The Milburn Big Box Set

by Nancy McGovern

  Simone and Bernard were an obvious first choice, Nora thought. As the owners of the ice-cream factory, they’d be able to tell her more. Who else did she know that worked there? Karen was a bookkeeper at the factory, wasn’t she? Nora nodded. Yes, she’d speak to Karen too. Maybe she could give her a more unbiased view about the factory than Simone and Bernard would.

  What next? Nora wondered. The trail seemed to run cold from there. Of course, Tiffany herself would have friends, wouldn’t she? Nora hadn’t seen her about much. Had she lived in town a long time?

  “Nora, you’ve done enough for today.” Tina came in, interrupting her thoughts. “Linc can handle it for the next hour. Why don’t you sit down and have a quiet lunch?”

  Nora nodded. She had to eat and keep her energy up, but part of her wondered what poor Harvey was doing. He was a somewhat picky eater, she knew, and he might decide to be defiant and simply starve himself rather than eating the rather bland food he was sure to be served in jail.

  Tina sat her down and pushed a burger and some thick wedge potatoes in front of her, but Nora simply played listlessly with her food. The bell above the door tinkled as someone walked in.

  Karen! Nora sprang up in excitement. After the diner had opened, Nora had been far too busy to meet Karen. She hadn’t even realized that she and Sean had broken up until Sean told her. Sure, she had wanted to grill Karen a little about the ice-cream factory, but she was also glad to see her old friend again.

  Karen smiled at Nora, and gave her a nod. “I came by to see how you’re doing. I heard about Harvey’s arrest, and figured you’d need a sympathetic ear.”

  “Oh, your sympathetic ear is exactly what I needed.” Nora smiled. “Come, sit down. Have lunch with me. It’s on the house.”

  “I insist on paying.” Karen smiled. “I know you’re just starting out, and every little penny helps!”

  Tina waved to Karen, and walked over. “Well hello, stranger, haven’t seen you in a long while.”

  “Sorry about that,” Karen said. “I guess… I’ve not wanted much company these last few months.”

  “Is it because you and Sean broke up?” Tina asked.

  Nora kicked her under the table.

  “Um, I mean, not that it’s my business, of course. But you two were really cute together,” Tina said. “I heard you’re planning to leave town, too?”

  Karen, who was an intensely private person, gave a little sigh. “I don’t want to think about it right now, Tina.”

  “Of course. Of course. Here’s something to think about instead. Would you rather have some delicious roast beef, or a pan fried chicken with mushrooms and lemon herb sauce?”

  “The chicken sounds wonderful.”

  “Perfect. Would you like it with rice or some mashed potatoes? I’d pick the potatoes myself. Nora added some roasted garlic and parmesan to them.”

  “Sounds like the right choice.” Karen smiled. “I’ll get that, and a nice glass of lemonade, please.”

  “It’ll be up in a minute.” Tina nodded and walked away.

  Turning to Nora, Karen smiled. “She’s a dear, isn’t she?”

  “She’s a lot of fun,” Nora said. “She’s got enough energy in her for the both of us, and all the customers love to exchange gossip with her. To be honest, I think she was born for this role.”

  “I always liked her,” Karen said. “We were on a committee together to raise money for new computers at the library, and Tina had the best ideas about how to fundraise. We ended up raising more money than ever after we had an acrobat-themed event like she suggested.”

  Nora laughed. “Yes, she keeps coming up to me with outlandish ideas about what to do at the diner. She suggested karaoke one time, a large flatscreen another, even suggested we keep old-timey arcade games. She really loves her new job, I think. Speaking of which, how’s your job at the ice-cream factory?”

  Karen shifted, a little uncomfortable. “Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, no reason.”

  “No reason at all? None related to Tiffany’s death?” Karen asked.

  “All right, to tell you the truth, I had some questions about it. I thought maybe you could answer.”

  “Ask away,” Karen said. “I can’t promise I’ll know everything you need to know, but I’ll try hard to answer.”

  “Did Tiffany work at the ice-cream factory?”

  “Yep. She was hired a year ago as an HR rep,” Karen said. “To be honest, I think most HR reps are pretty terrible at their jobs, but Tiffany was particularly inept. I don’t know why she wasn’t fired. I don’t know how she was hired in the first place, when she had no experience or credentials at all. She messed up our payroll systems twice, and I was the one who had to fix the mess.

  “When I complained to her boss, he simply shrugged and said he’d discipline her. But I don’t think he ever did. All I ever saw her do was lounge about on the job. Her poor colleagues had to do all her work for her while she sat around whining about how life was unfair to her.”

  “Wow, you don’t have a very high opinion of her.”

  “I don’t think anyone who knew her did,” Karen said. “I know I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but wow, she was grossly inefficient. It makes me mad, especially when I know that there are very hard working people out there who don’t have a job and are just looking for a chance to prove themselves.”

  “You said she was hired a year ago. Any idea if she moved into town around then?” Nora asked.

  “Yep.” Karen nodded. “I met her the first day. She said she’d just moved back into town, after living in Michigan for a bit. I asked her how she liked it, and she said, “Well, it’s one step away from hell here in Milburn, but home is home, and family is family, right?”

  “Very positive,” Nora noted with a wry smile.

  “Wasn’t she just?” Karen shook her head. “Anyway, can we forget about her? I don’t like talking about it.”

  “We can always talk about Sean instead,” Nora said, with a raised eyebrow.

  Karen sighed. “Did he tell you we broke up?”

  “Only recently.”

  “I can’t help it,” Karen said. “I wish I could stay and give him what he needs - a family, a wife who’ll hold it all together while he’s off saving the world. But after JJ was killed… I can’t bear to be dating a cop anymore. I know Milburn’s a quiet small town. But Sean handles some tough cases anyway. The night before we broke up, he went to answer a routine domestic disturbance call, and some psycho pulled a gun on him. Sean had him on the floor and handcuffed in five seconds, but I couldn’t stop thinking… what if? You know?”

  Nora nodded. “I guess. It must be tough having a boyfriend who’s constantly at risk.”

  “That’s just it… there’ll be times when I’m fooled into thinking that everything’s right with the world, and then something like this happens and I realize how close I am every single day to losing Sean. I can’t bear it. I don’t think I can bear it all over again. I can’t ask Sean to leave his job either, he loves his job. Milburn and his job as Sheriff are the two most important things in his life, really. Maybe even more than his family.”

  Karen sighed.

  “But me, I want to go far away. I want to marry someone safe like an insurance salesman and settle in a suburb and have two kids and feel secure that their father will never be at risk. Is that too much to ask for?”

  “Risk is relative, isn’t it?” Nora asked. “If you get to thinking all the ways we’re close to death every single day, you’d realize that just the simple task of living puts you in almost as much danger as being a policeman does. You could get cancer from secondhand smoke, you could get run over by a car, you could accidentally burn down your house, you could have an allergic reaction. My uncle died when he went on a picnic and had an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Death is all around us, we’re just never aware until its shadow crosses our path.”

  “Careful, Nora.” Tina reappeared. “If you keep making cheerfu
l conversation like this, you’ll drive away every single one of our customers.” With a laugh, she served Karen her chicken. “There you go. Never mind what Nora said. Death might be all around us, but life is too. If you really sit and observe it, or think about it, you’ll realize how vast the universe is, and how lucky we are to be alive, that’s all that matters. Enjoying the little time we have while we’re healthy and alive. And enjoying good food and good company while we can!”

  “Well Tiffany certainly enjoyed herself with company,” Karen commented. “Last I heard, she had at least three boyfriends in the space of a year. Poor thing, I’m being harsh on her. No matter what, she didn’t deserve to die the way she did.”

  “How did she die?” Nora asked. “I haven’t been given any details yet.”

  “She was unconscious,” Karen said. “I heard that she was killed when someone injected ammonia into her blood stream. Whoever killed her then dumped her body at the construction area.”

  “Construction area?”

  “The ice-cream factory was expanding its premises,” Karen said. “I thought you’d know. It was Harvey’s construction company which held the contract for it.”

  *****

  Chapter 9

  It took Nora some time to process the news, but as soon as she had, one thing was clear - if Harvey’s construction company was involved in expanding the ice-cream factory, and Tiffany’s body had been found at the site, that was just one more nail in the coffin for poor Harvey. Nora wished he could have been a little less obtuse in his answers. One thing was for certain, she needed to talk to somebody who knew more. Simone and Bernard would be the perfect people.

  She was still thinking about her next move, her stomach full after lunch, when Sean walked in.

  “So, your Harvey’s made bail,” he said. “I thought you’d like to know, so you could see him as quickly as possible.”

  “He did?” A big smile forced its way onto her face. “That’s fantastic, Sean!”

  “Not very fantastic for me.” Sean was speaking to her, but his eyes were glued on Karen, who sat opposite Nora, playing with the last piece of chicken on her plate.

  She stood up hastily, and made her excuses. “I better get back to the ice-cream factory,” she said. “Work’s piling up.”

  “I can drop you,” Sean said quickly. A hopeful look was on his face. Clearly, he meant to try and persuade Karen to take him back.

  “Oh…” Karen looked around for support. “No… that’s all right, Sean. As a matter of fact…” She looked at Nora, pleading for help. “Well, the thing is…” She stalled.

  Feeling pity, Nora said, “The fact is, I’m heading up there anyway, and I promised Karen I’d drop her.”

  “Why are you going there?” Sean asked, a little suspicion coloring his voice. “I’ve warned you already, Nora-”

  “And I’ve told you I won’t be deterred,” Nora said. “Come on, Karen. My trusty and rusty Toyota awaits.”

  “Are you ever going to get a new car?” Tina laughed. “That old thing has more rust in it than the liberty bell.”

  “Well, actually, the liberty bell is made out of copper,” Nora said. “So there’s no rust on it.”

  “Copper? I thought it’s made out of 100% freedom.” Sean grinned.

  “Nora, c’mon. I’m getting late for work.” Karen was itching to get out.

  “Won’t you atleast have some dessert?” Tina asked. “I saved a piece of our pie for you and Nora.”

  “Give it to Sean. He needs it more than I do.” Karen patted her stomach. “Bye guys.”

  “I’ll see you later.” Nora nodded to Tina. “Will you be okay to handle things for an hour?”

  “A-OK.” Tina gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll make sure the sheriff here is fed well.”

  “I’m sure she will,” Sean said. “Sure you can’t wait for a bit, Karen?” His voice was wistful.

  “I’m very sure.” Karen nodded at them both, and walked out.

  “Excuse the mess,” Nora said, as Karen got into her car. “I keep meaning to clean up, but…”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Karen said, picking a bottle of water from her seat and dumping it in the back. “As long as your car gets me away from Sean I’ll appreciate it as much as I would a Rolls Royce!”

  Fifteen minutes later, they’d pulled in at the ice-cream factory, and Nora managed to find a decent parking spot.

  “The atmosphere’s pretty tense today,” Karen whispered. As they entered, they discovered just how tense. Bernard had decided to hold an all-hands meeting, and was addressing the crowd of employees on the factory’s main floor.

  “My friends,” he said, “My friends and my loyal employees. It is a great tragedy that Tiffany Smith has passed away. I know that there are rumors circulating about her death. I’d ask you all, that in this time of grief, we come together as a family, and respect her. The police are working very hard to make sure that the killer is caught, and the best way we can help them is by continuing to do our own jobs. If any of you have any questions, or feel you may remember something that will help the investigation, my door is always open. Come and discuss it with me, and we will take it forward to the sheriff. But in the meanwhile, let us all avoid meaningless gossip.”

  Nora heard some disrespectful murmurings.

  “That’s all very well for him to say,” one worker said to another. “But the thought that her killer is probably running free, maybe even working here with us? That makes me shiver.”

  “Shhh. Joe’ll hear you.” The other worker pointed to the supervisor, who was standing nearby.

  “Let him. I’m not scared,” the first man said, though he said it in a quiet whisper. “He might have done it. I heard he was dating Tiffany. Well, dating is a loose word for what they were doing...”

  “Joe? No way. He hated Tiffany. The police have arrested the guy who did it anyway,” the second worker was saying. “Harvey Nathaniel.”

  “Him? The construction and real estate guy? No way someone that posh would kill Tiffany. He wouldn’t even throw her a bone.”

  “You’ll be surprised. These rich guys like to slum around sometimes.”

  Disgusted, Nora moved away. As Bernard finished his speech, the crowd began to disperse. Karen waved goodbye and vanished.

  With a sudden change of heart, Nora walked up to the worker, and drew him aside.

  “What is it?” he asked suspiciously, “You’re not a reporter, are you?”

  “I’m Nora Newberry,” she said. “I’m a friend of Harvey, and I run the diner down by main street. You know the new one? The Madness Diner?”

  “Do I know it!” He smiled. “I just had the most delicious ham and grilled apple sandwich there for lunch today. Man if I could meet the cook, I’d shake his hand till it fell right off.”

  “Well, don’t do that,.” Nora said, but she held out her hand anyway. “I’m the chef.”

  “Wow! I’m pretty much a regular at Madness.” He smiled. “My name’s Freddie Connors. How can I help you, ma’am?”

  “Call me Nora, please.” Nora smiled. “I just wanted the answers to a few questions, and I promise there’s a lot of free lunches in store for you if you answer them right.”

  “All right!” He exclaimed. “What kind of questions? This isn’t a geography quiz, is it? I’m terrible at that, and History too. My math’s all right.”

  “What?” Nora was confused for a second. Then she laughed. “No, it’s not that kind of a quiz. I just wanted to ask you something about Tiffany.”

  “Sure, ask away,” Freddie said. “I didn’t know her much, honestly. I saw her here and there. She was always strutting about in high heels and short skirts. Not that it’s my business how she dressed, of course. I’m a married man.”

  “Right,” Nora said. “But somebody noticed those dresses, right? You were saying that the supervisor, Joe, was dating her?”

  “Oh, that.” Freddie looked a little nervous. “Look, never mind what I said. I don’
t want to risk getting Joe upset. I could lose my job!”

  “I won’t tell anyone,” Nora said. “I just want to know if it’s true. Was he dating her?”

  “I mean… I guess I saw them around town once or twice,” he said. “Once at an amusement park in Cody, and one evening I saw them together when I came back to the factory because I’d forgotten my phone.”

  “Saw them together?” Nora pressed.

  “Well, they weren’t doing anything,” Freddie said. “I just saw them talking to each other in his cabin. Joe suddenly caught me looking, and he gave me such a glare, and then he shut the door.” Freddie shrugged. “Look, please don’t tell Joe I said anything, okay?”

  “No way,” Nora said. “Just one more question. Did Joe ever mention that someone was looking for him? A bald man with tattoos?”

  “A bald man with tattoos?” Freddie gaped at her. “What would a bald man with tattoos want with Joe? Joe’s a total pansy. He doesn’t talk with people like that.”

  “Okay. No problem.” Nora nodded at him.

  “Freddie!” A voice boomed. “Who are you talking to?”

  A tall, thin man with excessively gelled hair walked into the room. He was about twenty years older than Freddie, and had an air of authority about him. “I walked by your work area and found it empty. Lunchtime’s over, Freddie. Back to work. Come on. Talk to your girlfriend after your shift.”

  “Oh, she’s not my girlfriend, Joe, just a friend,” Freddie said hastily.

  “Mmm hmm. Don’t worry. I don’t care. I won’t tell your wife. I only care that your work gets done.” Joe clapped his hands. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

  “Bye,” Freddie said. His eyes were begging Nora not to tell Joe a thing.

  “Thanks for completing our customer service survey,” Nora said. “Don’t forget, for the next four weeks, you get a free lunch every Wednesday at the Madness Diner.”