Chapter 21
“What?!” Sean’s instant reaction was to deny it. He shook his head and held his hands up, but Nora caught the fleeting look of anger and fear on his face, and she knew. She knew that he had been the man with Karen when Nora had overheard their conversation.
“How long?” she asked, again.
“It’s not like you think,” Sean said. “Karen and I aren’t exactly--”
“I heard everything,” Nora said, icily. “There’s no need to hide any more, Sean.”
Sean let out a deep breath. “I suppose,” he said. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and began reversing the car. “Will you at least allow me to drive us out of here before I tell you my side of the story?” he asked. “The last thing I want is to cause a scene here. I don’t want to disrespect Wallis.”
“Disrespect him?” Nora laughed. “That’s a hoot. Where did all this respect go when you were seeing his wife, Sean?”
Sean weaved his way through the cars that crowded the street and then gunned the engine. “Nora, you can think what you like, but I always respected him. Besides, they were already separated when I started seeing Karen.”
“Oh sure,” Nora scoffed. “Why did you get together with her, Sean? Were you insecure that he’d beat you in the elections? Was this your twisted way of getting back at him for standing against you?”
“It had nothing to do with the elections,” Sean burst out, his voice hoarse. “Nothing!”
“So what was it?” she asked.
“I fell in love with her, all right?” Sean said. “I fell in love with Karen. There, I said it.”
Nora didn’t know what to say. She’d been right. All along, Harvey had been jealous of Sean, and she’d defended herself, telling Harvey that she felt nothing for Sean, and he felt nothing for her. The entire town had been convinced that the two had a mild flirtation going on, but Nora had always felt… nothing. She’d had no right to, of course, but she’d begun to believe that Sean liked her after she broke up with Harvey. She’d actually been wary, wondering whether it was right that she was spending so much time around him, then, when Harvey had moved on she’d decided to move on too, even if her heart wasn’t in it.
“You hung around me all the time,” she said, out loud. “You came around to fix things in Mrs. Mullally’s house.”
“Nora,” Sean said. “If this is about us--”
“There is no us,” Nora said, decisively.
“Don’t say that,” Sean protested. “We are friends, aren’t we?”
“I’ll say what I please, Sean,” Nora said. “You used me, didn’t you? You didn’t want the town to ask questions about you and Karen, so you used me as a decoy. You fanned rumors all around town that you and I had a thing going. Just so that no one would suspect who you were really with.”
“All right,” Sean said. “All right, I’ll admit it. That’s exactly what I did. But so what? So what, Nora? You did the same thing. You used me. You hung out with me only to make Harvey jealous, and to stop people from thinking you were still broken hearted about him. Which you are.”
“That’s not true,” Nora said, stung.
“Oh please,” Sean said. “I’ve seen the way you look at him. I admit I used that too. I hate Harvey anyway for the way he treated my father. And I let people think that I hated him because I was jealous.”
“Harvey was your father’s son,” Nora said. “Your father refused to recognize him, but that doesn’t make it any less true.”
“We won’t talk about that,” Sean said, in a voice so cold that Nora shrank back in her seat. “You understand me, Nora? You won’t take my father’s name again, in connection with Harvey.”
Nora opened her mouth to say something, but Sean interrupted her. “I did like you, you know,” he said. “Initially. When you came back to town. When I was investigating Raquel’s murder. I felt protective of you. I became friends with you, even. I like to think I still am. I never promised you anything, Nora. I never did anything improper with you. Why can’t you and I go on being friends?”
“Because,” Nora didn’t know what to say. “Because I can’t be used as a decoy anymore.”
“All right,” Sean said. “But what does that mean anyway? Are you planning to tell the whole town about me and Karen?”
Nora didn’t know what to say.
“I know this sounds foolish,” Sean said. “But the truth is, everything I’ve done is to protect Karen. If you tell people now that we’re together, can’t you imagine how much pain that will put her through? She’s been through enough, Nora, I promise you that. Wallis was a terrible husband. He used to cheat on her all the time. He’s hit her more than once when he was drunk.”
“Sean Dracon, always the white knight,” Nora said.
“Call it what you will. I first talked to Karen when she came to the station with a black eye,” Sean said. “I told her what I tell any woman in that position, to file charges, and to leave,” he shook his head. “But Karen, it’s stupid, but part of Karen was attracted to the destructive side of Wallis. Maybe it was because of how messed up her own family was, but I don’t want to go into that. Anyway, she refused to file, but I always kept an eye out for her from then on. We got to talking. We … became friends. There’s a vulnerability to her, you know. A vulnerability and a hidden strength. I’ve never met a woman like her.” He took a deep breath.
“Still,” Nora said. “Alan Bridges was right all along. You didn’t deserve to be handling the case.”
“No,” Sean admitted. “It’s why I gave up so eagerly. Do you think I’d have given up without a fight if I felt like I had a chance to solve it? I arrested Ricky, but after a night of questioning, I thought he was innocent.”
“Did you think Karen did it?” Nora asked. “Is that why you were eager to give up your badge temporarily, and let the other detectives solve the case?”
Sean shook his head. “I know Karen hasn’t done it,” he said. “But I had to let the others handle the case. Even if I made the right arrest, the court could have called it a mistrial after they found out about me and Karen,” Sean said. “Maybe even before.”
“Why are you so sure?” Nora asked. “That she hasn’t done it, I mean? Surely, she’s a strong candidate? You said it yourself, the first person to be suspected is always a spouse.”
“Karen didn’t do it,” Sean said. “Because she was with me.” He parked the car, pulling up the handbrake. “Do you understand?” He turned around to face her.
“What are you saying?” Nora asked, horrified.
“Nora…”
“You were injured,” Nora said, her voice blank. “You had blood running down your forehead. You didn’t remember a thing.”
Sean hung his head. “We found the body together,” he said.
“But then, how did you…” Nora shook her head. “You what?!” she said, nearly shouting. “Sean, do you know how unethical--”
“We found the body together,” Sean said. “She and I had met in the woods behind the fair. We were… you know. Hugging. We decided to go into the shed to hug each other better, and we stumbled on Wallis’ body.”
“No,” Nora said, horrified.
“I took her out of the shed immediately,” Sean said. “She was hyperventilating. She was a wreck. I knew she hadn’t done it, and I didn’t want her questioned.” He shook his head and buried it in his hands. “Oh, I know how it sounds, Nora. I know you think I’m being a dishonest, and dirty cop. I know you think I don’t deserve my badge. But I can’t explain it to you. I can’t explain how I feel about her. She deserves more. She’s had a bad life and I want to protect her. She’s fragile.”
“No,” Nora said, angry. “She’s not fragile, Sean. You’re the one who is fragile, about her. The woman I saw at the funeral today was strong. She would have handled it, and you would have been telling the truth.”
“I didn’t care,” Sean said. “That’s how much I love her. I was willing to, am willing to,
sacrifice everything I have, and everything I am, just for her.”
“What then?” Nora asked. “Did you come up with the plan to fake the injury?”
“Fake it?” Sean asked. “No! How could you even think that?”
“But your story was false,” Nora said.
“I told the truth,” Sean said. “I just omitted some details. Karen and I stumbled on the body. It was on the floor of the shed. Immediately, I checked for a pulse, realized he was dead, and I took her outside. We didn’t even know it was Wallis then. It was too dark in the shed.”
“Then what happened?”
“Karen was freaking out, so I told her to collect herself and run back into the crowd. I told her not to tell anyone she’d been with me, or what she’d seen,” he said. “I swear, Nora, that’s how it happened. Then I went back inside the shed and someone hit me on the head, just like I told you all.”
“You mean…” Nora gasped. “You mean that whoever committed the crime was in the shed when you and Karen discovered the body?”
“Yes,” Sean said grimly. “The murderer was hiding in there all along. Brave, and foolish.”
There was a tap on the door as Sean said this, and Nora started, turning around. Harvey and Milly stood outside the car, peering in.
*****
Chapter 22
“We were wondering if you’ve had a … a breakdown of some sort?” Milly said when Nora rolled down the window.
“Oh, we’re fine,” Sean said, throwing a hand around Nora’s seat. “We were just… talking.” He laughed at the last word and managed to look slightly embarrassed.
Milly’s eye gleamed. “Oh, all right then. I told Harvey not to disturb you but he insisted.”
“Right,” Harvey said, his eye fixed on Nora. “You can go on... talking.”
Sean gave him a defiant look. “Thanks for the offer for help, Harvey, but we’re doing fine. Nora doesn’t need rescuing right now.”
“Actually, we were stopped because I’m going to walk the rest of the way home,” Nora said. “There’s a shortcut through the woods here, and it's only a mile away.” Giving Sean a glare, she shut the door of her car.
“Nora.” Harvey was studying her face, his eyes sharp. “Something’s the matter. What is it?”
“Harvey, leave her alone, would you?” Milly said. “She clearly doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
But Harvey was barely listening to her, his eyes still locked on Nora’s.
“I’m all right,” Nora insisted and gave him a bright smile.
“Doesn’t seem that way,” Harvey said grimly, shooting Sean a dark look.
“Hey, Harvey, believe it or not, I wanted to talk to you,” Sean said. “Something about Wallis. He didn’t have a legal will, and…”
Harvey went over to talk to Sean, and Nora found herself walking away into the woods. To her surprise, Milly followed her.
“Can I help you?” Nora asked, surprised.
“Yes.” Milly said. “You can. You can help me by… by not trying to steal Harvey away.”
“Steal Harvey away,” Nora repeated blankly.
“Oh, come on. Do you think Harvey would ever stop the car to help a breakdown if he didn’t think you were in there? The minute he sees you around Sean, he goes into his caveman phase.” Milly mocked him. “Durr. I’m a Jealous Neanderthal. I’ll kick Sean’s ass for looking at my girl.”
“I’m not his girl,” Nora said. “I’m not Sean’s girl either, just to be clear.”
“Oh good, I love it when people are clear,” Milly said. “So here’s the deal, Nora. Yes, you aren’t Harvey’s girl any more. If you haven’t noticed, I’m trying my hardest to be his girl. I’m going to succeed, too. With men, I generally get what I want.”
“Congratulations on getting what you want,” Nora said mildly.
Milly flushed. “Don’t be so sarcastic.”
“I’m not,” Nora said. “I get it, Milly. You want Harvey, Harvey wants your dad’s business. Win-win.”
“Is that what you think of me?” Milly asked, tearing up. “That I can only be interesting to a man because of my father’s success? I’ve had people saying it to me all my life, you know, and I’ll go to my grave fighting against it.”
“Milly, no, I’m sorry,” Nora said. “I guess, with Harvey, we broke up so recently that feelings still linger. But he’s an honest man, and believe me, if he’s with you, it is for yourself.” She didn’t quite believe her own words, though. With Nora, Harvey had been an honest man, but was he really above manipulating Milly to get the business deal he wanted? Nora didn’t know.
“It’s hard,” Milly said. “Even at the fair, he left me alone in the bus with the band, and vanished. Next time I see him, he’s talking to you, looking all intense.”
“That was nothing,” Nora said.
“I don’t know,” Milly said. “Sometimes, I think I have no chance with him. That it is just my father’s business he’s after.”
“Look, Milly. Harvey and I aren’t even friends anymore,” Nora said. “I’ll stay out of his path out of respect for you, but if you have doubts about your relationship with him, then he’s the best person to ask, really.”
“You think I haven’t tried asking him?” Milly replied. “Sometimes he’s so sweet and charming, then other times he becomes so moody, it’s almost like he’s a different man. It doesn’t help that the only person he really seems to care about in this world other than himself, is you. No. Maybe I should just give up on him?”
“He’s coming this way.” Nora lifted her chin slightly. “Why don’t you just ask him yourself?”
But Milly turned around, caught one glimpse of Harvey’s smooth, arrogantly handsome face, and seemed to melt. “Darling, Nora and I were just talking about Daddy,” she said.
“Oh.” Harvey smiled. “Didn’t think Nora was interested in business.”
“Oh, I was telling her Daddy’s planning to invest hugely in real estate in this town. That he thinks it’s really possible to develop the tourist business here in Milburn.”
“That’ll be great for every business here,” Nora smiled. As long as he doesn’t become our landlord and raise our rents, she thought to herself.
“Yes. Won’t it just. You’re very excited too, aren’t you, Harvey?” Milly asked.
“It’ll be an honor to do business with the Studebayer family,” Harvey said.
“Milly Studebayer.” Nora gasped suddenly. “I wonder how I never put two and two together! Amelie Studebayer! You were in a movie I really loved, a romantic comedy about a couple who meets at midnight in New York in the middle of a street festival. But you looked so different! You had blonde hair and were about ten pounds heavier I think. I hardly recognize you!”
“Yeah, I dyed the hair and lost some pounds because I got so depressed after the movie bombed terribly at the box office. That was my only shot at Hollywood,” Milly said sadly. “I’m surprised anyone’s seen it here. That’s one reason I decided to come to Wyoming, as far away from LA as possible.”
“Oh, oh, I loved that movie,” Nora said, clasping her hands together. “The entire soundtrack was one of the best I’ve ever heard. You were really great as an actress too, I thought. The timid teenage girl with a rebellious best friend. My only wish was that they’d cast a better hero. Everything else about the movie was so perfect and magical, and he ruined it.”
Milly laughed. “Travis Savant,” she said. “Yeah. He was mainly hired because he’d done a role that nearly got him an Oscar nod. We were a small independent studio and thought he was quite the catch. Except, of course, he ended up being more interested in doing every bit of cocaine in New York, and not so much interested in the acting.”
“Well, better luck with your next movie,” Nora said. “Oh, I wish I had a pen and paper, I’d ask you for an autograph.”
“Actually…” Milly grew serious. “I’d love it if you didn’t call any attention to this. I want to keep it a secret. I hate it when peop
le act all star-struck.”
“Oh. Sorry,” Nora said, immediately quieting herself a little.
“No, not you. Just… other people.” Milly sighed.
“All right, but when will your next movie come out?” Nora asked. “I’ll make sure to drive up to the big city and catch it on the big screen.”
“No more movies for a while, for Milly,” Harvey said.
Milly laughed bitterly. “My father didn’t approve of my LA lifestyle. If the movie had been successful it would have been a different story, but once he cut off his funding to me, I had no choice really but to heed his beck and call.”
*****
Chapter 23
Nora was glad to finally be alone, and walking through the woods. Her mind, which had been brimming over with the events of the day, had a chance to quiet itself, and mull over all that had happened.
She felt very tired as if a great weight was loading her down. Perhaps it was because she’d had to deal with two different secrets, all revealed almost at once. Wallis’ death was a horrible thing, but Detective Jason had been right when he said that possibly more than one person in town was glad to see him dead. From what she’d heard today she felt that she knew who these people were.
There was Joe, and what he’d said about Harvey fighting with Wallis just an hour before Wallis had been found killed. Why had Dr. Neil seemed so strange after that conversation, though? Could he have a motive for killing Wallis? No, surely it was too farfetched that the town doctor who’d been in practice for more than twenty years could do something like this? Still, Dr. Neil had looked shaken. She’d seen him at the fair too. Could it be something that he had heard or seen at the fair, something that he hadn’t realized at the time, but put together only after that conversation with Joe? Surely that was worth following up on?
She could tell the detectives of course, but they’d most likely look upon it as meddling, and ignore her. No, she’d have to talk to Dr. Neil herself. She decided to go meet him with a blackberry pie or two as pretext.
But leaving aside Dr. Neil, there was Karen to consider. How long had she and Sean been seeing each other? From what Sean said, it almost sounded like he had begun to have feelings for Karen even when she was married to Wallis.
Death Of A Deputy: A Culinary Cozy Mystery (A Murder In Milburn Book 2) Page 9
