by Tim Myers
Sure enough, she went for a kiss on the lips as she neared. I borrowed one of her old moves and tilted my head at the last second, giving her my cheek instead.
She looked startled by that development, but quickly regained her composure. “It was wonderful of you to call, Harrison. I’ve missed you.”
“I need to talk to you.” I took a deep breath, then said, “You’ve been to At Wick’s End before you visited me here the other day, haven’t you?”
Her gaze shot downward for an instant, a sure sign she was about to lie. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d never heard of this place before then.”
“Don’t lie, Becka, it gives you wrinkles. Somebody saw you here arguing with Belle just before she died.”
Becka’s soft cooing voice turned into a shriek. “How could you think that I could have possibly done anything to that old woman? You told me it was an accident.”
“So you admit you were here before?”
Becka shrugged. “I don’t know who’s been gossiping about me, but it’s true. You should have been a partner in this place. I tried to tell her that, but she wouldn’t listen.”
I ran my hands through my hair. “Back up and slow down. How did you even find out about this place, and my relationship with Belle?”
“I was looking for a present for a wedding shower, and I thought a candle might be nice, one that was personalized. When I saw your aunt’s name, I casually asked if you two were related. She told me you were, and I let her know how you were just getting by hand-to-mouth.”
“Is that what the argument was about?” I asked coldly. I had no trouble believing Becka would butt into something that was none of her business.
“It wasn’t like that, Harrison. You deserved better, don’t you see that?”
“How did Belle react when you ambushed her?”
Becka said. “She had a fit. In fact she said it wasn’t any of my business. We had a few words, and I left without a candle and never came back.”
I said. “Is there any way to pin down where you were the Sunday before last?”
‘‘Sunday? I was out of town from Thursday to Tuesday on business. Why are you asking me that?” She suddenly realized where I was going. “You actually believe I could have had something to do with her accident? Harrison, I was just trying to help you.”
“You had no right,” I said.
Becka snapped, “Why not? You wouldn’t have done anything about it, and somebody had to.” Her voice eased somewhat. “I was just doing it for you. For us, really.”
“You shouldn’t have, and I mean that.” I glanced at my watch. “You’re going to have to leave, Becka, I’m opening the store in a few minutes.”
“You’re throwing me out? I can’t believe that.”
I held the door open for her. “I don’t think you have any choice. Good-bye. And Becka? I do mean good-bye. Our future’s all in the past.”
She stalked past me, taking a stab at spiking my foot with those deadly heels, but I sidestepped her just in time. She snipped, “You’ll call me. I know it and you know it.”
“Don’t hold your breath waiting by the phone,” I said as she stormed off.
Heather was just opening up The New Age, privy to all that had been said outside. She had Esmeralda tucked under one arm. As Becka raced off in her car, Heather said, “You have a real way with the ladies, Harrison. Smooth.”
I smiled. “What can I say? It’s a gift.” I walked over, offered a hand slowly to Esme, then rubbed her head gently. She responded with a soft purr.
“My, you two really bonded while you were roommates,” Heather said.
“Let’s just say we came to a mutual understanding.”
Heather glanced at her watch and said, “You’ve got a
few minutes before you open. Why don’t you come in for the grand tour?”
“That sounds great, but I can’t stay long.” I said as I followed her inside.
Her shop was nothing like I expected. I’d imagined a dark, gloomy place full of tarot cards and incense, heavy tapestries and beads everywhere. Instead, the store was bright and cheerful, with displays of stones, portable personal pyramids, books and pamphlets neatly on display. There were desktop waterfalls, mini-Zen gardens and polished steel balls filling out the shelves, and the place was friendlier and more inviting than I’d dreamed possible.
Heather had been watching my reaction, waiting for a comment. “You have a great shop,” I said as I picked up a piece of quartz crystal. “Where do you get your stuff?”
“I get those from Hiddenite,” she said. “They honestly do have healing power. Some folks swear by magnets, but I’m a crystal fan myself.”
“Where’s the incense,” I asked.
Heather laughed. “I don’t carry it, I’m allergic. That’s why I don’t spend much time in your candle shop. Oh, you’ve got to see this.” Heather retrieved a candle from near the register and held it out to me. It was pale blue, with stones floating within the wax. “It’s beautiful,” I said as I handed it back to her.
“Belle made it for me. Isn’t it cool the way she stuck the stones into the wax?”
“Actually, the stones are laid in the mold first, then the wax is poured in around them.”
“You’re becoming quite the expert,” she said.
“I never realized before just how many ways there were to make candles. I’ve just started learning two methods, and there are a ton more to experiment with. Purely by accident, I think I’ve found my calling.”
“It wasn’t entirely by accident. Belle wanted you to have At Wick’s End.”
“What makes you say that? Did she ever say anything about her plans to you?”
Heather said, “‘No. but it was in her will, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, of course.” I looked around and asked “So where does Esme hang out during the day?”
“Are you kidding? The princess has her own pillow beside the cash register. It’s like she’s watching over the store all the time. Harrison, if you’re interested, I’ve got a friend whose cat just had kittens.”
“No thanks, I have no desire to add a roommate to my place.”
She said. “Are you sure?”
I said, “I’m positive, but I’d be happy to baby-sit Esmeralda any time you need me to.”
Heather grinned. “Just give me time, I’ll make a cat person out of you yet.”
“I’d say they were born, not made, wouldn’t you? I think for now I’ll settle for having one feline friend.” I glanced at my watch. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to open the shop.”
“Come back any time, Harrison.”
It was a quiet morning, but I managed to sell a few things before Eve was scheduled to arrive.
It was nearly noon when Heather came into the shop. “Harrison, I need a favor. Could I borrow your old truck for a while?”
Now what in the world could I say to that?
Chapter 15
Heather said, “Ordinarily I’d never ask, but I’ve got a new shipment of quartz from Hiddenite I need to pick up, and I’m afraid it’s too heavy for my car.”
“Don’t they deliver?” I asked, stalling for time so I could figure out what to do. If I said no without a valid reason, it would certainly put Heather off. On the other hand, could she be testing me? If she’d been the one to tamper with the brake lines, she might be checking to see if I’d found the problem.
She admitted, “They’ll bring my order here, but it costs twice as much, and honestly, I can’t afford to stock them that way.”
I asked, “So what about your store? Are you shutting it down while you go?”
“No, Mrs. Quimby came in a few minutes ago, and things are kind of slow right now.” She hesitated, then added, “Never mind, Harrison. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, I don’t mind, really. Tell you what. Why don’t you take Belle’s Ford? I just put gas in it.”
Heather said, “The old Dodge is fine.
Really, I don’t want to take a chance messing up Belle’s truck. She used to fuss at me all the time about my rocks. We had an arrangement where I’d borrow her truck, then gas it up when I got back.” Heather sighed, then added, “She wouldn’t take any payment from me, but she would let me buy her a pizza every now and then. Hey, I might even make an offer on your Dodge if I like it. The last thing in the world you need are two pickup trucks.”
There was no way to get out of this without sounding like a nut. A sudden thought occurred to me. I could use the situation as a test for her. “Fine. Here are the Dodge keys. Have a safe trip.”
Did her eyebrows raise a fraction at that? It had happened so quickly, I couldn’t be sure.
Eve came in as Heather was leaving, and I called out, “I’ll be right back,” to her as Heather disappeared. I couldn’t let her take the truck, not knowing that the brake lines had been tampered with, but I did want to see how far she’d go. I followed behind her, staying back, ready to stop her if she even put the key in the door.
She was two steps away when her cell phone rang. After a brief conversation, she turned abruptly on her heel, and caught me, dead to rights, following her.
“Harrison, what are you doing?”
“Eve came in to relieve me,” I said walking toward the Ford. “I figured I’d go out and grab a bite to eat. I thought you were going after your rocks.”
“I’ve changed my mind. Here are your keys.”
“Are you sure? I honestly don’t mind you taking one of the trucks,” I said.
“You don’t have two hours to kill right now, do you?”
I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t feel right about leaving Eve that long. She just came in.”
Heather looked disappointed by the news. “Don’t worry, I’ll get them another time. Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you go with me next time you take a day off? It could be a fun field trip. To be honest with you, I hate going alone. My supplier’s kind of creepy, and when I go by myself he makes me really uncomfortable. That call was from a girlfriend who was supposed to go with me, but she bailed out at the last second. Belle even used to ride along with me from time to time.”
“I’ll make time to go with you next week. I promise,” I said as I grabbed the truck keys out of her hand. “Want to grab a bite to eat with me?” I asked.
“I’d better not. I’m feeling guilty for leaving Mrs. Quimby alone. She’s got a cold.”
“Another time, then,” I said as she walked back to her shop.
I honestly doubted that Heather had been testing me, though she’d done nothing to remove herself from my suspect list. The means and opportunity were there, but my problem with her was the same as with everyone else.
I couldn’t for the life of me come up with a motive for Belle’s murder. The only thing I knew in my gut was that her death had been no accident. And someone had their sights on me for their next victim.
I decided to go get some pizza, but April May wasn’t at A Slice of Heaven. After lunch, I got back to the shop to find Eve in an uproar. “There you are. I was almost ready to call the police.”
“What happened? Were we robbed?”
“No, of course not, don’t be so melodramatic, Harrison.” She pointed to the shelves and I saw Mrs. Jorgenson standing there, studying a book on candlemaking.
I whispered, “What does she want?”
“She wouldn’t tell me. She insisted on speaking only with you.”
“I’d better go see what’s going on, then.” I wondered if she’d gotten another warning telephone call, or if the killer might have tried something even more direct.
I walked over to Mrs. Jorgenson and said, “We don’t have a lesson scheduled for today.”
“No, but I wanted your opinion about something. Pardon me for just dropping in like this.”
“You’re always welcome here, you should know that,” I said. “Where did you get that?” I asked her, noticing the elegant taper in her hand.
“I wanted you to see it for yourself,” she said as she held it out to me for inspection. I took the candle from her, looked at the smooth seemed edge, the carefully rolled body and the tight seating of the wick.
“So,” she asked, waiting for my pronouncement. “What do you think?”
I studied it a moment longer, then said, “Well, we don’t normally take candles to sell on consignment, but we might be able to find room for yours on the shelf.”
Her delight was evident, though she tried to hide it. “Posh. I don’t want to market it. I was just curious about your opinion.”
“I heartily approve. If you’d like more practice rolling candles, we can have another lesson, but frankly, I don’t think you need it.”
“No, I believe I’ve grasped the basics. Is it time to pour yet?”
I rubbed my hands together. “You bet. I’m dying to get to it.”
Chapter 16
After Mrs. Jorgenson was gone, Eve looked as if she were ready to cry.
I said, “Don’t worry, we’ll live to fight another day. She’s excited about the next phase in her curriculum.”
Eve didn’t have a chance to respond, as another customer came in, but the relief on her face was evident.
After I rang the sale up, I was ready to dig back into my books and start boning up on candle-pouring techniques.
Eve mentioned casually, “By the way, you had a visitor while you were at lunch.”
I couldn’t imagine Becka coming back, not after our last scene. “Who was it?”
“That attorney fellow.”
“Cragg? What did he want?”
Eve said, “No, the one who used to have Markum’s office; Belle’s attorney, Lucas Young. Honestly, that man used to flirt shamelessly with me.”
I had to fight my grin. “Did he want anything in particular, or was he here asking you out on a date?”
“Harrison, I don’t find that at all amusing. Actually, he seemed more interested in speaking with you than with me. I’m sure he’ll be back.”
Fighting to hide my grin, I said, “Maybe he really came by to see you, but he lost his nerve at the last minute.”
“Bite your tongue. He was here for you, but I imagine we’ll see him again soon. The man apparently has nothing better to do than to hover around Wick’s End.”
“Then I don’t have to worry about calling him back, do I?” A man walked into the shop, and I turned to Eve and asked, “Do you want this customer, or shall I take him?”
“By all means, be my guest,” she said.
After another long day, I was happy to head up to my apartment and lock the world out on the other side. I was beginning to realize that living on-site was a mixed blessing. It made the commute a breeze, but unfortunately, it also meant that I was there around the clock, good or bad, whenever anyone took the notion to see me.
Belle’s sanctuary on the roof began to make more and more sense. I thought about going up to the skyline retreat, but one glance out the window told me it wouldn’t be the best time to be outdoors. It was starting to rain, and the breeze was stirring up. In the distance, there was a hint of I thunder rumbling in the air. From the look of things, the weather wouldn’t be settling down anytime soon.
I had no desire to face the world though. I turned off the ringer on my phone, ate a quick sandwich, then curled up on the couch to read. It wasn’t Dame Agatha this time, as much as I would have loved to rejoin her in Miss Marple’s garden. I took the reference books I’d brought with me from the shop downstairs and started pouring over the texts. The bank deposit was still in its bag beside me, but in all honesty, I didn’t have the heart or the desire to fight the coming storm or my weariness. I’d drop it off tomorrow before the shop opened, and Eve would be none the wiser.
At least it wasn’t in danger of being stolen where it was.
I lit Belle’s candle to give me inspiration as I read. After spending two hours with the books studying all of the things that could go wrong with a wax pour, I was
beginning to be astounded that they ever turned out well. It still amazed me that candles could burn with dyes, fragrances, blocks of other waxes, even hard objects imbedded in them. I remembered how the wax would have swallowed up my first shell on my initial attempt at pouring, and realized suddenly what a wonderful hiding place the inside of a candle would be.
On a whim, I picked up Belle’s last candle and turned it over, not really expecting to find anything there.
At first I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the red bottom, but there was something about the way the light struck it that caught my eye. Was there a small square of wax that was lighter than the rest? I carried it closer to one of the floor lamps and studied it more carefully. Indeed, what was once hidden was now suddenly revealed. Belle had buried something within the mold. But why had she hidden it so carefully instead of making it a prominent part of the candle?
There was only one way to find out. Whispering a prayer asking for forgiveness, I took a hammer and screwdriver and started breaking up the last candle my great-aunt would ever pour on this earth.
The screwdriver my hand clattered to the floor as I found a small tightly wrapped packet imbedded within the candle’s base. What in the world was it doing there, where it had no right to be? My hands were shaking as I carefully unwrapped the package.
To my utter amazement, a twinkling diamond the size of my thumbnail tumbled out.
Now what was I going to do? My first instinct was to call Sheriff Coburn, but the way he’d been treating me lately, he’d probably claim it represented Belle’s life savings and then try to tell me that she’d been afraid of banks. That wasn’t fair, I knew he had more pressing worries than solving what he honestly believed to be an accidental death, but I still wasn’t sure what finding the diamonds really meant. It was pretty clear that Belle had uncovered evidence that someone near her had stolen the diamonds and killed the jewelry-store owner, but I was no closer to knowing who it was than the police were. What I did know, once and for all, was that Belle had been killed for what she knew. No one could claim that she’d tumbled off that ladder by accident. But who was the culprit? Clearly it had to be someone around River’s Edge. That was as far as Belle’s sphere of acquaintances reached.