The Milburn Big Box Set

by Nancy McGovern

  …and then she remembered. Raquel had had a secret alcove where she had sometimes kept sodas and chips.

  Her heart beating faster with excitement, Nora wiped a hand over her forehead, and got to work locating it. A little while later, she gave a happy exclamation. Here it was! Behind this rock, she’d find the alcove, and hopefully, the flash drive where she’d stored proof of Harvey’s innocence! Nora shoved the rock aside, and aimed the beam of light inside the small hollow.

  “Nothing?” she exclaimed, crestfallen. Her heart sank. It was empty. What’s more, there was a large cobweb in the middle, indicating that no one had disturbed this alcove for a long time. A single empty can of soda, caked with dirt, stood squashed inside.

  With a sigh, Nora moved away, resisting the temptation to kick something. She thought she’d had a brilliant piece of insight, but it was rubbish. Raquel’s flash drive was in the purse after all, and probably buried with the murderer’s weapon.

  Totally out of reach.

  What use was any of this? They’d probably never find it, and Harvey might go to jail even though he was innocent. Worse yet, Raquel’s real murderer would wander free, never paying for his or her crimes.

  Nora sighed, and sat down on the cool ground. She drew her knees up to her chest, and rested her chin on them. The world seemed like an extremely unfair place right then.

  “Come on,” she said out loud. “Give me a clue!”

  Silence met her words.

  For a moment, she felt defeated, then, that old rebellious streak flared up again.

  No. She would not let this happen. She had to figure it out. Somebody killed Raquel, and Nora had to bring them to justice. All she had to do was think it through. She kept getting the feeling that she was missing something. There was some question she hadn’t thought to ask, or some detail that she hadn’t looked at the right way.

  If only Raquel were there, to talk things over with Nora. She had a way of sometimes asking questions that helped Nora realize the answer. Like back in high school, when Nora was debating whether or not she should go to college, it was Raquel who had gently asked her what she wanted to do with life, what she was happiest doing, and it was Raquel who had made Nora realize that her time would be better spent gaining actual work experience.

  Nora sighed, and leaned her head back against the rock. Those days were gone. There was no more Raquel to help her. Her heart ached. What was the use of all these memories she had inside her, with no Raquel to share them? All that time they’d spent together, all the heartaches they had gone through… and…

  Nora suddenly sat bolt upright.

  Heartache! Of course! She was a fool not to have seen it earlier.

  The last time she’d been in the cave, she’d fallen asleep in the same spot she was sitting in. When she had woken up, Jeremy was there. He had sobbed about how much he missed Raquel, and, distracted by this, Nora had never thought to ask him an important question…

  How could he have known where the cave was located?

  Raquel had only discovered the cave after they’d already broken up. The two of them hadn’t talked to each other for years afterwards. Nora was very sure of it. So when did Jeremy find out about the cave, and how?

  That was the real clue. A clue she’d missed all along.

  Unwilling to wait any longer, she ran back to her car, and drove straight to Jeremy’s house.

  *****

  Chapter 32

  The Confession

  Jeremy and Ashley lived in a pretty house with a center gabled roof and yellow trim. The front yard was neatly bordered by a somewhat shaggy hedge, and the gate had roses crawling up its iron spikes.

  Nora rang the bell, tapping her feet impatiently, and pasted a smile on her face as Ashley opened the door.

  “Nora?” Ashley looked astonished. She was wearing a light blue floral dress that showed off her bump. “What are you doing here?”

  “I need to speak to Jeremy alone for a moment,” Nora said.

  “What is it about?” Ashley looked suspicious.

  “Oh.” Nora hesitated. It wasn’t a good idea to tell Ashley her suspicions. “Well, I had a question about marketing the diner, and I thought, since Jeremy is a salesman...”

  “Sure.” Ashley smiled. “I understand. Come in, he’s in the game room. Through here.”

  The TV was on in the dining room, on some reality cooking show.

  “I love watching these.” Ashley smiled. “They always make me hungry, and give me some good ideas.”

  Nora smiled at her, but she wasn’t really listening. Now that she was here, she was wondering how to phrase her accusation. Jeremy wouldn’t be very pleased, surely…

  Jeremy didn’t look pleased at all, in fact, when Ashley and Nora walked into his study. He was seated behind his desk, with the computer open on one side, and a thick book in front of him.

  “Nora?” He raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”

  “She wanted to talk business with you,” Ashley said. “I’ll just fetch some coffee, shall I? Nora, how would you like yours?”

  “With a little cream and sugar, thanks,” Nora said. “But don’t trouble yourself. I won’t stay too long. It all depends on how soon Jeremy explains some things to me.”

  “Well, can’t let you leave without coffee.” Ashley smiled, and shut the door behind her as she left.

  Jeremy waited a few seconds, and then jumped up. “Why are you here? Are you planning to blackmail me? Is that it? It won’t work, I tell you!”

  “Blackmail you?”

  “I’ll deny it,” Jeremy said. “I’ll deny all of it.”

  “Deny that you were at the cave?” Nora asked. “I’m sure your DNA is all over it, Jeremy. Fingerprints, footprints, the works.”

  Jeremy flushed. “So what?”

  “Raquel never told you about the cave,” Nora said quietly. “So how did you know about it, Jeremy?”

  He stayed silent.

  “You don’t need to answer, really. I figured it out. You’re the one she wanted to meet that night, the night she died. You called her, didn’t you? You said you wanted to meet her. Did she tell you about the cave, then? Were the two of you meeting secretly, like lovers?”

  “I’ve never cheated on Ashley!” Jeremy snapped.

  “Ah, but you aren’t denying that you met Raquel,” Nora said.

  Jeremy hung his head. The guilty flush of his face told her all she needed to know.

  “Tell me everything,” Nora demanded.

  “All right, but promise you won’t tell Ashley,” Jeremy said.

  “I won’t promise anything of the sort. You didn’t tell Sheriff that you met Raquel last week,” Nora said. “Why would you do that? Why lie about it? If you were the last person to see her alive, we sure could have used the testimony.”

  “Sure.” Jeremy laughed. “What did you think I’d say? Hey sheriff, I know I’m married but I was meeting my ex girlfriend in a cave, and no I wasn’t having an affair with her, and no, I didn’t murder her? Do you think anyone would believe me?”

  Nora shrugged. “If it were the truth, it would be believed.”

  Jeremy snorted. “Sure.”

  “I can’t believe she agreed to see you,” Nora said, a little sadly. “I never thought Raquel was the kind of person who’d encourage a married man...”

  “She wasn’t,” Jeremy said. “It’s all my fault. I was the one who asked Raquel to meet me. I told her it was ...” He looked a little ashamed. “I told her it was about Harvey and irregularities in his business, that I had seen some files on Ashley’s computer and wanted to talk about it with her. I knew that it was the only way she’d come to see me. I’d tried talking to her once before, about… about how I felt. About how I still loved her. She only laughed and told me to be good to Ashley and stop being foolish.” He clenched his fists. “Raquel just never understood I loved her, or even cared. I know I’m married to Ashley, but if she’d just given us a chance, I could have…” H
e trailed off.

  “You complete scumbag! You lied to get her out alone and then what? Did you kill her?”

  “Then nothing!” Jeremy protested. “Besides, I didn’t ask her to come out here, she asked me. She’s the one who told me where we should meet if we wanted privacy. Then as soon as I told her that I’d just come to talk about my feelings, she left.”

  “Left without getting angry?” Nora asked. “Not a chance. She must have yelled at you, and that probably made you angry. Is that when you decided to kill her?”

  “I didn’t kill her!” yelped Jeremy. “Didn’t you hear me? I loved Raquel. Despite Ashley, despite the baby, I only wanted to be with Raquel. She’s the one true love of my life. But it was too late. She wouldn’t have me. She said it was against her values to be with a married man. I loved her. I would have been with her forever if Sean hadn’t lied to me about her and Alan way back in high school. My life is ruined, and I don’t know what I can do except cry.” Tears streamed from his face.

  “Sean says he didn’t lie to you,” Nora said, automatically defending her friend. As the words left her mouth, a jolt of lightning seemed to go through her. All the missing pieces that had been floating in the ether connected together in her mind.

  Of course. Of course! How could she not have seen this before! The clues had been right in front of her all along!

  “I know I don’t really have any way to convince you I didn’t kill her,” Jeremy said, his voice hoarse. “But I promise you, the truth is, she turned me down, and left. I didn’t stop her. I felt as though she’d crushed me completely. She was so definite that she didn’t want to have anything to do with me. She had no more love for me. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I know I was an idiot to think someone as honest as Raquel would ever have an affair, but part of me had still hoped she’d at least acknowledge that she and I still had a chance. Oh who am I kidding? If she’d said the word, I would have dumped Ashley right then.”

  “You are pathetic,” Nora said.

  “I know I am, but I can’t help that I loved Raquel. I can’t help that my marriage was a big mistake.”

  “What about your baby?”

  “I don’t know,” Jeremy said unhappily. “I was mad, Nora. I didn’t care about any of that. I’d had yet another pointless fight about my career with Ashley just that day, and I was sick of her.”

  Disguising her disgust, Nora asked. “What then?”

  “After Raquel left, I stayed in the cave for an hour more, gathering myself. I’d told Ashley I would be away that night, that I’d be staying over in Jackson. So I just… drove back to Jackson and stayed in a motel. I was too upset to go home.”

  “Jeremy, I say this with great certainty, you are a prize idiot,” Nora said.

  “I know.” Jeremy hung his head. “I just can’t help it. I know you think I’m horrible for not wanting Ashley, but sometimes, sometimes marriages just don’t work out. Ashley loves me, but she never really got me the way Raquel did. She just tries her hardest to mold me into somebody I’m not, and I keep resisting. That’s our game. I got tired of playing it. I am tired of playing it. Maybe Raquel was just an excuse after all. Baby or no baby, I don’t think I can live with Ashley any more. The fights are just getting to be too much for me.”

  “Don’t say that,” Nora warned.

  “No, it feels good. This outburst feels cleansing. I’ve been holding in the truth for so long, fighting with myself. Now, I feel free. Thanks to you, Nora, I can tell Ashley the whole truth, and we can work something out. People in town might call me names for a while, but eventually, both of us will be happier this way. Ashley will find a better guy, and I… I’ll be free to be myself.”

  “Jeremy, stop it.” Nora shook him. “I need you to promise me you won’t tell Ashley any of this.”

  “I have to,” he said.

  “Not when you’re alone with her,” Nora said. “Your life could be in danger.”

  “What?” Jeremy looked confused.

  “It came together for me right now, when you told me that Sean lied to you about seeing Alan and Raquel together,” Nora said. “He didn’t lie. He told you that his girlfriend had seen Alan and Raquel together.”

  “So what?”

  “So, back in high school, Ashley was his girlfriend, wasn’t she?”

  Jeremy’s mouth dropped open. “You mean, you think…”

  “I think Ashley planted the rumor to deliberately tear you and Raquel apart,” Nora said. “I know that only half a year later, you two were together, and you’ve been together ever since.”

  Jeremy rubbed his eyes. “That’s… that’s incredible. It’s impossible.”

  “Is it?” Nora asked. “She sabotaged you and Raquel so that she could have you to herself. Then, she made sure to spread rumors about Alan too, so that you and Sean bullied him to the point that he left school. Only Alan came back, three months ago, for Principal Fuller’s wedding. That’s when Ashley came unhinged. Alan came back and I think he threatened to tell you what she had done.”

  “I think I’ve heard enough,” Jeremy said.

  “So have I,” said a strong voice, as Ashley stepped inside. In her hand she held a small, but deadly, gun.

  *****

  Chapter 33

  Smoking Gun

  “Ashley?” Jeremy gasped. “What are you doing?”

  “Destroying what I tried so desperately to hold together,” Ashley said. Tears were streaming from her eyes. “Why, Jeremy? I loved you so much. Why couldn’t you love me back even a fraction of the amount?”

  “Ashley, this is clearly a personal matter. Let me leave you guys alone,” Nora said, trying to edge away.

  “There’s no point anymore,” Ashley said, “Just no point.” Her normally placid face was streaked with mascara and tears, her chest heaving as she sobbed.

  “Look, the stress isn’t good for you,” Nora said. “Think of your baby, if not yourself.”

  Reaching under her shirt, Ashley pulled off a Velcro bit, and threw it to the ground. “It was fake, all of it,” she said. “Just one more of my desperate efforts to keep Jeremy to myself. But he just… he never felt for me the way he did for Raquel.”

  “You faked your pregnancy?” Jeremy said, looking appalled. “I would have… oh my god… was this after I threatened to divorce you? You knew you could trap me if I thought you were going to give birth?!” He clutched his hands to his hair. “I knew it! I could never put my finger on it, but there was always this madness under the surface with you. Always! Living with you was a nightmare. In small subtle ways, you’d drive me crazy, and I’d tell myself I was the one who was being bad, not you. I should have trusted my heart. I just… I should have divorced you long ago.”

  “You planted the story that Raquel kissed Alan, so that Jeremy would break up with her,” Nora said. “Right?”

  “That’s right. I did. Then I made sure that Alan was run out of town by telling dear, sweet, easily manipulated Sean that Alan had tried to force himself on me.” Ashley smiled, her face glowing with an evil light. “But then Alan came back. He came back to town, wanting to settle here again. Jeremy was talking of divorcing me back then. We were fighting all the time. And if Alan had come back, and revealed to everyone that he was gay, well, Jeremy would have guessed that Raquel never cheated on him. I couldn’t risk that. I couldn’t risk him leaving me for her. Luckily, I met Alan first because he came to our real estate agency looking for a place to rent. I took him in my car, pretending to show him a plot, and then, I don’t know, we fought. I tried to give him good advice, I told him the town had no place for a man like him, and he thought I was being rude.” Ashley was getting more and more heated as she remembered, but the gun in her hand was still steadily pointed at both of them. Nora snuck a desperate glance at Jeremy, who was cowering in fear.

  “So you killed Alan, and buried his body,” Nora said, telling herself not to show any fear. “That’s when it all started.”

 
“I guess I just got lucky with Alan,” Ashley said. “Beginner’s luck. The town thought he was just another tourist passing through, and no one noticed or wondered about him.”

  “Then what?” Nora asked. “When Jeremy kept fighting with you, kept threatening to leave you, you pretended to be pregnant.”

  “I thought that would make him stay,” Ashley said. “I thought he’d be a good father, I don’t know. I was desperate. Jeremy is my life. I … had to have him. He’s all I ever wanted, Nora, you have to understand that. Not even his precious Raquel loved him the way I do. Nobody loves him but me!”

  “But despite all your love, he crept away to meet Raquel,” Nora said. “That must have made you so angry.”

  Ashley nodded. “I have a software installed on his phone so I can read all his emails and texts. I saw him text her, and I followed him to the cave. I saw him declare his love for her.”

  Ashley’s hands shook a little, as she looked at Jeremy. “Do you know how humiliating that was, Jeremy? For me to see you talk about love with another woman? Do you know how close I came to killing you right then?”

  Jeremy shook his head. “Ashley—”

  “Shut up! Just shut up!” Ashley shouted. “I should have done it. I should have known you’re a scumbag through and through. You used me, Jeremy! All these years we’ve been together, and now you think you can just leave? I won’t let you!”

  “So that’s why you killed Raquel?” Nora asked, hoping to distract her, calm her down. “So that you could have Jeremy to yourself?”

  “It was the only option I had. I realized that if Raquel was alive, Jeremy and I would never be together. So I made up my mind. I watched her leave. I watched Jeremy wave goodbye. It was like a red fog had settled over my mind. I followed Raquel to the diner.”

  Nora’s eyes prickled with tears of rage. Ashley was speaking almost casually, as if what she’d done was as inconsequential as going shopping for new shoes.