by Rose Pressey
“Oh, right.” Had I sounded too accusatory when I asked? “Anyway, he was shot and they don’t know who did it.”
“This is usually a safe area. Not a lot of crime around here,” he said.
He probably thought that I had brought the crime with me, but Mr. Sutherland had been here a lot longer than me. I’d only bought the space from him. I hoped no one would hold me responsible just because of that.
The dentist walked over to a display of candy. “You know, this stuff isn’t that great for your teeth.”
Yeah, like I didn’t know that. “Well, it’s okay once in a while, right?”
He turned to face me. “You have a gorgeous smile.”
Now he was trying to flatter me. After all, he was the expert.
“Thank you,” I said.
“As for the candy, not too much,” he said with a wink.
“No, of course not,” I said.
No wonder he hadn’t taken me up on that offer for chocolates. He totally had something against candy. This meant that our friendship would go nowhere. He was just the dentist next door, never mind that he was gorgeous.
“Do you have any idea what happened? I mean, I know he was shot, but do they have any leads on who did it?” Heath asked.
“No, but I guess they’ll look into his past. Did you know him well?” I asked.
Heath shook his head. “I’ve only been in the building for six months. I brought dry cleaning over a few times, but to be honest, he wasn’t exactly that friendly.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “Maybe that was why he was murdered.”
“Because he wasn’t friendly with customers?” Heath asked.
“No, because he wasn’t a nice person in general. He could have made someone mad for any number of reasons.”
“What did you think of him?”
“Well, the only interaction I had with him was to buy this building. But you’re right, he was a bit rough around the edges. Do you think the killer will come back here?” I asked.
“I doubt that. He got his intended target,” Heath said.
“Yes, I guess that’s true,” I said. “And a relief.”
I was on edge wondering if gunfire would ring out again. If a car backfired I didn’t know what I’d do.
“I just hope they find who did this soon,” Heath said.
“Me too,” I said.
“I had some customers cancel appointments this morning. They said they were too afraid to come to the office for fear of gunfire.”
Was that why that I didn’t have any customers? I hoped that wasn’t the case. Why did I feel responsible for this? Just because it had happened at my shop? It could have just as easily happened at the dentist’s office.
“Maybe things will die down soon once some time passes. Sorry about the pun,” I said.
He grinned. “That’s perfectly okay.”
“Sorry about the clients too,” I said.
He had basically let me know that he was unhappy. To top it off, I sold something he didn’t like. Why hadn’t I considered not putting a candy shop next to a dentist’s office? With his gaze focused on me, my stomach flipped. Why was I feeling that way? Yes, he was handsome, but it wasn’t as if he would ever ask me for a date. We were opposites and I wasn’t convinced that opposites attracted. At least that had never been my experience in the past.
“So you really have no idea who may have wanted to kill Mr. Sutherland?” I couldn’t get this off my mind.
Heath shook his head. “Not a clue.”
“Was there anyone unusual ever hanging around this building?”
“It was a busy place, so there were a lot of people in and out every day.”
“Yes, I imagine it would be hard to notice anyone suspicious,” I said.
“There was one woman I ran into outside on the sidewalk once. She dropped her briefcase and I had to pick it up. She seemed really frustrated, almost angry. When I asked her what was wrong she said that Mr. Sutherland was a stubborn man. She asked me if he wanted to sell the building.”
“When did this happen?” I asked.
“It was probably two or three months ago. I had just purchased this place. Actually, Mr. Sutherland approached me about buying this place. He asked me if I wanted to expand.”
“Maybe he had already sold the building to me when she was inquiring about it? Did she give you her name?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t get her name. Sorry,” he said.
“That’s okay. It probably means nothing anyway.”
I hadn’t expected him to have any details, but it had been worth a shot to ask. I’d have to ask others now. I looked down and noticed a tan line on one of his fingers .He’d obviously been wearing a ring at some point.
We stared at each other for a moment. Why did I feel tongue-tied around him? What would I say? I couldn’t talk about candy. And I wouldn’t talk about the murder any more. I didn’t want to remind him of the crime right next door to his office. I supposed I could ask about the best toothpaste or dental floss. No, that was the worst thing I could do. Maybe I should just keep quiet.
“Well, I guess I should get to my office. It was nice seeing you again.” He flashed his dazzling smile again and my knees went weak. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you. That’s kind of you,” I said.
He waved as he walked out the door. I watched as he moved down the sidewalk and out of sight. Then I stepped over to the window so that I could get another peek at him. Was that weird? Maybe. I hoped that he didn’t see me watching him. That would be embarrassing. When he looked over his shoulder, I ducked away from the window. Oh, I hoped he hadn’t seen me. He’d think I was nuts. I’d made a terrible second impression with Heath. Not to mention the first.
Chapter 7
Mary Jane walked through the door. She peered down at the floor too. She eased around to the side, avoiding the spot where Mr. Sutherland had been. I hoped customers didn’t see us doing that. I had to get over this.
Once at the back of the store, she grabbed an apron and looped it over her head. “How are you hanging in there?”
I waved my hand. “I’m fine. I know today will be better.” Did my voice waver when I said that? I didn’t sound all that confident and she knew it.
She gave me a hug. “Things will be great.”
“What about you? How are you handling what happened?” She’d practically had a meltdown yesterday.
“Peachy,” she said.
The bell above the door jingled and I immediately looked up. Someone had just entered the shop. Even better was that they hadn’t been shot. Was this my first customer? The woman looked around at the displays. I practically tripped to get over to her.
“May I help you find something?” I asked.
When she said she was just looking, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. I left her alone to look around. My fingers were crossed that she would buy something. After a few minutes of checking out the store, she picked up candy. Was she headed over to the counter with a bag full of candy? When she put the bag full of colorful treats down, my stomach sank. My stare was fixed on her as she moved around the room.
A few minutes passed of the woman picking out various candies. Finally she headed toward the counter. I was so excited that I almost jumped for joy, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself. She placed the items down on the counter in front of me.
“Will that be all for you?” I asked.
“Yes, I think I found everything. You have a lovely shop,” she said.
“Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy it.” I rang up her items.
This was going just as I had envisioned it. I packaged up the candies in the beautiful pink and gold bags and tied a ribbon to the top.
“I came by yesterday to buy something, but I saw the police were here,” she said.
Okay, now it felt as this if someone had burst my bubble. This wasn’t how I’d imagined things happening. I wanted to forget about yesterday and pre
tend it had never happened. I guessed on the bright side the woman had come back. So things could’ve been worse.
What would I tell her? I hadn’t even thought of this coming up. Mary Jane was staring at me with wide eyes, as if she was terrified for what the customer had said. I was standing there silent as well. The woman looked at us as if we had lost our marbles. I knew she wanted an answer so I had to think of something quickly. I couldn’t call it an accident because what if she saw the news and found out I was lying to her? She would never come back to the shop again.
I looked to Mary Jane again, hoping that she would answer the customer, but she offered no help. She had that same blank stare on her face. I would take one of her lame jokes right now. But she said nothing. She was as quiet as a mouse.
“There was an incident at the shop, unfortunately, but it’s all over now,” I said.
That sounded very suspicious. The woman looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. I knew she would probably ask for more of an explanation.
“What kind of an incident?” she asked. “An accident? Did someone have a heart attack?”
“Well, unfortunately, there was a shooting.” I just blurted out the words and got it over with.
Her expression said it all. She grabbed the bag. “Thank you,” she said as she headed toward the door.
Yeah, she would probably never be back. Nevertheless, I said, “Please come again.”
“Oh, that was a very sad display,” Mary Jane said with a click of her tongue.
“Well, you could’ve helped,” I said.
“What would I have said to help? I would just make it worse. You had to tell her the truth.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“You just had to let her go after that. it is what it is.”
“Is that what everyone will ask?”
“I really hope that’s not the case.”
“I’ll have to come up with a better way to put it if someone else asks,” I said.
“Good luck with that,” Mary Jane said.
“I suppose we should get to work and make candy,” I said.
“Whatever you want me to do.”
Mary Jane offered, so we put together more chocolate and then we assembled boxes for the candy. Also, we had to fill the jars and I wanted to rearrange everything so that it would be neat and orderly.
“How many times are you going to do that?” Mary Jane asked.
“As many as needed,” I said.
“Everything looks perfect so you’re just being fussy now.”
“I’m just being anxious, that’s all.”
“Well, you have to stop,” she said. “Everything looks great.”
I checked my watch several times to see if it was lunchtime yet. I had expected more customers.
“Don’t worry. They’ll come,” Mary Jane said, picking up a piece of chocolate and popping it into her mouth.
I quirked an eyebrow.
“Just testing out the products,” she said. “Making sure that they turned out okay.”
“And how are they?” I asked with my hand on my hip.
The bell on the door jingled and we immediately looked to see who had entered. A man came in the shop. He was dressed in black pants and a black jacket, which seemed kind of strange. It was a little bit hot for that outfit. He acknowledged us with a nod of his head and then started perusing the candy aisles.
“Do you think you he’s going to buy anything?”
“Well, I hope that’s why he’s looking around,” I said.
He kept looking over at us.
“Maybe he’s going to shoplift something,” Mary Jane whispered.
“Candy seems like an odd thing to shoplift.”
“It could be like some sort of dare or something,” she said.
“I suppose,” I said with skepticism in my voice.
He kept glancing our way. The closer he got to the counter the more anxious I became. I supposed I could see why he might think we were strange, since we were staring at him a little too much. I tried to look away several times, but nonetheless, I kept glancing at him every three seconds to keep an eye on him. He picked up a box of chocolate from the table and studied it for a moment. Then he placed it back down on the table.
He picked up another box of chocolates and then suddenly it must have slipped from his hand. It fell to the ground. Nevertheless, we knew what it was and we still screamed out. I guessed it was because the noise kind of sounded like a gunshot. It sent us into a complete panic. He freaked out too because he jumped. He looked at us with wide eyes, but remained speechless. I stared at him for a moment too, and then finally I apologized.
“We were startled, that’s all. We didn’t know what the noise was,” I said.
He reached down to pick up the box and placed it back on the table. Then he turned and headed toward the door. I supposed he’d had enough of our strange behavior. I couldn’t say that I blamed him. He was just looking for candy and we’d scared him.
“Have a nice day and please come again,” I called out as he walked out the door.
Mary Jane shook her head.
“I know. I don’t know why I said that because he probably will never return.”
“Probably?” she asked with a quirked eyebrow.
“Okay, never. He will never return,” I said for finality. “Apparently, I’m really good at chasing our customers away.”
“That’s not something you want to be good at,” Mary Jane said.
My shoulders slumped.
“I’m going to the back for more jelly beans,” Mary Jane said.
I nodded and continued staring out the window, wishing that the previous two events had never happened. Not two seconds later, Mary Jane rushed back to the counter.
“The back door’s open,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“The back door is open. Like all the way. What if somebody is in here?”
I rushed over to the kitchen door and stepped inside. The back door was still open. I walked over to the door and peeked outside. No one was nearby. I’d thought for sure I had locked the door. I checked the lock and it seemed to be working just fine. I supposed I just thought I had locked it.
“The wind probably blew it open,” I said.
Mary Jane looked suspicious. “There’s no wind right now.”
“Vibration of the traffic outside made it click open?”
“Yeah, probably,” Mary Jane said.
She still didn’t sound as if she believed me. I shut the door again and made sure it was locked this time.
“Now I know for sure I locked it,” I said.
“There’s something seriously off about that.”
“It won’t unlock again. I’m sure things are just fine,” I said.
I told her that, but I really wasn’t convinced. I was a little nervous that the door was unlocked. Was somebody really in here? I looked over at my office, but the door was closed. I knew no one was in the front because we’d been up there. There was no other place to hide in the kitchen. Mary Jane grabbed a bag of red jelly beans and we headed back to the front of the store.
She filled the jar with the candy while I held the jar. I placed the lid back on top and positioned it on the shelf just so. I adjusted the box of chocolates that the man had set down on the table. He hadn’t gotten it quite just right, but I guessed since we had screamed at him he wasn’t exactly in the mood to make sure it was perfect. He had just wanted to get out of the store.
Mary Jane and I stood behind the counter. We talked a little bit, but mostly we just stared out the window. I shifted from one foot to the other, and then leaned across the counter with my elbows propped up in my hands.
Mary Jane sighed. “Hey, I know what you should do. You should go out there with a big sign and get people to come into your shop.”
“Well, that’s not a bad idea, but I don’t have a sign right now.”
“You should get one made.”
“I’l
l add that to my to-do list,” I said.
Chapter 8
The day had gone better than I expected. Other customers had actually shown up. Plus, they’d bought candy. This truly had been the grand opening I had hoped for. There was still that dark cloud hanging over me though. Who had killed Mr. Sutherland? The news had featured my shop. Now everyone knew what had happened.
Even with the customers there hadn’t been as many as I had wanted. Maybe that was keeping people away. If only I knew who had killed Mr. Sutherland and that person was behind bars. Maybe that detective would hurry up and find the person responsible. Maybe I should call him and ask if he had any leads.
When I looked up to see who had entered the shop I spotted the guy who had asked for an application the day before. Hunter Smith. I looked at the time. At least he was punctual. That was a good thing in his favor.
“I came back just as I told you I would,” he said with a bright smile.
“Yes, you did,” I said.
Now I felt like I had to hire the kid. How could I say no to that face? He seemed so nice. What was I saying? I didn’t even know him.
I pulled out the paper with the application I’d printed off. “You can fill this out.”
He took the paper and I offered him a pen. He pulled one from his pocket. “Oh, no need. I brought my own.”
“I see that,” I said.
“I came prepared,” he said as he clicked the pen and prepared to write.
“Yes, I see that too,” I said.
Another plus in his favor. I watched as he filled out the paper. Though I tried to act as if I was busy so that he wouldn’t notice. When I felt Mary Jane’s eyes on me I looked over. She motioned with a tilt of her head for me to meet her across the room. I tried to act as if I was arranging jars so that if Hunter looked my way he wouldn’t think we were up to something. I glanced at him every few seconds to see if he noticed us. He was still working on the application. I reached the area by the closet.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“You should ask him questions,” Mary Jane whispered.
Her stare was focused on him.
“Don’t stare at him. He’ll feel you watching him and then notice us. What kind of question do you want me to ask?”