossed down a few dollars and headed out the door.

*****

Chapter 14

The nerve of her.
Nora was fuming. The cheek! How dare she suggest that Nora wasn’t trying her hardest to open the diner? For ten years, she’d been killing herself, working every job she could, to save up the money.

She and Raquel had been so close, too, Nora thought. They’d been so close to making their dreams a reality, and it had all been snatched away in the blink of an eye.

Nora remembered the blow of it, losing first Raquel, and then her dream of opening the diner.

With the exception of the few moments that she’d shared with Harvey, the last time Nora had felt truly light and carefree had been with Raquel. They’d been struggling, but it had been
their
struggle. They’d shared something together that no one else would understand, a dream of transforming the world.

Now Raquel was gone, and Nora was left with…
 

With what?

Was Tina right?
Nora wondered. Was she saying the same things that Harvey had tried to tell her?

The truth was, Nora couldn’t picture opening the diner any more. Every picture she’d had, in her ten years of struggling for it, had involved Raquel. She’d pictured the two of them, best friends forever, working together. They’d even mapped out their roles neatly, each of their strengths complementing the others perfectly.

After Raquel’s death, Nora continued to struggle, almost considering it her duty to do what Raquel had wished. She’d worked very hard to earn the money that would go to opening the diner, or so she’d thought.

Maybe, without Raquel involved, Nora’s heart had come to believe that there could be no diner.

She felt an absurd flood of tears come to her eyes.
 

Luckily for her, she was in the most comforting of Wyoming’s forests. The woods she’d grown up playing in. Even now, as an adult, Nora came into the folding embrace of this green patch, whenever she felt vulnerable. It was here, in fact, that the final confrontation with Raquel’s murderer had occurred. Nora shivered as she recollected the horrible moment when the sound of a bullet had rung out, and Harvey had dived to save her.
 

She walked on further in the woods and then paused. In between the trees, she could see movement. A bright cloth flashed and then vanished just as quickly.

Intrigued, she followed. Moving closer, she heard sounds too. A voice.

“Well, I know what I saw,” the voice was saying. “I know I saw you with him, and I think that’ll interest a lot of people.”

Nora froze. Who was this? It sounded young. A boy’s voice, not a man’s. She crept closer to the sound of the voice.

“You can say that again,” the boy was saying. “I only know what I want, and I’m going after it. In this world, you take what you can, when you can. That’s what I’ve learnt. So let’s make a deal.”

Nora crept closer, trying to minimize the noise she made, but each shiver of a tree’s leaves against her body, each crunch of stone against her boot, convinced her she’d be caught soon.
 

“No, that excuse won’t work on me,” the boy was saying. “Fifteen’s too little. Fifty. In unmarked notes, or there’s no deal.”

She could see him through the trees now. He was wearing an orange and bright blue windbreaker, blue jeans and white-toed converse sneakers. His hair was a floppy black, and he was of average height.
 

She realized who it was even before he turned around.

“I’ll meet you tomorrow at--” The boy turned around, saw her, and froze. He pushed a button on the phone in his hand and dropped the phone quickly into his pocket.

“Ricky,” Nora said. “Ricky the Roadie. What are you doing out of jail?”

“Who are you?” Ricky asked, looking frightened.
 

“I was there that day, when Wallis was berating you about breaking his guitar,” Nora said. “You were desperate for a job. Interesting conversation you were having.”

“I… that…” Ricky was sweating all over. “That was my agent from New York. I’ve got a CD that I’m selling.”

“Really?” Nora cocked her head. “So you got out of jail and came all the way here into the woods where no one could hear you, just to have a conversation with your agent in New York?”

“Yes,” Ricky said defiantly. “I know you. I recognize you. You’re the chef, right? Nora.”

“That’s me. But not to change the subject… what’s his name? Your agent,” Nora asked. “I used to live in New York. I had friends who were active on the music scene. I’d probably find out about him fast.”

“I… did I say New York? That was my old agent. This guy is from Chicago.” Ricky was still stammering.

“Ricky, drop the act. It’s not cute. You’re barely fifteen, aren’t you? Who were you
really
talking to?”

“What business is it of yours anyway?” Ricky demanded. “Are you just a snooper?”

“I’m concerned about you,” Nora said. “You seem like a nice kid who just needs a break. I’m trying to help you stay away from the wrong path.”

“I can help myself, thanks,” Ricky said, trying to brush past her.

Nora caught him by the shoulder. “Not so fast. You haven’t answered a single question of mine.”

“I got the right not to,” Ricky said aggressively. “I know my rights. I know I am just a dumb kid to you, but I’m still covered by the law. I’m a citizen.”

“Goodness, you’re touchy,” Nora said. “Look, I’ve got your best interests in mind when I say I think you should go talk to the cops. Tell them the truth.”

“They tried to pin it on me,” Ricky said, rage in his voice. “Can you imagine that? Those dumb hicks tried to say
I
was the one that killed Wallis. I wouldn’t even mind if I had, and I wanted to, when he got me fired. I wanted him dead. But… I didn’t kill him.”