The Milburn Big Box Set

by Nancy McGovern

  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. “With that, nothing more needs to be said.”

  The End (of Death Of A Deputy)

  Continue for Death In The Library…

  A MURDER IN MILBURN. BOOK 3:

  Death In The Library

  By

  Nancy McGovern

  Chapter 1

  This late at night, Milburn, Wyoming, looked like a dark velvet quilt with occasional neon bars sewn in, especially when you were looking down at it from the water tower. The fluorescent street that Milburn called “downtown” was deserted, save for a single muscle car roaring down it. Ten years ago, Tina would have been in that muscle car, leaning out of the window and whooping with joy, as her then-boyfriend, now-husband, floored the accelerator.

  Instead, she scooted back a little on the platform of the water tower, so that her legs didn’t dangle so much, and shot a look at her friend Nora. Nora had her chin on the edge of a bottle of orange soda, and was looking far off into the night.

  “Beep beep beep,” Tina said. “Time to wake up, Nora.”

  Nora blinked, exaggeratedly shook her head a little like a dog shaking off water, and said, “Was I ignoring you?”

  “No, you were just treating me like an old outfit in the closet,” Tina said. “You’d peek at me once in awhile, and then forget I existed. What are you thinking of?”

  “I was thinking that Raquel would approve of this if she could see us. You and me sitting on the water tower at midnight even though we’re old enough to know better.”

  “I hate that word, old,” Tina said. “They should ban that word. It’s as bad as any cuss word I know.”

  “I didn’t think you knew any cuss words,” Nora said, looking at her sideways.

  “Oh please, you were the saint in high school. Raquel and I used to be the wild children. I can’t tell you how many times I sat here with her on a school night.”

  “Thanks for bringing me tonight,” Nora said.

  “It was your idea, really.” Tina smiled.

  Since Nora’s best friend had died, she commemorated every anniversary of her death by doing one thing that Raquel would have loved to do herself. Nora looked at the bottle of orange soda in her hand. Raquel had always liked that, though Nora, herself, preferred cola.

  “Do it,” Tina said, misunderstanding Nora’s thoughtful contemplation of the bottle. “Drop it, I dare you.”

  “Tina!” Nora exclaimed. “That’s very irresponsible. Someone might get hit on the head.”

  “Well, you’re the one who wants to celebrate by doing things Raq would do. So go on,” Tina said. “I dare you, so don’t be chicken.”

  “I’m not chicken,” Nora said. She dangled the bottle over the edge, holding the very top with two fingers, then bought it back close to herself. “Someone will have to clean that mess tomorrow, though. So I won’t make it.”

  Tina gave a little impatient puff. “Stop being such a saint and sin once in awhile.”

  “Stop sinning so much and be a saint once in awhile,” Nora shot back with a smirk.

  “Sin? Me? I’m a perfect angel now that my sister-in-law has moved in with me and Sam,” Tina said. She sighed. “Honestly, I wish Sam had never invited her. Fifteen whole days at our house while her house is getting done up.”

  “And what’s wrong? Is she being annoying?”

  “Selena? Annoying?” Tina took a deep breath. “See, it’s not like I don’t like her. In fact, before she stayed with us, I totally loved her. It’s just that she’s a total brat. Plus she’s used to bossing Sam around like only an older sister can.”

  Nora gave her a sympathetic look.

  Encouraged, Tina began to vent. “I get it, she’s this hot-shot writer with a brilliant career. But she’s just so… she acts all sweet and sugary, and when it’s time to do any real work, she vanishes. I mean, I like my house super clean and, fine, I don’t expect her to vacuum
twice a day like I do. All I ask is, couldn’t she just stop leaving her clothes everywhere? And she absolutely refuses to cook - she expects me to do that - and then she claims she’s on a diet and throws away half the food on her plate. Then the next morning I find bread crumbs under my dining table because she’s made herself a sandwich.” Tina punctuated her rant with another deep breath. “I really didn’t want to talk about her. I got out of the house to forget she exists, actually.”

  Nora made a little murmur. “How’s Sam handling it?”

  “Sam always gets so defensive if I say anything about Selena.” Tina sighed. “His mother made him promise to always take care of her… and he’s very sensitive about his mom’s death, even now. Still, I think he’s sick of her, too. I overheard them fighting the other day. And I’ve had a few fights with Sam about her, as well. Thankfully, the last one ended with us agreeing that we’re tolerating her for fifteen days and then never inviting her back again if we can help it.” Tina let out a little huff. “Oh look at me, venting about her. She’s giving a talk at the library tomorrow, you know? She’s very excited about how well her last book has done, and now she’s starting a new one.”

  “I know about her speech at the library,” Nora said. “The town librarian has asked me to cater for it, as a matter of fact. She said Selena specially requested me. I guess my pancakes are a hit with her!”

  “She’s in for a treat!” Tina laughed, then whistled. “So are you.”

  Nora raised her eyebrow.

  “No, I’m serious. I told you, she’s a brat, but Selena is a very entertaining woman. Whatever the speech is about, you’ll enjoy it.” Saying this, Tina swigged down the last of her soda, and tossed the bottle in an arc over the water tower.

  “Tina!” Nora gave a little gasp.

  But Tina was watching the bottle, mesmerized, as it turned over and over before crashing on the ground.

  “Funny thing,” she said. “The bottle became invisible as soon as it shattered.”

  “But it’s going to leave its mark behind,” Nora said, shaking her head. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

  “I can’t help it,” Tina said. “I may look domesticated to you, but ever so often, I get this urge to break things, and sometimes I can’t control it. Do you think... ” She halted over the words, gave a sideways look at Nora, and continued. “Do you think that’s how Milly felt when she killed Deputy Wallis? An uncontrollable urge to…destroy?”

  Deputy Wallis’ death at the Viking festival last year had created a huge scandal in town. Nora had played a key role in solving the case and, when she’d finally confronted the murderer, Nora barely escaped with her life. Just thinking about it made her queasy.

  Nora wanted to answer Tina, but was cut short by the screech of brakes. A sleek BMW left rubber on the road as it halted by the water tower. Two shadows emerged, and a cellphone suddenly lit up.

  “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” The shorter of the men waved like a shipwrecked man to a lifeboat.

  The other man jumped on the hood of the car, then the roof, and drew out a bunch of flowers, which he tossed up.

  “Looks like the boys are done with poker night,” Nora said, as she caught the bouquet. She gave a deep, appreciative sniff. “Lilies.”

  “How did they ever manage to track us down?”

  “I might have texted Harvey in between moodily gazing off into the distance.” Nora laughed.

  “Traitor.” Tina grinned. “We’re supposed to be bonding with intellectual talk and ignoring these neanderthals.”

  “Well, I missed my cute neanderthal,” Nora said.

  The two men had climbed the tower now, and soon, Sam’s loud baritone was ringing through the night.

  “Tina, my one true love, the light of my life, the moon of my existence. Have I ever told you my life wouldn’t be worth living if it weren’t for your caramelized onion and roast beef sandwiches?”

  “All the places in town are shut. Sam’s had plenty of beer and isn’t in the mood for instant noodles, so we thought we’d try to lure you ladies into the kitchen,” Harvey said, squeezing himself next to Nora and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

  Tina giggled as Sam buried his nose into her neck and made promises of diamonds and gold in exchange for a sandwich. “Sam, you belong in the middle ages! Make your own sandwich!”

  “I would but it misses a key ingredient… love!” Sam said with a flourish.

  “I swear you’ve got more cheese in you than Nora’s pizzas,” Tina said, laughing as she pushed him away. “We were having a perfectly beautiful girly BFF moment, reminiscing and throwing bottles off the tower. Now here you two are, loud and male...”

  Harvey was watching it all with an indulgent grin, and said, “Bet you missed us.”

  “I missed you like that bottle missed the ground,” Tina said.

  “I’m too drunk to make sense of that,” Sam said, with a hiccup. “Drive us home, Harvey, before Sheriff Sean shows up and makes a ruckus!”

  *****

  Chapter 2

  For some reason, Milburn’s town library had been built with an Egyptian flourish. It had been built in the 1920s, when an eccentric local businessman died without heirs and bequeathed his large private collection of books as well as his home to create a public library. It stood now by the corner of Maple and Willow street, an unassuming three-story structure with wide shuttered windows and large white pillars holding up a red roof. Inside, it was almost like a labyrinth, with books crowding every inch of its walls, and a huge basement that still held relics from its old master’s time.

  “Nora, these are amazing,” said Grant Mackomb, the town librarian, as he bit into her lemon cream cookies.

  “Thanks.” Nora smiled. Her work was almost done. She’d set out her assorted cookies and the pomegranate iced tea. An open jar stood next to it, asking people to take a cookie and leave a donation. “I’m glad you’re doing this, Grant.”

  “Well, the funds from our founder have almost run out now,” Grant said. “Milburn will have to support its library now. We desperately need renovations. That basement, it’s got secret tunnels in there, I think!”

  “You’re a passionate librarian,” Nora said. “It’s people like you that make a big difference to the community.”

  “Thanks.” Grant smiled. “I wish my father thought that way. He used to run a pharmacy, you know. We were the only one in town. He tried to force me to take over that business, but I told him my heart was set on other things.” He sighed, and stretched.

  “Expect a big turnout today?” Nora asked.

  “I do, actually.” Grant said. “Selena is pretty famous, and Robert Foxworthy even more so. I know a lot of people are looking forward to hearing them speak. Ah, here’s Selena now.”

  The first thing most people noticed about Selena was her neon and purple hair. It hung in choppy bangs, obscuring her blue eyes. She was dressed in red shoes and a navy blue dress, looking as professional as a banker from the neck down.

  “Nora.” Selena nodded. “We’ve met before, right? My sister in law is very excited about that diner you two are planning to open.” She popped a cinnamon peanut cookie into her mouth, chewed for a second, gulped it down and nodded. “Yes, I can see why.”

  “Well, Robert should be here soon.” Grant glanced at his watch. “Perhaps the two of you would like to rehearse your questions… or…”

  Selena waved it away. “We know what we’re supposed to do. Go on stage, blabber a bit about the writing process, sound mystical, eat some applause, and hopefully raise funds too.”

  “Nora’s cookies will raise funds just fine,” Grant said. “I’m more concerned with filling seats. There was a time when this library was always bustling. Now, people just go online. I get lonely in here some days. I’m just sitting around with nothing to do.”

  “Maybe you should write a book,” Nora suggested. “I can’t think of a better place to do it.”

  Selena raised an eyebr
ow. “You think it’s that easy, writing a book?”

  “No… no… I just meant it would be a fun way to pass time.”

  Selena’s cheeks turned pink. “Some of us take it a little more seriously than that.”

  “Ah… Selena, Robert’s messaged that he’s almost here,” Grant said, hurriedly changing the topic. “He mentioned in his email that the two of you were good friends in college.”

  “I don’t remember that.” Selena frowned.

  “Well, you’ve seen his photo on the book jacket, haven’t you? Maybe you’d recognize his face if not his name.” Grant held out a heavy paperback with “Magpie to the Morning” in bold orange on its dark blue cover.

  Selena flipped through the pages, looking disinterested. She paused as she reached the last page, and her fingers rested on the photo of the author. Nora saw the sudden pain, and indecision, that flashed across her face.

  “No. I don’t remember him,” Selena said.

  “Well, he was quite enthusiastic about coming here,” Grant said. “I, of course, was delighted. Have you read the book, Nora?”

  “Yes. And I loved it,” Nora said. “It’s amazing.”

  “What’s it about?” Selena asked.

  “It’s a semi-fictional book about a man who decides to trek across America to get over the love of his life cheating on him,” Nora said. “Even if you’ve never had your heart broken. If you’ve ever just felt like you want to throw a few clothes in a bag and vanish into the arms of the world, vanish into the wild… this book is for you.”

  Selena looked at Nora’s flushed face, and laughed. “Why I believe someone has a little crush on Mr. Foxworthy.”

  “No… it’s not that. It’s just that I’ve always been torn between running away from everything and being anonymous all my life, and having a community whose fabric I’m tightly sewn into,” Nora said. “I guess I spent ten years running, and now I appreciate the community… but sometimes, I see a bird in flight and wish it was me.”