“We brought plenty of potato salad,” Grace said. “I know you’re having a tapas-style menu, but it’ll go along just fine.”
“Any food’s welcome.” Nora smiled and kissed her daughter on both cheeks, then hugged her tight. “It’s good to see you, sweetheart. As for you,” she turned to Jacob, “you’ve gone missing-in-action since last year! We barely see you anymore.”
“Sorry, Nora. Work’s tough these days, you know. We’re planning on opening a new office in Michigan at some point this year. I’ve been busy scouting locations.”
“You should talk to Harvey about it. If anyone knows real estate, it’s him.”
“Good point,” Jacob agreed.
“Are Hazel and Austin here yet?” Grace looked over Nora’s shoulder and into the house.
“They’re in the backyard setting up the table,” Nora said. “It’s an incredibly beautiful day. Lucky us!”
“I’ll go put these upstairs and then help out.” Jacob lifted the two duffel bags on either side of him and headed toward Grace’s room. Nora had set up an extra mattress on the ground for Kaylee, since the house would be quite full, what with Hazel staying over, too.
“I wanna come!” Kaylee yelled, running after him.
Grace paused in the doorway, studying her mother. Nora tried to hide her smile.
“Oh, Mom! You’ve guessed, haven’t you!” Grace exclaimed suddenly.
“Me? Guessed? What have I guessed?” Nora blinked and tried to play innocent.
“I can see it in your eyes. You’ve got a very smug look,” Grace teased.
“You look good dear,” Nora said, biting her lip to hide a smile. “Have you put on a little weight lately?”
“Oh, hush!” Grace looked around and shushed her. “We’re not telling anybody for a month. Nobody. Got it? Not Dad, not Hazel…no-bod-y.”
Nora made a zipping motion across her lip and then threw away the invisible key.
“What’s this?” Harvey came up to Grace and Nora, looking relaxed in a navy blue polo and khakis. He narrowed his eyes at Grace. “No fair. I should be included in your secrets, too.”
“Nothing doing.” Grace linked her arm with Nora’s. “We stand united.”
A car pulled up and Nora looked at her watch, puzzled. It was still too early for guests.
Jess got out of the car and leaned against the door. She had a paper bag in her hand, and seemed hesitant.
“Come on, Grace. Into the kitchen with you. Hazel’s excited to see you.” Harvey gave Nora a meaningful look and, putting his arm around Grace’s shoulders, he pulled her away.
“Hello, Jess,” Nora said. “Can I help you?”
“I actually came to see Hazel,” Jess said, holding up the paper bag in her hand. “She dropped by the boutique last week and bought this dress. I altered it a bit to fit her and she was supposed to pick it up today, but I guess she forgot.”
“Thanks. Hazel can be so forgetful sometimes,” Nora said, and took the bag from Jess. She peeked inside and caught sight of a lovely white sundress with blue flowers on it. She smiled. Yes, it would suit Hazel perfectly.
Jess shifted from foot to foot, then turned away abruptly. “Thanks. I’ll be on my way.”
“Wait…” Nora called out. “Now that you’re here, stay. We’d love to have you at the party.”
“Would you really?” Jess looked back over her shoulder, clearly hesitant.
“Absolutely,” Nora said. “You’re a friend of the family, Jess. You’re welcome here any time. Besides, Grace is here today, too. You’d like to see her, I’m sure.”
“Yes, of course.” Jess seemed to make a decision. She turned back and hurried into Nora’s house, almost as though she were afraid someone would see her.
“Brooke’s not in town today,” Nora said. “I’m sure you know that already, though.”
“Oh, as a matter of fact, I didn’t know.” Jess seemed to relax. “How did-”
“Peter was supposed to go golfing with Harvey this morning. But he cancelled it a few hours ago. He emailed Harvey that he’d decided to spend the day with Brooke at a bed & breakfast somewhere. Pretty sudden, but I guess she needs time away from all the chaos.”
“Right.” Jess looked even more relaxed now. “Good for her. Peter’s such a caring husband. Brooke has been pretty stressed and upset since May, you know. I guess we all have.”
“Yes, Nat seemed pretty upset when she was talking to James the other day,” Nora said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
A flash of something dark passed over Jessica’s face. “Nat? James?”
“Oh, yes. They’re together, aren’t they?” Nora smiled, observing Jess carefully. “They seem to care for each other.”
“Yes. Of course.” Jess shrugged, her face a mask of total disinterest. Nora didn’t believe in it for a second. “Of course, I hear you dated him back in high school?” Nora probed.
“Oh, you know how it is in Milburn. Everyone’s dated everyone else at some point.” Jess gave an airy laugh. “James was the golden boy in our high school. In some ways, he’s still the golden boy of the town. Not a girl who sees him doesn’t want him. He knows it, too, which is what makes him such a bad boyfriend.”
“Hmm. A man with his pick of women, eh?”
“Well, except May.” Jess smiled. “She chose his best friend instead, didn’t she?”
“James’s best friend? You mean Tyler? Wait, May chose Tyler over James?” Nora frowned.
“Oh, yes. James and Tyler were really close until the end of high school, but they were always competing for May. When May finally decided to date Tyler, poor James was pretty heartbroken. I think he was just shocked that a girl could pass him up. His ego never really got over it.”
“Well, what happened?”
Jess sighed. “Look, this is gossip from an entire lifetime ago. Forget it.”
“Was James in love with May?” Nora asked.
Jess scowled at Nora. Her entire body was stiff and her nose was thrown up to the sky. “Why do you care? It’s Hazel’s birthday, isn’t it? Let’s just enjoy ourselves.”
“Jess-”
“No. No, I don’t think he was ever in love with May. Like I said, I think he was just hurt that he got rejected. James has an ego the size of an elephant.”
“A big ego is a dangerous thing to have,” Nora murmured.
Jessica’s eyes turned stormy. “Look, Nora, I don’t know what you think about me, but I’m not the kind to go about gossiping about my friends. Yes, James has an ego. But James is a good man. He’s probably the kindest, most selfless man I know. I’m not going to stand around and make up stories about him just to make you happy. I know what you’re getting at. You think James was in love with May and he killed her. That’s ridiculous.”
“Was he?” Nora asked quietly.
“For the last time, no! At least, not anymore,” Jess said. “Besides, like I said, James is the kindest, sweetest man I know. He is not a murderer. You know what, it was a mistake coming here. I don’t know what I hoped to achieve. Brooke was right - talking to you is a mistake. Goodbye, Nora.”
“Hang on.” Nora reached out and caught Jess firmly by the elbow. She yanked her a little closer. “You can’t leave.”
Jess stared at her open-mouthed. “Get your hands off me or I’ll-”
“Or you’ll what? Go home and write how much you hate me in your diary? The way you did with Maybelle?” Nora asked.
Jessica’s eyes widened and she stepped back, her mouth open in shock. “What did you say?”
“You heard me just fine,” Nora said. “You just admitted something without saying a word, too.”
“Go to…you have no right-” Jess looked nearly tearful and suddenly pale.
“Another step and I’ll go to the sheriff with what I know,” Nora said.
“You’re a witch,” Jess said. “How else could you know that? How could you possibly know?”
“So you admit you wrote an entry like tha
t,” Nora said. “You hated May.”
“I didn’t hate her, she was my friend!” Jess exclaimed.
“Then why write what you did in your diary?” Nora asked.
“It was a mistake, okay?” Jess said. “I made a mistake writing that. And I wanted to tear it out when I realized what a big mistake I’d made! Have you always been perfect all your life? Haven’t you ever gotten angry at someone and then cooled down? May was my best friend, Nora! Of course we fought, but we were like sisters! She just…she had a way of making me so mad sometimes.”
“By not giving you the money she’d promised?” Nora asked.
“I…” Jess shook her head. “No. I won’t say a word more. I won’t stand here and take this from you, either. You know what? You’re bluffing. I don’t know how you found out about my diary, but you’ve got nothing on me. Nothing. I won’t say a single word more.”
“Ok.” Nora shrugged. “If not to me, then the sheriff.”
“Why are you so set on harassing me?” Jess had tears in her eyes. “Tyler’s the one who killed her. Everyone in town knows it. I heard he even ran away last night. Just let the rest of us get over it in peace, won’t you?”
“I’m not convinced Tyler killed her,” Nora said.
“Well, then why did he run away?” Jess asked. “Yeah, I heard all about it from one of the deputies. He ran away last night.”
“A deputy told you?” Nora frowned. “Sheriff Ellerton won’t like that.”
“Well, the deputy came to my house officially, so I’m pretty sure the sheriff knew,” Jess shot back.
“Why did the deputy come to your house?” Nora asked.
“I...” Jess hesitated. “Look, I was walking my dog last night. I guess I decided I’d walk by May’s house. I wanted to see it again. It’s only a short walk from my place.”
“I thought her nearest neighbors were quite far away?” Nora frowned, remembering what the police had told her.
“Yeah, if you’re taking the regular roads,” Jess clarified. “But they’re on the other side of the mountain from my house. If you don’t mind a bit of an uphill climb and a hike through the woods, it’s not far at all.”
Nora nodded. “I see. And you and Nat are neighbors, aren’t you?”
Jess nodded. “We are. Brooke lives just a street away from us, too. It’s really convenient, having such good friends close by. We often go jogging in the woods together, too.”
Nora nodded. Suddenly, the thing Tyler had said made sense to her - all three were close enough to have hiked through the woods, killed Maybelle, then run away. If Tyler was innocent, it had to be one of those three. But, of course, Tyler was guilty. He had to be guilty. Why else would he leave town so suddenly?
“I saw him,” Jess said. “Last night.”
“You saw Tyler?!” Nora asked excitedly.
“Yeah.”
“What time?”
“About eleven,” Jess said. “He was driving like a maniac. He didn’t even see me wave at him. He just ran into his house, then ran back out and drove away again.”
11pm! That would be right after he had finished talking to Nora and Harvey. So he’d driven back to his house in a hurry after leaving their place. Interesting.
“Was he in there long?”
“No. Barely a minute. I’m not even sure he bothered to lock his door,” Jess said. “He just screeched out of there the same way he’d come in. Full speed ahead.”
“Did he have anything in his hands?” Nora asked. “A backpack? A duffel bag?”
“Nothing like that. Although…” Jess frowned. “He had something black and square in his hands, now that I think of it. It was too dark to see exactly what he was holding, but I’m sure of it. I should tell the deputy!”
“You’re the last person to see him in Milburn,” Nora mused. “The next time someone saw him, he was crossing state lines.”
“Look I have to go,” Jess said suddenly. “I promised to go sleep over with Nat tonight. She tries to act strong but she’s really affected. I don’t think she’s eating right or sleeping right. She’s got black circles like a raccoon under her eyes and her hair’s turning gray.”
Nora looked at Jess, not really believing her. Was Jess going to see Natalie out of concern? Or because Nora had mentioned the little rendezvous Natalie had with James? Either way, Nora knew not to push Jess too much. She’d already gotten some information out of her and she wanted to mull it over before asking more questions. Besides, Jess looked as though she were breaking under the strain. Although, whether it was guilt or grief that was making her break, Nora could not say.
*****
Chapter 14
Rumor Has It
By 8pm that night, Hazel’s party was in full swing. Nora had fully intended for it to be a quiet affair but, somehow, people kept showing up and the party just got larger and larger. At first, it had just been the family, and then a few of Hazel’s friends arrived. After that, people had begun trickling in unannounced…and uninvited, though certainly welcome. Before Nora knew it, her house was full.
Harvey had strung up some fairy lights between the trees in the backyard, surrounding the dining table Jacob and Austin had moved outside. Kaylee’s big idea had been to buy plastic glasses and plates that looked like fancy crystal and silver cutlery. The result was surprisingly magical.
Grace had brought along her guitar and was playing an old Joni Mitchell tune in one corner, surrounded by couples dancing. Kids were running around, in and out of the house in an elaborate game of hide and seek. Everyone was having a blast.
Nora wandered around, making sure plates were full and that people were comfortable.
“We ended up buying a minivan after all,” Tina was telling someone. “But Sam agreed that I get to paint a nice racing-stripe down the middle.”
With a pang, Nora remembered when she’d last been caught in between Sam and Tina’s argument on which car to buy. It had been at Coach James’s party - one of the last times Nora had seen May alive. That seemed so long ago now.
She looked at the door, and was surprised to see that Coach James had wandered in. He had freshly shaved and looked as clean-cut as ever - except for a rather large bruise on the side of his face. Nora walked up to greet him and pointed to it.
“Need some ice?”
“Oh, that?” James laughed. “It’s nothing. Just the result of an over-enthusiastic kid with terrible ball-throwing skills.”
“Must have hurt,” Nora said. “Hope you didn’t throw him off the team or something.”
James shrugged. “I’ve taken worse punches, so to say. Kids will be kids.” He strained his neck, looking around the crowd, and asked Nora, “Say, is Natalie here?”
“No, sorry,” Nora said. “I think she, Jess and Brooke are avoiding me right now.”
James looked embarrassed, his face flushing. “No, nothing like that. I’m sure she’ll be here. I asked her to come.”
Nora raised an eyebrow. “Did you now?”
“Yes. I thought she should. She had some silly idea in her head that talking to you would ruin the case against Tyler somehow. But, well, looks like Tyler killed any doubts about his guilt by running away.”
“It’s not like him, is it?” Nora asked.
“I wouldn’t have said so.” James looked sad. “I thought I knew him, you know? We’ve been friends for so long. I guess you just really never know a person. Tyler was the last guy I thought...” He shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s too fresh.”
Austin wandered up with two glasses of sangria in his hand, and handed one to each of them. “You heard about Tyler’s disappearance too, huh?” he asked James.
“Yeah. Looks like we were both wrong about his being innocent, doesn’t it? That ba-” James cut himself off before he could start cursing. “I’m sorry. I’m just so angry at him. He was a monster in human form all along. I can’t believe he killed May. Our May!”
“You were fond of her,
weren’t you?” Nora asked.
“Who wasn’t? Back in high school, Tyler and I both competed to get her. Tyler won…and I lost,” James explained. “I know it was just a teenage crush but…May was special. She was so full of life, like a thunderbolt. She’d liven up any party just by entering a room. You know, in high school, if someone ran out of the room crying, she’d always be the first person to follow and to try to cheer them up. She was always so sympathetic to other people’s problems. She always wanted the best for them. That was her - she wanted the best for people, always.”
Nora frowned. “That got her in trouble sometimes, though. Didn’t it? I heard she worked one girl on the cheering squad so hard that the girl was injured and had to drop out of competing.”
“Cynthia? That was a long time ago,” James said. “Poor May felt horrible about that. Jess and I were dating at the time. We tried our best to console May, but we failed.”
“You failed to teach her anything, either,” Nora said. “She was apparently still as pushy as ever.”
“She was only pushy out of love,” James said. “That’s not a bad quality to have, is it?”
Nora shrugged. “I’ve realized in life that people will always do what they want, no matter how much good advice or motivation you give them. Pushiness never works.”
“Oh, but it did. May could really convince a man to do things he never even thought of,” James said. “It was her idea for me and Jess to start dating in high school, you know.”
“Did it work?” Austin asked.
James gave a wan smile. “Clearly it didn’t. I’m still single, aren’t I?”
“What was her fatal flaw?” Austin grinned. “Was she not pushy enough for you?”
“Jess? Jess was flawless. Still is.” James grinned. “I was the one who couldn’t handle commitment. I loved to flirt with anything on two legs. Still do, I guess. Jess would get so jealous. She’d fly off the handle if I so much as looked at a girl. We lasted two years, but then I had enough. We decided we both needed to go our separate ways.”
“Did Jess take it hard?” Nora asked quietly.
“She was the one who dumped me in the end, actually,” James said. “Pity, too.” He shrugged. “May was so good to me, though. She phoned me each day and counseled me. She’d spend hours convincing me to go back to Jess. Only it backfired - I decided I wanted to be with May instead.” James laughed. “Of course, that didn’t work out, either. She was set on Tyler. All this was so long ago...” James shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re talking about high school.”
The Milburn Big Box Set Page 174