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

by Tim Myers

  “I’ll miss her more than her money,” I said.

  “I know you will, but there will be other students and t other classes. In the meantime, you should celebrate. . You made enough today off two sales to shut the candleshop down for a month and still have money left over.”

  “You can take some time off if you’d like, but I can’t think of anyplace else in the world I’d rather be than right here.”

  She laughed. “What a difference your time here has made. I had my doubts the first day you walked into River’s Edge, I’m not afraid to admit it”

  ‘That made two of us. I’ve got it in my blood now, though, there’s no getting rid of me.”

  The rest of the day was happily uneventful, and though I still worried about what had happened with Becka, there wasn’t much else I could do about it I sent. Eve home early, knocked off five minutes before closing myself, then headed out to the truck to make my deposit for the night

  I was nearly to my truck when someone stepped out of the shadows.

  I’d found Greg Runion after all.

  Or more accurately, he’d found me, and from the pistol in his hand, it was pretty obvious he wasn’t all that happy to see me.

  Chapter 20

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him.

  “You know what I want. Give me the papers Becka stole from my office and I’ll be in my way. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you if you do what I say.”

  “What are you talking about, Runion? I don’t have any papers.”

  He glanced back at his SUV and said, “Jeanie couldn’t have been lying about that, too. She told me Becka stole the forged contracts for Cyrus’s land and gave them to you for safekeeping, along with a packet of incriminating photographs. You had to butt in where you had no business, didn’t you? Why did you do it, Harrison? I almost had it all in my hands, and you blew it for me.”

  “Listen, you’ve got to believe me. I don’t know what you’re talking about Jeanie isn’t telling you the truth.”

  “Now I’m not sure who to believe,” he said. “It looks like you’re going to have to die anyway, just like that nosy ex-girlfriend of yours.”

  “So you killed her?”

  “Becka didn’t want to take the pills, but I forced her to do it. I told her she’d have a better chance beating the overdose than a bullet.”

  “But why kill her at all? What did she do to you? Is this whole tiling about Cyrus and his land?”

  Runion snorted. “You really don’t know anything, do you? Becka caught me doing something far more criminal than a fraudulent land deal. Before I could rectify a certain situation, she threatened to turn me in. I didn’t have any choice.”

  “The barrels,” I said softly. “You were dumping something illegally and she caught you at it.” The pieces all began to fall into place. “You stashed them on Cyrus’s land, didn’t you? They’re somewhere near here. That’s why you had to go after him, so you could get control of his land.”

  “Amazing, you got it on the first try. Too bad it’s not going to do you any good. As soon as I take care of you, I’m going to finish Jeanie off, too.” Runion glanced back at his SUV, and I didn’t doubt she was back there. He continued, “She deserves it if anybody does; she’s nearly as guilty as I am in all this. Maybe a lover’s suicide pact between you two will work for the police. They bought Becka’s death without much problem.” He smiled, but there wasn’t the slightest bit of warmth as he added, “I’m really going to enjoy killing Jeanie. I can’t believe how many times she’s lied to me in the last hour. You know, my life would have been so much easier if everyone had cooperated with me to begin with.”

  His finger tightened on the trigger, so I said, “You’re right, I was lying. I’ve got the packet I just didn’t know what was in it. I’ll get you what you came for, but you have to let Jeanie go if I do.”

  “So she can run to the police and lie to them, too? I don’t think so.”

  “Runion, I’m offering you a head start. If you kill us both, the police will find what you’re looking for before you will.”

  “I didn’t think you had the papers,” he said.

  “Hey, a man’s entitled to bluff, isn’t he?” I was hoping he’d buy it, since it was something Runion would have done himself. If I fed him enough of a premise of trickery and double-crossing, it might just save my life, and Jeanie’s, too.

  The gun lowered somewhat, and his finger eased. “So where are they?”

  “Not just yet. She goes free first.”

  “Why do you keep trying to save Jeanie? She’s far from innocent here.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Harrison, there’s no way I’m going to let her go.”

  “Okay,” I said, thinking fast “Then bring her upstairs with us. Once you see what I’ve got, we’ll make the trade.”

  He thought he had me, I could see it by the way his pupils dilated. I was going to have to do something; when we got to my apartment, but at least I’d bought some time.

  “Yeah, I guess that will work. Let me get her.” He jabbed the gun in my direction. “If you run, she’s dead.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I said, and I meant it. There was no way I wanted Jeanie’s blood on my hands.

  She was gagged and her hands were tied when he pulled her out of the SUV.

  “Untie her, Runion.”

  “No way, and I’m not taking the tape off her mouth, either. She can walk fine just the way she is.” He told Jeanie, “Don’t get any bright ideas. Harrison and I had a long talk while you were in the car. He knows you’re just as guilty as I am.”

  As the three of us started for the front of the building, I said, “So you were the one who sent the goons to Becka’s apartment after she died.”

  “Yeah, I knew she had a picture there, or some kind of evidence, but they didn’t find it.”

  “That’s because I got there first.”

  That caught his attention. “Good, I can get it when we’re upstairs, too.”

  “Sorry, Markum’s keeping it in a safe place.”

  “I knew you two were in on this together,” he snapped. “I’ll deal with him later.”

  “There’s going to be a rash of suicides not even Morton’s going to buy,” I said as he pushed Jeanie forward.

  “Don’t worry. Markum’s going to have an accident, and a bloody one at that.”

  Oh, great. Now I’d gotten my best friend into the same jam I was in. I kept hoping for inspiration as we climbed the stairs, but none came. Maybe Markum had I seen what had happened and was waiting on us on the second-floor landing. The hallway was empty. It looked like our time had finally run out. Once we were all inside, Runion seemed to relax.

  “So where’s the stuff?”

  I had a sudden thought and decided there was nothing to lose by going for it. “The papers are in a storage bin on the roof.”

  “Come on, Harrison, you’ve got to be kidding.”

  “It’s the safest place I know. The only access is through my bedroom closet.”

  “Then lead the way.”

  “I’ll grab your papers and come back down,” I said as I showed him the scuttle.

  “I don’t think so. For all I know you have a telephone up there. I’m coming with you.”

  “Come on, what am I going to do? Jeanie can’t climb up, not with her hands tied.”

  I was hoping that if he untied her, we might have a better chance against him than we did at the moment. I didn’t know if she was as guilty as Runion claimed, but Jeanie was the only one I had on my side who might be able to help me out of this jam.

  Runion considered it a few seconds, then said, “No, I can’t watch both of you when you’re up there.” Runion grabbed Jeanie as she shot me a look of disbelief. “It’s okay,” I told her.

  “Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” Runion said. “Just stand right there, and don’t try anything stupid.” He led her to the bathroom, shoved her roughly inside, then I watch
ed helplessly as he duct-taped her to the towel bar. Too bad the builder had imbedded it in concrete. The bathroom was industrial, and I doubted she’d ever be able to pull herself free. To be on the safe side, Runion took a chair and jammed it under the doorknob once he locked her in, yanking on it to see if it would hold.

  I was going to have get out of this without Jeanie’s help.

  Runion nudged me with the gun and said, “Let’s go, I don’t have all night”

  I started climbing the scuttle steps, unbolted the hatch, then threw it open. I figured I’d have five seconds before Runion could join me up there, but as I scrambled for something, some kind of weapon to use against him, he popped his head up, the revolver pointed right at my gut.

  “Stand over there,” he commanded. “Don’t you have any lights up here?”

  “I never come up at night,” I lied. I was hoping he’d missed the flashlight I kept inside.

  He did. At least that was something. Once Runion joined me up there, he said, “So where are they? I hate being up high.”

  I started going for the storage box, thinking I might be able to use the umbrella to knock the gun out of his hand, but then I thought better of it. If I was going to die, it wasn’t going to be defending myself with an umbrella.

  Maybe I could use his fear of heights to my advantage. I veered away from the storage bin and walked toward the edge of the roof without slowing down. Thankfully there was a new moon, giving barely enough light to see the sky with. The roof was dark and I was having trouble seeing the edge, but I knew if we stayed up there much longer, both of us would start to get our night vision and my newly formed plan wouldn’t work.

  “Hey, that’s far enough,” he said.

  “Why don’t you wait right here and I’ll grab the papers, if you’re scared.”

  Runion made a short bark of a laugh. “I’ m not afraid of anything, candle man.”

  I got as close to the edge as I could, trying to see some discernable line where the building ended and the air started. There, I caught a glimpse of it at the last second. It was time to act. If I got shot, at least I would die trying to save myself.

  Runion was too close behind to stop as I whirled, grabbed his gun arm and swung him around. Two shots went off, and I felt one of them whisper past my cheek. I let him go, more out of reaction than plan, and Runion’s foot missed the edge. He fell thirty feet screaming, and the noise stopped only after he hit the ground.

  I didn’t know if he was alive or dead, and at the moment, I didn’t care.

  I hurried down the scuttle steps, thought about freeing Jeanie, but decided to check on Runion first. Not without reinforcements, though. I banged on Markum’s door, and to my relief, he answered.

  “I’m on the phone,” he snapped, until he saw my face. He said, “I’ll have to call you back.” After he hung up, Markum said, “What happened? Were those gunshots I heard? Are you bleeding?”

  “Come on. I need your help. Bring your phone, too.”

  I was in no mood to explain myself, and Markum accepted it We hurried down the stairs, and I worried that Runion would be gone, like a scene from a bad teen scream movie. He was still there, though, the pistol he’d held on me lying ten feet away from him. At first I thought he was dead. Then I heard him moaning, and I knew the fall hadn’t killed him. I didn’t know whether I was happy about that or not since he’d killed Becka and had been prepared to kill Jeanie and me as well. Ultimately I knew I’d be happy that I hadn’t killed him with that shove off the roof, but for the moment the urge to pick up that pistol and use it was nearly overwhelming. Markum waited, watching me, and as soon as the moment passed, he said, “You made the right decision. Let the courts chew this guy up.”

  I nodded, amazed that I could have felt the desire to kill him, even if it had passed as quickly as it had come.

  “Do you want me to call the cops first, or an ambulance?” Markum asked.

  “He’s not going anywhere. Call nine-one-one and let them decide.”

  I started back to the front of the building, and Markum called out, “Where are you going? Morton’s going to want to talk to you.”

  “He can wait,” I said. “There’s somebody upstairs who needs me.”

  “He didn’t shoot somebody else, did he?”

  “No, but he was going to. I’ll be right back.”

  I went upstairs and freed Jeanie. Pulling the tape off her mouth had to hurt, but if she felt it; she didn’t let on. “Where is he?” she said angrily.

  “He’s down on the ground. I pushed him off the roof.”

  “I hope you killed him,” Jeanie said.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but he’s still alive.”

  She pushed past me, and I asked, “Where are you going?’

  “To finish the job,” she said.

  I put a hand on her shoulder. “I understand the impulse, but I already called the police.”

  “Maybe I can get to him before they can.” I couldn’t believe sweet Jeanie was ready to finish what I’d started with Runion. I was more afraid of her at the moment than I had been of her boss.

  I followed Jeanie downstairs. She stopped abruptly at the door when she saw two police cruisers pull up with their red lights flashing. She turned to me. “Don’t say anything about what you’ve heard. If Runion manages to pull through, we’ll claim he’s lying.”

  “I don’t fully understand what’s going on here.”

  “There’s no time to explain it all now,” she said. “Just go along with me on this and I’ll make you rich.”

  I grabbed her shoulder and spun her toward me. “Make the time. What’s going on, Jeanie?”

  “I’ve got enough evidence from Becka to hang Runion, but I don’t want to use it unless I have to. Your old girlfriend trusted me, can you believe that? I wasn’t sure if Becka told you anything, so I started hanging around here. I knew Runion was getting ready to run. I finally found his account numbers for the Bahamian bank, and I’ve been looking for a way to get his money for years. Why do you think I stuck with him all that time? It surely wasn’t because of his personality. Harrison, he’s got two million dollars squirreled away somewhere. I’ve got everything we need to claim it in my pocket It means that a half a million is yours just for keeping your mouth shut”

  “Where’d the money come from?” I asked.

  “Runion scammed most of it from Cyrus and Grover. Come on, Harrison, they’re both so rich they won’t even notice it’s gone. That’s a lot of money I’m offering you to stay quiet about it”

  “I don’t think so,” I said.

  She studied me for a second, then said, “You’re tougher than I thought you were. Okay, we’ll split it down the middle, even if you are blackmailing me. I’m being more than fair here, Harrison, considering I did all the work. I helped cheat them both; even Runion admitted he couldn’t have done it without me. Are you ready to go?”

  “I am now,” I said.

  We walked outside to where Runion had fallen, and I saw the paramedics working on him. “How is he?” I asked.

  “He’s got two broken legs and a broken arm. He’s going to make it, but he’s going to be in a world of hurt in the meantime.”

  “I can live with that,” I said.

  Morton said, “What happened here tonight, Harrison?”

  “Runion thought I had something that belonged to him, but I didn’t” I saw Jeanie watching me closely. I added, “Markum, do you still have that torn picture we got from Becka’s place?”

  “It’s up in my office. Why did he want that?’

  “Becka found out Runion was dumping barrels of chemicals on Cyrus’s land, and she was trying to turn him in. He got wind of it, so he killed her.” I stared at Morton. “He admitted it to me, sheriff.”

  Morton shook his head as the ambulance sped off. “Harrison, I’m sorry. What can I say? I dropped the ball on this one. Is that all you have for me? I’ve got his weapon, and Markum told me Runion took a couple of shots at y
ou up on the roof. If nothing else, we can get him for attempted murder and assault for what he did to you and Cyrus. Harrison, you should get that cheek looked at”

  “It barely scratched me,” I said as I watched Jeanie’s expression. She looked absolutely ecstatic that I hadn’t said anything about the money to the sheriff.

  Morton was just about to his cruiser when I called out, “One more thing you should know.”

  “What’s that?”

  I pointed at Jeanie. “He kidnapped her, too, but she’s not entirely innocent here. If you search her, you’ll find the number for a secret bank account worth two million dollars, jammed with money that rightfully belongs to Grover and Cyrus. She was getting ready to steal it for herself when Runion caught her.”

  “You fool,” Jeanie said as she launched herself at me. She never made it Markum grabbed her shoulders and restrained her, then Morton took over from there. “You could have been rich, you idiot,” she snarled.

  “It wouldn’t have been worth it if I had to keep looking over my shoulder for you every second of the rest of my life,” I said. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  Morton shoved her in the back of the patrol car. “What say you come downtown with me and we’ll talk about this?”

  “I didn’t do anything,” she screamed.

  “Not from a lack of trying,” the sheriff said.

  After they were gone, Markum said, “You’ve had a busy night, haven’t you? It’s not every man who could turn down a million dollars like that.”

  “You would have, though, wouldn’t you?”

  Markum thought about it a moment then said, “Let’s just say I’m glad I wasn’t the one she offered it to.”

  Chapter 21

  Ruth Nash came by the candleshop the next day. “I understand you had some excitement out here last night.”

  Too much for me,” I said, touching the bandage on my cheek. I didn’t want to think about what might have happened if that bullet had hit me a few inches over. As it was, I’d endured a tetanus shot at the hospital, but it hadn’t required stitches. “Have they told you what Runion was doing on your brother’s land?”