A Murder In Milburn Book 2 Death Of A Deputy REVAMPED June 2016 SCRIVENER by Nancy McGovern

cheeks.
    “Oh, she’ll recover,” Joe said, a tad cynically, as he watched her go. “It’s Wallis’ fans I’m more worried about. Without him, our band is dead too. I suppose I might as well sell off my instruments.”
    “Yes. Karen will sell off Wallis’ collection too, I suppose,” Dr. Neil said. “I heard he had some really classic guitars.”
    “Wallis was really proud of his guitars.” Joe sighed. “He was always showing off about having one from Zany Motts, signed too. But that was Wallis, always boasting about himself, his house, his wife, his guitars. It hit him really hard when Karen left. He spends three months getting drunk and talking about her. Man, he was such a great player, though, that we didn’t mind all his boasting. He was kind too, though he’d always let you know you owed him if he helped you out.”
    “Oh, that kind of kind.” Dr. Neil sighed. “The I’ll be nice to you but you better thank me and praise me a long time after . No, that’s not true kindness, I feel. Though I’m an old-fashioned man, and I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.”
    “Plenty of people here who are,” Joe said, getting a bit quieter. “There’s men whose wives he slept with. Like Luke Taggart there, he’s the owner of Luke’s sporting goods up in Maple Street. Luke looks downright gleeful. He’s only sorry he didn’t kill Wallis himself, I think.”
    “Maybe he did, though,” Nora said, her voice dropping.
    “Maybe,” Joe said, looking startled at this. “I don’t know. I don’t want to accuse anybody.”
    “Joe,you were with Wallis when the rock show ended,” Nora said. “After the set, what happened? Shouldn’t you all have been partying together?”
    Joe looked a little ashamed. “We were,” he said.
    “So you might be among the last people to see him alive?” Nora asked.  
    “I was the last person to see him alive,” Joe said. He looked furtively at Dr. Neil. Then, looking back at Nora, he said, “I want you both to promise you won’t say a thing. Especially to the cops.”
    They both nodded.
    “The truth is, he and I and the boys… we were… in the bus, getting a little drunk,” Joe said. “Well, a lot more than just drunk, but I won’t tell tales. Us rock stars need energy.”
    Drugs? Nora thought, feeling disgusted.
    Seeing her look, Joe said, “It was harmless. We knew we had another set coming up after the fireworks. Nothing that’d knock us out. Anyway, Harvey and that girl of his came into the bus, and Harvey lost it.”
    “Harvey fought with him?” Nora asked.
    “Fought? Harvey was furious enough to throw all our stash down the toilet,” Joe said. “He yelled at Wallis that this was the kind of behavior that would make Sean win. He threatened to call the cops. Wallis was a little out of it, and he began yelling back at Harvey. He said Harvey knew nothing about the kind of pressure he was under, and that Harvey was just a pretty little rich boy with his pretty little rich girl,” Joe said.
    “What happened then?” Nora asked.
    “Harvey grabbed him by the collar, and asked him to apologize,” Joe said. “Wallis refused. He grabbed his guitar, and said, “Harvey, the only reason I ain’t breaking this guitar over your head is because my Daddy gave it to me, and it once belonged to Zany Motts himself. I’m a rockstar, Harvey. I’m no piddling small town sheriff. Maybe I should just quit. Who’d contest your election then, you little smug rat? I’ll be living the life in LA and you’ll be down here alone, Sean still lording it over you.””
    “Wow,” Nora said.  
    “Yeah, it was quite a scene.” Joe said. “But you know Harvey. He’d calmed down by then. You could see he was still furious on the inside, though, you know? He almost looked amused. He turned to Wallis and said, “That’s fine by me. You go ahead, go ahead. And who’ll look after your family here, Wallis? Or are you okay with abandoning her? That’s why you wanted to be