Death At A Diner: A Culinary Cozy Mystery (A Murder In Milburn Book 1)

by Nancy McGovern

  “I know it does.” Harvey held her hand and sat on the edge of the bed, as Nora wiped the tears off with a corner of the blanket. “Nora, god knows I’m not the kindest of men. You called me rude and callous, and I am. But I know what it’s like to feel kicked down and alone. To feel like the world has no meaning in it, or that anger is the only emotion worth feeling. Please. Let me help you.”

  “You can’t,” Nora said, sitting up straight.

  “Ok. I can’t. I’ll sit here, with you, and let you lean on me a little, though,” he said. “Then, when you’re ready tomorrow, maybe you can help yourself. You have to be strong, Nora.”

  “Why?” Nora asked. “Nothing matters.”

  “Raquel does.” He put a hand on her cheek and rubbed it gently. “Raquel matters to you, and you mattered to her, so for her sake, you have to be strong.”

  “I heard it was a drifter,” Nora said. “Can you imagine? Raquel was always so kind to people. She volunteered in the city homeless shelters. She was on a committee raising funds for the affected of the tsunami in Asia. But in the end, my best friend died at the hands of a probably drug-addicted drifter.”

  “Did she?” Harvey’s voice was hard.

  “Of course she did.” Nora raised her head, looked at Harvey properly for the first time.

  He hadn’t shaved at all, and there were dark shadows under his eyes that told he probably hadn’t slept either. His hair was a mess, and he was still wearing the same clothes she had last seen him in, olive chinos and a grey linen shirt.

  “I went to see the diner,” Harvey said. “From what some officers told me, it doesn’t seem like it was a drifter who committed the crime.”

  Something shifted inside Nora. “What do you mean?”

  “There was no money in the till, was there? The diner hadn’t been opened yet. Raquel’s wallet was missing, but her gold bracelet was still on her hand and a pendant around her neck. Wouldn’t a drifter have grabbed those too?”

  Nora closed her eyes and thought back. She took herself through time to that spot, to that moment when she had opened the door to the diner. Her eyes sprung wide open.

  “You’re right, Harvey!” she exclaimed, jumping out of bed. “My god, I just realized this. None of the windows seemed to be broken, and when I left, the diner had been locked. I had to open the door with my own key because Raquel wasn’t answering. Whoever… whoever killed her clearly locked up after themselves. The villain who killed her took her purse and her keys.”

  “Another thing,” Harvey said. “The killer took her purse and keys, but her car was still outside. Why would a drifter just leave it?” Harvey asked. “And why would a drifter lock up?”

  “Why would anyone do that?” Nora asked.

  “Because, they wanted time,” Harvey said. “That’s the only explanation.”

  “But, that means…” Nora paled. “That means whoever killed her, did so out of sheer hate. This wasn’t an act of mindless violence or an accident of fate like I thought it was. This was malicious.”

  “You need to tell the Sheriff everything we’ve just discussed,” Harvey said. “I think it’s time you talked to him.”

  Nora and Harvey stayed together almost all night, after that, talking about Raquel. Nora found it easy to confide to him somehow, maybe because he was one of the few people in town who had hardly known her.

  “I met her a few times for some tax purposes, I think,” Harvey said. “All I remember is that she was professional, courteous and efficient.”

  Remembering the last time she’d seen Raquel, and the near exact way Raquel had described Harvey, Nora teared up again. “She liked you, you know. I mean, she thought you were a bit of a player, but that overall you were a decent man.”

  “She was a good judge of people then,” Harvey smiled. “Though I know not too many people in town think I’m exactly decent.”

  “She was one of those people who adds value to whatever life they touch,” Nora said with a deep sigh. “I wish…” She leaned her head against Harvey, suddenly exhausted from the grief. Her insides felt empty still, but the black despair that had colored her earlier was now gone. In its place was a steadily growing anger. Whoever killed Raquel, whoever destroyed her best friend, was in this very town, perhaps sleeping, perhaps gloating, perhaps relieved. Either way, for now, the murderer thought he had won. Nora’s anger roared inside her. Harvey was right. At all costs, she would find and destroy the … the monster who had done this.

  Harvey leaned his head so that it lay stacked on top of hers. “You’ll be okay, won’t you?” He asked.

  “I’ll be fine,” Nora said. “You’re right. I have to be. For her.”

  “Good.” He took her phone, keyed in his number, and saved it. “Call me anytime, and I mean any time.” He stood, stretched, and looked at the time. “5am. I’d better get going now. Long day ahead of me.”

  “Harvey.” Nora caught his hand suddenly as he prepared to head towards the window from where he had broken in.

  He turned and looked at her. “Yes?”

  “Nothing,” Nora said, letting his hand go. “I just wanted to say thank you.”

  *****

  Chapter 11

  Sean sat across from her in the interrogation room and noted the dark circles under Nora’s eyes. His heart twisted. He’d expected her to look fragile. He’d been worried she was broken. But here she was, looking more determined than anything else. This was the last place he wanted to meet her, this tiny cage with its grey walls, mirrored observation deck, and sparse table-and-chair set up. Yet, here they were, both playing their parts. As Sheriff, no matter how he felt, he couldn’t just reach up and give her the powerful hug he wanted to.

  How long had he known Nora? All his life, he supposed, just like he’d known Raquel, Ashley, Wallis and most of the town all his life. He’d been a year ahead of them in school, but dated a cheerleader their age. Mandy, one of Raquel’s friends. now 4 years married to a stockbroker from Dallas, living the good life in London. He blinked, realizing he hadn’t thought about his first girlfriend in nearly ten years now. Funny, considering how heartbroken he’d been when they first split.

  Focusing back to the present, Sean thought over everything Nora had just told him. “So what you’re saying is, given that she still had her jewelry on her, and there was no cash in the til,l it wasn’t a drifter but a local who did it. Whoever killed her took her keys and purse, locked up, and went back to their lives.”

  “Yes,” Nora said. “Now if we only knew the time of death we could…”

  Sean’s face shuttered close. For a moment, Nora had seen a man, a friend. Now, he was only a strict official on duty.

  “I’m afraid I can’t disclose details of the case just yet,” he said. “I hope you understand.”

  She said she did, though Sean saw a flash of irritation move across her face.

  “Nora, do you know anyone who wished to harm Raquel?”

  Nora shook her head. “To be honest, Sean, I’ve been back here only three months ago and missing for ten years. I talked to her each week, but I still didn’t know as much about Raquel as a best friend should. But… I can’t believe anyone could ever want to hurt her.”

  That was what troubled Sean. In town, word would soon spread that Raquel’s death wasn’t at the hands of a murderer, but more likely done by one of the fine upstanding locals. Sean didn’t like to think of what would happen when people found out. This was a friendly town, but it could close ranks around outsiders, and right now, even though she’d grown up here, Nora was an outsider, just returned three months ago after ten years in big cities. Plus, as Raquel’s business partner, she had a possible motive, and she had the means.

  Luckily, her alibi was strong enough – wasn’t it?

  “I last saw her when we… when she…” Nora looked away from him for a moment, fighting to keep the tears within her. Recovering, she began again. “I last saw Raquel at about 8pm. Harvey and I were going out for a date, and Ra
quel had come over to help me pick out an outfit. She told me that she was going to go to meet someone and then later go to the diner to finish up some work.”

  “She told you she was going to meet someone?” Sean perked up. “Who did she want to meet?”

  “She didn’t tell me,” Nora said. “But if you’ve got her smart phone, she’d have her messages or-”

  “Nora, we never recovered her phone. Her purse – her wallet, keys, and phone – they were all stolen, remember?”

  Nora flinched but nodded. “Of course.”

  Sean paused, scribbling down notes, and asked, “Nora, this is a tough question for you to answer, and I’ve asked it before, but do you truly have no idea who would want to harm Raquel? It may seem like it was a minor incident to you, but people hold on to grudges. So if you remember something, anything at all…”

  Nora shook her head. “As I said, if there were people from her business as an accountant who hated her, I wouldn’t know about it. In her personal life, everyone loved her. Even the boys whose heart she broke had no hard feelings. But… there’s Raquel’s father, of course. Have you interviewed him?”

  “We haven’t interviewed her parents yet,” Sean said. “We’ve done a brief round of initial questioning with them, but not a proper sit down.”

  “Her father,” Nora said. “Raquel didn’t consider Jolene her mother.”

  “Say what now?” Sean paused, then almost smacked himself on the head. “Of course! Jolene’s been married to Davis Madden so long, I’d forgotten. She’s Raquel’s step mother, isn’t she?”

  “She is,” Nora said. “Raquel never removed that step from step mother.”

  “So there was bad blood between them?”

  “Not enough for Jolene to…” Nora shook her head, suddenly feeling guilty. “No. Jolene can’t have done it.”

  Sean sighed, and put his pen down. He rubbed his hands together for a while, then smoothed back his hair. “Nora, you can’t do this.”

  “Do what?”

  “You’ve got to put aside your personal feelings for a minute, and tell me facts,” Sean said. “If you start feeling guilty just because you’re telling me facts, I’ll never be able to get to the truth. Now, it doesn’t matter whether Jolene was or was not capable of hurting Raquel. What we need to focus on is this – did Raquel like her? And if not, why not?”

  When Nora still hesitated, Sean appealed to her once more. “If I’m to find out who did this, what I need are observations. So many people nowadays watch police shows on TV and think that fingerprints and DNA is the kind of evidence that solves cases. The truth is, more often than not, we recover no concrete data from a crime scene. Even today, we policemen work hard to understand the psychology of the crime and the criminal. That’s what helps us crack cases. Right now, my department needs someone like you, someone who is quiet and reserved herself, but who sees other people around her clearly and without prejudice.”

  Nora looked up at him, feeling suddenly glad that Sean was in charge. She remembered his face as he came striding toward them when she’d been standing under a tree with Harvey, the crashed Ferrari nearby. Men like this, men who took control of bad situations, and made you feel like justice would prevail, were a boon to the world.

  Without hesitation, she began. “Raquel’s mother died when she was only seven. When she was 15, her father Davis Madden married Jolene. Raquel never liked Jolene. She never liked her father either, after he married that woman. Jolene is a good woman, but very… strict. I was her best friend, so I know. Strangely enough, Jolene liked me a lot and kept telling Raquel to be like me, because I was studious and bookish. She thought Raquel’s fun and outgoing nature was a sign that she was a sinner.”

  “Ah,” Sean said. He scribbled something more in his notes. “Jolene and Raquel’s father, Davis, they’re members of… the Cult of Supreme Truth.”

  “It’s called the church of supreme truth,” Nora said.

  “I know,” Sean replied. “But what it is. a cult. It hasn’t been recognized by any authority as an actual church. It focuses a little too much on its charismatic leader, Stanley Staten.”

  Sean had wrinkled his nose when he said the name, and somewhere, a part of Nora filed that look away. It was a look of sheer disgust, with something more lurking under the surface.

  Nora shrugged. “Whatever the case, Jolene is devout. According to her ways, laughing is a sin, singing is a sin, dancing is a sin, as is consumption of any alcohol, caffeine, sugar or meat.”

  “I guess I’m a happy sinner.” Sean took a sip from the cup of coffee next to him and pushed Nora’s untouched coffee towards her. “It’s not the kind of fancy coffee you’re used to, but you do look like you need a little caffeine in you, Nora.”

  Nora smiled and lifted the little white styrofoam cup with both her hands, savoring the heat. She inhaled, and felt the rich aroma switch the lights on in her tired brain.

  “I did need that,” she said, after taking a sip of the dark black liquid.

  “Right. You’re a sinner now, according to Jolene and gang,” Sean said.

  Nora winced. “Yes. Well, Jolene was hard on Raquel, and at 15, Raquel’s sole aim in life was to get her own apartment as soon as possible. To be honest, I thought Raquel was the kind of daughter anybody would be proud to have. It baffled me why her parents didn’t appreciate her more. She was generous, loving, and worked hard.”

  Sean shrugged. “Parents are a mysterious breed.”

  “Yes. Well, Raquel never said much, but I knew she had to hear it every day, from Jolene and all her friends, about how she was doing the devil’s work just by existing. Davis, Raquel’s father, he stayed out of it mostly, and when Raquel yelled or talked back, he took Jolene’s side. I think that made Raquel resent him more. We didn’t talk about parents much, to be honest. Before, when my parents were still around…” Nora hesitated again, and Sean saw the muscles of her neck work as she controlled herself. “Back then, I think we both saw it as disloyal to whine about parents. It was the one subject we left alone.”

  “All right. How about boyfriends?” Sean asked. “Give me a list, if you don’t mind.”

  Nora shook her head. “Well, look, she’s only had three serious boyfriends in her life, though she’s been out on a few casual dates in Jackson.”

  “Their names? The three serious boyfriends?”

  “You know the first, of course. He’s a happily married man now. Jeremy Norton. She dated him for three years back in high school. After that, there was Aldo Waybury in 2008. I don’t know what happened to him.”

  “He’s working as an architect in Spain now,” Sean said. “I was good friends with Aldo. I guess we can rule him out. The third?”

  “Jonah,” Nora gulped. “Jonah Ashburn.”

  “Ah.” Sean gave her a pointed look. “Jonah Ashburn, now a devout member of the cult of the supreme truth.”

  “Do you call them that to their faces?” Nora asked. “I’d be surprised if you did.”

  “I don’t like them, and that’s the truth. But I am diplomatic, yes,” Sean said. “They’ve bought out the old Delaney Ranch, you know the one? Ten miles down south? Well, they’ve taken to living in a community together and keeping to themselves, but their tentacles are spreading. Me, I guess I’ve got to stick to my job and not interfere, but let’s just say I keep an eye on them all. A very close eye.”

  “Are you really suggesting the cult was involved?” Nora asked. “I know they’re all very… strange, with their chanting and their mix of pagan beliefs, but still, they all seem mostly nice and harmless to me.”

  “Right,” Sean said. “I’ve no doubt they are, for the most part harmless.”

  “Mostly harmless.” Nora raised an eyebrow. “But, perhaps, not completely?”

  “No.” Sean leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. “Not completely. That’s all the questions I’ve got for you now, Nora. But if you’ve had a chance to think things over, do come back to me.”

&
nbsp; Nora gathered her coat and exited the station soon after. She’d tried to press Sean for details on Raquel’s death, but he was tight-lipped about the findings of his department.

  *****

  Chapter 12

  Nora exited the Sheriff’s department, coat slung over her hand, her large oval sunglasses hiding the shadows under her eyes. She heard a voice call out to her and turned around.

  A silver SUV was parked in the shade of a tree, and May Almand waved to Nora from it. Exiting the car, she walked to the front of it, while Nora moved towards her.

  “I was so sorry to hear about Raquel,” May said, the words coming out in a rush. “It’s terrible. A true tragedy. I wanted to see how you were doing. I tried to meet you but Mrs. Mullally wouldn’t let me through.”

  Nora’s face hardened. “Are you here to see me as a politician’s wife, or a reporter?”

  “As a friend,” May said, taking a step back. “But clearly you don’t want one right now.”

  Nora made an effort and let some of the tightness leave her face. “I’m sorry. I just… I didn’t want to be…”

  “Didn’t want to be fussed over.” May nodded. “I understand, dear, believe me. When my mother died three years ago, I couldn’t even bear for George to come near me, let alone strangers. When we lose the people we love, small talk can feel unbearable, can’t it? As if those strangers, with their smooth words, could ever understand what our loss feels like. Yet even those strangers have all experienced the death of a close one, and more often than not, they know, they can help, if you let them.”

  Nora’s lips quivered, and her eyes welled behind her dark glasses. “You loved Raquel too. She was your friend too.”

  “She was on three committees with me,” May said. “I will be honest, we had our differences, her and I. But I respected her, and respect’s not something that comes easy with me. She was a good, decent woman, and this is a horrible crime.”

  Nora nodded. “I hope Sean catches the murderer soon.”