"A Murder In Milburn", Book 4: Death By Ice Cream (18 page)

BOOK: "A Murder In Milburn", Book 4: Death By Ice Cream

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“Everything I’ve done, has been because I love Simone and Will,” Bernard said. “Loving them has been the greatest thing I’ve done in my life, so I’ll ask you this, Sean, please don’t let this touch them. Simone is a good mother. I beg you let her keep Will.”

“That’s not up to me,” Sean said, dragging Bernard to the car.

“Wait!” Harvey cried. They both turned around.

“Tiffany kept telling me that Sean was involved too,” Harvey said. “Why did she think that?”

Sean blushed. Bernard laughed. “Oh, she was right, Sean was involved. When Will was three, he fell very sick. He needed a blood transfusion. Sean is a regular donor, and tests showed that he was the only one who matched. Sean donated the blood. Afterwards, though, Sean asked me why neither I nor Simone matched Will. I told him that it was because Will was Simone’s child with another man. I persuaded him to keep it a secret. Sean’s a decent man, so he did. But once, Tiffany overheard me and Sean speaking about our little secret. She assumed that there was some grand conspiracy.”

“What a mess!” Simone groaned. “What a horrible mess. Oh, Bernard! How could you?”

“I did it for you, Simone,” Bernard said. “I love you. I’d die for you.” He moved towards her, but she shrunk away.

“Don’t.” She shuddered. “Just take him away, Sean. I can’t bear this anymore.”

*****

Epilogue

A year passed, and the shock of Bernard’s arrest had slowly faded. To the credit of the sheriff’s department, none of the details were ever leaked out, and so the public assumed that Bernard had killed Tiffany because he had an affair with her.

As Will’s grandfather, Joe had a legal right to raise him. Initially, Nora was sure that he’d exercise that option. But he’d agreed to do what was best for Will instead, and let Simone keep him. His only condition was that he wanted to spend as many weekends as possible with Will, a condition Simone was glad to accept. When the time was right, and he had grown enough, they planned to tell him the truth.

Joe’s own marriage dissolved after he confessed to Jennifer that Tiffany was his daughter. He’d repented sincerely, and confessed to her each and every one of his transgressions. She told him that she could not bear to look at his face anymore, and he accepted her request for a divorce.

He’d also sincerely apologized to Simone for the way he behaved at the factory. He vowed to be a good example for Will. He’d promised Simone that he’d never behave badly with women again, and she’d agreed to give him back his old job on the condition that he didn’t. After a year’s separation, Jennifer had agreed grudgingly to go on a date with him.

Maybe, Nora thought, just maybe, he’d eventually get his life back on track, this time, with an honest foundation.

As for Simone, life was especially tough for her. Many times, she debated simply closing up her factory and leaving the town forever. Rumors followed her everywhere she went in town, after all. But in the end, she decided that Will deserved to be near Joe. She stayed on for his sake, and found some solace in the fact that she had true friends like Nora in town.

Nora herself found herself back at the diner, working harder than ever to make it the best place in town. As always, Tina was an amazing partner to work with, while Lincoln was fast becoming an integral member of their team.

One Sunday, Tina insisted that Nora let her take the first shift.

“I need to learn how to handle it all by myself, so that when you’re out of town on vacation, things still run smooth,” Tina said.

“Don’t worry, Tina. I’m not planning to go on vacation anytime soon.” Nora had laughed.

“Well, I still want to handle first shift tomorrow,” Tina insisted.

Nora had let her, enjoying the opportunity to sleep late, and reaching the diner at noon. She paused even before she entered. Something was out of place. Something was different. The diner was far too full for this time of the day.

Suspecting something, she walked in, and let out a gasp.

In the corner, the high-school orchestra started up a romantic rendition of Mozart’s Nachtmusic. The diner was decorated with steamers, and Tina was grinning broadly behind the counter, a large cake next to her.

Every single one of her friends was gathered there, each with a balloon in their hand, each smiling broadly.

Harvey walked up, dressed in a suit, and got to one knee.

“Oh, my God,” Nora said, her hands rising to her face. “Oh, my God.”

“Nora.” Harvey smiled. “Excuse me while I do my laces.”

The entire diner burst out laughing.

“Harvey Nathaniel, I will murder you if you tease me so!” she exclaimed.

He winced. “But I haven’t even begun teasing you yet,” he said. “I want to tease you every day for the rest of my life, Nora. For as long as you’ll tolerate me.”

“Is that a question?”

“Nora Newberry,” Harvey said. “Will you do me a favor and marry me?”

The End

So, what do you think Nora’s answer will be?

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Nancy McGovern’s…

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