A Flicker of Doubt (Book 4 in the Candlemaking Mysteries)

by Tim Myers

  I felt a cold chill sweep through me. “What are you suggesting, that we punish the killer ourselves?’

  “It happens more often than you might think,” he said.

  I stood up. “I don’t like the way this conversation is heading.”

  “It’s something we need to consider, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “I don’t have to like it, though, do I?” I walked out of his office, barely acknowledging his good night on my way out. Did he mean what I thought he did? Was Markum suggesting we punish the offender ourselves? It was too much for me to take. I went back to my apartment, added Markum’s lease to the others I had, then I double-dead-bolted my door.

  For tonight, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. Esme herself wouldn’t have been welcome. As I cleaned out my pockets, I found the article I’d cut out of the newspaper. I’d forgotten to share it with Markum, but I was in no mood to even be in the same room with him at the moment I put it on my dresser and did my best to forget about what I’d just heard from my best friend.

  I’d just settled down with a Charlotte MacLeod novel I’d never read when there was a knock on my door. I wasn’t in the mood to see anyone, and I thought about pretending I wasn’t there.

  “Harrison? Are you there?”

  It was the sheriff. He was one person I couldn’t afford to ignore.

  I opened the door. “Come on in.”

  He stepped past me, his hat in hand, and said, “Sorry it’s so late, but I need to talk to you about a few things.”

  “Did you find anything out about Becka?”

  “No, as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to talk about there.” He spun his sheriff’s hat in his hands, a sure sign he was unhappy about something. “First, the woman you asked me about who drowned in Larkspur Lake. They found her fishing boat this morning. Evidently she tripped and fell off. The coroner says she hit her head as she went overboard.”

  “Or maybe somebody hit her over the head, then tossed her over the side.”

  “Harrison, stop looking for conspiracies and cover- ups everywhere. It was an accident”

  “Maybe. What else did you want to talk to me about?”

  “We need to discuss the situation with Cyrus.”

  That got my attention. “What about him? Is he all right?”

  Morton said, “Slow down. He’s fine, as far as I can tell. He wants you to leave him alone.” The words rushed out, and I could tell how much the sheriff hated having to say them.

  “Wait a second, let me get this straight. You’re here to give me a message like that? You’ve got to be kidding.”

  His glare burned right through me. “Does it look like I’m kidding? If you bother him anymore, he told me to tell you that he’ll press charges for trespassing and stalking and harassment and anything else I can come up with. Harrison, the man’s old and he’s tired. Leave him alone.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Morton, we’ve been friends since I took over this place, at least I thought we were. Runion started sniffing around Cyrus’s land and I went to see him. The first time I was there he wouldn’t come out and face me. When I came back the next time, he had some kind of bodyguard at the door. I don’t get it”

  “He doesn’t want to see you, or anyone else. Don’t take it personally, Harrison, the guy’s allowed to be a little eccentric, as old and as rich as he is.”

  Morton started for the door, but I stepped in his way. “Did you see him face-to-face? I just want to know that he’s all right”

  The sheriff looked annoyed. “No, he called me on the phone. I’m doing this for you as much as I am for .him. He’s serious, Harrison.”

  It wasn’t good enough for me, though. “So he picks up the telephone and you hop right over here. He’s got you trained pretty well, doesn’t he?”

  I saw Morton’s jaw tighten and realized I’d pushed the sheriff too far with my last comment. He took a few seconds, gathered his calm, then said, “You’ve had a rough couple of days, so I’m going to let that slide.” He headed for the door again, and this time I stepped out of his way. Morton was just about to leave when he turned back to me and said, “Cyrus and my daddy used to be fishing buddies. I’ve known that man my entire life, and you should know that I’d crawl through glass for him.”

  “Then you should be as concerned as I am about him,” I said.

  “Leave him alone, Harrison.”

  Then the sheriff was gone.

  I took Morton’s warning seriously, but I wasn’t going to give up on my friend. Cyrus’s behavior couldn’t be passed off as an old man’s eccentricity. He’d been scared about something when I’d visited him, and if Morton wasn’t willing to look into it, I was going to have to add it to my list

  I was at Millie’s the next day for breakfast collecting my orange slice muffins, when I saw Markum sitting alone in one corner of the café. It was the earliest I’d ever seen him awake, and I had to make up my mind in a heartbeat how I was going to handle being around him after what we’d talked about the night before.

  I decided he was too good a friend to lose over what had been said. I walked straight to his table and said, “I didn’t think your alarm clock worked this early.” I added a smile to take the edge off my words.

  He looked relieved when I said it “If you want to know the truth, I haven’t been to bed yet”

  I tapped his cup. “Here’s a tip. If you’re trying to beat insomnia, coffee’s not going to be much help.”

  He laughed as he scooted out the chair across from him. “Sit down.”

  “I’ll be right back,” I said.

  Millie was at the counter with a pair of orange slice muffins on a plate. I said, “Hey, I thought we agreed on three.”

  She smiled. “Good morning to you, too, Harrison.”

  “Hi, Millie. So what happened to my third muffin?”

  She pulled the plate back. “Honestly, I’m beginning to think you should just get one.”

  I grabbed it before she could slide the treats completely out of my reach. ‘Two sound great. Any chance I can get some cold milk to go with these?”

  “I’ve got a glass chilling in the freezer for you. It should be icy by now”

  I took the milk and saw it had a crust of white ice across its top. “Thanks, it’s perfect”

  She said, “I don’t know how you can drink it that cold. It would shatter my teeth if I tried it”

  “This is the only way to drink milk,” I said. I took the glass and the plate of muffins to Markum’s table. He shuddered when he saw what I had.

  “I haven’t had a glass of milk since I was nine,” he said. “Millie’d better do something about that refrigerator; it’s got to be broken.”

  “She had this in the freezer for me,” I said, not explaining my preference.

  He didn’t comment, which was something I liked about Markum. The man knew when to let something go and when to pursue it. We chatted as we ate, and just about the only thing we didn’t discuss was Becka Lane. It was as if the last two days hadn’t happened at all. The orange slice muffins were even better than I’d remembered, and when I’d finished my second, I was looking at Millie hoping she’d have a third waiting for me. No such luck. I was turning into a real bakery glutton being around her, so I decided to stop at two. The fact that Millie wouldn’t let me have a third helped me hold to my resolve.

  I cleaned up the table and said, “If you’ve got some time, we can finish what we started last night.”

  He looked surprised. “I thought you had a candleshop to run.”

  I glanced at the clock over Millie’s counter and said, I’ve got an hour before I have to be there. Do you have the time and the energy, or would you rather do it later?”

  He stood. “Now’s as good a time as any.”

  As we walked upstairs to his office, I said, “When do you think we should confront Klein?”

  “Not yet I want to cover everything else we’ve got before I tackle him. I did
talk to Runion about your other trouble with your friend Cyrus.”

  As we walked into Markum’s office, I took my seat across from his desk and asked, “Did you have any luck with him?” I wasn’t going to mention the source of our tension the night before, and if I knew Markum, he wasn’t about to bring it up either.

  “The man’s as slippery as a snake oil salesman and has the constitution of one to boot. I got him to admit a few things before he clammed up, though.”

  I didn’t doubt Markum would be able to find a way around Runion’s reticence. “What did he say?”

  “He’s got big plans for the piece of land next to yours, and from the way he swaggered around his office, it’s close to a done deal. I was trying to break the ice with him, posing as a possible investor. I figured to discuss his schemes a little before I brought Becka’s name into the conversation. If there’s one thing a rooster likes to do, it’s strut.”

  “So what happened after you brought Becka’s name up? Could he explain why she had his phone number in her purse?”

  Markum frowned. “He clammed up in a heartbeat, and it was all he could do to keep from throwing me out of his office. Harrison, I’ve been wondering if we’re wrong about Klein being Becka’s secret boyfriend, despite what we first thought.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Markum said, “We were both pretty convinced that it was Klein’s voice on the tape, but I’m not so sure anymore. I found myself wondering if Runion’s voice could have been a match as well as Klein’s, and I’m sorry to say I couldn’t rule out either one of them.”

  “You had your other source, too.”

  “One that turned out to be less reliable than I first thought.” He shook his head. “Don’t forget, Becka did have Runion’s telephone number in her purse. That’s got to mean something.”

  “She wouldn’t have to write her boyfriend’s number down to remember it, would she?”

  Markum frowned, stood, then stared at a poster of Bali. “If the relationship was new enough, maybe she did. I’m afraid we can’t rule him out”

  “So she was either sleeping with a muckraking married newspaper publisher or a sleazy developer. It doesn’t speak well of Becka’s taste in men, does it?’

  “You can’t judge her, Harrison, she’s beyond that. Remember, she broke up with whoever it was she’d been seeing. The question is, why? If it was Klein, did she dump him because he was married? If Runion was the man, maybe she stumbled across something he was doing, something she couldn’t live with.”

  “So, instead of getting clearer, we’ve managed to muddy the water more.”

  He frowned and ran his hands through his unruly black hair. “I admit it’s more complicated than I first thought. Don’t worry, though, we’re not finished yet.” He stifled a yawn, then said, “Excuse me.”

  “Listen, why don’t you see if you can catch a nap? I’ve got to open the candleshop in ten minutes, and we can’t do anything at the moment”

  He nodded. “I think I will. If you need me, call. Don’t worry about waking me up.”

  “Do you want to use my couch for your nap? I don’t mind.” I paused, then added, “I’d offer you my bed, but I don’t have any clean sheets on hand.”

  He slapped my shoulder with a meaty hand. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to head home. Remember, call me if anything occurs to you. I can’t help but think we’re missing something.”

  Markum locked his office behind us and. we parted company outside.

  I saw Heather leaving her shop, an odd thing to be happening ten minutes before opening, but she met my greeting with a sharp wave of her hand and scampered past me as she hurried to The Crocked Pot I hoped Pearly had better luck than I had resolving the conflict my tenants were putting us all through. I didn’t want to face too many more days in the midst of Heather’s and ‘ Sanora’s feud. If I didn’t desperately want them both at River’s Edge, I was tempted to let them battle it out with v the loser leaving the complex forever. After Heather was gone, I walked to At Wick’s End and started to put my f key in the lock.

  That’s when I realized that it was already open. .

  Someone had gotten to my candleshop before me, but I knew Eve wasn’t scheduled to come in until noon.

  That left a dozen possible reasons why At Wick’s End was open, and none of them were good.

  Chapter 10

  “Who’s there?” I called out as I walked into At Ml Wick’s End. I probably should have called Morton before going inside, but blast it all, that candleshop belonged to me.

  “I’ve got a gun,” I said, for some insanely irrational reason.

  “Then I certainly hope the safety’s on,” a cultured voice called out from back. I felt my heart settle back down as Pearly stepped out of the shadows.

  “What are you doing here in the dark?” I asked as I flipped on the main bank of lights. Nothing happened.

  “You asked me to replace the light switch in back, remember? I was forced to cut the breaker for the entire store because whoever installed the fuse box left some ,’ sketchy notes that are impossible to decipher.”

  “That’s fine. Sony about the threat”

  He laughed. “You were quite convincing, actually. I found myself fighting the urge to come out with my hands up.” He tossed a switch in his hand and said, “I’ve replaced the culprit, so as soon as I can reengage the fuse box, you’ll have power again, and a working switch as well.”

  “Thanks, Pearly,” I said. “Have you had a chance to speak with Heather and Sanora yet?”

  “No, but I’ve got them on my schedule. I have high hopes, Harrison.”

  “Listen, don’t take it as a personal insult if you can’t work things out between them,” I said as I walked him to the door.

  “You should have more faith in me than that,” he said, a smile on his lips.

  “I’m just saying that their history runs hot and deep. Keep that in mind.”

  He patted my shoulder gently. “Thank you for your concern.”

  Three minutes later the overhead light came on and I had power in the candleshop again. I just hoped Pearly would be as successful when he talked to Heather and Sanora.

  It was a busy morning, and I was happy for the distractions of selling candlemaking supplies to the public. The more I worked in At Wick’s End, the larger my list of customers grew, and more importantly, the bigger my circle of friends. I knew folks who traveled in all walks of life. When my great-aunt left me River’s Edge, I never dreamed she’d be changing my life so much. I still had her letter in a simple frame upstairs, the one where she’d first told me I was about to inherit the complex. I could remember reading it in the lawyer’s office, amazed by the scope of what Belle was suggesting.

  The most important words she’d given me were when she’d said, “Candles bring light into the world, my boy, and we need all the illumination we can get.” I tried to live up to those words every day.

  A middle-aged woman came into the shop and went directly to the mold releases. If she’d been in the store before, I hadn’t noticed her.

  “Can I help you?” I asked.

  She looked at me through squinted eyes. “I don’t know, can you? I assume you are willing to assist me, since you appear to be working in this establishment, but that is the question, isn’t it? Can you help me?”

  “I surely hope so,” I said, not sure what I was getting myself into. “Do you need some release?”

  “I do indeed. Belle Black, the proprietress here and the woman I assume is your immediate superior, used to carry a product in a gray and red can, but I’m afraid I’ve forgotten the name of it.”

  I said, “You’re looking for Yukon Release.” I handed her a can, then said, “They changed the label, but the product’s still the same. Will there be anything else?”

  She looked around the store,, then said, “I was hoping ‘ to spend a moment or two chatting with Belle. I’ve been touring Australia. She’d yearned to go with me, but I�
��m afraid her finances and commitments here limited her traveling.” She patted her handbag and said, “I’ve brought her a souvenir I know she’ll absolutely adore.”

  I hadn’t had to tell any customers about my great- aunt’s demise in months, and I was finally hoping I wouldn’t have to anymore. Belle was loved by a great many people, and I hadn’t found an easy way to pass the news on, despite countless times to practice.

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but she died while you were away.” I said, not wanting to go into details unless I was pressed.

  “Oh, dear. That’s dreadful,” the woman said as she stumbled back against a shelf full of votive molds. “Was it her heart?”

  I shook my head. “I’m afraid it was more ominous I than that. She was killed here in the candleshop.”

  “That is ghastly,” the woman said. “And you’re the new owner? Did Eve leave you as well?”

  “I’m the owner, but Eve’s still here. I’m Harrison Black,” I said as I offered her my hand.

  “Candace Grishaber,” she said. It took her a moment, then she added, “Black, did you say? Were you related to Belle?”

  “She was my great-aunt,” I said.

  “And she was my great friend,” she said. “I’ll miss her.”

  “As do I,” I said. I couldn’t bear the thought of spending any more time dwelling on the past. It left me sad and empty inside, and it did nothing to bring Belle’s memory back. “Are you done?”

  She arched one eyebrow. “I suppose if I were a turkey I might be done. As it is though, I am human, therefore I am finished.”

  I started to reply when she said, “Forgive a retired English teacher. We never quite get over correcting our students.”

  “You’re forgiven,” I said as I rang up her purchase. “I hope you visit again.”

  “You can count on it, my dear young man.”

  Eve walked in for her shift ten minutes after Mi Grishaber had gone. When I told her about the visit, Eve said, “Belle really did want to go with Candace, but she couldn’t swing it I told her it was just as well. The woman’s fussbudgeting would have driven her crazy inside a week. No, that’s not fair. Belle would have found it charming. On the other hand, I would have shoved her out of the jet before we even took off.”