The Milburn Big Box Set

by Nancy McGovern

  “Mason’s schemes?” Nora frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “I got the impression that Mason is planning to dig into what happened to Lori,” Anita said. “I really don’t think that would be wise. I mean, we’re never going to find out facts. Lori vanished and she’s not coming back. All that will happen is that the town will have recycled gossip to munch on.”

  “Well, what if something did happen to her?” Nora asked. “What if someone did harm her?”

  “Rubbish. I tell you, I know what kind of woman she was,” Anita said. “She didn’t actually like Johnny. She only dated him because he had family money.”

  “Really?” Nora wondered if Anita could hear herself. She didn’t sound convincing right now, she just sounded jealous. But why would a woman be jealous of someone who hadn’t been in her husband’s life for over 20 years? What kind of a mind could hold onto a grudge like that for so long?

  “Like I said, Johnny’s the sensitive sort. He doesn’t realize it, but once he starts brooding about something, he can go on and on. To the point that his health gets affected. When Lori went missing, Johnny nearly had a nervous breakdown. I was the one who helped him get back to normal.”

  “I see.” Nora suddenly did see. “You’re afraid for Johnny’s health.”

  “Exactly,” Anita said.

  “But it’s been 20 years, hasn’t it?” Nora asked. “Surely it can’t matter much if Mason does a little harmless poking about? Johnny’s older, he’s stronger. Plus, he’s got you on his side.”

  Anita’s lower lip quivered. “Maybe,” she said.

  “No…” Nora said, eyeing her sharply. “It isn’t just Johnny you’re worried about. It’s more than that. What is it? We’re friends, aren’t we? You can tell me.”

  Anita clenched her fists, then relaxed them. She seemed to come to a sudden decision. “No. You’re right. I’m just being silly. I suppose the best thing to do is ignore Mason, and hope that something else distracts him. He’ll move on to a new obsession soon enough. Thanks, Nora. Sorry I interrupted you while you were cooking.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Nora said. “And don’t leave so soon. At least have a cup of coffee before you go. Maybe some iced tea?”

  “No, really.” Anita shook her head. “I should go before it starts snowing again. Besides, Johnny’s expecting me. We’ll talk again soon.”

  Hurriedly, Anita gathered up her coat and scooted out of the house, waving at Nora as she walked to her car. Nora stood by the door, waving back to her. She’d known Anita quite a few years and she could tell that her friend was rattled. But what was scaring her? One obvious answer came to mind, but Nora didn’t want it to be true. She didn’t want Anita to be the killer.

  Sighing, Nora moved back to the kitchen. Over the years, she’d learned that life had a way of not caring what you wanted. She was fond of Anita and didn’t want to believe she might have murdered Lori. Yet…Anita was visibly rattled at the merest hint of Mason digging up old secrets. Why? Clearly, she was hiding something. Nora wished she’d been a little more firm in questioning Anita. As it stood, she had no idea what was going on in her friend’s mind.

  *****

  Chapter 7

  The Gold Digger

  Tucker Teaks lived in his ancestral house. Three generations of Teaks had lived, loved and worked in the big, wooden house that stood at the end of Willow Street. A little creek ran right behind the house, disappearing into a dense forest that had stood guard over the hill long before humans had ever stepped onto Wyoming soil. Sean looked up at the house and bit back a smile. Sean’s own house was just down the street, and he’d grown up with the Teaks boys. There had been long summer evenings when they stayed out until the moon had risen, jumping over the creek and playing pirates, or biking through the woods and daring each other to explore the entrance of the abandoned mine that lay within it.

  Now, Sean’s bones ached at the thought of jumping over any creeks, or biking all day long. All he seemed to want these days was a comfortable chair, a six-pack and a good game on the TV. Smiling still, Sean rang the doorbell. He heard a shout from the back, telling him to come around. It was one of those rare, cloudless winter afternoons when the sun, hazy as it was, still managed to send a few rays of heat downwards.

  “Didn’t want to waste a day like this.” Tucker grinned, as Sean tramped across the slushy ground towards him. “Too bad the weather won’t allow a good barbecue. I could do with a good chunk of meat inside me right now.”

  “Well, I got good news for you,” Sean said, handing over a Tupperware container. “Seems Irene’s container was with Karen all this time, so she’s sent a little something back as a ‘thank you’.”

  “Is it Karen’s meatloaf?” Tucker stuck his tongue out and pretended to drool. “That’s all mine. I’m going to hide it from Irene and savor every bite.”

  Sean laughed. “I suppose it’s different when you don’t eat it every Tuesday. I’d trade Irene’s pies for a meatloaf any day.”

  “Well, you’re in luck, too, because she’s in the kitchen making one,” Tucker said. “Come on in, I’ll give you something to warm you up.”

  “Thanks,” Sean said. “I could use it. My house might as well be on Mars, it feels so far away.”

  “Sean!” Irene came out with her arms spread and grabbed him in a hug. “It’s been forever, stranger. What are you doing here today? Not on official business, are you?”

  “He’s been retired for years now, sweetheart,” Tucker reminded her.

  “And I’m glad to hear it,” Irene said. “Poor Karen, she was always a little scared, you know? Milburn’s a safe town but, still, you’ve handled a lot of drunk men with guns in your time.”

  “Ah, well…” Sean shrugged. “I escaped unharmed.”

  “Mostly unharmed,” Irene corrected him. “I remember baking you a pie or two when you got into that shootout. It was at the B & B, wasn’t it, Dear?”

  “Why rake up these things?” Tucker scowled at Irene. “Let Sean be, won’t you?”

  Irene looked suddenly hurt and Sean felt a bit sorry. Irene had always reminded him of a friendly retriever, with her golden hair, big teeth and clumsy mannerisms. Tucker, on the other hand, was all sharp edges. Sean had been friendly with him, since they had a long history together, but they’d never really been friends. Tucker had a little streak of nastiness in him that Sean had never liked.

  A memory suddenly flashed through his mind - a memory of a summer day many decades ago. Johnny and Sean were barely ten years old then and Tucker was thirteen. Older, stronger and faster, Tucker always had the upper hand. That particular afternoon, Johnny had been proudly showing off his new action figure - a GI Joe, complete with snorkeling equipment. He and Sean had an exciting adventure planned. Johnny had hidden a “treasure” of bottle caps under one of the rocks in the creek and the GI Joes were on a mission to find them. Halfway through, Tucker had appeared and snatched the toy from Johnny’s hand.

  Sean normally stayed out of it - he always stayed out when the brothers fought - but this time, it had been different. Tucker repeatedly waved the toy inches from Johnny’s face, pretending he was going to give it up. Then, he’d suddenly stretch out his arm so that the toy was out of Johnny’s reach. Infuriated, Johnny had launched himself at his older brother.

  “It’s mine!” Johnny had screamed. “You keep doing this! It’s not fair! It’s mine and you can’t have it!”

  Tucker had only laughed, easily keeping Johnny away from him with one outstretched hand.

  “You really want it?” Tucker asked, dangling the toy. “It’s just a doll. You’re playing with girl toys.”

  “It’s MINE!” Johnny had screamed.

  “Johnny, take it easy. Let it go, we can play pirates instead.” Sean had never seen Johnny this furious. He put his arms around Johnny’s waist and tried to tug the boy away. But Johnny kept screaming and struggling to get at Tucker. Tucker, meanwhile, had skipped away and positioned himself on a ro
ck in the middle of the creek.

  “So this is a swimmer, eh?” Tucker said. “Let’s see how good he is then.” He’d tossed the toy into the creek and the water swept it away immediately. Johnny had given a howl of anguish and then grown totally quiet. So quiet that it scared both Sean and Tucker.

  “I’ll kill you,” Johnny had said, his face devoid of emotion. “It was mine. And I’m going to kill you.”

  Tucker, looking worried, ran down the creek and came back a few minutes later with the GI Joe in his hand. “Don’t be such a baby, man. Here. I got you your doll back.”

  “I don’t want it.” Johnny still had that awful, blank look on his face. “I hate you. You always do this.”

  “Fine, then. If you don’t want it, I’ll keep it.” Tucker had slipped the toy into his pocket. “I’ll give it back when you say ‘sorry’.”

  Johnny had shaken himself free of Sean’s grip and walked away, his fists clenched still.

  Sean blinked, coming back to the present, as Tucker asked him for the third time what he’d like to drink.

  “Oh…er…Whisky, if you have it. Just beer is fine otherwise.”

  “Only the finest for our finest,” Tucker said, getting out a decanter filled with amber liquid. “Ice? Soda?”

  “Neat, thanks,” Sean said.

  “You look a little lost.” Irene led him into the parlor and sat him down on a plush, red sofa with silver piping. “Anything the matter?”

  “Just reminiscing about old times,” Sean said. “I feel I do that a lot nowadays. Remember when you took Johnny’s GI Joe from him, Tucker?”

  “Ha! That day by the creek?” Tucker shook his head. “Little bonehead gave me such a hard time about it. He never could stand it when I teased him. But it only made me want to tease him more, somehow.”

  “You were always harder on Johnny than you needed to be,” Irene said, placing a tray full of chips and salsa on the coffee table between them. “I never understood it.”

  “I had to be hard on him,” Tucker said. “Johnny was always a little soft, you know? I suppose I felt it was my job to toughen him up a bit. Not that I didn’t protect him, too. Remember when Billy C. and his boys went after Johnny on the playground in 6th grade? I had a little one-on-one with Billy after that. I made sure they left him alone.”

  “Yeah, I guess I do remember.” Sean smiled. “Those were the days, right? Summers stretched on forever, and in the winters we’d pray for snow so that school would get cancelled.”

  “It never did get cancelled, though,” Tucker said. “Not unless the snow had us half-buried. We were tough little kids back then. Not like the softies we raise these days…”

  “Every generation says that, going back to Aristotle and Plato.” Irene laughed, easing herself into a seat in front of them and helping herself to a glass, too.

  “I’m telling you, kids are just too soft now,” Tucker grumbled, sipping his whisky. “The other day I was in a supermarket and this brat nearly ran me over with a shopping cart. I gave him a piece of my mind, and his mother just ended up telling me off. Can you imagine? Well, of course you can. You’ve had to deal with teenagers in your time as sheriff.”

  Sean grinned. “Sorry, Tucker. I side with Irene on this one. I think the proportion of brats and sensible kids stays the same every generation. I’ve met both kinds. Though I do wish kids today would get their faces out of their computer screens. I feel like we were always outdoors. Kids these days just stay inside. Remember how fun it was, to be cycling outdoors, or jumping into the lake? Then, once we were teens, we’d use any excuse to head to your family cabin.”

  “Ah, yes, the cabin.” Tucker nodded. “It’s too bad, really. We mostly stopped using it after…” He exchanged a meaningful look with Irene. “After that weekend with Lori.”

  “Right. Lori Birdwhistle.” Sean nodded. “Never did find her. Pity.”

  “She skipped town, didn’t she?” Irene asked.

  “She was murdered,” Tucker said, taking a sip of his whisky. “I’m absolutely sure of it.”

  “Tucker!” Irene exclaimed. “That’s a lie. She sent her kid off with relatives. That can’t be a coincidence.”

  “Sure, but Sean found her car abandoned on the side of the road,” Tucker said. “You know, that car was found just five minutes away from this house?”

  “What?” Sean looked startled. “No, you’re wrong. We found it on Checkers Lane, near the forest. It’s a ten minute drive.”

  “Right,” Tucker said. “It’s a long way off by road from here, because the roads wind around the forest. But five minutes by foot if you walk through the trees. Come on, Sean, you know this.”

  “I do now,” Sean said quietly. “I never realized before.”

  “Don’t go around giving him ideas, Tucker. Next thing you know, he’ll reopen the case and be chasing murderers.” Irene laughed. “Then Karen will blame us for putting him in harm’s way again.”

  “If he finds Lori’s killer, I’d say it’s worth it,” Tucker said seriously. “Poor Lori. I didn’t think much of her, but I didn’t think she deserved to die, either.”

  “Why didn’t you think much of her?” Sean asked. “Everyone liked her.”

  Tucker shrugged. “I felt like she was only dating Johnny because of his money. Like she just wanted a man with good prospects to settle down with.”

  “Nothing wrong with that, you know,” Irene said. “Practicality creates a lot of good, strong marriages.”

  “Is that why you married me, then?” Tucker winked.

  “You had me madly in love the second we met and you know it, Tucker Teaks.” Irene stuck her tongue out at him. “Anyway, poor Lori. I suppose we may never find out what happened to her.”

  “After 20 years? There’s no way even Sheriff Genius here could solve the case.” Tucker laughed. “She might be buried right here beneath our feet and we’d never know.” He stamped his foot twice.

  Irene’s face turned pale. “Tucker Matthew Teaks. If I hear you say such a thing again!”

  “I was joking, I was joking,” Tucker said hurriedly. “Don’t go getting warrants to dig out my house, okay Sean?”

  “It was a horrible joke, and I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Irene’s cheeks had patches of color in them and her eyes were shining. “A woman may be dead, Tucker.”

  “What was she like, really?” Sean asked Irene. “Did you get to know her?”

  Irene hesitated. “I only talked to her a few times, you know. Ask Tucker. He used to bump into her all the time while coaching little league.”

  “Yep. She was trying very hard to fit in.” Tucker nodded. “Always bringing around cookies or trying to volunteer for something. It struck me as a little…well…overboard. You know? I don’t like try-hards. Something about it just rubs me the wrong way.”

  “Oh, you’re in one of your mean moods again.” Irene rolled her eyes. “I’m going to get some pie, it’s probably cooled down. You’ll have a slice, won’t you Sean? It’s apple-cranberry.”

  “I’ll have two slices if they’re home-made, Irene.” Sean laughed, the whisky making him greedier.

  Tucker watched Irene go out of the room then turned to Sean. “Irene can say what she likes, but I don’t think she ever liked Lori, either. Truth is, Lori made a pass at me first. Then, when she found out I was dating Irene, she set her sights on Johnny instead.”

  “She made a pass at you?” Sean raised an eyebrow.

  “Sure.” Tucker puffed his chest. “You remember how I was, don’t you? Six feet, six pack, full head of hair. Not too many chicks could resist old TT.”

  “Ah, yes, you were a regular chick-magnet.”

  “Exactly. And Lori was just a woman in need of a man. She thought I’d make a fine addition to her life. She kept showing up to the same places I showed up, offering me her little home-baked goods.” Tucker laughed. “I saw right through to what she wanted.”

  “You know, Milburn is a small town,” Sean pointed
out. “And, from what I’ve heard of Lori, she offered her baked goods to everyone. Maybe you just mistook friendliness for something more?”

  “Oh, please.” Tucker laughed. “I could see it in her eyes. Little dollar signs went up whenever she looked at me.”

  “I’d be really surprised,” Sean said. “I don’t think Lori needed any money. Quite the opposite.”

  “What do you mean?” Tucker asked.

  “Lori was a multimillionaire,” Sean said. “I never told anyone, because it didn’t seem necessary, but her family passed when she was young and Lori was the sole inheritor. She was seriously rich. Like, unto seven generations rich. From what her old friends told me, she chose to move to Milburn because she wanted her son to be brought up as a normal, middle-class boy. She didn’t want the wealth to spoil him, so she kept it a secret.”

  Tucker’s mouth hung open. “Are you serious?”

  “Very,” Sean said. “She’d seen the kind of unhappiness a fast life brought to her parents and she wanted none of it. Apparently, her father had affairs all the time and her mother was just as bad. Well, she reacted by becoming the most wholesome, straitlaced person she could be.”

  “Well, I’ll be…” Tucker shook his head. “So maybe she was just enamored by my good looks, then.”

  Sean laughed. Tucker’s ego had always been the size of a small planet, and it wasn’t shrinking with age.

  Tucker bit his lip. “Hang on a minute. This changes things, doesn’t it? If she had so much money…maybe the disappearance was related? Like, someone killed her for her money?”

  “That’s not possible.” Sean shrugged. “Lori had one son and everything would pass to him. Nobody else would have profited from the money. I’m quite sure of it.”

  “How about the relatives?” Tucker asked. “The ones who took the boy in?”

  “They were his aunt and uncle from his father’s side,” Sean said. “They got a yearly stipend to help out with Austin, but it was a very small sum. Plus, they had a watertight alibi. No. I don’t think they killed her.”

  “And the money?” Tucker asked. “The boy has it now?”