Death In The Library: A Culinary Cozy Mystery (A Murder In Milburn Book 3)

by Nancy McGovern

  “Probably,” Sean said. “So you don’t remember any of the events that led to you being here?”

  “I don’t,” Grant said. “What happened to me? Dr. Neil said a blow to the head… but who? Are Robert and Nora all right?”

  “Nora’s fine.” Sean said. “Robert…”

  “He’s not dead, is he!” Grant looked alarmed.

  “He’s missing,” Sean said. “He’s currently the primary suspect in this assault, as well as Selena’s murder.”

  “Always knew he’s a shady fellow,” Grant said. “I feel guilty, Sean. I’m the one who invited him here. If I hadn’t done that… Selena might still be alive.”

  “Not your fault,” Sean said. “He was obsessed with her. Whether you’d invited him or not, he’d have found a way to get to her eventually.”

  “Still,” Grant said. He gave a shudder. “I can’t imagine working at the library again after everything that’s happened. I just can’t. That library was my home. No one knows it as well as I do. To have… to have two incidents like this happen!”

  “Well, unfortunate incidents are a part of life,” Sean said, patting Grant’s leg over the blanket. “You just focus on resting and getting better. We’ll catch Robert soon. The net’s closing in on him. He can’t escape much longer.”

  “That’s good.” Grant sighed. “That’s good. Keep looking for him, Sheriff. Don’t give up.”

  “I won’t.” Sean opened the door, and Nora jumped aside as he did. He raised an eyebrow.

  “Nora Newberry.”

  “I was just… here to visit Grant,” she said, looking guilty.

  “Ah. And you happened to slip and have your ear glued to the door?”

  “Sean!”

  Sean grinned. “You’re incorrigible, Newberry. You want to talk to Grant?”

  “He needs to rest now,” Dr. Neil said, coming out of the room. “He appreciated the flowers you sent in, Nora.”

  “I didn’t send any flowers,” Nora said, confused.

  “No? Harvey delivered two big bunches, one from you and one from himself.”

  “Oh.” She felt a blush creep up her cheek. That was incredibly thoughtful of him.

  “He’s a nice guy,” Dr. Neil said, looking at her. “Don’t let him slip away.”

  Nora smiled, though she didn’t say anything.

  Sean rolled his eyes.

  “What? You don’t like him?” Nora asked.

  “I never have,” Sean said. “Harvey treads a little too close to the line dividing legal and illegal, if you ask me. In places where he finds a loophole, he jumps happily over the line too.”

  “He’s a businessman,” Nora said. “They have a different view of legality than cops do.”

  “Yeah,” Sean said. “I guess I was raised to believe in good and evil. Not everyone was.”

  “What’s that about how I was raised, Sean?” Harvey appeared, turning into the corridor.

  “Oh.” Sean took a step back. Harvey advanced, his chin raised.

  “Sorry,” Sean said. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just meant, I don’t much appreciate men who don’t take the law seriously.”

  “You know what I don’t appreciate?” Harvey said. “Men who can’t do their jobs well. Men who let others do it for them.”

  Sean’s cheeks flamed. “What’s that mean?”

  “I mean if you’re going to make Nora do your work, at least give her some credit,” Harvey said. “Everyone knows who solved Raquel’s murder, and JJ’s. But you’re too busy cuddling Karen to care.”

  “Don’t bring Karen into this.”

  “Don’t bring up the way I was raised.”

  “Harvey, stop it.” Nora stepped between them. “Please. You have to learn how to get along.”

  “I didn’t start this,” Harvey said.

  “But you can end it,” Nora said.

  “Sure I can. I can end things. You know what the funny thing is, Nora? I didn’t see you defend me. Isn’t that what a girlfriend is supposed to do? Or did you agree with him?”

  “Whoa now,” Sean raised his hands, “I don’t want any part in this fight.”

  “Why are you so angry?”

  “I met Mrs. Mullally at the market,” Harvey said. “She told me your story about meeting May yesterday. Apparently, you got a fright when you fell asleep at Selena’s house and woke up at night to hear sounds from below.”

  “Oh. That. Right.”

  “Right,” Harvey said. “After everything, after all our arguments, you just went to Selena’s house to snoop first chance you could.”

  “I wasn’t snooping, Tina asked me to go there,” Nora said. “ And Sean, wait, there’s something I need to talk to you about. May made me promise to wait one night. She told me she’d speak to you herself. But if she hasn’t… we need to talk.”

  “May?” Sean looked confused. “May Almand? That name’s been coming up a lot lately.”

  “It has to do with Selena,” Nora said. “Sort of. Robert wasn’t the last person she spoke to that night. May was.”

  Harvey gave an angry grunt from next to her. “You’re just never giving up, are you, Nora? What next? Are you planning to start an agency of your own?”

  “Harvey, I don’t want to talk about this right now,” Nora said calmly.

  “Fine,” Harvey said. “Come to me when you do. I can’t promise you that I’ll be waiting.” With an angry huff, he stalked off.

  Sean looked bemused, watching him go. “Well he’s annoyed. Also annoying. But right now, mostly annoyed.”

  “Stop it, Sean,” Nora said. “Do you have to give him a hard time? You’re Sheriff. It’s your duty to be civil to him, isn’t it?”

  “Not at all,” Sean said. “My duty is to arrest him if he strays too far off the line.”

  “Stop talking about him that way,” Nora said. “Harvey contributes to this town. He brings in employment, he brings in tourists. He helps this town’s economy.”

  “Defensive much?” Sean chuckled. “All right, all right. Don’t beat me up for being mean to your boyfriend.”

  “I’m serious,” Nora said. “If you say anything about him in front of me again, I’ll stop speaking to you.”

  “Ooo.” Sean chuckled again. Then, looking at her face, he sobered. “You’re serious.”

  “I sound like a sixteen year old right now, but yes, I am serious,” Nora said. “He’s my man, and I do love him, even if he can... irritate me sometimes.”

  Sean whistled. “Well, you’re sure to be voted prom king and queen then.” He smiled again. “All right, Nora. For the sake of our friendship, I’ll be nicer to him. Or rather, I’ll try.”

  “Fine,” Nora said. “Now look, about May…”

  In minutes, she’d told him the story. Sean at first listened with that slight amusement still on his face. In seconds, it was wiped out, replaced with disbelief, and then anger.

  “All this while, she knew that Robert had walked away from Selena, and she didn’t tell?” he asked, dismayed. “This is unbelievable. I expected better from her.”

  “May said she would meet you today,” Nora said. “She promised me she would, in fact.”

  “Well, she’s going to have to meet me now,” Sean said. “She can’t avoid this conversation forever.”

  “Go easy on her,” Nora said. “Don’t give her your bad cop routine. I’ve seen it, and it’s scary.”

  Sean smiled. “Me? I’m a lamb. I won’t do a thing.”

  “A wolf dressed up as a lamb,” Nora joked.

  “A wolf? Well that’s news to me.” Karen arrived, a bunch of fresh flowers in her hand. “I thought I’d come say hi to Grant,” she said. Stretching her neck up, she gave Sean a peck on the cheek. “You’re looking handsome today, Sheriff.”

  “As always, I hope,” he said.

  “Always do look a little better when you’re freshly shaved,” Karen said.

  “I don’t think they’re allowing Grant any visitors,” Sean said. “I n
eed to talk to May, so I can’t do lunch with you. Sorry, darling.”

  “Oh, well, if I’ve come all this way… Nora, would you like to have lunch with me?”

  “Sure,” Nora said. “Actually, Karen, there’s a few things I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

  “If it’s related to Selena’s death, let me know,” Sean said. “If it’s about the latest fashions, feel free to skip that part when you’re recounting lunch.”

  “Get out of here,” Karen teased.

  Lunch, as it turned out, was a picnic packed by Karen. There was roast chicken, potato salad, and sandwiches cut into little triangles. There were also two mint-chocolate cornettos. They had pleasant chats about work. Karen had just gotten a job as paralegal at a lawyer’s firm in Jackson.

  As they were finishing the cornettos, Nora said, “Someone mentioned JJ’s Aunt Maude the other day.”

  “Maude?” Karen looked guarded. “Yes. I remember JJ talking about her.”

  “She died in prison, poor thing,” Nora said.

  “JJ was always very fond of her,” Karen said. “He was determined to rescue her from what he thought was an unfair imprisonment.”

  “I got the idea that it was one of the reasons he even contested against Sean,” Nora said.

  Karen asked sharply, “Why all these questions about Maude?”

  “Just…” Nora said. “Maybe I think there’s something fishy about her being locked up.”

  “So JJ wasn’t wrong?” Karen steepled her fingers. “Interesting. Sean’s looked over those files himself, you know. He says that there’s nothing out of place.”

  “But JJ didn’t think that way?”

  “JJ was emotional about Maude, you have to realize,” Karen said. “He’d been half-raised by her, what with his parents traveling all over the place. He thought she was incapable of poisoning someone. I told him often, you never know what people are capable of.”

  “Do you truly believe that?” Nora asked. “Love is about knowing someone to their very soul, isn’t it?”

  “Of course I do,” Karen said. “No matter how much I love Sean, there are parts of him I’ll never know about. Thoughts that he’ll never share with me. Of course, the same applies to me. There are things about me he will never know.” Karen looked away, thinking of something.

  “I love Harvey,” Nora said. “If he were ever accused of murder, I would fight the way JJ did to prove his innocence.”

  “But would you believe in him?” Karen asked. “Even if all the proof pointed to him?”

  “Harvey wouldn’t kill someone,” Nora said firmly.

  “Not on an ordinary day, no,” Karen said. “But if there was a perfect storm. If he was caught and tossed about by circumstances, if he thought he was protecting you, what then?”

  “Even then,” Nora said, though her voice was not very firm now.

  Karen smiled. “Well, I see you’re not going to change your mind. Why were you asking about Maude anyway? Why this sudden interest?”

  “Selena was researching her,” Nora said.

  “Oh of course she was,” Karen nodded. “I believe she even asked me to look over JJ’s old files. She took a few of his notes.”

  “She met you?”

  “A few weeks ago. She was very excited when she found out that JJ had an old diary of the victim,” Karen said. “Helen was his step-sister, sort of. After Clay’s death, JJ got possession of all their belongings. He never got rid of all those files of his. Even all these years later.”

  Nora felt lightning flooding through her veins. “Do you think I could get a look at them?” she asked.

  Karen shrugged. “Selena took most of them, so I can’t help you,” she said. “They must be somewhere in her house now.”

  “I’ll have to go look,” Nora said, excited.

  “Of course. You could also interview one of the key witnesses yourself,” Karen said.

  “Who’s that?”

  “Dr. Neil. He was one of the biggest reasons she was thrown in jail.”

  *****

  Chapter 19

  Sam stretched, and yawned.

  Tina cuddled him, and asked, “Better?”

  “A bit headachy,” Sam said. “Maybe a pill?”

  “Don’t you think you’ve had enough of those?” Tina asked lightly.

  Without answering her, Sam got up and helped himself to one, swallowing it dry.

  On the table next to him, the phone rang.

  “Yes?” he said, picking it up eagerly. “Oh. Yes. Yes. Thank you. I appreciate that. No I understand why you could not come. Selena would have loved that. Very kind of you.” He hung up, and made a face. “Phone calls all day long, but never the one I want.”

  Tina looked sad. “I wish you wouldn’t, Sam.”

  “Wouldn’t what?”

  “Wouldn’t put your life on hold wondering when they’ll catch Robert. They might never catch him.”

  “They will,” Sam said. “He has to come out of the woodwork some day. He just has to.”

  “Sam… Cases like this can take forever to solve,” Tina said. “Wouldn’t it be better if we worked hard to forget? Focussing on our own lives? We discussed this before, didn’t we? You agreed that I should start the diner. That you should go back to working on your spurs?”

  “I agreed that you need to start the diner,” Sam said. “Because I thought you’d go mad if you spent more time trying to drag me out of depression. You need your own life.”

  “Sam!” Tina sprang up.

  “It’s true,” Sam said. “You’ve been nothing but supportive to me, Tina, and I don’t want to see you unhappy on my account. As for my own unhappiness, well, let’s just say that I will not rest until Robert is caught. I’ve talked to my friends from University. There’s a private detective in New York who’s very good at this sort of thing. It will cost money, of course- but with Selena’s inheritance coming our way….”

  “Sam. I don’t think this is wise,” Tina said. “You have to let the police do their job.”

  “The police can’t even find Robert!” Sam said. “What use is having money if I can’t help find my sister’s killer? This detective is really good at finding people who want to stay lost. If he can’t find Robert, I’ll give up.”

  Tina was about to say something, when the phone rang again. Sam grabbed it.

  “Yes?! Yes. Mrs. Mullally. No, it was very kind of you to send flowers. Yes, Nora told us you were unwell that day. No, of course not. No. Thank you, Mrs. Mullally.” Impatiently, he hung up. “Another person who’s sorry they couldn’t attend the funeral.”

  “Sam, do you really think it’s Robert who did it?”

  “Of course he did,” Sam said. “The sooner he’s caught, the sooner I’ll find relief.”

  “Nora doesn’t think so, and Nora’s instincts are pretty good.”

  “Nora’s just a wannabe sherlock,” Sam said. “I like the lady, but she’s not quite right in the head. A little morbid, if you ask me. Harvey’s too good for her.”

  Tina bristled. “She’s a lovely girl. Don’t say that.”

  “Well, Harvey’s a great friend,” Sam said. “She ought to be nicer to him.”

  “She is nice to him. She loves him a great deal.”

  “Hmmm.” Sam said. “Well, she should show it too. In any case, I--”

  Once more, the phone rang, and an irritated Sam picked it up. “Yes?”

  The voice on the other end spoke rapidly. Sam nodded, speechless. When he hung up, his eyes were wide as he looked at Tina.

  “What is it?” she asked, a little afraid.

  “They found Robert,” he said.

  Nora reached the sheriff’s office a little after Tina and Sam. Sam was inside, talking to Sean, while Tina sat outside, biting her nails. Nora sat next to her, and put an arm around her.

  “They suspect Sam!” Tina said, almost a little hysterical. “Can you believe that! They suspect Sam!”

  “Now, Tina. They don’t suspect anybo
dy. It’s just routine questioning.”

  “No. It’s not. They found Robert, Nora. Did you hear?”

  “I did,” Nora said. “He died the same day as us, didn’t he?”

  “The library’s been shut all this while, but Sean had the idea to do a k-9 search of it today. He found Robert in a trunk all the way in the basement. He was killed the same night you were attacked.”

  “So I heard,” Nora said. “I’m so sorry, Tina.”

  “Sorry?” Tina was shaking. “I thought it was over. I thought I didn’t have to worry anymore. Now this! Oh why couldn’t Robert have stayed missing! Sam would just have forgotten eventually. Now he’s going to go his whole life wondering… wondering who...”

  “Tina, they’re bound to find out who it is,” Nora said.

  “Are they?” Tina asked.

  Sean appeared, hitching his jeans up a little as he walked. Sam was still inside the office.

  “Tina.” Sean smiled. “Mind coming to the other room with me?”

  “Do I need a lawyer?” she asked.

  “A lawyer?” Sean laughed. “Whatever for?”

  “Why have you been interrogating Sam so long?”

  “It’s not an interrogation, we’ve just asked him some questions about where he was the night Selena died,” Sean said.

  “He was with me,” Tina said defiantly.

  “Was he?” Sean asked casually. “He told me you took separate cars to search for his sister.”

  “Well. Yes. We did,” Tina admitted.

  “You and Nora helped Grant close up the library that day, didn’t you?” Sean asked casually. “You two made sure every door was closed, right? Didn’t accidentally leave one open?”

  “I’m beginning to feel like I need a lawyer,” Tina said.

  “No need,” Sean said. “I’m just trying to make sure no one could have gotten in from another door.”

  “Well ask Grant then,” Tina snapped.

  “You and Sam both worked there, weren’t you?” Sean asked. “In high school? You knew the library inside out, I remember.”

  “I want to go home,” Tina said.

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible for a little while,” Sean said.