by Tim Myers
Cragg didn’t comment, and the big man left.
Robyn was still frowning at Cragg. “You know better than that, Gary. Go on.”
He looked at Robyn incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”
“You’d better believe I am. Go home, go somewhere
and cool off, and don’t come back until you can act with some decorum.”
He shook his head and walked out, going right past me in the stacks. Cragg didn’t notice me, and I wasn’t about to call attention to myself. I waited until he was gone, then joined Robyn.
I said, “What was that all about?”
“I’m not one of these modern apologists who believe rowdiness belongs in the stacks. Libraries are meant for reading and contemplation, not debating and fistfights.”
“Wow, I never knew you were so tough,” I said, fighting to hide my smile.
“I can be, when it comes to oafs and barbarians. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“I was wondering if you had any biographies on Genghis Khan. Tyrants have always fascinated me.”
“If you’ve forgotten your alphabet again, sing your ABCs.”
I smiled. “Let me see, how does that go again?”
“Bye, Harrison.”
After she was gone, I picked out a few books and checked them out at the circulation desk. Heading back to River’s Edge, I wondered who the behemoth Cragg had been arguing with was. From the sound of it, a woman was at the heart of their disagreement, and I couldn’t help believing that woman was Sanora Gaston. Was it possible she was involved with that stranger? He didn’t seem like he was her type, but then again, who knew for sure? Aaron had been a slight man with a willowy build. Maybe she’d been searching for a change from her ex-husband when she’d dated the man-mountain. Gary Cragg was more smitten than I’d realized if he was willing to go up against him, no doubt about that.
I wasn’t about to let up on him. If he was that taken with Sanora, could he be pushed to commit murder to save his chances with her? It was hard not to let my dislike for the man creep into my judgment. Blast it all, it was almost as if I wanted him to be guilty.
My stomach rumbled as I got into my truck, and I suddenly had no taste for the spaghetti I’d planned to cook for myself. Fortunately, A Slice of Heaven was on my way home. April May was behind the counter, and the place was hopping, as usual. All the tables were full, and there were a few kids at the door waiting for one to open up. The jukebox was serenading the crowd with some jazz, and I wondered who had redeemed their pizza for Miles Davis. Whoever it was, I approved. That was April’s thing. Some places gave out free pizzas; April allowed a frequent diner to choose his own record for the jukebox. But not even the music could make me feel like being part of the crowd. There were times, more and more lately, it seemed, that I didn’t want much company during my time away from At Wick’s End.
I studied April May as she zipped around the ovens and register, and I wondered if she ever got a break.
I asked, “Do you have a night off, April?”
She cut a pizza she’d just taken out of the oven and expertly slid it into a box. “Why Harrison, are you asking me out on a date?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“What, you think you could do better?” she asked, and I couldn’t for the life of me tell if she was being serious or not.
“To be perfectly honest with you, I have a feeling I’d be overmatched.”
That brought a chuckle, and a sigh of relief from me. She said, “I’ve got a feeling you’d be right.” She looked around me, then asked, “What happened, run out of eligible young women? Last time you were here you went through two in one evening. My friend, Micah’s Ridge isn’t ill that big for you to be so casual about it all.”
“I don’t guess you’d believe me if I told you neither one was a date.”
She patted my hand after she passed the boxed pizza to its owner. “If it makes you feel any better believing that,, you go right ahead.”
I knew it was a hopeless battle, sparring with her like that. “April, I’d like a medium pepperoni pizza, to go.”
She said, “Come on, Harrison, I didn’t mean anything by it. If you want to stay, I’ll find you a table.”
“Honestly, I’m not much in the mood for company tonight.”
She nodded. “If you want to wait outside, I’ll have your pizza ready in twelve minutes.”
“Sounds great. I’ll be out by my truck.” I slid my money across to her, and she rang up the sale. “Thanks, April.”
“You’re most welcome.”
Outside, the night air was growing chilly, and I was happy for the chance to wear one of my rugby shirts. I’d never played, but I loved the thick cotton of the jerseys and the bright patterns of cloth. Years before, I’d stumbled across a sale at Kohl’s and happened to have enough with me to buy an even half-dozen. I had enough jerseys to last me for years.
As I leaned against my truck waiting for my pizza, I watched folks come and go, happy and lost in their own little worlds. I wanted to be a part of them, but I couldn’t bring myself to joining them.
April came out right on schedule. On top of the pizza box was a bottle of beer. “You looked like you could use a drink when you got home.”
I reached for my wallet, but she said, “It’s on the house.” As she handed them over, she said, “You’re just one pie away from your own song. Any ideas about what you might pick?”
“I really liked the Miles Davis you had on when I came in.”
April looked around, then lowered her voice. “Don’t tell anyone, but I picked that one myself. Don’t get me wrong,
I know the gimmick gets me business, but some of the choices are horrendous. When things get crazy, I get in the mood for some mellow music.”
“A woman after my own heart. Thanks, April.”
She saluted, then said, “I’d better get back inside before they tear the place down. Good night, Harrison.”
“Good night,” I called out, but she was already gone.
I considered taking my pizza to the rooftop and eating it there, but if the wind up there was anything like the breeze kicking up below, it would be too cold to enjoy it. I settled for the kitchen bar in my apartment and had just popped the lid off when someone knocked at my door.
I guess it could have been worse. I could have been in the shower.
“I’ll be right there,” I called out as I grabbed a slice anyway and took a healthy bite before I answered the door.
Chapter 12
Markum was at the door, and I moved aside so he could come in. “Want a slice?” I asked him before taking another bite.
“No, but if you’ve got another beer, I wouldn’t say no to that.”
I grabbed a cold one from the refrigerator and handed it to him. “What’s up?”
He said, “I wanted to see what the sheriff had to say about our power cord.”
“I told him what I thought, but he wasn’t interested.”
“Typical,” Markum scowled, running a hand through his thick hair.
“Give him a break,” I said. “He’s got the flu, along with half his department. I don’t think he has all that much time for suppositions and guesswork.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind,” Markum said.
“No, it’s too much of a coincidence, I agree. I’m just not sure what we can do about it.”
“We look harder at Sanora, that’s what I think. She had the most reason of anyone to want him dead.”
I finished a bite, then said, “Did you hear about what happened this morning?”
“No, I’ve been sleeping all day.” Before I could make a crack, he said, “I’m trying to set something up in another time zone, so it makes more sense for me to start keeping their hours.” I wanted to ask Markum what kind of salvage operation he was preparing for, but the man was remarkably closemouthed about his business. “So what happened?”
“Somebody tried to run Sanor
a down this morning with a Wee Haul van.”
“Were there any witnesses?” Markum asked.
“Just Sanora.”
Markum thought about it, took another sip from his beer, then said, “So she could have made the whole thing up.”
I said, “She’s got the scratches from diving off the road.”
“Adds evidence to her claim, from her point of view.”
I shook my head. “So why was she downplaying the whole thing when I talked to her this morning? She told me she thought the driver was probably reaching for a map and the truck started to drift over toward her. It didn’t sound like she was trying to set herself up as another potential victim.”
Markum shrugged. “Maybe she’s just being cute, or maybe she lost her nerve and decided to backpedal.”
“Do you really think she killed her ex-husband?”
Markum finished his beer, then said, “Whenever I’m faced with something like this, I ask myself, who had the most to gain? Sanora gets The Pot Shot and eliminates her ex-husband as her main competition, all with one murder. It could have been too tempting for her.”
“It could have been, but from what I’ve heard, the two of them were friends, they weren’t even dating again. Besides, her shop was supposed to be doing pretty well right where it was.”
“Then why was she so eager to leave that location and come here to River’s Edge?”
I didn’t have an answer for that. “Surely she can’t be your only suspect.”
“Can you think of anyone else?”
I hated to do it, but Markum needed to know about Heather if he was going to be able to help me with Aaron Gaston’s death. “Heather Bane had reason enough. Aaron broke up with her so he could see Sanora again. When that blew up in his face, she was willing to take him back, but he turned her down flat. From what I’ve heard, Aaron was dating someone new, but I haven’t been able to find out who it was yet.”
Markum grinned at me. “Aren’t you the fishwife, swapping tales over the clothesline.”
“Nothing like that. I just listened,” I said.
“Easy, my friend, I’m impressed. So young Heather should be added to our list. Where is she, by the way? I’ve noticed the ever-changing signs hanging in her front window.”
“That’s the thing. The night I found Aaron’s body, Heather was outside. When she found out Aaron was dead, she threw her cat into my arms and tore off in her car.”
“So you’re still cat-sitting?”
“No, she came by long enough to retrieve Esmeralda, then she was gone again.”
“So Heather had the opportunity, she certainly had motive enough, and anyone with a steak knife could have skinned that cord.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that,” I said. “I wonder if they did an autopsy.”
“What are you driving at?”
“Well, if someone actually killed Aaron by dumping that water on the cord, they had to be there when it happened. Not only that, but they had to insure that the water hit the cord and puddled up around Aaron without being near it themselves. It sounds like they left an awful lot to chance.”
“So you’re saying the accident was staged after our friend Aaron was already dead.”
I finished off my own beer, then said, “It’s a possibility.”
“I wonder,” Markum said as he stroked his chin. “What are the odds we could get the sheriff to demand an autopsy?”
“Too late for that. The body was cremated the second it was released.”
Markum asked, “And who made that particular decision?”
“Sanora did,” I admitted. “Cragg told me Aaron never got around to changing his executor and heir after their split.”
“So all the more reason to suspect her.”
I said, “There’s somebody else I haven’t mentioned yet.”
Markum shook his head in amazement. “Harrison, how have you managed to find the time to run your candleshop, with all this sleuthing you’ve been doing on the side?”
“There’s a lot of downtime in retail, so I’ve had plenty of time to think.”
“I’m not criticizing, my friend, that was sheer admiration in my voice. So who is our fourth suspect?”
“Four?” I asked. “I’ve only counted Sanora and Heather so far.”
“Surely you’re not discounting Aaron’s latest love, the mysterious Ms. X? We’ve already seen Aaron’s pattern with women and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least that our potter friend cut another one loose. Perhaps his latest, or should I say last, paramour didn’t take the news as graciously as Aaron had hoped.”
“I never thought about that, but it’s as likely as what we’ve got so far.”
“So don’t keep me in suspense, Harrison. Let’s hear it all.”
“Maybe it’s because I don’t like him. I hate to say anything unless I’m sure.”
Markum said, “Come on, this is among friends. You’re not broadcasting it all over the world. What’s said behind your door stays here, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Okay. I know I can trust you. It’s Gary Cragg.”
“So there was something to that. I always suspected as much.”
“What are you talking about?”
After a long hesitation, Markum said. “I’ve often wondered if Belle seized on the missing money as a way of getting rid of Sanora without kicking Aaron out as well. Cragg and Sanora were getting a little too friendly, if you ask me, and I caught her leaving his office late one night just before Belle threw her out. If I saw something, as rarely as I was present on the grounds, think what you’re aunt must have seen.”
“So why didn’t she get rid of Cragg, too?”
“Perhaps she was waiting for a reason to present itself before she died. So your theory is that Cragg thought Sanora was still interested in her ex-husband, so he decided to eliminate his competition.”
“It could be, if Cragg thought it was serious.” I recounted what I’d overheard at the library between Cragg and the strange man, and Markum took it all in.
“So Cragg’s still interested to the point of jealousy. I’ll have to think about this. It’s not as simple as I once thought.”
“Is anything ever that way? So what am I supposed to do in the meantime while we’re considering the facts?”
Markum said, “Keep listening and keep thinking. At least we shouldn’t have to worry about the murderer striking again.”
“Why do you say that?”
“What reason is left, now that Aaron is gone?”
I shook my head. “We’d have to know the motive before we can say that.”
Markum nodded. “You’re right, of course. It might be something besides scorn that drove the killer.” He yawned once, then said, “I’m not sure this latest project is worth what it’s costing me in sleep. Let’s meet again tomorrow night and discuss it more, if you’re game.”
“I’ve got nothing planned,” I admitted reluctantly.
“You sound remorseful about it. You haven’t really dated much since you came to River’s Edge, have you?”
“I’ve been busy,” I said.
“I know how much time this place takes, but surely, for your own well-being, there’s time to step out now and then. I know I find time for the fairer sex, and my schedule’s worse than yours.”
I said, “There are a couple of prospects, but I seem to be more interested in them than they are in me.”
He stood and put a meaty paw on my shoulder. “Patience, my friend. Where there’s life, there’s hope.”
“And then there’s the hopeless,” I said, trying to make a joke out of it. I wasn’t all that comfortable sharing my horrific dating record of late with Markum.
“And on that note, I’ll leave you.”
“See you tomorrow, then.”
‘Tomorrow it is,” Markum said as I let him out.
I wrapped up what was left of the pizza and put it in the refrigerator. It would do for lunch tomorrow or a snack
tomorrow night. I couldn’t afford to throw it away, not on my budget. At Wick’s End hadn’t turned out to be a goldmine, or even a tin one, for that matter. I was a little better off than I’d been before inheriting the place, but not enough to change my standard of living much.
Still, it was good to have a place to call my own, a worthwhile business to occupy my time, and enough friends around me to keep life interesting.
Sometimes though, I found myself wishing it wasn’t quite so interesting.
At a few minutes past midnight, I still hadn’t been able to fall asleep, though I’d been trying for the last hour or so. Tired of tossing and turning, I decided I might as well get up, since sleep was a long time from coming. Bundling up in sweats and a heavy coat, I climbed the ladder to my rooftop getaway. It was a calm night for a change, a whisper of crispness in the air and no wind coming off the river below. I had a clear view of the water from my aerie, and to the north I could see the outline of the mountains against the sky. The stars were out in all their brilliance and I pulled my chair from under its canopy and stared up at the autumn sky. That lasted a few minutes, and then I retrieved the blanket I kept under cover, wrapped myself in its warmth, and enjoyed the view.
I’d had no intention of falling asleep, but as the sun rose in the morning, I awoke to a new day. There was a crick in my neck and a cramp in one of my calves, but I couldn’t remember getting a better night’s sleep. Once summer came to River’s Edge, I promised myself more nights up there in the tranquility of the night.
But that would have to wait till the cool temperatures had come and gone. It took me a few minutes to work the stiffness out of my body, and I promised myself an air mattress before I attempted another campout.
After a hot shower and a bowl of oatmeal, I was ready to tackle the world again.
Locking my apartment door, a note fluttered to the floor at my feet.
It was from Markum.
“Harrison. Called away on urgent business. Watch your back.”
So if anyone was going to solve Aaron Gaston’s murder, it appeared that it was going to be up to me.