“It’s true, isn’t it?” Karen asked. “You feel guilty for being alive when Raquel isn’t. You feel guilty about chasing your dreams when Raquel isn’t around to share in them. You think that solving cases will somehow make you feel better and deliver justice.”
“I don’t want to talk to you any more,” Nora said, her blood heating up. “I’m leaving now. Goodbye.”
“Leave if you wish.” Karen said. “Tell the world about me and Sean if you wish. My words will still be true.”
Refusing to hear any more, Nora slammed the door behind her. Aimlessly, she began to walk through the woods that bordered Wallis’ house, hoping to eventually find her way back to Mrs. Mullally’s house.
It was true, what Karen had said, she realized. Every word of it was the truth. It was the reason she wasn’t focusing on the diner. Tina had tried to tell her this too, and so had Harvey, but Nora had ignored them all. The truth was apparent even to strangers like Karen. But Nora herself had been blind to it. Sean had said that he wouldn’t take on a case if he felt emotionally unable to handle it, but that’s what Nora had done. She had been emotional about this case since day one. Now, it was time to stop. She had to think things through, slowly, and carefully. That was the way forward. Making the decision, Nora began to walk away from Mrs. Mullally’s house, and instead, towards the meadow where the Viking festival had first taken place.
*****
Chapter 28
The decision to think things through rationally seemed to lift her mood. Nora lay down all the facts that she remembered, trying her best not to pollute them with emotion.
Who was Wallis? Wallis was many things – a rockstar, a devoted nephew, a deputy sheriff, a cheating husband, a man with debt.
Who would want to kill Wallis? The husbands of women he’d had flings with? Yes. Sean, because of Karen? Maybe. Karen? Nora paused.
She had sworn she would not get emotional, and yet, now that she had properly talked to Karen, she knew that Karen wasn’t responsible. It wasn’t just that Sean was right, she had been with him for the preceding hour before finding Wallis’ body. It was in Karen’s face. Karen was a woman too gentle to commit murder.
So it was too bad that the logical part of Nora’s brain screamed that she had to have been the one to do it.
After all, Karen had the biggest motive. She had loved Wallis, and also hated him. She had wanted to be free of him, and he had told her he would not allow it. She would gain financially if Wallis died.
This last part was untrue, wasn’t it? Karen had only inherited debt, so she said. Wallis had been so proud of his guitar collection. He’d spoken multiple times about owning Zany Mott’s guitar.
Nora felt electricity shoot up her spine. This was an angle she had never even considered before. Zany Mott’s guitar. Whipping out her phone, she did a quick Google search and whistled at the results. Zany’s last guitar had been auctioned off at more than one million dollars. Had Wallis known this? How much would his own guitar have earned him?
Suddenly, it seemed to Nora, that the case had never been about emotions. If you looked at it this way, a man was dead and a million dollar guitar was missing – you’d never think anything but that the murder was motivated by money. It clicked together now. Ricky was a fan of Mott’s and likely knew how much the guitar cost. No wonder he’d preferred to blackmail the murderer rather than reveal him or her. He’d wanted his cut of the profits.
As for the murderer – who did Wallis know that would need the money? Here, Nora felt herself falter. After all, it could be anyone. Sean had said right in the beginning that this was the kind of crime that succeeds because of how unpredictable it is. The murderer had gotten greedy, and in minutes, or perhaps seconds, decided to kill Wallis and steal his guitar. It could have been anyone who chanced upon him. Wallis had boasted about his guitar enough times that people knew what it was.
Nora took a breath again. The last time people had seen Wallis was when he had gone outside his band’s bus for a smoke. This was after he and Harvey had fought.
She had reached the shed where Wallis’ body had been found. Yellow police tape still hung in a rectangle outside it, though it had been broken, and one thread dangled uselessly in the wind. Pushing it aside, Nora opened the door.
Here she was. The site of the murder. She gave a little shiver.
Here was a question she hadn’t asked herself, though. Why had Wallis walked here of his own accord? Surely, no one could have murdered him first and then dragged him here. No, there were too many people around for that. Someone would have seen that happen. It was clear that Wallis had walked into the shed with his murderer. Why?
To talk in private, she supposed. But what about? What could be so urgent that he would want to talk in private and leave his band alone?
The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place for her. Nora now knew who had killed him, and why.
But as luck would have it before she could react, the door opened, and the murderer walked in.
*****
Chapter 29
“You,” the murderer was shocked. “The last person I want to see here!”
“I can leave,” Nora said, begging her body not to betray the fear that had shot through it.
An evil smile spread across the murderer’s face. “No need. I’d much prefer you stayed here. Permanently.”
“Milly,” Nora begged. “Let me go.”
“It’s a free country.” Milly shifted her body so that Nora could walk by.
Nora stood where she was. Milly held a shovel in the other hand, and if Nora tried to walk by, she had no doubt that shovel would be planted in the back of her head.
It was no use. Milly intended to kill her. She might as well die telling the truth.
“You killed Wallis, didn’t you?” Nora asked.
Milly’s face contorted with shock, fear and then slyness. “What are you talking about?”
“You killed him,” Nora said.
“Why would I kill Wallis? My father is rich. I’m a star. I’ve made movies. Wallis was a know-nothing small town band guy. I couldn’t care less about him.”
“Oh, but you did,” Nora said. “You were the last person he was seen with, when you went out for a smoke with him. I don’t know why I never thought of that. You admitted it yourself. Harvey had stalked off, and instead of following him, you decided to have a smoke.”
“So what?” Milly asked.
“So Wallis began to hit on you, didn’t he?” Nora asked. “He probably told you all about his amazing Zany Motts guitar that his father had left him. He didn’t know he was signing his own death certificate.”
“Conjecture.” Milly laughed. “Pure conjecture.”
“You lured him into the shed, pretending that you were interested in a fling,” Nora said. “You didn’t want a fling, though, you wanted his guitar. When did the idea to kill him first strike you, Milly? Was it when you were already in the shed with him?”
“You’re very confident.”
“You came here to get the guitar back,” Nora said. “You’ve probably buried it somewhere near, and maybe you saw me walk into the shed, and decided to come say hi.”
“I decided to come bop you on the head,” Milly said, with a laugh that was akin to the screech of a wild bird. “You stole Harvey from me. I can’t let that go unpunished.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Nora said. “Despite everything, I am. We treated you badly, the two of us. But… I love Harvey. I always have.”
“He loves you too,” Milly said, mockingly. “The fool. I was ready to marry him. I thought if I had access to his money, I wouldn’t need my father’s. That way, maybe I could make more movies.”
“Your father cut you off because of your alcoholism,” Nora said. “Or was it because of the two court cases against you? Sean told me you had a record.”
“Idiots,” Milly said. “I’ve always had a short temper, and my father’s always bought people off. He told me this was the
last time. He told me if I didn’t stay in Wyoming, and reform, and never look at Hollywood again, he’d disown me. What good was his money to me if I couldn’t do the things I liked with it? When I saw a chance to make money, real money, I took it.”
“Yes, that’s what it must have felt like,” Nora said. “To you, you were only making a grab at your freedom, and money meant no more being attached to your father. Money meant you could run away and do what you liked.”
“I had to stay in town till things cooled off a little,” Milly said.
“Ricky ran away when he saw you,” Nora said. “That just occurred to me. I thought it was Harvey he’d run away from, but you were there too that day. He took one look at you and ran away. He was a witness, wasn’t he?”
“He was a little thief,” Milly said. “He was trying to steal my hard earned money. I took care of him too. I called him to a secluded little spot and the fool actually came. He thought I’d just hand him money, can you imagine?”
“You committed two crimes,” Nora said. “Murdering Wallis was bad enough. Murdering a young child like Ricky who had his life ahead of him? That was an outright sin.”
“What choice did I have?” Milly said. “I had my whole life ahead of me too. I deserved happiness too. But Ricky wanted to steal it from me. So he got what he deserved. Big deal.”
“He didn’t deserve that,” Nora said. “Neither of them did.”
“Well… it’s a little late now, isn’t it?” Milly said. “Or do you think someone’s going to rescue you this time?”
Nora took her phone out of her pocket. “I’ve recorded everything you said, Milly,” she said. “It’s all on tape, your confession, and it’s been emailed automatically to Sean. So even if you kill me now, you won’t be able to go free.”
“You’re lying!” Milly hissed. “You’re lying! You had no time to email it. The file is still unsent!”
“Is it?” Nora smiled, shaking the mobile tantalizingly.
As if on cue, Milly charged forward, trying to attack Nora. Prepared, Nora ducked, and with a neat swerve, ran out of the shed. With a terrible scream, Milly followed.
For miles outside, there was not a sign of another human being. Even in broad daylight, Milly could possibly kill her and get away with it. Nora’s legs pumped as she increased her speed. Behind her, Milly was catching up.
Nora felt the air rush behind her as Milly swung the shovel. It almost connected and Milly gave another frustrated scream.
Was this it? Did it have to end this way? With Nora and Raquel both dead, killed by the greed of monsters masquerading as human beings?
Milly swung the shovel again, and this time caught Nora on her shoulder. Nora went stumbling forward, rolling as she tumbled down.
I’m sorry, Raquel. She thought. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m sorry I couldn’t save myself.
Maybe she imagined it, but she thought she heard a voice. An urgent, yet loving voice.
It doesn’t end this way. It can’t end this way. You need to live Nora, and you need to be happy. That’s the only way you’ll make me happy.
Milly straddled Nora and raised the shovel again.
With a sudden burst of energy, Nora struck back. With a strength that seemed to come from someplace other than her tired body, she pushed Milly off her and began running again.
This time, when she ran, there was only serenity. Like a marathon runner, she ran steady, almost in a trance. Behind her, Milly fell farther and farther away, still screaming.
Then, Nora was on the road. Then, it was all over.
*****
Chapter 30
Milly’s arrest sent a shockwave through the town. No one knew what to make of it. For days, people gathered at Anna’s, whispering rumors about how it had happened and what exactly had happened.
Nora had been confined inside her own house, and although the town folk went to visit her, Mrs. Mullally would chase them away claiming that there was no need to be nosey and that Nora would talk when she was ready to.
Milly had been arrested, and her trial would begin soon. Reporters descended on the town, fascinated by the story of an ex-Hollywood actress who had killed a rockstar. The publicity about the reason she killed him drove up the price of the Zany Motts’ guitar even further, so that now, Karen was a multimillionaire.
As for Karen, the town had been shocked into silence when she and Sean made their first public appearance at Anna’s pancake house. They walked in hand-in-hand, very conscious of the stares that followed them, and trying to hide their nervousness behind plastic smiles. To their surprise, the town had welcomed them.
“I always thought you’d make a nice couple,” Betty Manor had said, congratulating them. “Wallis, bless his soul, was a good man, but a bad husband.”
Others had echoed similar sentiments, rushing forward to shake Sean’s hand, telling him they had always believed that he was the right sheriff for Milburn.
“You did well, figuring it out,” Desmond Drakely said to him.
“It was Nora, not me,” Sean said. “I hate to admit it, but she’s the one who caught Milly when she was trying to dig up the Mott’s guitar.”
“So what happens to Milly, then?” someone asked.
“That’s for the courts to decide,” Sean said. “But she’s confessed, and she’s under psychiatric evaluation right now. Personally, I think she’s going to be going away for a very long time.”
Alan Bridges, sulky and alone, sipped a milkshake laced with rum and whispered rumors about how it was all an inside job, but even his old friend Petey didn’t support him.
“Come on, Alan, it was Milly, not Sean. Just admit you were wrong about him.”
As for Nora, she spent a few days recovering from the wounds Milly had inflicted on her. Mrs. Mullally, protective as always, didn’t let a single soul in to see her. So she spent time alone in her room, remembering the weird peace that had flooded over her in the middle of one of her most traumatic experiences when Milly had chased her.
In her mind, she replayed that voice over and over again, trying to convince herself it wasn’t Raquel’s voice when she knew otherwise.
Raquel had saved her. Raquel had told her to live. Raquel had told her she had to pursue every dream she had ever dreamt.
On the second night Nora had locked herself in, she felt her window creak open, and someone sit at the foot of her bed. She blinked her eyes open, and saw Harvey, sitting there with his back turned to her.
“She could have killed you,” he said softly, as Nora awoke. “She could have killed you, Nora, and I would never have forgiven myself.”
“But she didn’t,” Nora said. “I escaped.”
Harvey turned back and put a hand under her chin. “You’re precious to me, Nora. More precious than a million dollar guitar, even. Promise me you’ll never put yourself in a situation that dangerous again.”
“I can’t make promises I might not keep,” she said.
“Then promise me you’ll let me be there,” Harvey said. “Promise me you’ll let me protect you.”
“Harvey--”
“I love you, Nora, and I want to help you. Every way I can. I want it so badly. I can’t bear the thought that…”
“Harvey,” Nora’s voice was quiet, but something in it made him pause and look up.
“I love you too,” she said. “More than you know.”
With a smile, he leaned forward and pressed his lips on her. “Then there’s nothing more to be said.”
THE END
Thank you for reading my story! I truly hope you enjoyed it! If so, you can get the 3rd book in this series, Death At The Library, On Amazon RIGHT NOW! Just CLICK HERE to do so!
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There is also a novella-length Prequel to the series that you can get on Amazon ca
lled Dying To Be Cool. Get it by CLICKING HERE!
Please continue for a note from the author…
A RECIPE FOR YOU!
Nora’s Delicious Crepes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup of flour (all-purpose)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of melted butter
Directions:
1. Whisk the flour and the eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Gradually stir in the milk and water until combined. Add the salt and butter. Beat until smooth.
2. Lightly-oil a griddle or frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Pour or scoop approximately 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle for each crepe. Spread the batter evenly by tilting the pan in a circular motion.
3. Cook the crepe until the bottom is light-brown, usually approximately 2 minutes. Loosen with a spatula, flip and cook the other side to a light-brown.
4. Serve hot.
4. Add your choice of fruit, honey and/or whipped cream.
5. Enjoy!
One More Thing…
If you would RETURN TO AMAZON to give this book a positive review, I would really appreciate it! Thank you so much!
Please continue for a note from the author…
A Note From Nancy
Thank you for reading this book! I am still reeling from the response the first book in this series has received so I really hope this one met (or, in fact, exceeded) the expectations! Readers from around the world have emailed to tell me how much they loved Death At A Diner and that they couldn’t wait to read the second book in the series. It has been amazing!
Death Of A Deputy: A Culinary Cozy Mystery (A Murder In Milburn Book 2) Page 13