"A Murder In Milburn", Book 3: Death In The Library Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Nancy McGovern
Tags: cozy mystery
weeks.”
“If you’ve put it in the kitchen, that casserole will be finished before dinner.” Tina laughed. “All of Sam’s relatives have decided to treat my house as their personal hotel. Thank goodness the house is big enough for me to escape. I need my own space.”
“I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
“You? Not a chance, partner.” Tina smiled. “I’m actually glad you’re here. You’ll help me take my mind off the whole thing.”
“We can talk about whatever you’d like,” Nora offered.
“You don’t think I’m being selfish, do you?” Tina looked suddenly like a small child asking permission from her teacher. “I mean, I know that ideally, I should be a crying wreck who’s by her husband’s side 24/7.”
“Tina. Relax. There’s no right way to approach grief, and just because you’re honest enough to admit you don’t feel much, doesn’t make you a bad human being.”
“I don’t know.” Tina looked unsure. “I feel like all the things I thought I knew about myself, about Sam, they’re all slipping away from under my feet. Sam’s changed since we got the news. I feel like… oh, I feel guilty even saying this, but I feel like those three men in that movie where a baby is suddenly dropped outside their house, and they have to learn how to keep it.” She caught the look on Nora’s head and shook her head. “You do think I’m selfish. I see it. I suppose I am. I just want… I just want my Sam back to normal, and Selena to be alive and all this to be a nightmare.”
“What was she like?” Nora said. “I know you were irritated at her dropping crumbs under your table and bossing Sam around, but what was she like as a person?”
“Selena?” Tina considered this. After a long pause, she said, “You know her story, don’t you?”
“Not really.”
“Before she had Sam, his mother was married right out of high school,” Tina said. “The man was a loser. He wanted to be a motivational speaker, and moved all across America, living in a van. His mother had a bad time. Selena was her child from that marriage. It lasted eight years, and she only left when he nearly killed her. She moved back to their home town, so that she could raise Selena as far away from her father as possible. She knew that returning to Milburn was the last thing he would do.”
“Being born in an atmosphere like that must have affected Selena a lot,” Nora said.
“You bet it did. Her father only beat her mother. He loved and doted on Selena. She was only 5 when her mother ran away with her,” Tina said. “At least, that’s what Sam told me. So Selena was very unhappy to be uprooted like that. Afterwards, when Sam’s mom married his dad and had him, it made Selena very insecure. I think she felt unwanted. She became withdrawn, and began reading and writing all the time.”
Nora nodded. “Poor girl.”
Tina shrugged. “It never really improved. She was a smart kid in school, but she constantly fought with Sam’s father, and according to some of the things Sam has told me, she used guilt as a weapon to control her mother with.” Tina sighed. “I suppose you’ll think I’m bad mouthing the dead, but really I’m just being honest. There were a lot of things about Selena that were positive too.”
“Like what?”
“Like she hated hypocrisy,” Tina said. “If you’ve read any of her novels, you’ll see that the villains are always hypocrites of the worst kind. She used that pen of hers like a scalpel, I think. She carved out all the unhappy pieces of herself and put them in those books.”
“What was she working on these days?” Nora asked.
Tina shrugged. “She was superstitious about work. She thought talking about what she’s writing would give her writer’s block.”
“Did she write on her laptop or by hand?”
“A bit of both, I think.” Tina frowned. “The laptop’s with the sheriff’s department. I know she had a diary, and I suppose it’s floating around
“If you’ve put it in the kitchen, that casserole will be finished before dinner.” Tina laughed. “All of Sam’s relatives have decided to treat my house as their personal hotel. Thank goodness the house is big enough for me to escape. I need my own space.”
“I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
“You? Not a chance, partner.” Tina smiled. “I’m actually glad you’re here. You’ll help me take my mind off the whole thing.”
“We can talk about whatever you’d like,” Nora offered.
“You don’t think I’m being selfish, do you?” Tina looked suddenly like a small child asking permission from her teacher. “I mean, I know that ideally, I should be a crying wreck who’s by her husband’s side 24/7.”
“Tina. Relax. There’s no right way to approach grief, and just because you’re honest enough to admit you don’t feel much, doesn’t make you a bad human being.”
“I don’t know.” Tina looked unsure. “I feel like all the things I thought I knew about myself, about Sam, they’re all slipping away from under my feet. Sam’s changed since we got the news. I feel like… oh, I feel guilty even saying this, but I feel like those three men in that movie where a baby is suddenly dropped outside their house, and they have to learn how to keep it.” She caught the look on Nora’s head and shook her head. “You do think I’m selfish. I see it. I suppose I am. I just want… I just want my Sam back to normal, and Selena to be alive and all this to be a nightmare.”
“What was she like?” Nora said. “I know you were irritated at her dropping crumbs under your table and bossing Sam around, but what was she like as a person?”
“Selena?” Tina considered this. After a long pause, she said, “You know her story, don’t you?”
“Not really.”
“Before she had Sam, his mother was married right out of high school,” Tina said. “The man was a loser. He wanted to be a motivational speaker, and moved all across America, living in a van. His mother had a bad time. Selena was her child from that marriage. It lasted eight years, and she only left when he nearly killed her. She moved back to their home town, so that she could raise Selena as far away from her father as possible. She knew that returning to Milburn was the last thing he would do.”
“Being born in an atmosphere like that must have affected Selena a lot,” Nora said.
“You bet it did. Her father only beat her mother. He loved and doted on Selena. She was only 5 when her mother ran away with her,” Tina said. “At least, that’s what Sam told me. So Selena was very unhappy to be uprooted like that. Afterwards, when Sam’s mom married his dad and had him, it made Selena very insecure. I think she felt unwanted. She became withdrawn, and began reading and writing all the time.”
Nora nodded. “Poor girl.”
Tina shrugged. “It never really improved. She was a smart kid in school, but she constantly fought with Sam’s father, and according to some of the things Sam has told me, she used guilt as a weapon to control her mother with.” Tina sighed. “I suppose you’ll think I’m bad mouthing the dead, but really I’m just being honest. There were a lot of things about Selena that were positive too.”
“Like what?”
“Like she hated hypocrisy,” Tina said. “If you’ve read any of her novels, you’ll see that the villains are always hypocrites of the worst kind. She used that pen of hers like a scalpel, I think. She carved out all the unhappy pieces of herself and put them in those books.”
“What was she working on these days?” Nora asked.
Tina shrugged. “She was superstitious about work. She thought talking about what she’s writing would give her writer’s block.”
“Did she write on her laptop or by hand?”
“A bit of both, I think.” Tina frowned. “The laptop’s with the sheriff’s department. I know she had a diary, and I suppose it’s floating around