by Tim Myers
Erin? She intrigued me, there was no doubt about that, but I’d already asked her out once, and her reaction had been tepid, at best. Wow, I was certainly quite the ladies’ man, wasn’t I? Of one thing there was no doubt; I wouldn’t go back to any of the women I’d dated casually before. It was time to meet someone new.
Saying it and doing it were two different things, though. I was past hanging out in bars, while I felt Laundromats and grocery stores were unacceptable singles’ scenes, so that left customers at the shop and other tenants. Should I ask Sanora out? She was certainly lovely, and I did enjoy her personality. But she was also a suspect in her ex-husband’s death, in my mind if not the police’s. And if I was being, honest with myself, Heather was, too, though I still had a hard time believing that, Tick was twenty years too old for me, Eve thirty years and too tempestuous to boot. Millie was married, so that brought me back to square one.
That was the way things seemed to go. Whenever I was looking, there was no one around, but the second I found myself starting a new relationship, the opportunities suddenly appeared boundless. I usually did fine on my own; I’d grown comfortable enough with my own company, but there were times when it would have been nice to have someone to call. It would happen again for me, but in the meantime, I did have plenty on my plate, certainly enough to keep me busy and occupied.
I was debating about what to make myself for dinner as I climbed the stairs to my apartment.
I couldn’t have been more surprised to find Heather waiting for me by my front door.
Chapter 14
I said, “Where have you been? What’s going on with you?
Do have any idea what’s been happening around here?” My questions tumbled out in a rush.
“Slow down. Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“Of course I am.” I stepped past her and unlocked the door to my apartment. “Come on in.”
She followed me in, and I locked the door behind us. “Can I get you something to drink? How about a bite to eat?”
“No, I’m fine.” She averted her gaze from me as she said solemnly, “Harrison, I didn’t mean to run out on you like I did.”
“You didn’t run out on me, well, not just me. What happened?”
“I guess everything around here was just too much foe me. First Aaron died, and then you sprang Sanora on me, it was more than I could take. So I left. That was a mistake.”
The second she mentioned Sanora’s name, a burning question came to mind. “Have you rented a truck lately for your move? A Wee Haul van, in particular?”
“What kind of a question is that?” she asked.
“One I need answered,” I said.
She met my gaze and said solemnly, “No, I haven’t rented a van, a Wee Haul or otherwise. I wouldn’t leave without talking to you first.”
So that cleared Heather of the attempted hit and run, at least if she was telling me the truth. Of course what would a little white lie count against trying to kill someone? On the face of it, her assurance shouldn’t have meant a thing to me, but it did. I believed her, whether it was the right thing to do or not regardless of what Millie’s husband George had heard about Heather renting a van.
I asked, “So what’s going on in your life?”
She said, “It’s been too crazy to tell. How are things at River’s Edge?”
“Never a dull moment. Some genius tried to burn me out, somebody tried to run Sanora down with a van, and Pearly and Eve have been secretly dating.”
She took it all in, then said, “So that’s why you asked me about the van. I suppose I had that coming.”
“Heather, I saw your sign change in the middle of the night and there was a rumor you were moving everything in your shop to Charlotte. You fired Mrs. Quimby, for goodness sake. What was I supposed to think?”
“I don’t blame you, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that you didn’t believe in me.” She got up and started for the door.
“Wait a second, Heather, that’s not fair. I never said a word to anyone but Millie.”
“And what did she say?” Heather asked.
I admitted, “She didn’t think you could do it, not for one second.”
“So at least one of my friends still believes in me.”
I said, “You haven’t given me much reason to lately, but I believe in you, too. You can walk out of here right now, goodness knows you’ve done it before, but if you want to stay, you’re welcome to.”
She thought about it a second or two, then said, “You know what? You’re right. I’m tired of running.” She slumped down on the couch, then said, “If the offer’s still open, I’ll take that drink.”
“You’ve got it. Is bourbon okay?”
“Cut it with some Coke,” she said. I got the Maker’s Mark out and poured her a drink, splashing some soda in on her request. Mine I took neat.
After she took a sip, she said, “Okay, you wanted to talk. I’m ready.”
Suddenly I didn’t have the heart to push her anymore. I was her friend, and though there were several questions I wanted to ask, our friendship had to come first. I said, “I’m not going to interrogate you. I do have one question, though.”
“Fire away.”
“Where’s Esmeralda?” I asked.
Heather laughed. “I knew she’d get under your skin. She’s got a way of making converts out of unbelievers.”
I protested, “It’s not that. I just wondered, that’s all.”
Heather said, “She’s downstairs in my shop, curled up on her bed, if I know her. Don’t worry, you can see her tomorrow.”
I waved that off. The idea that I was getting close to her cat was ridiculous. I’d asked out of curiosity, nothing more. I thought about giving Heather the catnip mouse I’d picked up, but decided it could wait for another time.
I took a sip of my drink, then asked, “So are you staying, or did you come to say good-bye?”
“If you’ll have me, I’m not going anywhere.” There was a conviction in her words that I liked.
“As far as I know, your lease is still good.”
She leaned forward and touched my knee. “That’s not what I’m asking. If you don’t want me here anymore, I’ll pack up and move tomorrow.”
I took a sip, then said, “Of course I want you here. You shouldn’t even have to ask.”
“Oh yes I should,” she said. “Thank you, Harrison.”
“For what?”
“For everything.”
I smiled. “Well, I can’t take credit for everything, but I’m happy to do my part. Are you sure you’re going to be okay, working here with Sanora around?”
“I’m over it,” she said. “I’ve had my little snit. I’m not saying we’re going to be best friends, but I won’t go out of my way to cross her.”
“That’s all I can ask for.” I raised my glass to her, then said, “Welcome back.”
“It’s good to be back,” she said.
I had a thought, one last thing to clear up in my mind while we were having a frank discussion. “Hang on a second,” I said, “I’ll be right back.”
I retrieved the crystal bauble Sanora had discovered in Aaron’s office and held it out to her. “I believe this belongs to you.”
She studied it a second, then said, “Sorry, it’s not mine.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “It looks like it came off a necklace or something.”
She shook her head. “Nothing I carry. It looks like—.”
At that instant, the outside lights sprang to life, shining through my window.
“Your security lights are working,” she said.
I peered through the window. “I wonder who’s out there at this hour.” I was going to have to get Pearly to reposition the light over my apartment. There was a reflected glare that blinded me as I looked out.
“I’d better go see what’s going on,” I said, grabbing the baseball bat I kept by the door. “I’ll be right back.”
&n
bsp; “I’m going with you,” Heather said as she put her drink down.
“Maybe you should stay here,” I insisted.
She just rolled her eyes. “Are you coming?” she said as she started for the door.
“At least let me lead the way.”
I started to flip on the hall light when Heather put hen hand on mine. “Maybe we shouldn’t advertise that we’re coming.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said. There was enough light! shining through for me to see the stairwell, and I grabbed the rail with one hand as I clutched the bat in the other. I had never been all that fond of guns, but the bat felt reassuring in my hand.
I carefully opened the door and found Sheriff Morton standing in front of Heather’s shop.
“Have a night game?” he asked, then sneezed.
I relaxed. “Just thought we’d hit a few balls in the parking lot. I thought you were sick.”
“No way,” he said, then sneezed again. He looked as pale as I’d ever seen him.
I said, “No, you’re a picture of perfect health. What are doing out here?”
Morton said, “Patrolling. Too many men out, so I had to work.”
“Go home, sheriff. There’s nothing going on out here.”
He gestured to the lights. “Those are new.”
“I thought they might help.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” he said as he wiped at his eyes.
“Sheriff, if we need you, we’ll call.”
“Yeah, I’d better get back to the office.”
I thought about offering to drive him, but decided against it, knowing that the only result of my offer would be his howling protest.
As he drove off, Heather came up behind me. I suddenly realized that she’d held back in the shadows as I’d spoken to the sheriff.
“There you are,” I said.
“When I saw it was the sheriff, I went back for my purse. It’s been a long day, and I want to get home.”
I looked around and noticed her car was missing. “Where’d you park?”
“I’m in back. I’ll just go through my shop and collect Esme, then I’m going home.”
“Let me walk you through your store,” I said.
“You don’t have to,” Heather protested.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.”
As she unlocked the door to her shop, she said, “Admit it, you just want to say hi to the cat.”
“Sure, that’s it,” I said as I followed her inside.
She flipped on a few lights as we entered the shop, and Esmeralda got up from her bed and stretched as only a cat could. I didn’t expect her to rush to me, but we’d formed a friendship, so I thought she’d at least acknowledge my presence.
Instead, she ignored me utterly and jumped up into Heather’s arms.
“Hello to you, too,” I said.
Heather laughed. “What were you expecting? She’s a cat, Harrison, not a dog.”
“I know that,” I said.
I walked her through her shop, then out the back. Heather put Esmeralda in the passenger seat and turned to me. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek.
“What was that for?” I asked.
“For believing me.”
I stayed there until she drove off, then walked back around to the front of River’s Edge. I did believe her, whether I had reason to or not. Sanora was still a suspect, and so was Gary Cragg, but there was one person I’d ignored up to now: the mysterious Ms. X. It was time to track down Aaron Gaston’s last love.
But it would have to wait until morning. I’d had a big day, and all I wanted to do was get some rest.
As I drifted off, I remembered the brush-off Esmeralda, had given me. How could I begin to explain to a cat that: the reason I hadn’t seen her for so long had nothing to do with me? Maybe if I gave her the catnip mouse, she’d get over it.
Cats and women. I was no closer to understanding one of them than I was the other.
The first thing Eve noticed walking into At Wick’s End the next day was the absent pair of candles. “What happened, did you finally decide to throw them out?”
I kept looking at my inventory sheet as I said, “No, I sold them after you left yesterday.”
“You are kidding me,” Eve said. “How in the world did you manage that?”
“I had a customer with very particular tastes.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe it. Belle is probably spinning in her grave.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Harrison, I can’t believe she ever intended those for sale. They were her experiments, not her stock. She would have been appalled to have them go out the door.”
“Then why did she put a price tag on them? A hefty one at that.”
Eve asked suspiciously, “How much did you charge for them?”
When I told her, she started to smile, then her laughter followed. It was the first time since we’d been working together that I’d ever heard that particular sound coming from her.
I said, “Do you mind telling me what’s so funny?”
After she settled down enough to speak, she said, “I was right. Belle never intended them to sell. That price tag was her way of insuring that they stayed.”
“Well, he paid it without flinching.” After her merriment, I wasn’t about to admit that the customer who’d bought them had done so as a jibe and not a real gift.
“I suppose it’s true after all. Taste is subjective.” I added, “It helped a rather lackluster day at that. How are you this morning?”
“I’m fine. Why do you ask? Have you heard something?”
“Easy,” I said, “I was just checking.”
She studied me a second, then said, “We have work to do.”
“Hey, I’m not the one standing around,” I admitted, a If I’d said it a few days earlier, she probably would have walked out on the spot. As it was, she clucked a few times, I then said, “You’re right. I’m getting busy right now.” As she walked away, I heard her mutter to herself, “I can’t believe anyone found them attractive.”
I found myself diverting my step to the storeroom for the rest of day, intentionally missing the candles that weren’t there anymore.
Millie visited At Wick’s End ten minutes before we officially opened. She knocked on the door, holding two coffees and a bag in her hands.
I opened the door for her, then locked it behind her as one of my customers tried to follow her in. “We’ll be open in ten minutes,” I said.
“Then why does she get to go in now?” The woman asked plaintively in a definite Northern accent.
“Hey, what can I say? She brought me food.” The woman asked in all earnestness, “So if I bring you a chocolate cake tomorrow I can shop early?”
I said, “Ma’am, if you add milk-chocolate icing, I’ll let you in half an hour before we officially open.”
She shook her head as she said, “That’s some way of running a business you’ve got there.” Millie called out, “Harrison, are you coming? I need to speak with you.”
I nodded to my customer and locked the door. I should have let her in, but I wanted to talk to Millie without having to worry about being interrupted.
“What’s going on?” I said as I took the coffee she offered. “Did you bring me a treat?”
“I’m trying a new recipe,” she said, “and I thought you’d like to sample it.”
“Always happy to help,” I said as I reached for the bag.
“Harrison, that’s not why I came by. Heather’s back in her shop.”
“I know,” I said as I ate a lemon tart no bigger than my thumb. “I talked to her last night.”
“Then you know Mrs. Quimby is leaving me. I don’t know what I’m going to do, I’ve been so used to having her help in the mornings.”
“Have you thought about asking her to stay part-time?” I asked. “Heather doesn’t open till ten. That should take care of most of your morning rush and your lunch prep
work.”
She kissed my forehead. “What a grand idea. I’ll go talk to her right now.”
I unlocked the door for her and motioned my customer in, though it was still four minutes before I was scheduled to open. She glanced at her watch and said, “Are you certain? I don’t even have any baked goods with me.”
“I’m extending you credit on my cake,” I said with a smile as I flipped the closed sign to open. She came in and Eve glanced sharply at me. I wasn’t about to tell her about my humorous exchange.
“You can finish the order,” I said. “I’ll wait on her.”
Eve scowled at me a second, then returned to her work.
After browsing through much of the store, the woman bought a healthy supply of new wax and a mold I’d special- ordered but had never been picked up by the customer.
She said, “I’m new here. You do things differently in the South, don’t you?”
“You have no idea,” I agreed. “Just wait till you’ve been here a while. We start to grow on you, I promise.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said as she took the receipt I offered.
I gave her my best smile as I handed her the bag. “Trust me, in six months you’ll never want to leave Micah’s Ridge.”
“We’ll see,” she said as she left.
I looked out in time to see Pearly walking past the store, but he never came in. After his third lap, I called out to Eve, “I’m going to step outside for a second. It’s a beautiful day.”
“Just don’t wander off,” Eve said. “We might get busy.” I looked around the empty store, glanced at the deserted to parking lot, then said, “No, ma’am, I promise I’ll be here for the rush.”
I called Pearly’s name, and he looked startled as he turned around to face me. “Hello, Harrison.”
“Are you going to pace out here all day? You’re driving off my customers.”
“Eh? Sorry, didn’t mean to interfere,” he said as he started to walk off.