"A Murder In Milburn", Book 3: Death In The Library (6 page)

“I’m getting back in the car and calling the garage,” Tina said. “I’m soaked, so are you all. The last thing we need is one of us to fall sick.”

Uncle Horace got in too.

Only Nora remained outside, staring at the house. Horace was right. She thought she saw some movement upstairs too. Should she knock and ask for help?
 

Tina unrolled the window, and stuck her head out. “The garage said they’ll be here in an hour, maybe an hour and a half,” she said sadly. “My battery’s almost dead, and the signal is pretty weak too.”

“Try calling someone in town,” Nora said. “They should give you details on the arrest.”

“Completely my fault,” Uncle Horace chimed in. “I should have asked for details, I know. But when I heard that the sheriff’s arrested someone, I’m afraid I stopped thinking.”

“I’ll call May Almand,” Tina said. “There isn’t much that goes around town that she doesn’t know about.”

Nora nodded.

Tina paused, “Nora, why are you still standing out there? Come back in the car and wait. The rain’s just getting worse each second.”

“I’m going to go knock on the door,” Nora said, making up her mind.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Uncle Horace coughed. “I don’t mean to be paranoid, but a woman’s just been murdered. This isn’t the right time for a young lady to go about knocking on doors at sundown.”

“Uncle Horace is right,” Tina said. “I should come with you.”

“Don’t be silly, both of you,” Nora said. “I’m already soaked anyway, there’s no need for you two to be soaked again. Stay right here, and if I’m not back in fifteen minutes, come look for me. All right?”

“All right.” Tina rolled up her window.

By the time she made her way to the front door, Nora was shivering. Her pretty ballerina shoes were now caked in mud, and the hem of her olive green dress was spackled with it, as were the back of her legs. Harvey kept telling her to keep an emergency kit with an umbrella, blanket and a change of clothes in the car. Nora sighed, and promised herself she’d do it as soon as she got home.

She rang the doorbell once, then twice. The driveway, she noticed, was covered with tire-tracks that were slowly dissolving in the rain. People were definitely here, or had been recently. She rang the bell again, and peered through the side window, wondering if Uncle Horace had just been hallucinating. A hand tapped her on the shoulder.
 

Nora jumped, and gave a little scream. She whirled around, and two hands caught her by the shoulders. Ready to strike out, she suddenly paused. Harvey.

He grinned at her, water dripping into his eyes. “Well, this is a nice surprise,” he said.

“Harvey? What are you doing out here.”

“Minding my own business in the garage when I heard you knock.” He jerked his thumb at the garage. “What are
you
doing here?”

“My car broke down. We were trying to get into town, now we’re stranded,” Nora explained.

“Ah.” Harvey took a step forward. “Looks to me, like somebody is in need of a knight in shining armor.”

“How about a knight in a tow truck?” Nora smiled. “Tina’s called one. They should be here in an hour.”

“Or,” Harvey said, “I could take you all to town in my car.”

“We’re soaking wet. We’d ruin your precious leather seat.”

“Hmm.” Harvey considered this. “Yes, well, I suppose you can pay me for the inconvenience.” He took another step forward. “So, cash or kiss?”

What Nora loved about Harvey was the way his face would glow sometimes when he looked at her. With other people, he was alternately smooth and charming, or sarcastic and cold. Even when he was relaxed and friendly, he always had his guard up, somehow. First and foremost, he was always a businessman. Except with Nora, When he looked at her the way he was looking right now, the stress would fall away from his face, and he’d look almost boyishly young.

“You’re freezing,” he said, moving his hand from her shoulder to her cheek. His voice grew a little more serious now. “The others probably are too, aren’t they? Let’s call them in.”

“But what are you doing out here anyway?” Nora asked.

“My meeting yesterday, remember? This is the proposed site of the resort,” Harvey said. “The property is huge and there’s a lake in it. I was showing people around, selling it as a brilliant investment. It was a fun meeting, actually. We chatted, played some poker, had a few drinks. Did you know Mayor Almand does a killer Tom Hanks imitation? Anyway, about 4am, everyone made their way back home. After that, I’ve been supervising some contractors.”

With a start, Nora realized that the last time she had seen Harvey was at the library yesterday morning. Funny how a day could feel as long as a week.

“Wait, then you haven’t heard?” She asked.

“Heard what?”

She filled him in on the details and watched his face change, from horror to a sudden quiet introspection.

“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked Nora.

“Honestly… I didn’t think to,” she said. “I was with Tina and Sam all night. Sam was fairly inconsolable. Sean was taking their statements and Sam could barely string two words together. Dr. Neil had to give him a sedative in the end.”

“I understand,” Harvey said, “So why didn’t you call me?”

“I know you and Sam are friends, Harvey, but I just… I didn’t really
think
,” Nora said.

“You forgot I existed, until now,” Harvey said. “Didn’t you?”

“Harvey, seriously? This isn’t the time.” Nora felt herself get annoyed.

“No I get it,” Harvey said. “Sean was around, so it didn’t matter where I was.”

“Harvey--”

“So she’s dead,” he said, almost to himself. “And now we need to find who killed her. Let me guess, you’ve already started interrogating people.”

“Harvey, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t want you mixed up in this,” Harvey said. “Not this time. Not again. I’ve seen how much stress you take on when you’re trying to solve cases. You hear me, Nora? Leave this one alone.” His voice was sharp with warning.

“Harvey, I’m not trying to solve anything,” Nora said.

“Good,” Harvey replied. “Don’t forget you’ve got a diner that you’re planning to start next month, in between your catering jobs.”

“Tina can’t really think about the diner right now,” Nora said.

“So, what, you’re going to postpone opening it?”

“It just doesn’t seem right, does it?” she asked.

“There you go again,” Harvey said, raising his arms. “You’re always doing this, Nora.”

“You’re being selfish,” Nora said angrily. “Tina’s sister-in-law is dead. She was murdered. Do you realize that?”

“I realize that. Do
you
realize that solving the case is Sean’s job? Yours is to get Tina to move on by focussing on work and family.”

“I haven’t been trying to solve
anything
,” Nora said. “And I can’t believe that the first thing you think of when you hear a woman was murdered, is
why didn’t my girlfriend call me?
”

“I asked, and you haven’t really given me a reply,” Harvey said.
 

Nora was about to give an indignant reply, when she was interrupted.

“Nora!” Tina and Horace came running up the path.

Harvey turned, and Tina slowed. “Harvey, Nora’s been gone a while and Uncle Horace and I were worried.”

“She told me what happened,” Harvey said, taking Tina’s hands in his own. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Tina. I’m sorrier still for Sam. He’s a great friend, and any help you need, I’d be glad to provide.”

“How about a ride into town?” Tina asked. “I’ve just found out that they’ve arrested Robert Foxworthy.”

*****

Chapter 9

Nora sat next to Harvey as he drove them into town in his fashionable BMW. As usual, despite the rain and the rapidly approaching darkness, Harvey drove like a maniac, going twice as fast on turns, going far above the speed limit, letting the engine roar as he pushed the pedal down.
 

“Get us there in one piece please,” Horace joked. “There’s only so much strain my heart can bear.”

In reply, Harvey slowed down for about five seconds, before going back to his normal speed.

Neither he, nor Nora said a word to each other. She pointedly stared out the window, or fiddled with the radio, while Tina gave them puzzled glances from the backseat.

Sam, who had been fast asleep, was slowly showing signs of reviving. Around the fourth time Harvey’s car jumped over a speed-bump, Sam blinked awake.

“Where are we?” he asked Tina, looking around. He stretched. “Oof. I have a monstrous headache.”

“There’s water in the back,” Harvey said. “I keep an emergency kit under the driver’s seat. See if you can reach it.”

Sam extracted it, and glugged down half the bottle. “Thanks,” he said gratefully. For a few minutes, before his brain reminded him of the events that had preceded his pill-induced blackout, Sam actually looked cheerful. Nora turned in her seat, and saw the exact second realization hit him. His face seemed to grow harder, the lines on them more pronounced.

“Selena,” he murmured.

“Sam. The sheriff and his men have arrested Robert Foxworthy,” Tina said. “We’re on our way into town to find out more now.”

Sam’s face turned grim. “He’s the one who did it?”

“Looks that way so far.”

Sam clenched his hands into fists. “I hope he hangs.”

The sentiment seemed to be popular opinion in town.

Anna’s pancake house was relatively deserted this time around, though on one table sat the town librarian, and the mayor’s wife.

After he’d left Anna’s earlier that day, Sean had gone straight to Buckle’s B&B. He’d knocked on Robert’s door, and Robert, still sleepy, had been very surprised on opening it. No one knew what words were exchanged, but the maids from Buckle’s reported that within minutes, Robert had thrown his first punch at Sean.
 

When Sean had reeled back and hit the wall, Robert had tried to turn around and slam the door. Instead, he found himself on his stomach, his hands handcuffed behind him.

“Long story short,” Grant Mackomb said, “the boy never had a chance once he’d laid a finger on Sean. He’s sitting in jail now, and given the town’s mood right now, that’s probably better for him.”

“So he’s definitely done it then?” Tina asked. “I mean… there’s proof?”

“Well…” Grant looked hesitantly at Tina, and then at Sam.

“Is there?” Sam demanded.

“I… well. I can’t really comment.”

“You’re not the sheriff, Grant. There’s no need to look so scared. No one’s going to remove you from your job if you tell us what you heard or saw,” Harvey said.

“The thing is, it’s testimony,” Grant said.

“That’s all right, feel free to share it.”

“All right,” Grant said. “Since you’re forcing it out of me. May and I were at Chili’s last night. We had planned a business dinner to discuss the library’s next event. Selena was sitting in the booth next to us when we arrived. We tried to get her to join us, but she refused. She was in a really bad mood. I assumed it was because of the fights she’d had earlier in the day. She actually moved
away
from us. I was walking to the bathroom when I overheard Selena talking on the phone. I suppose they’ve checked her phone records by now, so they know...”

“Know what?”

“She was planning to meet Robert last night,” Grant said. “All I heard her say was, ‘
Fine. I’ll meet you, Robbie. No. Whatever. I’ll text you where
.’” Grant paused and took a breath. “All I know is, about half an hour after that, she finished up her dinner and left.”

“Did you hear this too?” Sam asked May.

May shook her head.
 

“What time?” Sam asked. “What time did she leave?”

“About 10pm, I think,” Grant said.

“Eleven, Grant,” May said. “I’m very sure it was eleven.”

“Her time of death is between midnight and one,” Sam said. “So I suppose that makes it obvious who did it.”

Tina, Nora noticed, was holding her breath, looking at Sam with trepidation in her eyes. Any moment now, she expected him to burst into tears, clearly.

Instead, Sam grabbed May’s lemonade, raised it to the sky, and said, “A toast to justice. May it always prevail!” In one swoop, he drunk the entire glass, and banged it on the table. Then, throwing back his head, he began laughing.

The others looked at him uncomfortably. Slowly, his laughs turned into gurgles, and then into little sobs. Nora, who had seen him at his worst, expected him to cry again. Instead, when he faced them all, his face was vacant.

“Forgive me,” he said. “I’m still emotionally unstable, I think.”

“That’s all right.” Harvey put an arm around his shoulders. “We’re here for you, buddy.”

“Absolutely.” May patted the back of his hand. “Can I get you another lemonade?”

“You can get me Robert’s head on a silver platter.” Sam laughed. “No, I’m fine. Really. In a twisted sort of way, knowing he’s been caught makes it better for me. I spent all of last night wondering… why? Now, it seems obvious. He made a move on her, she rejected him. He killed her.” Sam’s face convulsed, before he controlled himself. “Now, he will face the consequences of his actions. I hope the judge throws the book at him.”