by Tim Myers
I looked at the document and saw that he hadn’t decreased his own rent, something I’d been expecting. “I see you’ve got your current rent listed here.”
Cragg nodded “In exchange for you keeping the rent stabilized for two years at today’s level, I will also handle a modicum of legal duties for you, free of charge. Harrison, it’s important that you resist the temptation to raise rents throughout the complex, even though legally you have as much right to demand an increase as your tenants do to refuse and leave.”
I swear, that thought never even crossed my mind. “I just want things to stay the way they are.” I paused, then added, “Honestly though, I’m surprised by what a good deal Belle gave you.” I had no idea what the going rate for office space was in the town of Micah’s Ridge, but then again, we weren’t exactly in the hotbed of the business or legal district.
“Let’s just say I want to stay for more reasons than that and leave it.”
I knew it wasn’t my charming personality that was keeping Gary Cragg at River’s Edge, but then I always suspected he had a crush on Sanora. Could it be the lawyer had that big a soft spot for her? His next words left no doubt in my mind. “Our agreement is contingent on you resigning the complete roster of first-floor tenants. Do we understand each other?”
“Oh, yes, there’s ho doubt about it.” So if I lost Sanora or Heather, I’d lose Cragg as well. If I had to hire another attorney to do what he was willing to do free of charge, it might be enough to push me from the black into the red. “I’ll do what I can.”
“See to it” he said, dismissing me as he dug into his paperwork.
I went back to my apartment for a quick lunch. After all, I was going to need some fortification before I tackled the rest of my tenants.
After a quick bite, I changed my mind about approaching Heather and Sanora first. With the new leases, I decided to take the coward’s way out and approach those I thought would resign without much grief. Maybe then if I had every tenant signed but two, I could work something out with my remaining holdouts. In quick order I had Millie signed up again, as well as Suzanne and her antiques, and a handful of the others. By the time five o’clock was approaching, I only had three more signatures to collect Markum was a shoo-in, but the other two wouldn’t be easy.
I decided to tackle Heather first her shop. The New Age was right next door to mine, and I’d known her since the day I’d moved into River’s Edge. She’d been my first friend at the complex, and I couldn’t imagine the place without her. There were crystals dangling over the front door when I walked in, and I liked they way they announced each new arrival.
Heather was behind the cash register, frowning as she stroked Esmeralda, her pat and my sometime roommate. Esme lifted her head just as Heather did when I walked in, and they looked at me with the exact same expression on their faces.
“Hey, I’m not the enemy,” I said.
I offered Esme my hand, and she rubbed her head against it. At least the cat and I were still on speaking terms.
“You know you’re not the one I’m mad at, Harrison.” Almost as an afterthought, she added, “I don’t know if I told you, but I’m so sorry about Becka.”
.”Thanks.” I had the lease tucked away in my back pocket. “I heard you were threatening to leave. What’s going on between you and Sanora?”
“Believe me, you don’t want to get into the middle of this. It doesn’t concern anyone but us.”
“Well, I don’t have much choice, because I don’t want to lose either one of you.”
She looked surprised. “I know the grapevine around - here is pretty fast, but this is ridiculous.”
“Heather, ordinarily I’d respect your wishes rod butt out, but with this lease mix-up, I’m involved.” I pulled the agreement out of my pocket and shoved it toward her. “Would you sign this? As a favor to me? I don’t want to lose you.”
She looked at the lease like a mobster eyeing a subpoena. “Did she sign one?”
“I haven’t talked to her yet,” I said. “I’ve known you longer, but I don’t want to take sides here. I came to you first, though. That’s got to count for something.”
She said, “Harrison, maybe it’s time I moved on. This might just be a sign.”
I knew Heather believed in signs, omens and portents, so it was nothing to scoff at. “The only thing it’s a sign of is the incompetence of the lawyer who drew it up. I don’t want to run River’s Edge without you.”
Heather looked touched by the declaration, but stood her ground. “I can’t imagine going another two years with that woman at the other end of the complex.”
“At least tell me what this latest scuffle is about.”
“If you want to know, ask her.” Heather hesitated, then added, “Harrison, what happened to her probation? You can refuse to renew her lease if you wanted to.”
That’s just it She hasn’t given me the slightest cause to throw her out. Sanora belongs here, too.”
“I should have known you’d say that” Heather said huffily.
Esme looked at her owner, then at me. She sneezed (Mice, then jumped off the counter and landed with fluid grace. Her tail held proudly in the air, she showed us both what she thought of us at the moment
Heather said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m two dollars and thirty seven cents over, and I’m not leaving until my books balance.”
I tucked the lease back in my pocket and left her with her accounting problem. Hopefully I’d have better luck with Sanora. I surely couldn’t have any less.
She was throwing at her pottery wheel when I walked into The Pot Shot
Instead of Heather’s scowl, Sanora greeted me with a broad smile. “Harrison, it’s good to see you out and about. How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing better,” I said. “But that’s not why I’m here.”
Her smile dimmed. “Then I don’t want to talk about it” The tension in her voice was obvious as the vase she was turning suddenly collapsed under the pressure of her hands.
“Sorry, I hope I didn’t cause that,” I said.
She scraped the clay off the wheel. “It happens.”
After Sanora washed her hands, she dried them with a towel. I offered her the lease, but she wouldn’t touch it.
“Is there any chance you’ll sign this without a fuss?”
“Now what do you think,” she said as she brushed past me.
“I think you’re both making this harder than it has to be.”
Sanora said, “I can’t help you there. If Heather signs, let me know so I can start looking for another place.”
“Blast it, woman, she won’t even tell me what’s wrong. I suppose you’re mute on the subject as well.”
“Harrison, I’ll tell you anything you want to know. The problem’s with her, not me.”
I said, “Go ahead then, enlighten me.”
At that moment, a young woman came into the shop. “Excuse me. I’m looking for a dozen wedding gifts for my bridal party. Can you help me?”
Sanora said, “Absolutely, ma’am.” She turned to me and added, “We’ll finish this later.”
The bride-to-be said, “I’m not interrupting anything, am I? I can always come back. There are so many neat places in this complex. I can’t believe I never heard of it before.”
“Please, don’t go on my account,” I said quickly. “I was just leaving.”
Sanora mouthed a thank-you toward me, but she needn’t have. No matter how badly I wanted to know the source of the latest conflict between my tenants, the customer had to always come first. If Sanora had the opportunity to sell a dozen different pieces in one shot, I couldn’t interfere with that. I’d just have to be patient and wait until she could enlighten me. There was nothing left for me to do but to go back to the candleshop and see if I could make a sale like Sanora’s.
No such luck. Eve and I sold enough supplies over the course of the rest of the day to pay our wages, but just barely. As to the lighting bill, wel
l, we were going to have to rely on another day’s sales to do that I kept watching the door throughout the afternoon, expecting to see Sanora every time it opened, but by the end of the day I’d just about given up on her. When the door chime announced a visitor ten minutes before closing, I just knew it had to be her.
“Oh, it’s you,” I said as Markum walked into At Wick’s End.
“Well, I have to say, I’ve had warmer welcomes in my life.”
“Sorry, I was hoping Sanora would come by today.” ‘
He said, “I hope it wasn’t important I just saw her drive off.”
I drummed my fingers on the counter. “The thing is, it was important”
“Does this have anything to do with what we’ve been working on?’
“No, it’s about something else, but I still need to speak with her. Don’t worry about it. It can probably wait until tomorrow. So what’s up with you?”
He looked sideways at Eve, then said, “I was hoping you were free. We need to talk.”
I suddenly remembered Markum’s unsigned lease upstairs still sitting on my end table. “Yeah, I need to talk to you, too. Can you give me half an hour? I’ve got to finish up here.”
“That’s fine,” Markum said. “I’ll be at Millie’s. Come by when you’re finished.”
“I will,” I promised, and the big man left
After he was gone, Eve said, “You two are as thick as thieves these days, aren’t you?”
“We’re friends, if that’s what you mean.” Ordinarily I went out of my way to avoid angering Eve about anything, but I didn’t care for her tone whenever she spoke about Markum.
“I’m not at all certain Belle would be pleased with your friendship. I daresay she wouldn’t have approved at all.”
“My great-aunt rented him office space,” I said. “That’s all the blessing I need.”
“It’s your business,” she said curtly.
“Yes, it is,” I replied, with just as much frost in my voice as she’d had in hers.
Eve took my tone in, then looked at the clock. “If you’ll excuse me, I believe I’ll be leaving early today.”
I knew I’d done it, but there was no backing down now. After all, At Wick’s End belonged to me; me and the bank, at any rate. I knew from past experience how
Eve behaved when I offended her, but at that moment, I didn’t care how she felt.
Eve looked absolutely startled by my reply, but she couldn’t back down either. She grabbed her jacket, then left without saying good-bye. It was doubtful whether she’d bother coming in the next day, but I was tired of constantly tiptoeing around her. I’d learned enough during my time working at the candleshop to run the place solo, though I wasn’t at all eager to do it by myself. The point was, I could if I had to, something I wouldn’t have been able to say in the past. I was finally starting to consider myself a candlemaker, by vocation as well as avocation.
At least it was peaceful as I ran my reports off the register and balanced the till. I decided to let the deposit wait until the next morning before work. I had too much on my mind to bother with it at the moment I turned off the lights, locked the door to the candleshop, then walked over to Millie’s to see what Markum had uncovered since we’d last spoke. I glanced into Heather’s shop as I walked past it but the closed sign was up and all the lights were out
I was at the door of The Crocked Pot when Pearly Gray stopped me before I could walk inside. “Harrison, may I trouble you for a moment?”
I looked through the glass and saw Markum watching us. I held up one finger, and he nodded.
I turned back to Pearly and said, “Go ahead, what’s on your mind?”
“Actually, it’s about Sanora and Heather. Have you heard about the spat they’re having?”
“Yes, it’s just come to my attention. I haven’t been able to figure out what they’re fighting about let alone work on some kind of resolution. It’s a real mess. Do you happen to know what this is all about?”
“No, I’ve been reluctant up to this point to interfere, but it’s important we stop this before it has the opportunity to escalate. As you know, I’ve had some modicum of success in the past helping people resolve their issues with one another. I think I can help them in a private session.”
I knew Pearly had worked as a very successful psychologist before becoming the River’s Edge handyman in his “retirement,” but his suggestion still managed to startle me. “Are you saying you want them to go into couple’s therapy?”
“I’m thinking more along the lines of a conflict- resolution approach,” he said.
I patted his shoulder. “Pearly, you can call it whatever you’d like if you can get them both to stay at River’s Edge.”
“Excellent,” Pearly said, the gleam in his eyes growing sharper, “thank you, Harrison.”
“Don’t thank me,” I said, “I don’t want any of the credit for this, or any blame, for that matter. Just let me know how you do.”
“Absolutely,” he said, already lost in planning his approach to the volatile situation. I could tell that Pearly was eager to speak with the women in a professional capacity, though he’d been retired for some time. If he could patch things up between Heather and Sanora, he would be a miracle worker. And the best thing about it was that I wasn’t directly involved with the problem, at least for the time being.
I walked into The Crocked Pot and asked Millie, “How about a cup of coffee? Tell you what, why don’t you surprise me with the blend?” Millie loved it when
I was feeling adventurous. I added, “No more of those strong caffeine surprises, though. It took me three days to get to sleep the last time you mixed me one of your specialties.”
“It will be something gentle, I promise.”
“Are there any more of those orange-slice muffins in back?”
“Sorry, they’re all gone. But I’m making a fresh batch in the morning.”
I considered my waistline, then denied the direct evidence to the contrary that I needed to cut back. “Save three or four for me,” I said.
“You can have two,” she said, but I saw the dimples blossom on her cheeks.
I joined Markum and took a sip of coffee. Millie had kept her word; it was a gentle, nutty blend that I really liked. I said to him, “Sorry about that Pearly cornered me before I could get inside.”
“No problem, Harrison. Was it River’s Edge business?”
I nodded, but didn’t elaborate. The last thing I wanted to do was air our dirty laundry with customers around.
He accepted it at face value. “Any chance you could get that coffee to go? We’ve got a lot to talk about it and I’m not sure this is the right place for it”
“Sure thing,” I said, standing up and sipping the coffee. Millie let me take her mugs with me, as long as I brought them back by the next morning so they could be washed and put into circulation again. “You want to go to my apartment or your office?”
“Let’s go to my office,” he said. “There’s something there I want to show you.”
We walked upstairs together, but I stopped at my apartment door before we got to his office. “I’ll just be a second.”
I went in, moved the deposit pouch from under my arm to under the couch, then retrieved Markum’s lease. The deposit would have been better off in the bank, or even in somebody’s safe, but my hiding place under the couch would be fine until I could take it in the morning. I’d made a mistake with a deposit when I’d first taken over At Wick’s End by leaving it in my truck, but that had never happened again. I’d learned that particular lesson all too well.
I tucked the lease in my back pocket and walked down the hall to Markum’s office. The travel posters on the walls had changed since I’d been there last. For a man who spent so much of his time in exotic locales, he never seemed to grow tired of the vistas of faraway lands.
I took the lease out and slid it across the desk toward him.
“What’s this?” he asked.
&nbs
p; “Didn’t you get Cragg’s letter? Everyone else in the building got one.”
“Oh, you mean the one about the lease?” He edged the document back across the desk toward me with the butt of his pen. “Are you sure you want to renew my option here? I know how some of the folks at River’s Edge feel about my presence.”
“Just sign it, Markum. I’m having enough trouble with Heather and Sanora. I don’t need any from you.”
He smiled as he uncapped his pen, then signed his name with a flourish. I took the lease back, folded it and stuck it back in my pocket. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, what did you find out?”
Chapter 9
“There’s really no easy way to tell you this,” Markum said. “I found out who Becka was seeing.”
“It was Hank Klein, the newspaper guy,” I said flatly.
Markum sat up in his chair. “Now how in creation did you come up with that? It took me most of the day to figure it out, and I had to call in half a dozen favors to do it.”
I felt guilty about not sharing what I’d discovered, but there was nothing I could do about it now. “It was sheer dumb luck,” I admitted. “I heard him talking this morning when I dropped in to get a newspaper. It clicked that his voice was the one on Becka’s answering machine.”
Markum nodded. “I fed better about it, then. We’ve got two sources that are giving us the same answer.”
“We’re not reporters working on a story. I don’t care if we have verification or not”
Markum said, “Harrison, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I know you’re taking this personally, there’s no way you couldn’t, but don’t let that interfere with what we’re doing. Have you thought about how we’re going to handle the situation once we find out who killed Becka?’
‘That’s easy. We tell Sheriff Morton.”
“Do you honestly think he’s going to believe us? We might not exactly have proof that would stand up in court, do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”