The Milburn Big Box Set

by Nancy McGovern

  “The sheriff suspects Austin,” Nora said.

  “It has to be Austin, right?” Irene asked. “He had some kind of fight with Johnny and then ran off with the gun. We all saw him.”

  “It can’t be him. While I was playing cat and mouse with the killer, Austin was at my house with my daughter,” Nora said. “So there’s no way it’s him.”

  “Oh.” Irene hesitated. Her brows knit together. “Then that means…Nora, do you know Mason was trying to find out something about Lori before he died?”

  Nora nodded. “He was.”

  “I thought it was idiotic, at first. Honestly, I was irritated that he’d rake that whole scandal up. But…if he got killed for it, that means he knew something. Right?”

  “I’m trying to find out what,” Nora nodded. “Mason was a smart guy. Plus, he was there when it all went down. So were you. Maybe you saw something, too?”

  Irene shook her head. “I’m sorry. I really can’t help you there. I hardly knew Lori. Just that Johnny was crazy about her.”

  “Yes, and Anita? Was she crazy about Johnny? Even back then?”

  Irene laughed. “Always has been. Since high school. Johnny never really gave her a second look because she was younger. I think the only reason Anita even dated Mason was to try and make Johnny jealous.”

  “Oh. Poor Mason.”

  “Yes. Poor Mason, indeed. Anita’s a funny one, you know. Even after she and Johnny got married, she always kept Mason hanging around, just so she could make Johnny jealous every once in a while. It’s like she’s always been insecure and needed reassurance that Johnny loves her. Not that I blame her. Johnny was still pretty heartbroken about Lori when he and Anita started dating.”

  “Was he?” Nora asked.

  Irene nodded. “Poor guy was devastated. He was broken. I like Johnny, he’s the quiet, steady type. But, guys like that, when they really fall in love they can be the most unstable of us all. I think Lori’s disappearance rocked him to his core, changed him permanently in some ways. He’s always seemed so different since then. Haunted. Sometimes I feel…” Irene hesitated.

  “Feel what?” Nora asked.

  “Never mind,” Irene said. “It’s silly.”

  “Go on,” Nora pressed. “It’s just us girls.”

  “Alright. Don’t tell anyone I said so, but sometimes I feel like Johnny’s got depths to him that he’ll never let the world see. He just watches the rest of us, never revealing his true self. It’s dumb, I know. But there it is.”

  Nora nodded.

  “Like his whole jealousy of Mason,” Irene said. “It was obvious to the whole world that Anita loves only Johnny, almost to a point where it’s unhealthy. But Johnny still somehow found the space to be jealous of Mason.”

  “Did you ever see them fight about it?” Nora asked.

  Irene nodded. “Frequently, in the early years. Anita once came to me crying because during one of their fights Johnny had said, ‘Well, go back to your precious Mason then.’ But, of course, we’ve all had fights like that, haven’t we? Where we say things we don’t mean. I mean, there’s been no jealousy of any kind for years now.”

  Nora nodded. Yet, she wasn’t so sure. She remembered how peculiar Anita had looked when she came over. I don’t know what I’ll do if Mason starts hitting on me again, she’d said. At the same time, she’d been strangely jealous of Lori, who was long gone.

  “It takes all kinds to make the world turn, I guess.” Irene sighed. “I mean, take me and Tucker. We love each other and we’re loyal to each other but, after 20 years, we also take each other for granted a tad bit. Not Anita and Johnny. There’s always this strange tension between the two of them. Like they never got past that first phase of love.”

  “Arrested development of some kind, do you think?” Nora asked.

  “Maybe. Anyway, I don’t want to sound mean or anything. They’re both good people. I love them both dearly.”

  Nora nodded. “And Tucker and Johnny? Do they ever fight?”

  Irene shrugged. “You know brothers. They’re always competing with each other, even if they don’t admit it. But they care for each other.”

  “Were you at Johnny and Anita’s house last night?” Nora asked. “I know you had dinner plans…”

  “Oh, no. We cancelled those when the Austin incident happened. I guess our nerves got rattled,” Irene said. “And since you’re too polite to ask directly, I’ll just let you know, Tucker and I were at home between 7 and 8 when the murder happened. Tucker was downstairs watching a game, and I was upstairs taking a bath. We had a quiet dinner - the pot pie - and then we went to bed at 9:30.”

  Nora colored. “I wasn’t—”

  “I understand.” Irene looked sad. “It’s inevitable that the town will start talking. We’re all going to look like suspects now, aren’t we? Till the real killer is caught.”

  “I’m sure nobody suspects you,” Nora said hastily.

  “But I keep turning it over and over in my mind.” Irene sighed. “I know it sounds cruel, but part of me was relieved when Sheriff Ellerton said Austin might have done it. But now…if you’re really sure he didn’t, it means that…that…” Irene bit her lip. “It’s one of us four, isn’t it? Nobody else would have a reason to kill Mason. Oh, Nora. That’s terrifying. To think that people I’ve known for twenty years could be hiding a secret like this.”

  Nora consoled her. “Now let’s not jump to conclusions,” she said. “It could be that it was just a vagrant or a thief. Maybe he got the gun from Austin somehow and Mason was just an unfortunate target. Stranger things have happened.”

  Irene didn’t look like she believed Nora but she tried to brave a smile. “You’re right. I just hope the sheriff solves it this time. I couldn’t bear waiting in suspense for another twenty years.”

  *****

  Chapter 14

  Johnny Got A Gun

  “I thought I’d see you today,” Johnny said as he opened the door to see Nora.

  “Is Anita in?” Nora asked, knowing she wouldn’t be. Anita was at the diner, along with the seven other members of her book club, Inkhearts, although the book club would probably be discussing Mason’s murder today rather than their book of the month.

  “No,” Johnny said. “But I know it’s me you want to talk with. So come on in. Let’s not waste time.”

  Johnny and Anita lived in a modern bungalow about a block away from Johnny’s family home. From the outside, their house looked a little like a child had awkwardly stacked Lego bricks on top of each other. Inside, however, it was all sleek modernity - large glass windows, minimal lines and modern art hanging on the walls.

  Johnny led her past the living room and kitchen and into his study. Unlike the rest of the house, Johnny’s study resembled the interior of a rugged, mountain cottage. The desk was an intricately carved antique and the sofa was dark leather. Photos of Johnny and Tucker as young boys along with their parents lined one wall. Johnny’s degrees and diplomas lined another.

  “Sit,” Johnny said, pointing to the sofa, “Can I get you a drink? Some coffee?”

  “I’m fine, thank you,” Nora said.

  “I’m not.” Moving to the sideboard, Johnny got out a flask and poured a generous measure of whisky into a glass with already melting ice. Nora could see it wasn’t his first of the day.

  “What do you want?” Johnny asked, fixing her with a glare. “Sheriff Ellerton told me not to talk to you, by the way. Said you were poking your nose where it didn’t belong.”

  “Do you agree with him?” Nora asked.

  “I’m just worried for you,” Johnny said. “I wouldn’t want anything awful happening to you, you know? The way it happened to Mason. I heard you had a close brush with death already.”

  Was that a threat? Johnny’s face was smooth, even if his eyes were a little red. It was impossible to tell.

  “It’s awfully nice of you to worry about me,” Nora said. “Bless your heart.”

  Johnny turned away an
d grabbed a few peanuts from a little bowl, popping them into his mouth. He sank down onto the sofa next to her with a sigh. “Just ask me what you came here to ask. Go on.”

  “Alright,” Nora said. “What exactly happened with you and Austin yesterday?”

  Johnny looked like he’d been completely caught off-guard. “Me and Austin?” He tapped his cheek with a finger. “You know about that?”

  “Sheriff Ellerton told me,” Nora said. “You threatened Austin with a gun, apparently?”

  Johnny flushed. “It wasn’t like that. Austin was the one who lost his cool. I was just trying to talk to him. He started calling me a murderer. I asked him to get out of my house and he refused. I had to use a bit of brute force. I always keep my father’s gun locked in this drawer right here. I thought I’d scare Austin off with it. You know me, Nora. I’m not the kind of man who likes violence. I despise it, in fact.”

  “I can tell you’re not used to fighting,” Nora said. “Austin wrested the gun from you quite easily, didn’t he?”

  Johnny’s lips narrowed and his face grew red with anger. “That little punk - if it weren’t for sentiment for his mother, I’d have clocked him on the jaw.”

  “What happened then?” Nora asked.

  “Well, as a matter of fact, Tucker, Irene and Anita were all out in the living room at the time. We’d planned to watch a movie and then have dinner together last night, you see. They came rushing into the study when they heard the noise. Austin rushed out of there with the gun and we heard the front door slam shut seconds later. That’s it. He honestly looked unhinged. It scared me a little.”

  Nora paused. It still didn’t make sense to her. If Austin had the gun then it was possible that he was the killer. After all, the gun was very definitely the murder weapon. Yet, how could Austin possibly have moved so fast? He’d been with Hazel when Nora headed to Mason’s house. He couldn’t have gotten there faster than she did. Could he?

  “What’s the matter? Seeing your precious Austin in a new light?” Johnny asked. “Ellerton told me about your plan, by the way. How you withheld evidence and tried to solve Lori’s death by yourself.”

  Nora’s ears perked. “Lori’s death? Not disappearance? So you think she died, too?”

  Johnny looked taken aback. “That’s—that’s not important.”

  “Isn’t it? You seem very sure that it was death. Why?” Nora asked.

  Johnny shrugged. “I knew her. Whatever her flaws, Lori loved that little boy of hers. He was her sun and her moon. She would never have left him. The alternative was tragic, but more realistic. Someone killed her and got rid of her body somehow.” Johnny gulped down the rest of his whisky in one large swallow. “I didn’t want to believe it at first. I held on hope for weeks. But then…I realized that it had to be murder. There was just no other explanation.”

  “Did she say anything to you?” Nora asked. “When you last saw her? She’d been dating you for a few weeks, hadn’t she?”

  Johnny nodded. “Yes. But it wasn’t very serious.”

  “That’s not what I heard,” Nora said.

  “Fine,” Johnny muttered through a clenched jaw. “It wasn’t very serious to her. For me, it was a different story. I was ecstatic that someone as beautiful and smart as Lori had even given me a second look. Happy? Loser that I was, I knew she wouldn’t fall in love with me instantly, and I was trying my best to woo her. The weekend at the cabin…I thought that was my chance to build a deeper relationship with her.”

  “Only it never happened,” Nora said.

  Johnny’s shoulders were stiff and his eyes distant. “That’s right. I last saw her on Thursday. She vanished on Friday.”

  “Was that when you gave her the diamond earrings?” Nora asked.

  “What earrings?” Johnny looked confused.

  Nora blinked. “You never gave her diamond earrings?”

  Johnny snorted. “I’d only been dating her a few weeks. I’m a sensible man, Nora, even if I was in love with her. Diamond earrings are not an appropriate gift to give someone you’ve only been dating a few weeks. Not unless you’re a rake with one thing on your mind. I got her chocolates and flowers, like a normal man. I even got her a little pendant once. But nothing as expensive as diamonds.”

  Nora stared at Johnny. He seemed to be telling the truth. He looked perfectly sincere about it, as a matter of fact. But Lori had told Mrs. M. that the diamond earrings were new and were given to her by a “friend”. What kind of friend gives diamond earrings as a gift? It had to be a man. But if it wasn’t Johnny, who was this mysterious man?

  Vaguely, an idea began to form in Nora’s mind.

  “When did you say you last saw her?” Nora asked again.

  “Thursday. The day before she disappeared. I’ve told this story over and over already,” Johnny said. “I’m sick of talking about it.”

  “How did she look?”

  “Just normal! Just 100% normal. She didn’t look like she was about to disappear. She didn’t tell me she was being stalked by strange men with mustaches and bowler hats. What do you want me to say?!”

  “And Anita?” Nora asked. “Do you know when she last saw Lori?”

  Johnny stood up. “Why don’t you ask her? I’ve had enough. Could you leave, please?”

  “Johnny, I get that you’re upset, but—”

  “No, I don’t think you do,” Johnny said. “I thought you and Harvey were my friends. Yet you hid Lori’s diary, you tried to be amateur sleuths and…what? Have me arrested? Was that the plan? Gather enough evidence to pin Lori’s murder on me?”

  “We just wanted to know the truth, and we figured it was better to keep it quiet,” Nora said.

  “Yeah, great job. Mason’s dead,” Johnny said. “Or haven’t you noticed?”

  “Of course, I noticed,” Nora said. “Speaking of which, what about Mason? What did he want to talk to you about in the diner that afternoon? Seemed like it was something serious.”

  Johnny turned his head away for a second and Nora saw that his hands were clenching and unclenching. “Mason—Mason and I were discussing business.”

  “Bull,” Nora said. “I know he wanted to discuss Lori with you.”

  “Well, what if he did? We didn’t get a chance, anyway, what with Tucker and Irene butting in.”

  “He said something to you though, didn’t he?” Nora asked. “What?”

  “Just that he’d spent some time thinking back to those days,” Johnny said. “He asked me a lot of questions about whether I thought Lori was happy with me.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I warned him not to drag up things from the past,” Johnny said, glowering. “What else would I say?”

  “Anything else?”

  “No,” Johnny said. “I’m sorry, Nora, but you really should leave. I’ve had enough of this conversation. I never want to hear about Lori or Mason ever again. As far as I’m concerned, Austin killed Mason. The End.”

  “But why?”

  “I don’t know. Probably because he thought Mason killed Lori. That’s what the sheriff thinks, and it’s good enough for me,” Johnny said. “I’m not letting my family’s reputation be ruined over a twenty year old disappearance. So stop asking your questions and get out of my house.”

  Nora nodded and got up. Just as she was about to leave, she paused by the front door. Putting her purse on the elegant white console table next to the door, she rooted around inside and dug up a Xeroxed page.

  “I forgot to give you this,” Nora said, trying to act casual. “I thought you might like to read it.”

  “What is it?” Johnny snatched it up and began to read. Halfway through his face turned red and then purple. “What is this?”

  “This is the page we found in Lori’s diary,” Nora explained. “I guess Sheriff Ellerton never gave you a copy?”

  “This—this—” Johnny’s hands were trembling and his eyes were bulging. “Get out. Just get out. I wish you’d never shown me this stupid thing!”
He tore the paper into four, then into eight pieces and Nora shuddered at the viciousness of his movements.

  Nora decided the wisest thing to do was to get out of the house. Johnny looked as though he were at the end of his patience, and she didn’t want to provoke him any farther. She’d known him for years but, for the first time, she wondered exactly what he was capable of.

  *****

  Chapter 15

  The Missing Gun

  Hazel was shoveling snow off the driveway when Nora arrived back home. She was wrapped up in a fluffy jacket, a woolen scarf and a beanie so that all that was really visible of her was the tip of her nose. Nora still protested.

  “You’ll catch your death of cold, sweetheart. You just had the flu! You shouldn’t be working right now.”

  “Someone has to get this off the driveway before it ices over.” Hazel paused and leaned on the shovel. “Are you ok, Mom? You look a little disturbed.”

  “More than a little,” Nora said. “I just had an interesting conversation with Johnny Teaks. He claims Austin took the gun from him yesterday.” She bit her lip. “I just can’t make sense of it. On the one hand, if Austin killed Mason, I can’t see how he got to the house so fast. On the other hand, if Austin had the gun, I don’t know how the killer got it from him.”

  “I wouldn’t trust a single word Johnny says.” Hazel’s voice came out like a growl. “Obviously he’s trying to frame Austin.”

  “Well, I don’t know. Tucker, Irene and Anita were in the house, too. They all spoke to Sheriff Ellerton. They all saw Austin leave with the gun in his hand and heard the front door slam.”

  “Have you asked Austin his side of the story yet?” Hazel asked. “I’m sure he’ll clear up a lot of things for you.”

  Nora shook her head. “I want to. I just haven’t had a chance.”

  “Here’s your chance now.” Hazel smiled as a car pulled up. “Dad invited Sean and Austin over for dinner. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not. Only…I haven’t prepared a thing.” Nora squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember the contents of her fridge. She had some potatoes in the pantry and maybe some leftover pasta…