The Milburn Big Box Set

by Nancy McGovern

Harvey shrugged. “Wish I knew. Sergio was probably just crazy.”

  *****

  Chapter 13

  But was he? Nora wondered. The thought was still on her mind as she manned the counter the next morning. It was a pact between Nora and Tina that they’d both learn to manage the diner equally, so every day, Nora spent some time tending the customers, while Tina fired up the grill and went to work cooking their orders. Nora liked the system - it broke the monotony and helped exercise new parts of her brain. In between serving up hot plates of scrambled eggs and freshly buttered toast, Nora found her mind wandering.

  Why was Sergio so focussed on Joe? That’s where the answer lay, surely. If Nora could only speak to someone who knew Tiffany well… but who could that be?

  May Almand came in again, her mouth in a tight knot as usual. Nora gave her a smile, and May put up her nose a little.

  “The usual, May?” Nora asked. She could never understand why May hated her so. A little time ago, Nora had found out a secret about May’s past that May had begged her not to tell. Nora had kept the secret, and thought that maybe doing so would make May a little friendlier. Instead, May just seemed to dislike Nora more.

  Nora supposed it was because May’s persona in the town was that of a woman who had it all - after all, she was married to the Mayor, was herself in several committees, had numerous friends, and was in addition one of the richest women in town. Who wouldn’t envy her? Well, Nora didn’t, not one bit. Maybe that’s why she hated Nora. Or maybe it was just that she still saw Nora as an outsider who was making waves in her little kingdom.

  She didn’t have a problem with Tina, however. May gave Tina a big smile as she came out of the kitchen. “Glorious morning, isn’t it?” May asked.

  “Perfectly lovely, now that the sun’s out,” Tina said. “The snow’s melted a bit on the mountain tops.”

  “I’m thinking of going for a swim in the lake later this afternoon if the weather keeps up,” May said. “I love a good hike, especially if it ends with a dip in the water.”

  “Well, you’re lucky to live in a hiking wonderland like our little town.” Tina smiled. “There must be a million trails all around.”

  “I won’t rest till I’ve investigated every one of them,” May said. “Speaking of investigations, did you hear the latest about Tiffany?”

  “Don’t tell me there’s a new twist already,” Tina said.

  “Apparently, Sean’s investigating her boyfriend, well, I should say boyfriends. She had at least two of them at a time!”

  “Imagine that!” Tina exclaimed. “Some women. I honestly don’t know how she handled two. Sam’s all I can handle.”

  “Who was it?” Nora asked.

  Forgetting her dislike of Nora in the quest to spread good gossip, May said, “The bartender at The Silver Light. This man called Dillon Sharma.”

  “He doesn’t come around here much, does he, Nora?” Tina said.

  “Well, you know the people who live in the east side of town prefer hanging out at the bar,” May said. “They’re not true townsfolk like us.”

  “Well, I’d say they’re as true as any of us,” Nora replied. “But of course, you’d probably tell me I’m not a true townie either.” With a sweet smile, she left May behind and went into the kitchen to prepare the rest of the food. Serving customers was well and good, but the kitchen was where Nora felt most at ease.

  But later that evening, Nora made it a point to take a quick trip across town to The Silver Light. She’d asked Harvey if he’d like to come, but he told her he had a meeting with an antsy investor in Jackson.

  “The silly guy heard I got arrested and promptly wants to back out of our deal,” Harvey said. “I’m going there to give him a polite reminder about how contracts work. This whole scandal is a real headache. It’s almost making me long for the peace and quiet of prison! Almost.”.

  So she found herself alone, walking into a bar full of country music, and bored cowboys. Almost as soon as she entered, she found herself thinking that she’d made a mistake. She’d dressed as simply as she could - a plaid shirt over black jeans and Adidas sneakers. Even then, she felt stares scorching the back of her neck as she sat on the counter.

  The bartender was a reedy man wearing denim on denim, a faded sleeveless shirt and grey pants. A cigarette was tucked behind his ear, and one was lit in his mouth. He was busy serving a full bar.

  Should have come here a little earlier, Nora thought to herself. There’s no way he’s going to spend time talking to me now. He stopped in front of her, and looked her up and down. Leaning on the bar, he smiled, revealing a row of rather stained teeth. “What can I get you, lady?”

  “A whiskey would be good,” she said.

  “Whiskey?” He smiled. “That’s a pretty unusual drink for a girl, isn’t it?”

  “Do you like that?”

  “Oh, yes. I like girls who can keep up with the boys when we drink.” He banged a glass in front of her and poured a shot. “Ice?”

  “No, thanks. I take it neat.” She had, in fact, only touched whiskey once in her life. She was just hoping it would let her slip in Tiffany’s name.

  “That’s five dollars. You gotta pay as you drink, since you’re a first timer.”

  She slapped a ten dollar bill on the counter. He picked up the money and moved to get her change, but she waved it off. “All yours.”

  “All mine?” He raised an eyebrow. “So not only are you pretty, you’re rich. What’s a nice girl like you doing in a bar like this?”

  She laughed, more at his delivery of the cheesy line than at the line itself. “I’m waiting for a friend,” she said. “He should be around anytime… I thought I’d pass the time talking to you until he’s here.”

  “Well, go ahead,” he said. “Actually, with that rather generous tip, I can afford to buy myself a drink.” He put another glass on the counter, poured whisky in it, and drank it down in one gulp. “Ahh. The good burn.”

  “You’re wasting it, gulping it down that way,” Nora said. “You need to savour a whisky.”

  “Not if it’s this brand.” He grinned. “This brand’s for gulping.”

  “So, you were saying, I’m the only girl you know who drinks whisky.”

  “Oh, hey now, I didn’t say that. I said you’re a rare one for drinking whisky. Matter of fact, my ex used to drink it too.” He was distracted by a patron, and walked away.

  Nora watched him go, trying to conceal the excitement she felt. The bartender was close to opening up about Tiffany, she could feel it.

  “Hey there, pretty lady,” a voice breathed into her ear. “Is your daddy a candyman? Because you look so sweet.”

  “Terrible line,” she said. “One out of ten. Not interested. Move on.”

  “Oh, come on,” the voice whined. “Let me buy you another one of those whiskeys, what say?”

  The bartender walked back, and leaned on the counter again. “Buzz off, Chase. The lady isn’t biting.”

  Chase uttered a curse word that made Nora flinch, but by the time she’d turned around, he’d vanished into the crowd.

  “Pretty rowdy fellow, eh?” the bartender said. “I’m Dillon, by the way.”

  “Nora.” She shook his hand. It was cold and moist, probably from all the ice he’d just handled.

  “So, Nora. Who’s this friend of yours? A boyfriend?”

  “An ex,” Nora improvised. “I didn’t want to meet him in Milburn proper.”

  “Ah, that makes sense.” Dillon nodded. “My ex was a piece of work. After I broke up with her, I didn’t want to meet her anywhere.”

  “What was her name?”

  “What’s in a name?” Dillon said. “Well, her name was Tiffany. That should have warned me off. I’ve noticed girls whose names end in Y are always the heartbreaking kind. Drop dead gorgeous and full of problems.”

  “Tiffany had problems?”

  “Had,” Dillon said. “I reckon her biggest problem was when she was found stuffed into
a barrel at a construction site. Stone cold dead.”

  Nora shuddered. “That’s horrible.”

  “Oh, it is. Even worse for the victim’s family, I always thought. But then, she never had much of one,” Dillon said. “Poor Tiff. She was an outcast right from the start. She never had much chance in life. All she had were her looks, and she tried her hardest to make sure they stayed.”

  “Her family… was she an orphan?”

  “Well, never mind,” Dillon said. “I know she’s dead now, but I’m sure she wouldn’t want me telling her entire family history to just about anybody.”

  “Right, of course,” Nora said. She was dejected on the inside, but she managed a sunny smile. “Wouldn’t want to breach her privacy.”

  “That’s it,” Dillon said. “That’s it exactly. Got to respect her privacy.” He raised his hand as a patron called him. “Okay, one second. I’ll be back to continue this conversation. You’d better have gulped down that whisky, all right? I haven’t seen you take a single sip!” He smiled and left.

  Nora sighed, wondering if she should just leave. A mouth breathed into her ear, and a soft voice said, “Go on, then, tell me your price.”

  She swung around, outraged, to face the man who Dillon had called Chase. He wasn’t much to look at - he had a patchy beard and a potbelly, and stood maybe two inches taller than her. Still, his eyes had a meanness in them that she’d only seen in snakes before.

  Nora smiled too, and her teeth looked like fangs when she did. “My boyfriend gifted me a taser just today,” she said. “Don’t you give me an excuse to use it.”

  “Oh, you just try, lady,” Chase said. “This bar is full of my buddies. You won’t like what happens if you hurt me.”

  *****

  Chapter 14

  Nora was about to use her taser on the man, when the door opened, and Sean sauntered in. His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he saw her, and then drew together as he saw Chase aggressively posturing in front of her.

  Striding quickly, he clapped a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “What’s up, buddy?”

  “Sheriff.” Chase’s tone was sulky. “I was just hitting on the lady. No law against that.”

  “Not a one,” Sean agreed cheerfully. “Now how about you buzz off before the lady starts hitting you?”

  With a dark look, Chase wandered off. He muttered something under his breath, but when Sean raised an eyebrow, he walked away fast.

  “Well?” Sean asked Nora, slipping into the seat next to her. “What’s your game, lady?”

  “I’m just here to meet a friend,” Nora said. “Now that you’re here, well, you’re the friend.”

  “Oh, are we still friends?” Sean asked. “I thought, what with me and Harvey at loggerheads, you’d choose him over me.”

  “Well, I like to think I’m a little more mature than that,” Nora said. “Besides, I owe you for what you just did.”

  “What’d I just do?” Sean shrugged. “I thought you were handling it just fine on your own.”

  “Well, let’s just say you prevented me from causing a scene, then.” Nora smiled. “Whisky?” She asked, tilting her glass at him.

  “You drink that?” Sean raised an eyebrow. “I’d thought you’re more of a wine cooler or margarita kinda gal.”

  “So.” Dillon appeared again, a smile on his face. “Still not finished that whisky? I’m starting to think you just ordered it to impress me.” He winked at her.

  Sean looked from him to Nora, and back again at Dillon. “Ah,” he said dryly. “Dillon. Of course.”

  “What? Did I miss something?” Dillon looked confused.

  “No, nothing at all.” Sean smiled. “I was just wondering… well, never mind.”

  “So Sean is the friend you were telling me about?” Dillon asked. “I didn’t know you were his ex.”

  Sean’s eyebrows shot up so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. “She’s my what?”

  “She’s your ex, isn’t she?”

  “Are you my ex, Nora?” He teased.

  “Sean… come on.”

  “Oh no, I just want to know how much you’ve told Dillon, about us.”

  “Sean is not my ex,” Nora said. “My ex just stood me up, Dillon. He’s a no-show. Sean here is a friend.”

  Sean whistled, and clutched his heart. “But whyyyy. I thought I was an ex. That was so much more fun.”

  “I’m really not sure what’s happening here,” Dillon said. “But I’ll be right back to find out. Someone wants a beer.”

  Nora glared at Sean as soon as Dillon left. “Happy?” she asked.

  “Oh, delighted,” Sean said. “You know, when I got off work today, I thought, Sean, old boy, you need a beer and some mindless entertainment. Looks like coming here was the perfect choice.”

  Nora’s glare intensified. “Honestly!”

  “Just teasing,” Sean said with a laugh. “All right, Nora. What’s your game? Are you stringing that poor man along to ask him about Tiffany? Don’t bother. I asked him a lot of questions already.”

  “I was just asking him about Tiffany’s past.”

  “She gave him the usual sob story,” Sean said. “Bad parents, bad marriage. Everything in her life was always terrible and she was never ever at fault.”

  “You don’t sound like you have any sympathy for her.”

  “I do.,” Sean said. “I feel bad for her, but the thing is, in my job, I come across so many people who have had a bad history. Absolutely horrible parents, poverty, just bad luck all around. The ones who rise out of it are the ones who never complain. These guys put their heads down and do work, those are the guys I admire. Then there are people like Tiffany who insist that their life is a mess and can never improve, so they do drugs, and live a hedonistic lifestyle. Maybe I’m too strict, but I got no sympathy for them. They don’t even try to improve. Those other guys who try their hardest, I got all the sympathy in the world for them.”

  “Funny,” Nora said. “Those guys who try hard even though the world is against them, that sure sounds like Harvey you’re describing.”

  Sean’s face grew darker. “Oh, haha,” He said. “You and your obsession with Harvey.”

  “He’s a nice guy, and I’m determined that one day, you two will treat each other as brothers,” Nora said.

  “You might as well wait for Wyoming to grow wings and fly to Europe,” Sean said.

  “I’m back,” Dillon said. He placed a bottle of beer in front of Sean, and twisted off the top. “Here you go, Sheriff, your favorite.”

  “Thanks, Dillon.” Sean smiled. “Do you know, Nora, Dillon here is an arm-wrestling champion. He’s known as ArmaDillon by those who know him well.”

  “Oh, yeah!” Dillon put his arm on the counter, and flexed his biceps. They had three tattoos of snakes on them, which undulated as he flexed. “Nice, aren’t they?”

  “Er… very.” Nora gave him a pained smile.

  Sean leaned back with his beer, and gave a little sigh of happiness. “Mindless entertainment,” he muttered.

  “What?” Dillon looked at him, surprised.

  “Nothing,” Sean said dreamily. “Continue. I’m enjoying this.”

  “Sean was telling me he talked to you about Tiffany,” Nora said. “Because of the murder investigation.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Dillon nodded.

  “Here.” Nora finished off her drink in a gulp, and put down another tenner. “Let’s have another round.” The whisky rolled around badly inside her, trailing fire as it went. She wondered if she would throw up, but anything for a cause! Conjuring Harvey’s face in her mind, she pressed on. “One for you and one for me, right, Dillon?”

  “Perfect, Nora.” He poured two shots more. “But this time, you got to take the shot with me.”

  “Er… maybe in a bit. I’ll try and savour it first.”

  “Oh no, I insist!” Dillon said, downing his. “Go on, do it. That’s what Tiffany used to do, you know.”

  “Did she?”
>
  “Yeah. Two shots and she used to be out. She’d talk on and on about her parents, and how her mother always hated her and how her father was too much of a coward to say anything. Poor girl. Then her horrible marriage to that goon Sergio. He used to beat her, you know. They had a son who died young. That’s why she finally left him. She was never very clear on how he died. I used to think maybe Sergio hit both of them, and one day...”

  “Oh!” Nora said. “Poor Tiffany! That’s a hard life.” She glared at Sean. How could he not feel pity for the poor girl?

  “Well, I guess that’s when she started doing drugs,” Dillon said. “I tried to get her off it, but she was a determined addict. There wasn’t much in life she wanted other than to get high. For a while, I thought maybe she wanted me more than she wanted to get high. But I was wrong. I had to break up with her when she started begging me for money every day. I mean, I’m a generous guy, but I’m no fool, you know?”

  “I understand,” Nora said. “It must have been hard for you to break up with her.”

  “It was pretty hard,” Dillon said. “I mean, it’s not like I loved her, but I cared about her a lot, you know? It’s hard to see someone you care about that much just throw their lives away. Well, at any rate, she and I broke up a few months ago. But even without the drugs, maybe she and I would have broken up eventually. There were times when she could be really mean. Almost a bully.”

  A bully. Isn’t that what Mrs. Mullally had called Tiffany too? Nora thought back to that conversation, which seemed like it had happened so long ago.

  “So did you see her again? After you broke up?”

  “Did I!” Dillon exclaimed. “I saw her every. Single. Day. Pretty torturous. She came in here just to taunt me, I think. I was sick of it, but what could I do? A dollar’s a dollar, whether it’s from your ex or from the Queen of England. She’d flirt shamelessly with anybody she could catch. She even dated Chase for a while, you know, the guy you had an encounter with.”

  “I’d hardly call him a guy,” Nora said. “Parasite seems more appropriate.”

  “Leech,” Sean suggested.