"A Murder In Milburn", Book 1: Death At A Diner by Nancy McGovern Page B

Stanley Staten, though I am known here as Mahaan – the supreme one.”
    “I came to ask Jolene and Davis where they were the night Raquel died,” Nora said.
    “We were all asleep, as is our way. We do not let the darkness enter through our lids. We sleep when the light fades, and wake as it reappears each day.” Stanley said. “Isn’t that right, my flock?”
    The others nodded their heads, mute.
    “Jonah, did you see Raquel lately?” Nora asked. “The two of you broke up a long time ago.”
    Jonah jumped, then looked at his feet and stayed silent.
    “Jonah was with us, too,” Stanley said, stepping forward, and pushing Jonah behind him. “You come here offering help, and then begin to sow seeds of division between us. Many are the forms of evil.”
    The four looked at her now, with rising suspicion in their eyes. Nora was aware, from the windows, of others watching her. She took another step back.
    “It is the money she has come for,” Stanley said. “As always, it is the money that draws birds of prey to the house of grief. Be gone, for you shall find nothing here to quench your greed. My flock have entrusted me with their worldly possessions. I will not relinquish them to you.”
    “You what?” Nora stared at him, confused, then realized what he meant. As the cult leader, his “flock” would probably donate all their worldly possessions to him, which included all the money that Raquel had. A substantial amount. A substantial motive. A voice in the back of her head, a voice that sounded a lot like Raquel’s, piped up that the money being gone meant the diner was probably gone too.
    “You gave this man all of Raquel’s money?” Nora asked Davis, appalled. She stared at Raquel’s father, who rubbed his toe in the ground, and refused to look at her. Something about the defeated slope of his shoulders, and the tight smirk on Stanley’s face made anger prick at Nora’s heart. In a kinder voice, she said to him, “Davis, I don’t care about the money. But I’m asking you again if you need help. I promise I will give it to you.”
    “False concern!” Stanley shouted. “Be gone, covetous witch!”
    Davis muttered something under his breath, and Nora walked up to him.
    “Be gone!” Stanley said, his voice almost a yell this time, and Jonah and his friend began to move towards her.
    “Blink,” Nora said, in a rushed whisper. “If you feel you need help, if you feel you can’t say it, just blink twice, I’ll do something.”
    A tremendous struggle seemed to take place in Raquel’s father. His body trembled under her gaze, and the shuffling of his toes increased to a hysterical frequency. But he refused to look at her.
    With all her heart, she wished he would blink.  
    She felt a hand grasp her by the elbow and resisted the urge to strike at the man holding it. For a moment more, she looked at Davis, and whispered again, “Please.”
    Behind her, Stanley strode up and put a hand on Davis’ shoulder. Davis turned around silently and vanished into the house. Stanley gave her a smirk now and raised his eyebrow. With one hand, he pointed to the gates.
    Nora allowed herself to be escorted out. Her last step through the iron gates was assisted by a healthy shove, and she stumbled and righted herself as the gate shut behind her. Walking to her parked car, she felt more frustrated than ever.  
    Stanley had motive, but he also had more than a dozen witnesses willing to testify that he hadn’t left the compound. Come to think of it, he looked like he had enough control over his people that he didn’t, as Sean had said, need to pull the trigger himself.
    Nora remembered now the disgust with which Sean had spoken of the place. But why wasn’t he focused on Stanley as a prime suspect?
    She got into her car, gunned the engine, and felt the cold barrel of a gun press into her neck. In the rearview mirror, two men sat up in her backseat.

    *****

Chapter 18
    Nora felt panic beginning to overload her