"A Murder In Milburn", Book 4: Death By Ice Cream (3 page)

Now that she thought about it, it was very curious that a man like that had in his possession a
fake
gun. Why a fake gun? It should be easy enough for a man willing to break the law to get a real gun, and if he had walked into that shop intending to hurt her, well, it would make more sense to have a real gun. What could be his motive? She walked back to the cottage, lost in thought.

Her phone buzzed, a text from Harvey.
Pick you up at 8?

She had better get dressed fast, Nora thought, pushing her thoughts aside.

*****

Chapter 3

Harvey arrived, dressed in a black shirt and grey slacks, a jacket dangling from his arm. Nora’s face lit up with a smile as she saw him. Freshly shaven, he looked as delicious as always, with the fresh scent of shaving gel and soap around him. He put one hand on the back of her neck, the other around her waist, and dipped her almost to the floor as he kissed her hard on the lips. By the time he had let her go, she was quite breathless.

“What was that for?” she asked, her smile widening.

“Just a reminder,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “That I’m your man.”

She felt her heart melt, as it always did when he gave her a smirk and looked at her through stormy eyes.
 

“You look beautiful tonight,” he said.

“Like it? You gifted me this pendant last month, remember?”

“Did I now?” He rubbed a finger under her collarbone, lifting the delicate chain. “Well, as evidenced by my choice of girlfriends, I’m a man of exceptional taste.”

“You’re a man who’s full of it tonight.” She laughed, giving him a friendly whack on the chest. Seriously, she asked, “How do you feel, Harvey?”

“Furious at Sean,” Harvey said, though his face was a mask. That was the thing about Harvey, he never allowed his emotions to leak onto his face. When she had first begun dating him, it had made Nora wonder whether he was trustworthy. Now that she knew him well, she knew that no matter how placid or mild his face was, his eyes could never lie. Right now, she saw in them determination and anger.

“Harvey, Sean is a good man and a good sheriff,” she said. “You have to let this old feud go. You have to try and make peace with him.”

“I can’t believe you’re defending him!” Harvey said. “You… you’re supposed to be on my side, Nora!”

“I
am
on your side, Harvey. That’s why I believe that peace is the way forward, not war. If you keep escalating things, if you try and dethrone him, it’ll just lead to him having a lifelong hatred for you.”

“Good,” Harvey said. “Because I have a lifelong hatred for him.”

“Harvey-”

“Do you know the amount of pain he caused me, Nora?” Harvey asked. “When he and his father refused to acknowledge me as their own family?”

Nora bit her lip.

“My mother died alone, and I struggled, penniless and broke, while Sean had everything I ever wanted handed to him on a plate,” Harvey said. “He had my father’s love, the same father who refused to acknowledge I even existed. He had all the comforts that his huge ranch house provided him. He had respect in society.
 

“What did I ever ask for? All I asked was for him to welcome me as a brother. I asked him to acknowledge me. But all he wanted was to hate me for barging into his comfortable little life and exposing that his father might not be as perfect as he thought. Is it any wonder I hate him? Is it any wonder that all I want is for him to suffer?”

“It isn’t right,” Nora said. “It isn’t right for you, Harvey. You’ll burn up inside, and what use will it be? Sean’s happiness isn’t dependent on you, and your happiness shouldn’t be dependent on him suffering.”

“Forget it,” Harvey said. “I know you won’t understand. You’ve always had a soft corner for Sean. Let’s just go, shall we?”

“Harvey, you have to see that this isn’t about me having a soft corner for him. It’s about you having an unhealthy obsession with him.”

“I’m only obsessed with making sure the rest of the world sees what I do, that Sean isn’t the golden boy everyone thinks he is,” Harvey said. “I feel like…” He was interrupted by the buzz of his phone. He looked at the screen, and with a grunt, cut the call.

“Nora, I don’t want to fight with you. Not today. You’ve been through a lot, I know.” He put his forehead against her. “Can we just forget about Sean for a little while, and not let him come in between us?”

“All right,” Nora said grudgingly. “Only if you promise to think about what I just said really carefully.”

“I promise to think about it, but I can’t promise it’ll change my mind,” Harvey said. Once again, his phone began to buzz, and once again, he cut it, this time without even bothering to look at the screen. He kissed Nora on the nose, and then both her cheeks. “I love it when you dress up,” he said.

She twirled around, letting the skirt of her red dress fly around her. “This little thing? I bought it years ago.”

“Well, it makes you look like you belong in a perfume ad,” Harvey said. “You know what I’m talking about? The ones where they’re all just lounging about in impossibly fancy places, or stepping out of vintage cars.”

Nora laughed. “Let’s get going, shall we? Simone and Bernard are waiting for us, no doubt. Oh, that reminds me, I offered to bring along a salad for Simone.”

“Looks good.” Harvey took the covered dish from her hands, and peeked inside. “What is that?”

“It’s a grilled peach and Halloumi salad,” Nora said. “I was smoking some ribs anyway for the restaurant, so this was a fun thing to make. I put some mango chutney on the side, and a bed of greens, so we’re all set.”

“Yum,” Harvey said. “I’m tempted to skip dinner and just drive you to a quiet spot. I can always finish off the salad if I get hungry.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, and Nora blushed and laughed.
 

They set off in relatively good cheer, their hands linked together as Harvey drove his BMW.

*****

Chapter 4

Simone and Bernard’s house was down the lane from the ice-cream factory. The factory itself was just a series of low buildings painted the same as the iconic packaging on
Rancher’s Ice
ice-creams. An iron gate circled the premises, and as they drove by, Nora spied a night-watchman fast asleep in front of the gate, with his head lolling on his chest.
 

The house had a circular drive, with a statue in the centre of a small boy wearing striped overalls and licking a heavy, half-melting cone. A red Ferrari was parked nearby, as well as a black Mercedes.
 

The white and brick mansion overlooked acre upon acre of mowed green grass, and apple orchards. Some of the apples had even ended up being used in special limited editions of the ice-cream. Before Simone had come on the scene, the idea of
gourmet
ice-cream had been laughed at by retailers. But then she’d produced one of her more famous products - a Tahitian vanilla ice cream with golden champagne macaroons - that had inspired a revolution.
 

Simone was waiting on the porch, a green silk shawl covering her simple blue slip dress, really bringing out the color of her eyes. She smiled as Harvey and Nora emerged. Bernard came out behind her, with two glasses of champagne in his hand, which he now handed to Nora and Harvey.

“Welcome to our humble home,” Bernard said. “The weather’s been so good, Simone and I were wondering if you two wouldn’t just rather eat outside? We have a river flowing in our backyard. It’s a picturesque place to relax.”

“Perfect,” Harvey said, clinking his glass against theirs.

“That’s champagne, because Simone insisted on it.” Bernard smiled. “I’ve got a great collection of whisky too. I’ve heard you’re somewhat of a connoisseur, Harvey.”

“Oh, I’m trying to be.” Harvey smiled. “Impresses the clients. To be honest, my drink of choice is a humble beer. Any brand, as long as it’s ice cold.”

“I’m sure I can manage to rustle up a couple of those,” Bernard said with a smile.

They went around back, and were greeted by a fluffy orange cat, who wound her way around Nora’s legs, insisting on having her ears scratched.

“Oh, mind Rusky, she’s a bit of a brat.” Simone smiled. “Once you start rubbing her tummy, she’ll never let you escape. The way she demands to be served, I think she was an Egyptian pharaoh in her last birth.”

Bernard laughed. “Simone’s a little jealous because I love Ruski more than her.” He picked up the cat and nuzzled it. “I do, don’t I?” His voice softened as he used baby-talk on the cat. “You’re a pretty cat, aren’t you? Who’s a queen? You are. Yes. You are.”

Simone whacked him on the shoulder playfully, and laughed. “Hey, save some of that loving for me!” she teased.

They led Nora and Harvey to the backyard and to their seats. While the front drive had made their house look grand, the backyard made it look very cozy. A string of lights emitted a soft yellow glow, while fireflies winked as they flew about. A long table made of dark wood had covered dishes and candles on it, while a few children’s toys were scattered about on the bank near the river.

As they sat down, the screen door creaked open, and a small boy poked his head out. He was a scrawny little thing, with dark hair that stuck up in odd patches around his head, and beautiful eyes the color of melting chocolate.
 

“Hey buddy.” Bernard opened his arms to welcome him. “What are you doing here? Thought we put you to bed.”

“I heard noises,” he said. “I couldn’t sleep. There’s someone up there, daddy.”

“Come on, now.” Bernard cuddled the young boy and gave him a little kiss on the forehead. “Is it the monsters in your closet again?”

“No. It was… there was a face in the window,” the boy said with a shudder. His eyes were big and tearful.

“Oh, dear.” Simone sighed, and picked him up. “Come on, Cliff. I’ll take you upstairs.”

“I don’t wanna go,” the boy cried. “I want my daddy.”

“Come on, dearie.” Simone put her nose against his and rubbed. “You know we love you. We’re right here if you get scared, all right? Want me to read your favorite book to you again?”

“Can we read about Moomoo The Elephant?” he asked.

“All right. Let’s go. You want some water first?”

“No.” His fears forgotten now that his mother was coming with him, Will bounded back to the door.

“Hey, say bye to your uncle Harvey and aunt Nora first,” Simone said.

“Bye.” Will gave Nora a shy wave, and ran off.

Bernard watched them both go with a smile on his face. “Family,” he said as he turned back to Nora and Harvey. “Family centers a man like nothing else. Do you know, when I was 20, I thought all I wanted out of life was to travel the world? I didn’t have much ambition. Oh, I knew how to make money, but unlike my dad, I never saw the need to make too much of it. My plan in life was to do odd jobs while traveling Europe.”

“Did you ever do it?”

“The first year I was studying in Paris I spent a few months of the year in Portugal and Spain,” Bernard said. “Of course, once I met Simone, my plans changed a little. Now I wanted to travel the world, but with two tickets. But Simone… well, Simone was a passionate woman. She’s always loved to bring sweetness into other people’s lives. I guess I got caught up in her dream and made it my own.”

“Ice-cream’s a funny business to go into, isn’t it?” Harvey said. “What made her do it?”

“Oh, her grandfather and his father have always sold ice-creams,” Bernard said. “It’s a family obsession with them, I think. Bakeries, chocolate, ice-cream - anything sweet. It’s a wonder they haven’t all got diabetes! It’s also a happy coincidence that she met a man who ran a dairy and a ranch.”

“You’re meant for each other.” Nora smiled. “And little Will is lucky to have two smart, ambitious parents who care so much about each other and the world.”

“But about him, most of all.” Bernard smiled. “After he came into our life, well, it felt like the universe shifted for me. Everything I do now is for his sake.”

Harvey, who had been growing increasingly uncomfortable during this conversation, suddenly excused himself. “I’ve got a call I’ve been ignoring far too long,” he said as he walked away.

Simone came back out, smiling peacefully, as Nora and Bernard watched Harvey go in surprise. What had happened to him? Nora wondered. The more she and Harvey dated, the more she thought that he was the one for her. She didn’t think she was being vain when she suspected he felt that way too.

But whenever Harvey was around kids, well, he’d act strange. Scared. Did the prospect of being a father scare him, since he’d never really known his own? That would explain why he got so uncomfortable at Bernard’s words. On the other hand, maybe it was just business. As a real estate magnate, Harvey had his own share of worries when it came to finances and legal troubles over plots of land or construction. Nora had noticed him ignore phone calls earlier. Maybe she was over thinking this. Maybe he wasn’t ready now, but surely, when the time came, Harvey would want kids too.

“Shall I top up that champagne for you?” Simone asked.

“What?” Nora looked up. “Oh. No. Thank you, but one glass is quite enough for a Thursday night.”