“Hey, I never gave you this flower,” Sean said, remembering suddenly. “Best of luck, Nora.”
“Thanks, Sean.” She smiled gratefully at him, and gently kept the flower into her purse. “I’ll make sure to water it when I get home.”
Sean shrugged. “Sure. Personally, I never saw the sense in giving a girl flowers. Chocolates, yes. Flowers, no. They just wilt and die the next day. If I had my way, I’d prefer to take my date to a meadow, and show her flowers. That way she gets to see them, and they get to bloom.”
“You’re a true gentleman, and a philosopher,” Tina said. “But this no-flower policy explains why you’ve remained single for so long.”
“Oh, he’s just single because I haven’t said yes to him yet,” a voice croaked behind them.
“Mrs. Mullally!” Nora shouted in delight, seeing the friendly older lady who was her landlord.
“Nora, dear, the stall looks wonderful. You’ll be completely swamped in no time now.” Mrs. Mullally smiled.
“Looking good, Mrs. M,” Sean said. “How’s that little rascal of a puppy of yours? What’s his name, Maynard?”
“He’s good, Sean, thanks. Hasn’t crawled into any places he can’t crawl back out of.”
Sean laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve had to rescue him. Looks like he’s developed some common sense.”
“He’s developed a love of Nora.” Mrs. Mullally said. “Every day, he’s at the kitchen, whining to get some scraps. It’s a terrible habit for a dog to develop. Nora encourages him shamelessly.”
“I do not!” Nora laughed. “Mrs. Mullally! I saw you sneaking him some junk the other night.”
“Speaking of junk,” Sean’s voice grew guarded. “Here’s Harvey Nathaniel himself.”
Nora’s heart did a little murmur, then settled again.
She hadn’t seen Harvey in months. Not since a few days after she’d helped unveil Raquel’s murderer. For a very short while, they had dated.
Now, he stood before her, looking impeccably handsome in a crisp white shirt, a light grey sweater, and light blue jeans. It was his accessory, though, that made him stand out. Leaning on his right shoulder was a woman so beautiful, every eye seemed to be drawn to her. His new girlfriend, clearly.
*****
Chapter 4
Sean, as always, straightened his shoulders and managed to look every bit the aggressive bison when Harvey entered.
“Fair’s not opened yet,” Sean said. “How come the guards let you folk in?”
“Oh, we just dropped by here on our way to meet Wallis,” Harvey commented. “Thought we’d grab some breakfast first.”
“Harvey, baby, you know I don’t eat carbs,” the model drawled. She pursed her excessively red lips together in a pout. “Take me someplace decent.”
“I can mow up some grass for you, throw it in a glass of water, and charge you fifteen dollars for a healthy shake if you like,” Nora said dryly.
“Nora, be nice,” Harvey said warningly. “Milly is new in town, and I’m helping show her around.”
“Is that what they call it now?” Mrs. Mullally smiled.
Harvey colored a little but then gave Mrs. Mullally a cheeky smile. “Well it’s your fault, Mrs. M, you refused to date me.”
Mrs. Mullally, who had seen her 7th decade a long time ago, and was now cruising through her 80s, blushed. “You and Sean both share the same sense of humor.”
“We share nothing,” Sean said, a little angrily, when he’d meant to be casual.
Once again, sensing tension in the air, Nora defused it by saying, “Well, I’m going to start grilling up some kebabs now so those of you who are hungry can stay, and those of you who are on a diet, better run away before you cave into temptation.”
“Diets are ridiculous,” Mrs. Mullally said. “I believe in eating sensibly, and doing what the body feels like. That’s what you young folk need, less ruthlessness about your own bodies and more common sense.”
Milly, surprisingly, smiled at Mrs. Mullally. “You know, my grandfather owns a chain of bakeries back in Louisiana. He says the same things you do. You remind me a lot of my grandma, as a matter of fact.”
Mrs. Mullally looked charmed, and Nora felt a bit more hospitable towards the girl. She couldn’t help having her hackles raised when seeing her draped over Harvey, but she supposed it wasn’t Milly’s fault she was born beautiful. If there was anyone Nora had full right to be angry at, it was Harvey.
He looked at her now, and she quickly bent her neck to focus on the grill. Still, she felt his eyes pressing into her. Things between them had ended badly, to say the least, and she could almost hear the thoughts in his mind as his eyes slid between her and Sean.
Defiantly, she looked back and met his gaze. It wasn’t her fault. She told herself. He had been the one to desert her when she needed him. He was the one at fault here.
“Nora. I dropped by to say that… I wish you luck,” Harvey said. “I hope the stall is a success, and I hope you’re able to fund the diner soon.” Despite what had happened between them, his voice was genuinely kind and full of support.
“Thank you,” Nora said, feeling her smile tremble slightly.
“Yeah.” Sean slid himself slightly into Harvey’s field of vision. “Thanks, Harvey. Now maybe you should go talk to your main man, Wallis. I hear you’re supporting him this time?”
“If you mean the elections for sheriff? You bet.” Harvey smiled. “This should be fun, I think.”
“You better leave,” Sean said, pushing himself up close to Harvey. “I think Nora’s going to have a busy day, and the last thing she needs is us fighting right now.”
“There’s going to be a fight, though,” Harvey said. “The election, that is.”
“Yeah,” Sean said grimly. “And I think we’ll let the votes speak for themselves.”
“You really think you have a chance, don’t you?” Harvey laughed. “I’d think you’d be able to detect what’s in the air. A new wind is blowing, Sheriff Dracon. You’re going to have to be satisfied with being called “Mr.” Dracon soon.”
“I’ve been sheriff in this town for a long, long time,” Sean said. “This is the first time someone is challenging me, but I’m going to make sure it’s the last.”
“Wallis will win, Sean,” Harvey said. “We’ve done a lot of marketing efforts, yes, but when push comes to shove, Wallis has experience in stage performance. So in every political rally, he’s going to have a big edge over you. Your little stoic boy in uniform act does well with the older ladies, I’m sure, but Wallis is going to sweep everyone away with his unbridled charisma. But you shouldn’t be worried. A little competition always spices up things, right?”
“Oh, I don’t consider you competition,” Sean dismissed him. “Advertise all you like. What works is results, and the town knows I deliver results.”
“Do you, though?” Harvey asked. “Seems to me that you were completely off track on the Raquel Madden case until Nora intervened. Town lost a little faith in you after that.”
Sean bristled with anger, and Nora felt a sad tremor move through her. Harvey’s eyes connected with her, and she could see the instant regret that flooded in his eyes. He hadn’t meant to hurt her with his words.
Still, it hurt. To think of her best friend, once so alive, so full of dreams, and now only a statistic, a murder, being used as a simple talking point in an election, that hurt bad. To think that Harvey was recommending that she be used that way was nearly unbearable.
“Get out of here,” Nora said, her voice sharp. “I don’t need this right now, Harvey.”
“Nora…” Harvey stepped up, ready to say something, but Milly, sick of being ignored, grabbed his hand and tugged him back.
“Come on Harvey. Let’s go check out the band!”
Harvey’s eyes lingered on Nora for just a second more, then he nodded, and walked away.
*****
Chapter 5
In no time, the celebrations had
begun in full swing, and soon Nora had too much work on her hands to even raise her head and look about her. The hungry crowd milled in front of her, demanding everything from crepes, to kebabs, to coke. Nora handed these out, with a smile on her face, while Tina worked the cash register, and Mrs. Mullally helped by sitting in the corner and occasionally handing out ingredients as needed.
Nora appreciated both their help, though at the back of her mind, she still missed Raquel. Her best friend would have worked in perfect sync with Nora at a time like this. Afterwards, the two of them would have shared the day’s events over a cup of peppermint tea.
Still, this was nice too. The weather was hot for September, touching the 70s, and Nora soon removed her turtleneck and wore a simple white t-shirt as she worked.
She had positioned her stall well, right in front of the arena for competitions. The crowd that gathered around to watch various feats of strength like the throwing of logs and lifting of boulders also smelled her wares and came running back to her for seconds and thirds. Quite a few of the customers assured her that she had made some of the best crepes they’d ever tasted, and each time she was complimented, Nora felt a golden glow in the pit of her stomach. True contentment.
This was what she was born to do, to feed people, and make them happy. What better way to spend a life? Surely, there were people out there, who thought it was far nobler to be a scientist, or an explorer, or a CEO, but to Nora, there had only ever been one purpose in life, and she’d found it on a distant summer day when her father had first allowed her to handle the barbeque with him.
She remembered that day now, a garden party with balloons and jugs of pink lemonade, and her turning over the sausages carefully, as her father talked to her about how important it was that the meat be done just right. Not too well done, not too rare.
He would be proud of me now, she thought and smiled to herself.
May Almand wandered by the stall once and bought a crepe, though she threw it away after a bite, with a little exclamation of, “A little too sweet for me.” Nora didn’t let this distract her in any way though Tina was quite livid.
“Horrible woman,” Tina said. “The worst part is that she’s the only writer for the Milburn Report. So she’s sure to be the one doing your review. I bet she’ll have some nasty words to say.”
“Oh, never mind her,” Nora said. “The people love it and that’s what counts.”
“The people have short memories,” Tina said, slightly depressed. “It’s what’s in print that counts.”
“Don’t be sad, dear,” Mrs. Mullally said. “Cheer up. The archers are coming in for the finals.”
There was a cheer from the crowd, and Nora declared a fifteen minute break for them to watch the archery finals.
The first heat of the archery competition had been a simple target shot, with ten winners moving on to the next round. The next round had consisted of rings suspended with cables in mid-air, with the competitors aiming to shoot the fruits that were suspended within the rings.
There were cries of applause as apples and watermelons fell to the ground, and a few of the triumphant archers raised their hands to work the crowd up.
The final heat was the most challenging, named “Pluck the rose”. The competition had artificial roses placed far from the archers, with their task being to cut the rose as close to the bud as possible. Of the five who had advanced from the round before, only one successfully “plucked the rose”, that is, cut its stem. The other arrows fell to the side, and the audience booed and sighed each time.
A cheer went up, and the winner was lifted on the crowd’s shoulders, then tossed up once, twice, three times, as people laughed and sang.
Nora, too, clapped in glee, enthralled by the events.
Eventually, the crowd drifted away to the concert, where JJ Johnson and the Jackhammer Squad began their songs. Far from being a Viking playlist, JJ Johnson and his squad had instead chosen to honor classic rock and metal bands. Soon, Nora could hear the crowd screaming and singing along to classics by The Scorpions, AC/DC and The Eagles.
She could hear JJ, that is, Wallis, scream quite clearly over the microphone. Harvey wasn’t wrong. Wallis was a charming rockstar on stage. Effortlessly, he roused the crowd to near hysteria with his crooning voice and his snake-like dance steps. Energy seemed to float in waves off his body, infecting the others till they screamed his name hoarsely.
The crowd had thinned out now, and Nora was taking a break, as her customers had all vanished. Tina and Mrs. Mullally vanished too, and Nora manned the stall, secure that they would come back once the dinner rush started.
“He’s quite something, isn’t he?” Sean asked, coming up and leaning on a pole. “Wallis. He always had a flair for drama in his work as deputy, but in his defense he was always an excellent interrogator. He’s very good with people. I hate to say this, but he’ll make an excellent sheriff.”
“Now that’s talk I don’t like to hear,” Nora said heatedly. “A finer sheriff than you I haven’t met on this continent.”
Sean laughed. “You didn’t let me finish my sentence, Nora. He’ll make an excellent sheriff, someday. But not this day.”
Nora could tell Sean was being brave, but the truth was, Harvey’s words had shaken him. She could see it in his eyes. Sean believed what Harvey had said, that he might be out of his office soon.
But knowing Sean, he wouldn’t go without a fight.
*****
Chapter 6
The concert ended with spectacular pyrotechnics, sparkles and flames erupting on stage as the crowd oohed and aahed.
Wallis bowed to everyone, and after a final strumming of his guitar, he raised his hands in the air and walked offstage.
“Brilliant!” Mrs. Mullally said, appearing quite star-struck. “What a star he is! What personality! It’s like seeing my old blue suede shoes superstars.”
Tina only harrumphed. “Oh, he’s all right. He’s good enough for the small town circuit, and he does play his gigs off and on in Jackson Hole. But I don’t think he’s good enough to quit his day job yet.”
“Talent shines wherever it’s kept,” Mrs. Mullally said. “What’s important is that he cares about what he’s doing, and treats his audience with a basic respect. That’s what differentiates the greats from the brats. That guitar wasn’t the only instrument Wallis was playing. He was playing the audience too.”
“You’re an odd one, Mrs. Mullally,” Tina laughed.
“I was a backup singer in the ‘60s,” Mrs. Mullally said. “I once went on tour with a lot of the big stars.”
“Like who?” Tina asked.
“Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix… a few others, like Zany Motts.” Mrs. Mullally sighed. “Well, he was a great one. Off-stage, he was all right, but onstage, he was nothing short of a god. He even stopped in at our little ol’ Milburn once, way back then. The town was all aflame.”
“Zany Motts? Mrs. Mullally!” Sean said, excited. “Here I thought you’d been a science teacher all your life! Zany Motts is a legend! My father used to play his records all the time. I loved his sound. Still play it when I want to get in a rock and roll mood.”
“It was last year that he died, wasn’t it?” Tina asked. “Found him two days later in his apartment, with his cats licking his face.” she shuddered at the thought.
“Poor man,” Mrs. Mullally said, with genuine pity in her voice. “He lived a superstar, but died alone and broke.”
“The funny thing is, it sparked a revival of his music,” Sean said. “One of his guitars even broke records when it sold for a little less than a million soon after. But it was no use to him, was it? Money’s all we think of when we’re alive, and it matters not at all when we’re dead.”
Nora nodded, feeling tired, and suddenly sleepy. She’d been on her feet since 5am, and the weariness hit her in a wave. She stretched and yawned, and Mrs. Mullally, noticing, suddenly said in a stern voice, “Nora Newberry. I declare. You haven’t taken more than fifte
en minutes off all day. Enough is enough. Tina and I will handle things here for an hour, and you’re going to go watch the burning boat.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Nora protested.
“You don’t have to ask,” Tina said. “That’s what friendship is all about.”
Mrs. Mullally nodded. “Now off with you. Go enjoy yourself thoroughly, and don’t come back.”
Nora protested a little more until Tina and Mrs. Mullally bodily ejected her and refused to let her back into the stall.
Laughing, she thanked them and moved to the bank of the lake where the crowd was now gathering, waiting for the fireworks and the burning of the boat to begin.
Sean had vanished, and Nora looked all around her, wondering where he could be.
“Looking for Sean?” a voice said at her elbow.
She jumped, and whirled around to see Harvey standing there. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, and tiny bits of leaves and debris were stuck to his messy hair.
“Harvey. What are you… where’s Missy?”
“Milly,” he said.
“Same thing,” Nora said. “Shouldn’t you be with your new girlfriend?”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Harvey said, defensively. “I’m just entertaining her while she tours the area. Her--”
“Sure you are,” Nora interrupted. “It’s not my business anyhow. You’re welcome to do as you please.”
“Am I?” Harvey asked. “You don’t care at all, do you? You’d be perfectly fine if I were dating her?”
“Yes,” she said, setting her jaw. “I would. I only wish happiness for you, Harvey. If she’s what makes you happy, go for it.”
His expression was unreadable as he stared at her. “So that’s how it’ll be? No rancor after the breakup? No bad feelings?”
“None at all,” she said.
“Well, I’ve got bad feelings.” Harvey declared, passion rising in his voice. “I’ve got very bad feelings about whatever’s going on between you and that Sean. Though I suppose you’ll tell me it’s not my business.”
Death Of A Deputy: A Culinary Cozy Mystery (A Murder In Milburn Book 2) Page 2
