“Are we?” Nora asked gently. “Did you ever get over her, James?”
“Get over May?” James looked surprised. “I suppose nobody ever gets over their teenage crushes. A tiny part of me still loves all those women just the same.”
“Actually, people do get over it,” Austin disagreed. “I had a big, big crush on the class valedictorian when I was in high school. I saw her again at a reunion, and I really didn’t know what I was thinking back then. She and I would have been disastrous together.”
James shrugged. “Maybe it’s different for different people. I just…you know, I always felt content because I thought that, even if I didn’t get May, the right guy got her. Tyler seemed so in love with her. But now…this happens. He murdered his own wife.”
“I know,” Austin agreed. “I can’t believe I defended him when all the evidence pointed to him being the killer. He really had us fooled.”
“Yeah. But I’m no fool anymore. The faster he hangs, the happier I’ll be, to be honest. I’d do it myself if someone gave me a length of rope. Whatever May’s flaws, she didn’t deserve what he did to her,” James said. He raised his glass and said with some force, “To the police. I hope they catch him fast and make an example out of him.”
Austin raised his own glass and drank it down in one gulp. “Hear, hear.”
“It’s just...” James shook his head. “I feel like the world has suddenly stopped making sense, you know? May was a good friend of mine. I asked her for dating advice so many times. She leaned on me, too, and she never once mentioned anything alarming about Tyler. I’d have offered her help if she needed it.”
“May asked you for advice?” Nora’s voice was sharp. “What about?”
“Nothing serious,” James said. “She’d mostly worry about her friends. She wanted to see them happy. She’d ask me what kind of advice she should give them, or how to make them see the light on certain things.”
“Which friends? What advice?” Nora asked.
“Well...” James lowered his voice. “Stupid stuff. She’d moan about how Natalie’s latest boyfriend was a total idiot and that Natalie needed to stop reading romance novels because they gave her wrong ideas about love. Things like that.”
“Did she ever mention Brooke to you?” Nora asked.
“Not really,” James said. “She mentioned that she hoped she’d be as good a mother as Brooke one day. That’s about all.”
“And never anything about Tyler?”
“Well, she and Tyler had fights now and then, but it was about stuff like where they should go on vacation or what car they should buy. Nothing serious,” James explained. “Tyler and I were good friends, too, and I never heard anything serious from him, either. So, yeah, I really thought that they were happy together.” He shuddered. “The whole thing really turns me off romance, you know? I knew them so well and I know they loved each other. If they couldn’t make it, what chance do any of us have?”
“Don’t say that,” Austin said. “We’re all going to make it, man. It’s all going to work out eventually.”
“I don’t know,” James considered. “I really don’t.”
“I forgot to ask about Jess,” Nora said. “Did May ever worry about Jess? They were best friends, after all. I know they’d had a fight recently.”
“Jess?” James shook his head. “May was always praising Jess around me. She kept pushing for me and Jess to get together, even after all these years.”
“Didn’t you want to?” Nora asked.
“I don’t know,” James considered. “Sometimes you build a thing up in your head so much that you get afraid to touch it again, you know? Jess is great and all but…maybe some things are just not meant to be. Maybe it’s too late to revisit history.” He thought for a moment. “Not that May would agree with that. I told her once that I’d rather start dating Natalie, but May just laughed and told me it would be a terrible match. According to May, Jess was the only one for me.”
“I suppose Jess put her up to it?” Austin asked.
“What?” James looked startled, as though the thought had never even occurred to him. “Jess? You think Jess told May to get us together?”
Austin laughed. “Man, for someone who’s dated so many women, you don’t know anything about how their minds work, do you? Obviously Jess was behind it.”
“No. Jess doesn’t care about me. She won’t even look at me,” James said. “You’ve got it all wrong.”
“She doesn’t care about you? What gives you that impression?” Austin asked.
“Well…she was pretty mad back when she broke things off with me in high school.”
“She was jealous,” Austin pointed out. “I’d wager she still cares. A lot.”
James looked disturbed. “I don’t think so. She was so cold to me the last time we spoke.”
“And yet her best friend urged you to get together with her,” Austin said. “Think about it, man. There are feelings there.”
James stared at Austin, nonplussed, then looked at Nora. “Do you think so, Nora?”
“Hmmm,” was all Nora could muster as the thoughts spun around in her head. She was focused on what James had said about Jess being jealous of other women. Had she been jealous of May, as well? Women could have strange undercurrents in their relationships sometimes - especially where a man was involved. Was pushing Jess and James together May’s way of showing Jess that she didn’t mean to impinge upon her, so to say, “territory”? Just how possessive was Jess? One thing was for sure - Nora didn’t believe her feigned disinterest for a single moment. Jess wanted James still, she was sure of it.
The question was…how far would she go to get him?
*****
Chapter 15
Cliff Hanger
“Parties are always so lovely, aren’t they?” Grace asked. She had her feet up on the coffee table with a snoring Kaylee on her lap. She was stroking Kaylee’s blonde hair idly and smiling up at the ceiling.
“Speak for yourself.” Hazel was upside down, with her head touching the floor and her feet on the headrest of her armchair. It was a position she’d favored as a child, and never quite grown out of.
The men were all in the garage where Harvey was showing off the new motorcycle he’d bought last year.
Nora sat with her arm around Grace, reveling in the silence now that the music and laughter had ceased. Like Hazel, Nora loved a certain amount of socializing. But then she needed to retreat into her own cave to recharge. Grace and Harvey on the other hand, only grew more energetic when surrounded by people, and too much alone time would leave them mopey and snappy.
“So have you told anyone yet?” Hazel asked Grace suddenly, patting her stomach. “You know? About the baby?”
“You, too?!” Grace yelped. “Mom guessed almost immediately! How did you?”
“It’s a party, and you kept drinking juice.” Hazel rolled her eyes. “You might as well have been walking around with a sign on your forehead.”
“Oh, go away. I’m not that obvious,” Grace grumbled. “And nobody knows except Jacob. We want to keep it quiet for a while.”
“Understandable,” Hazel agreed. “Though, I wouldn’t underestimate Milburn. If I’ve guessed, half the town probably has, too.”
“Hazel!” Grace looked positively alarmed.
“Aunt Tina was giving you looks all night,” Hazel said. “And she was making sure your plate was always full.”
“Oh, no. If Aunt Tina knows, all of Milburn knows it,” Grace worried. “Or soon will.”
“Be nice,” Nora said.
“Ah, come on, Mom. You know it’s true.” Hazel smiled. “We love Aunt Tina but she’s the town gossip.”
“Well, she doesn’t know everything.” Grace grinned. “Like she doesn’t know that her husband’s planning a surprise for her.”
“Sam’s planning a surprise for Tina?” Nora asked.
“Sure. He told me that, since they couldn’t buy the car she wanted, he’s taking her
down to test-drive a Ferrari. Apparently there’s a car dealership that lets you rent one out by the hour.”
“Ooh. Lucky!” Hazel said. “She’s going to be over the moon.”
“Speaking of surprises, how did you like your cake?” Grace asked. “Mom outdid herself this time.”
“The whole party was amazing. Even Austin had fun - and he never has fun.”
“Everyone was talking about Maybelle Abelard’s death.” Grace added. “I can’t believe it. I went to school with her, you know.”
“Yes, you did!” Nora sat up suddenly. “You knew all of them, didn’t you? That whole gang.”
Grace gave her a quizzical look. “Tyler, Jess, Natalie and Maybelle? Sure.”
“Of course. Brooke came along much later,” Nora considered. “You wouldn’t know her.”
“Ok, Mom.” Grace grinned. “What’s the question you’re dying to ask me?”
“James Walter,” Nora said. “Was he in love with Maybelle?”
Grace didn’t even have to think about it. “For sure. He always got all shy and flustered around her. But, if you ask me, that group was weird. Tyler, James and May had a little love-triangle going on, and then Jess, May and James had another one of their own. It was like something out of an Archie comic.”
“Ah, high school romances,” Hazel said. “I’m so glad those are over with. Poor Kaylee, on the other hand, still has to suffer through it.”
“Rubbish. My Kaylee’s just a baby. No romances for her till she’s 50.” Grace gave Kaylee a protective squeeze.
“Jess, Natalie and James had a love triangle?” Nora asked.
Grace grinned. “Sure. Jess and James dated briefly, then broke up, then got back together, then broke up. I always thought they’d end up together forever one day.”
“But they didn’t.”
“No. And I think May felt responsible for that. She and James dated very briefly, but she must have cast a spell on him, because he never got over her. You know, come to think of it, I bumped into her last year and we even talked about it.”
“You talked to May about James?” Nora raised an eyebrow.
“Well, not exactly. She was asking me if my town had any cute single guys because she wanted to set up Natalie with someone. She loved playing matchmaker. Then we talked about all our high school crushes and I asked how Tyler and James and Jess were doing. May said that it’s a shame how people can sometimes obsess over a first love instead of getting over it and moving on.”
“She did?”
“Yeah. She said...” Grace squinted, trying to remember. “What were her exact words…let’s see…something like, ‘…It’s hard to let go, but it has to be done, especially if it’s obvious that you’re not a good match, you know what I mean? It’s the only way you can grow in life.’”
“Huh,” Nora said, biting her lip. “I’m not sure what that means. But thanks for telling me, Grace.”
Grace looked at her. “Mom, you’re getting involved in things you shouldn’t be getting involved in again, aren’t you?”
“Well...” Nora sighed. “It’s just that-”
“Oh, Mom!” Hazel got up and sat up straight. “Are you telling us you don’t think Tyler did it? Even Austin’s convinced he’s guilty now. And Austin was Tyler’s biggest fan.”
“I know,” Nora said. “And Austin is a good judge of character. I trust that young man.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “You know what I think? I think you can’t leave things alone sometimes. Sometimes a man gets into a rage and stabs his wife. Toss him in prison, throw away the key. That’s the end of that.”
“Not with a knitting needle,” Nora said. “A man wouldn’t think to use a knitting needle as a weapon if he’s in a rage.”
“That’s just old-fashioned of you, Mom.” Hazel said. “Men are different now.”
“It’s the truth, though,” Nora said. “I can picture Tyler throwing a punch in anger, maybe even stabbing someone with a knife. But a knitting needle? I just don’t see it.”
“Mom...” Grace huffed. “You remember that one time when Dad was building that IKEA wardrobe with sliding drawers?”
“Do I ever.” Nora rolled her eyes. “He was a maniac about it. Cursing and spitting like the wardrobe was his mortal enemy.”
“Right. He took ten hours assembling it and then he figured out that one essential piece was missing, so the whole thing was useless,” Grace explained. “Remember what he did next?”
“He…grabbed a fork and stabbed the manual.” Nora laughed. “I gave him such a scolding about it.” She narrowed her eyes at Grace. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
“If Dad, the manliest of manly men, can grab a fork and stab away when he’s angry, I think Tyler can grab a knitting needle. Difference is, Dad kept his anger aimed at the inanimate wardrobe and the IKEA manual. He didn’t go about stabbing you. Don’t overthink this, okay?”
Nora considered this. “Yes. I suppose you’re right. I’ve been trying to tell myself to forget all about it. And yet. And yet.”
“And yet?”
“And yet so many things confuse me,” Nora said. “There are threads of stories everywhere, and I can’t quite weave them into a coherent pattern.”
“Maybe you should tell us about it,” Hazel suggested. Teasingly, she added, “As my mother always says, sometimes just sounding it out can help.”
“Cheeky.” Nora laughed and threw a pillow at Hazel, who caught it lazily.
“She’s right,” Grace said. “Tell us all about it.”
“Alright.” Nora took a deep breath. “Here’s what I know, so far. First, there’s Jess. Jess and Maybelle were apparently feuding about the knitting club. But what they were really feuding about was Maybelle making a promise to lend Jess money and then reneging on it. At least, I think that’s what they were really fighting about. I also know that, despite the feud, Maybelle was clearly fond of Jess, because she was trying to set Jess up with James. Jess, however, well…she wrote a diary entry about how much she hated Maybelle. So it seems that things were somehow sour between them.”
“Mmm hmm.” Grace nodded.
“Then there’s Brooke. Maybelle knew something about her - what, I don’t know yet. May was pressuring Brooke, and Brooke felt miserable about it.” Nora stroked her chin. “Miserable enough to kill Maybelle? I don’t know. I do know that she seemed rather relieved that Tyler was behind bars, and that she didn’t want me asking too many questions. In fact, she even told Natalie and Jess not to talk to me, using the thinnest of pretenses.”
“Sounds shady,” Hazel said.
“It does.” Nora nodded. “Well, there’s Tyler, of course. He’d even said out loud that he’d like to kill her. People witnessed it.”
“There you go,” Grace said. “Open and shut.”
“But now, there’s James,” Nora said. “I don’t know…ever since I overheard that conversation between him and Natalie…I’ve had a gut feeling that something was very wrong. That I’m missing something. But, what it is, I couldn’t tell you. Plus, I now know that he was possibly in love with Maybelle. I also noticed that fresh new bruise on his face tonight. He tried to play it off, but something tells me there’s more to the story.”
“He said it was just an overenthusiastic kid,” Hazel said.
“Yes,” Nora said. “Only, I know he didn’t have practice yesterday. It was a Saturday, after all. He lied about how he got that bruise. I’m sure of it.”
“Whoa...” Grace whistled. “But why lie?”
“I don’t know,” Nora said. “It worries me. It also worries me that Tyler came here and talked to us, then ran out in a hurry. The last person to see him was Jess, who said he was carrying something small and dark in his hand. What was he carrying? Why did he drive away, leaving behind all his belongings…” With a gasp, Nora got up and smacked a hand to her forehead. “I’m an idiot. I’m a big, big idiot. Of course!”
“Mom?” Hazel looked concerned.
“You’re scaring me,” Grace said. “You’ll wake up Kaylee.”
“Sorry.” Nora rushed out of the room, leaving her daughters behind, and grabbed her phone. In a few seconds, she was speaking to Sheriff Ellerton.
“It wasn’t Tyler driving the car that night! The police just saw the car - not who was inside,” she said in a rush. “Sheriff, you’ve got to send out an alert. Tyler could be in terrible danger. I’m afraid that someone’s-” She was cut off by the sheriff, who sounded ten years older.
“It’s too late,” he said. “The highway patrol already found his car, Nora. It went off the side of a mountain. Tyler was in it. He’s gone forever now. Tyler’s dead.”
*****
Chapter 16
Eulogy
“Nobody could have guessed it.” Harvey held Nora tight as she cried onto his shoulder that night.
“I should have,” Nora said, wiping her tears. “I feel responsible, Harvey. He came to us in his time of need. We should never have let him leave the house alone. We should have stopped him. We should have asked him-”
“Nora, he was a grown man,” Harvey said gently. “There was no way we could have stopped him, and he made it clear that he wanted to be on his own. He rushed out of here, remember.”
“But why?” Nora asked.
It was well past midnight - almost 2am. The house was dark and quiet, except for the single lamp emitting a yellow glow from beside Nora’s bed. Nora was still in the same clothes she’d worn to the party, although Harvey had changed into his flannel pajamas. He hugged her hard and stroked her hair now, trying to comfort her as best as he could.
The Milburn Big Box Set Page 175
