The Milburn Big Box Set

by Nancy McGovern

  Harvey looked at him and then at Nora. “I’ll see myself out.”

  “Wait,” Nora said. She jumped up and gave Harvey a tight hug. “Thank you for the new addition to our family. Come back soon so we can name her together.”

  “I was thinking Tuxedo, since she looks like she’s wearing one.” Harvey smiled. “See ya.” Kissing her goodbye, he waved to Adam and ran up to shower.

  “Your husband’s Harvey Nathaniel?” Adam asked, sounding awed. “The guy who owns the real estate biz?”

  “You know him?”

  “Sure, everyone in my entrepreneur’s club knows him!” Adam gulped. “I mean, he got that award yesterday, didn’t he?” He pointed to the mantelpiece, where Harvey’s award now sat in between a vase and a framed photo of the two of them at their wedding reception.

  “I can ask him to come down and meet your friends at your next club meeting,” Nora said. “He’d love to do that, I think.”

  “You really think so?” Adam looked delighted. “It would be an honor. I mean, only if he wants to, though. Not everyone wants to spend time with a bunch of nineteen year olds.”

  “So Donna’s three years older than you?” Nora asked.

  He nodded. “The age gap doesn’t scare me. I said yes the minute she asked me out.”

  “She asked you out?” Nora raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think she was the type to ask anyone out. I didn’t think she was the type to say ‘hi’ unless someone else said it first!”

  “Well, I guess she made an exception for me.” Adam smiled, his eyes softening as he pictured Donna. Then fear flickered across them. “Mrs. Nathaniel, I might as well tell you plain and simple. I’m afraid for Donna.”

  “Why?” Nora asked. “What did you mean her uncle is holding her hostage?”

  “I just…” Adam sighed, then took out his phone. “Donna was so shocked last night when she discovered her mother’s body. I wanted to comfort her but her Uncle wouldn’t let me near her. He threatened to break every bone in my body if I came close to her. I even tried to follow them home but that mansion is guarded like a fort! I couldn’t get in. My only consolation was that I was texting her all night.” He sighed. “My poor Donna.”

  “I met her today,” Nora said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She looked as though she were grieving, but she didn’t give me the impression that she was being held hostage.”

  “Well, you know nothing about that!” Adam said. “You don’t know Donna like I do.”

  “So tell me.”

  “Donna’s different than you and me,” Adam said. “Her mom home-schooled her, you know. They used to move around all the time. She’s lived in seventeen different cities.”

  “Never any time to make friends, hmm?” Nora asked.

  Adam shook his head. “It’s kind of sad, really. I mean, I don’t want to talk ill about the dead, but Rosemary treated Donna more like a personal servant than a daughter. So Donna knows how to cook and how to clean and how to be nice to people if they’re in a bad mood but she can’t drive, she can’t pay bills and she’s terrified of having a regular job.” He sighed.

  “How did you even meet her?” Nora asked.

  Adam colored. “I’m a student at the community college right now. Donna came in last year and took a few courses. She was pretty bad at computer programming and I’m kind of a whiz, so…” Adam shrugged, looking pleased with himself. “She says she developed a crush on me while I was tutoring her but didn’t dare ask because of the age gap.”

  Nora laughed. “Kids! Three years isn’t an age gap at all.”

  “We’re not kids.” Adam looked offended. “I’m not. I was planning to propose to her eventually. I had the ring and everything.” He took out a cheap, gold band from his pocket and showed it to Nora. “I can’t really afford expensive stuff right now but I wanted to get her away from Rosemary and Ray. They’re both crazy.”

  “Why?” Nora asked. “Just because you didn’t like the way they treated her?”

  “It’s hard to explain,” Adam sighed. “Look, for one thing, Rosemary wasn’t a very nice person, okay? She was bossy and demanding and critical. Plus, she expected Donna to wait on her hand and foot instead of becoming an independent adult. The worst part though…” He paused. “The worst part was that Rosemary was after Frank’s fortune at any cost. She wanted to use Donna as a pawn.”

  “Donna?” Nora raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  “She wanted Donna to marry Frank,” Adam said, choking on the words as he said it. “That’s why I wanted to run away with her. The man was more than three times her age, it was disgusting to even think about!”

  “I can’t believe any mother would do that to her own child!” Nora exclaimed. “For that matter, I can’t believe Frank would agree to such a thing!”

  “You don’t know Rosemary. Rosemary was bad, I tell you. One time, when Donna was eight years old, she opened the door while her mother was doing a psychic reading and the client was able to see the magnets Rosemary was using to produce “thumps” on the table. He left without paying, of course, and Donna said she was locked in the basement for two weeks and given the silent treatment by Rosemary.”

  Nora was seething. “That poor child!”

  “Yeah. I know it sounds bad but, in a way, I’m glad Rosemary’s gone now. Maybe Donna has a chance at freedom. Only…” Adam paused, “only Ray is just as bad as Rosemary was and I don’t think he’s going to let Donna come away with me.”

  “Wait, so why do you think Ray’s holding her hostage?” Nora asked. “I met her just an hour ago and she looked relatively fine to me.”

  “I told you I was texting her all night,” Adam said. “Then, all of a sudden, at 10:15 this morning she sent me this message…” He handed his phone to Nora.

  “I can’t talk to you ever again. Block my number. Goodbye.”

  “That’s it?” Nora looked incredulous.

  “I felt the same way,” Adam said. “But I texted her back a hundred times with no answer. I tried to call her and her phone’s switched off. I’m going mad.”

  “Calm down,” Nora said. “It’s only been an hour. Maybe she’s just emotional…”

  “No. Something’s very wrong,” Adam said. “I feel it in my bones. She’s in danger, Nora, and you have to help! Please!”

  “Why me?” Nora asked. As Adam opened his mouth to reply, she hastily said, “I mean, why did you think to come to me? Why not go to the sheriff?”

  “Because the sheriff would just tell me I’m being silly,” Adam said. “Besides, Donna loves you. She’s read up all about your cases and she idolizes you.”

  “Me?” Nora turned red with disbelief. “Not a chance!”

  “It’s the truth,” Adam said. “I remembered how she thought you’re the world’s best detective so I came to you. You’ve got to help her, Nora! Please!”

  *****

  Chapter 7

  A Visit To The Sheriff

  Where once upon a time she would have gone rushing off to investigate herself, Nora was a little wiser now. So, once she’d showered and dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a cashmere sweater, she headed off to the sheriff’s office. With a brief knock on the door of his office, she opened the door and peeked in.

  Sean had his head cupped in his hands, and was listening intently as Mrs. Mullally, who sat opposite him, talked.

  “Mrs. Mullally!” Nora exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re here. I wanted to apologize to you about-”

  “Oh, Nora!” Mrs. Mullally sprang up and gave her a big hug. “I’m so sorry I snapped at you this morning. I was just feeling terrible and then Frank was so cold and then…” She took a deep breath. “But I knew as soon as I’d had a chance to think about it that you didn’t think I’d killed her. You wouldn’t have stayed with me all night if you did! You just wanted to speak to Frank to piece together the case, didn’t you?”

  “Er, yes,” Nora said, feeling a bit awkward as Sean raised an eyebrow.

  “I kn
ew it.” Mrs. Mullally hugged her again. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

  “It’s alright.” Nora patted her back gently. It really hurt and worried her to see Mrs. Mullally look so anxious. Her friend hadn’t been in very good health lately. In fact, she’d had to be hospitalized for a heart issue not six months earlier.

  “I’m going to do everything I can to get you out of this mess,” Nora promised.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Sean said sarcastically.

  “Sean, listen. Donna told me the most extraordinary story today about a woman who was threatening her mother!” Nora said. “You’ve got to go track her down.”

  “Woman?” Sean frowned. “What woman?”

  Nora told him the whole story and Sean looked astonished. “That’s incredible. She could be our murderer!”

  “So you don’t think Mrs. Mullally did it?” Nora asked with some relief.

  “It’s tough,” Sean said. “There’s pressure to make an arrest quickly, of course, and with the kind of evidence piled up against her, any other cop would arrest Mrs. Mullally right now. Personally, if this kind of evidence was piled up against anybody but Mrs. Mullally, I would arrest them. It’s just…” He sighed. “I’ve known her forty years. Mrs. Mullally just doesn’t seem capable of murder to me. Especially not a murder as vicious as this.”

  “Well,” said Nora, “I’ve had a chance to think, and the absence of evidence should tell you it wasn’t Mrs. Mullally more than the presence of it.”

  “What do you mean?” Sean asked, confused.

  “Why didn’t we hear Rosemary scream?” Nora asked. “I mean, the hall was packed, but surely we would have heard her scream.”

  “She might have died at the first blow,” Sean said. “The murderer may have continued hitting her afterwards. The post-mortem results aren’t back yet so we can’t be sure.”

  “Well, Mrs. Mullally was with me at the buffet table when Donna found the body,” Nora said. “Have you ascertained the time of death?”

  “Approximately 11:15pm,” Sean said. “Rosemary said she was unwell and finished seeing her last customer for the night at 11. She shut the door to “gather herself”. Then Donna went to check on her and found her dead at 11.30.”

  “Did any witnesses see anyone go into the room?”

  Sean shook his head. “Everybody was either dancing or gossiping. Nobody paid any attention to the door.”

  “The murderer had some guts!” Nora exclaimed. “According to your timeline, he walked into the room between 11 and 11:15, bashed Rosemary’s head in and then coolly walked out, leaving the murder weapon behind.”

  “He or she,” Sean said pointedly.

  “Just 15 minutes for the murderer to commit the crime.” Nora frowned. “Anyway, that should prove Mrs. Mullally wasn’t the killer! She was with me at midnight and she had no bloodstains on her clothes! Surely, with the crime being so vicious, she would have had some splatters on her if she’d killed Rosemary. Remember, Donna only found the body and she had blood on her.”

  Sean’s eyes widened. “That’s right!” he exclaimed. “You’re a genius, Nora! Mrs. Mullally had no blood on her so, of course, she’s not the killer!” With a whoop, he high-fived Nora. Then, grabbing Mrs. Mullally around the waist, he twirled her around, making her giggle like a young girl.

  “You’ve got no worries, Mrs. Mullally! You’re in the clear!” Sean shouted. “All thanks to Nora!”

  “Thank you!” Mrs. Mullally kissed Nora on both cheeks and raised tearful eyes to her. “I’m so relieved. I was convinced I was going to be locked up for the rest of my life!”

  “Oh, Mrs. M, I’m sure you’d have got time off for good behavior,” Nora grinned. “I’m happy to see you so relaxed. Stress was making you look old!”

  “Now I can go back to my happy, teenage-feeling self,” Mrs. Mullally laughed. “Oh, I can’t wait to go home and tell Maynard! He knew something bad had happened, he’s been moping all day, too. He’ll be so excited when he finds out.”

  “Well, I’m off to Frank’s house again,” Sean said. “Looks like I should talk to Donna about that woman she saw. Nora,” he hesitated, “want to come with me? It isn’t a formal interrogation so there’s no law against your being there. Besides, it’ll be good to have a woman with me so Donna isn’t intimidated.”

  “Of course, I’ll come!” Nora said, delighted.

  *****

  Chapter 8

  A Willing Hostage

  Ray opened the door and his eyes bugged out a little when he saw Nora standing behind Sean. At first, he looked as though he were about to slam the door shut. Then, with an effort, he controlled himself and invited them in.

  “Frank’s asleep, finally. He took a sedative,” Ray said. “I’ve been trying to get him to sleep since last night but he was too upset.”

  “Understandably so,” Sean said, placing his hat on the table. “I’ve heard that he considered Rosemary his guru of sorts?”

  “That’s right,” Ray said. “My sister had a gift. But why are you here? Any news?”

  “Not yet, I’m afraid,” Sean said. “Though there was one thing I wanted to ask. We found a lot of hypodermic marks on Rosemary’s skin. Was your sister a habitual drug user?”

  “Hypodermic marks?” Ray looked confused.

  “Needle marks,” Sean said. “Mostly on the right arm.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t know. Maybe she was.” Ray narrowed his eyes, thinking hard. “I didn’t control her every movement, you know.”

  “But did you notice any erratic behavior?”

  “No,” Ray said. “She was… just herself. Right to the end.” He took a deep breath, and walked to the window, looking out. “Poor Donna’s really heartbroken.”

  “Speaking of Donna. There’s another suspect we’re interested in,” Sean said.

  “Who’s that?” Ray looked interested.

  “Donna told Nora that she saw her mother arguing with a woman about a week ago,” Sean said. “Donna also said the woman got into your vehicle when she was done arguing.”

  Ray laughed and shook his head. His voice was smooth, his eyes clear as he said, “It’s a lie. Donna was probably just lying to get attention. She hero-worships Nora, you know, because she’s solved a few cases or something.”

  Sean raised an eyebrow and gave Nora a sideways look. Clearly, he believed Ray as much as she did, which is to say, not at all. Still, there was some doubt mixed in with his disbelief. Maybe Ray was telling the truth. Maybe Donna had lied. It was worth investigating either way.

  “Mind if I ask Donna that myself?” Sean asked. “I’d like to hear her version of things.”

  Ray turned back, his face red. “You’re wasting time, Sheriff! It’s obvious who killed Rosemary! You need to stop dancing around non-existent women and arrest that old woman. She outright threatened my Rosemary and it was her scarf and trophy found at the scene. What more evidence do you need!”

  “Mrs. Mullally has been cleared of any involvement,” Sean said.

  “What?” Ray shot up and banged his hands on the table. “Why?!”

  “Nevermind why. We have proof she didn’t do it,” Sean said. “She’s ruled out.”

  Ray sat down. He put a hand up to his temple and rubbed a thumb in circles across it. “So Mrs. Mullally can’t have done it,” he mumbled. “Well, well…”

  “We need to speak to Donna,” Nora piped up.

  Ray didn’t reply for a while, lost in thought. Then he stood up. “Sure. I’ll get her myself. She’s upstairs.”

  “Sit down.” Sean got up and waved a hand at Ray. “I’ll go find her myself.”

  Ray’s lips thinned and his eyes flashed but he didn’t say anything. It was obvious Sean didn’t want him to get to Donna first and possibly threaten her into shutting up. Nora felt grateful that Sean was being so careful. The more she was around Ray, the more she felt convinced that Adam had been right about him.

  Ray ignored Nora completely, moving to t
he fridge to get himself a can of coke. He looked back at Nora and, instead of offering her some, deliberately shut the refrigerator door with more force than was warranted. Nora didn’t let it phase her. If Ray wanted to act like an overgrown baby, he was welcome to. She didn’t like him one bit, but that didn’t matter. Donna mattered. Nora was very sure that something was going on with her and she was determined to find out what.

  Sean came back downstairs with Donna in tow. Nora pushed back her chair and her eyes widened. She’d seen Donna just that morning and the girl had looked frail then. But now she looked even worse, like a zombie that was learning how to function. She stumbled as she walked, her hair was a mess and her eyes, her eyes looked haunted.

  “Donna, are you-”

  “What did she say?” Ray asked eagerly, looking at Sean. Sean looked perplexed and a little annoyed.

  “She said she made it up.” Sean looked at Nora, instead of Ray. “That there was never a woman like that.”

  “What?” Nora shook her head, refusing to believe it. “Why would…Donna, talk to me-”

  But Ray had positioned himself between Nora and Donna. “How about you stop harassing my niece, who’s clearly suffering, and go back to your kitchen?” he said.

  Nora pushed him aside, a little roughly. “Donna, you can talk to me. If Ray is harrassing you-”

  “I’m not doing anything of the kind!” Ray exclaimed. “I wasn’t even there when Sean asked Donna, was I?”

  “Ray, come into the other room with me for a minute.” Sean put a hand on his shoulder. “There’s some more questions I want to ask you.”

  Ray shook off his hand, glared at Nora, but then walked out of the room, with the sheriff.

  Donna flopped into a chair and put her head in her hands. Nora sat beside her and gently stroked her shoulder. “Donna, Adam came to see me today,” she said.

  Donna looked up, startled. The mention of Adam bought a look of interest into her numb eyes. Quickly, though, the interest seemed to melt and be replaced by despair. “What did he want?” Donna asked. “Is he alright?”