"A Murder In Milburn", Book 3: Death In The Library by Nancy McGovern Page A

you think Robert couldn’t do it, but that I’m sloppy enough to commit these crimes?”
    “Harvey, I never thought you committed Selena’s murder,” Nora said. “Not for a second.”
    “Now, why do I feel like you’re lying?” he scoffed.
    “I didn’t,” Nora said. “I don’t believe you’re a murderer. I just thought, and still think, that you’re hiding something about Selena from me.”
    “So what, you believe I didn’t kill Selena but there’s a chance I decided to follow you, bump off Robert and Grant, and pretend to rescue you?” Harvey looked disgusted.  
    “No!” Nora caught his jacket and pulled him towards her. “Harvey, I meant it when I said I love you. I do. But I feel like I don’t really know everything about you. There’s dark pockets in your soul that I have to feel my way around.”
    “Here’s a hint, Nora. If there’s anything you want to know about me, ask , and then do me the favor of believing what I say.”
    “All right,” Nora said. “What’s so special about that property with the yellow gate?”
    Harvey’s lips pressed together, and his face changed, became a little more closed. When a few seconds passed without his answer, Nora said, “See what I mean?”
    “No. I’ll answer you,” Harvey said. “The property with the yellow gate belonged to the town of Milburn. I bought a portion of it, and the reason I was at the property the other day is because I’d arranged a meeting with investors from nearby towns who might be interested in chipping in to buy the rest. I believe that the property is prime land to create a resort on. I was picturing something really fancy that would attract corporate getaways and the uber rich. Maybe a spa.”
    “Why would Selena be interested in a place like that?”
    Harvey hesitated, then said, “She believed that the property might indirectly be hers. I told her there was no way it could be.”
    “She believed that?”
    “JJ Wallis, you remember him?”
    “Yes.” Of course she did, he was the deputy who’d been murdered a year ago. Nora had helped catch his killer.  
    “He had an aunt, Maude.”
    “Her name sounds familiar.” Nora scrunched her nose. “I feel like there’s a story I heard about her last year.”
    “Well, Maude’s husband owned that property, and Selena’ biological father was his brother. Selena thought the land might thus be hers as she was the only surviving descendent. I told her the property had been foreclosed and reverted back to government ownership, so there was no question of it being hers,” Harvey said. “All right?”
    “I don’t know,” Nora said. “Is it all right?”
    She gave him a long look, and Harvey spluttered out, “Fine, Nora, I was ruder to her than I should have been. That property means a great deal to me. Making that resort will be the difference between me being a multimillionaire or me having barely enough money to fund operations for a year or two more. Happy? I was rough on her. She was threatening to call a lawyer, and I told her that I could make life in this town unbearable if she did. It was an ugly meeting that I’m not very proud of, now that she’s been killed. But I had no way of knowing she would be killed. All right? I didn’t… I had nothing to do with her death.”
    “No,” Nora said. “Maybe you didn’t. But you had suspicions, didn’t you? You had suspicions that her death might be linked to this somehow.”
    Harvey couldn’t look her in the eye. With a heavy sigh, he said, “Maybe I did.”

    *****

Chapter 15
    Nora spent the next day relatively peacefully. Thoughts about Selena, the murder, Grant all crowded in her head, but Nora’s body seemed to have had a breakdown. By the time she woke up, it was already noon, and Mrs. Mullally, who had been terribly worried about Nora’s condition, had already prepared a fantastic brunch for her.
    They sat on the island in the kitchen, each sipping fresh orange juice, while Maynard the golden