At Wick's End (Book 1 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (4 page)

I wanted to follow her out and observe, but
Eve said, “Practice makes perfect, Harrison.”

So I went back to my wax and started a
brand-new candle. I was beginning to see why Belle had gotten
hooked. Candlemaking could be a lot of fun.

After I’d rolled and rerolled candles more
times than I could count, I was ready for a break. Eve was involved
in a deep discussion with one of our customers about the advantages
of pellets versus blocks, a conversation that went entirely over my
head. I waved to her, said I’d be back soon, and decided it was
time for another cup of Millie’s coffee. If I was lucky, maybe I’d
get a dollop of insight about what really went on around River’s
Edge too. I had a feeling that if anyone had her finger on the
pulse of the place, it would be the owner of The Crocked Pot.

I was just leaving the shop when a uniformed
police officer walked up. “Are you Harrison Black?” he asked in a
deep baritone.

“
I am,” I admitted. “I
assume you’re here about the robbery. Where did Mr. Young
go?”

“
He had to get back to his
office, but not before he assured me that nothing had been taken.
Pardon my saying so, but there’s not much there worth stealing. It
could just be that the thief tore up the place out of frustration.
That would explain the mess.”

“
I don’t buy that for a
second,” I said. “Nobody’s going to walk up to the only apartment
on the second floor of this building and break in on a whim.
Whoever did this was after something.”

The officer shrugged. “I can pass your
concerns on to the sheriff, but there’s really nothing else I can
do here.”

“
Thanks for coming by,” I
said, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

The officer must have caught it, though.
“I’d honestly spend more time on this if anything of value was
missing, but we’ve just had a homicide committed during a jewelry
store robbery and we’re working on it with every free
man-hour.”

“
I heard about it on the
news. The store owner was the one killed in the robbery, wasn’t
he?”

“
That’s why we’re giving it
so much attention. There was half a million dollars in diamonds
taken. Don’t worry, we’ll catch them soon enough.”

“
And I’m left to my own
devices. I understand perfectly.”

The cop looked at me a second more, tipped
his hat and walked to his squad car.

It appeared that Belle’s break-in wasn’t
going to be a high priority for the local police.

I’d just have to solve that particular
mystery myself.

Chapter 3

“
This one’s on the house
too,” Millie said as she slid a cup of coffee across the counter to
me. “Having to deal with Belle’s death, your inheritance, and a
break-in all in the same day is too much to expect of
anybody.”

“
How did you know about the
break-in?” I asked as I sipped the coffee. It had a nutty taste
that startled me at first, but it quickly grew on me.

Millie laughed as she took a swipe at the
counter. “Oh please, Harrison, I knew what happened long before the
squad car showed up. There’s something you should know—River’s Edge
is a great deal like its own small town. It’s hard not to know
what’s going on in other people’s lives around here. With one
obvious exception.” She hesitated, towel in hand.

“
I’m waiting,” I said after
taking another sip. “You can’t leave me hanging like
that.”

Millie said, “I really shouldn’t be starting
rumors. You’ll find out soon enough yourself.”

I said, “Millie, I’m counting on you to keep
me informed around here.”

She snapped, “And what exactly gave you the
impression that I’m such a busybody?”

Oh, no, I’d put my foot in it again. “I
don’t think that at all. It just seems to me that The Crocked Pot
is a gathering place for everybody around here. Sorry if I offended
you.”

She shook her head and laughed softly.
“George, that’s my husband, says the same thing. I guess I’m a
little touchy about it is all.”

“
What does George do?” I
asked, hoping to make her forget what I’d said.

“
What doesn’t he do, I like
to say. He’s a volunteer fireman, he’s a lay reader at St. Albans
and he helps out at the animal shelter. Whenever he’s not
volunteering, he manages to make custom furniture for the high-end
marketplace.”

“
Wow, when does he have
time for you?”

Millie smiled. “I may have just one job, but
it manages to fill my time. Don’t you worry about George and me, we
do just fine.”

Millie’s gaze drifted upstairs, then
returned to me. She said softly, “Harrison, I shouldn’t have said
anything, but since I started it, I feel obliged to finish. If I
were you I’d keep my eye on Gary Cragg. He’s up to something, but I
can’t for the life of me figure out what it is. There’s one thing I
can tell you, though. He and Belle had a major problem with each
other lately.”

“
Do you have any idea what
it was about?” I asked.

She said, “I asked Belle about it last week,
but she just mumbled something about sharks and wouldn’t say
another word. There aren’t any in the river out there, but I’m not
so sure we don’t have a couple at River’s Edge.”

“
Who else should I watch
out for?” I asked.

“
There’s a fellow Belle
just rented space to upstairs named Markum. I don’t know if that’s
his first name or last, since he’s the only tenant who’s never set
foot in my place.”

“
What does he do?” I asked
after finishing off the coffee.

“
The sign on his door says,
‘Salvage and Recovery’, whatever that’s supposed to mean. If he
runs a junkyard, it’s not around here. I understand he and Belle
had words the other day.” She took my cup and refilled it. “Never
mind, he’s probably fine. George says I have too much time on my
hands between my breakfast and lunch rush hours, and I’ll never
admit it to his face, but most likely he’s right.” She studied me a
second, then asked, “So how are you and Eve getting
along?”

“
Well, she’s teaching me
candlemaking basics, if that means anything.”

Millie smiled. “You can bet your life it
does. Eve’s a candle fanatic. She wouldn’t teach you if she didn’t
like you, Harrison. You two should be just fine.”

I could still remember the tone of her
critiques of my early efforts. “If you say so.”

She flipped the towel gently at me. “Trust
me on that, Harrison. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a batch of
blueberry doughnuts to mix up for tomorrow morning. Want me to save
you a couple?”

“
That would be great.
Thanks.”

“
It’s all part of The
Crocked Pot’s service, sir.”

I decided it would be a good time to tackle
Belle’s apartment. Eve could handle At Wick’s End by herself. Truth
be told, she’d most likely do better solo until I learned enough to
help out in the shop. Cleaning up the mess at Belle’s place
wouldn’t get any easier, and the longer I put it off, the harder it
would be.

I was just about to reach the door upstairs
when I heard someone moving around inside.

I didn’t even have the heavy candle to
defend myself, but I charged in anyway.

It was time to find out who was breaking in,
and what they wanted from Belle, once and for all.

I was startled to find Heather Bane from The
New Age shop putting Belle’s clothes in a box that had once held a
case of Maker’s Mark whiskey.

I said, “What are you doing in here?”

She looked startled by my sudden appearance.
Perhaps even a little guilty.

“
I heard about the
break-in, and I couldn’t bear the thought of you tackling this mess
by yourself, not with what you’ve been through.”

“
That was thoughtful of
you,” I said, trying to keep the accusation out of my voice. “How
did you happen to get in? I was under the impression this door
locked automatically.” That was something Mr. Young had shown me
himself soon after we’d discovered the break-in.

“
Well, it wasn’t locked
when I got here. In fact, I was kind of surprised to find the door
wide open. Harrison, I should have asked you for your permission to
do this first, shouldn’t I? I can’t help myself, I just get an
impulse and go with it. That’s how I got my shop, you
know.”

She continued working, stowing things from
the floor in boxes as she talked, and I found myself joining her.
At least I could keep an eye on her that way, and the work had to
be done before I could move in. “I’d like to hear the story,” I
said as I folded some of Belle’s sweaters and put them in a nearby
box.

Heather said, “One day I was canoeing on the
Gunpowder and saw River’s Edge for the first time. The building was
so cool, and I’d been looking for something to do with my
inheritance.” She paused, then said, “I’m not rich or anything, but
my grandmother died and left me some money. Only thing was, there
was a catch. I had to start a business and run it, or the money
would go to my sister. She’s the sensible one, or so everybody
thinks. Grams was always concerned that my life was without
direction, so I took a deep breath and rented my space. I’ve always
been fascinated with crystals and the power stones have to heal, so
naturally that’s the kind of store I wanted. When you get the
chance, I’d love to give you the grand tour.”

“
I’d like that,” I said as
the last of Belle’s clothes went into the boxes. Most likely this
young woman was harmless and my suspicious mind was just working
overtime.

Heather said, “Okay, you’ve got clothes in
these four boxes, and miscellaneous stuff in these two. Would you
like me to take the ones with Belle’s clothes to the Salvation
Army? A lot of her things are too nice to just throw out.”

Something gnawed at the edge of my mind. Had
Heather actually been trying to help, or had she come back for what
she’d missed earlier? What better excuse to show up again than to
say she was cleaning up the earlier mess made in her search? And
what was really in those boxes? I just couldn’t take the chance, no
matter how benign it all seemed.

‘
Tell you what,” I said,
“I’ll take them later myself.”

“
I don’t mind,” she
insisted. “The drop-off is right on my way home.”

I took the box that was in her hands and
said firmly, “I appreciate the offer, I truly do, but there are a
few things that have great sentimental value I may want to keep as
a remembrance. Thanks again, though.”

Heather tried to hide her disappointment.
“Okay. If that’s all then, I’d better get back downstairs and close
up my shop.”

“
You didn’t leave it open
the entire time you were up here, did you?”

“
Yes, but I’ve got a woman
helping me who comes in three afternoons a week and works the
occasional full day to give me a break. Mrs. Quimby is a godsend.
Don’t forget, you’ve got one deluxe tour coming any time you want
it.”

“
I won’t forget,” I said as
I tried to see if Heather was leaving with more than she had had
when she arrived. It was impossible to tell under her baggy outfit,
but I doubted she’d had the chance to take anything yet. After all,
it was obvious she had expected to leave with those boxes long
before I ever showed up at Belle’s apartment.

I don’t know what I was expecting to find in
the boxes: jewelry, cash or something. All I could come up with was
a quarter that must have slipped out of one of Belle’s pockets, and
a broach that was obviously costume jewelry. It was looking more
and more like Heather had been the Good Samaritan she claimed to be
after all.

Unless she had indeed managed to walk off
with something I hadn’t seen.

There was yet a third possibility. I might
have interrupted her second search before she’d had the chance to
find her bounty.

I wasn’t about to give her or anyone else
another chance. I picked up the telephone book and called a
locksmith.

There was no way I was going to sleep in
that apartment until I had a brand-new lock in place, and the only
key to it.

Going through some of the other boxes as I
waited for the locksmith, I found the two-foot candle I’d picked up
earlier to defend myself and decided it was one worth keeping. I
don’t know what made me do it, but I put it on the countertop at
the bar and lit it with an igniter I found in one of the drawers.
Ordinarily I wasn’t a big fan of scents in candles, but this one
had an aroma of cinnamon that made me think of Snickerdoodle
cookies, a treat Belle had baked for me as a kid. I decided to burn
it an hour a night in honor of Belle, my own tribute to her. As the
wick took life, I found myself finally beginning to experience the
grief of losing her. Delayed reaction, I guess. A tear ran down my
cheek and struck the flame. It wasn’t enough to put the fire out,
but it did cause it to sputter for a moment before jumping back to
life.

It was as if Belle herself was telling me
not to waste any tears on her. The words of her letter echoed in my
mind again, and I decided this simple tribute was more in order for
a life well led than any service or eulogy.

It was the best way to say good-bye I could
imagine.

It’s always hard for me to sleep in strange
places, and I there were few stranger than the second floor of
River’s Edge when the complex was deserted. I tossed and turned
until I finally tired of fighting it. Instead of lying there with
my eyes wide open staring at the ceiling, I decided it might be a
good time to do a little more exploring in the candle shop
downstairs. There was one thing to be said for Belle’s arrangement:
it certainly made commuting between work and home easier. As I
walked outside to get into the shop, I saw a brief flash of light
in the distance, accompanied by a muted rumbling, but it was too
far away to matter to me. I had work to do. I had my key in the
store’s front door lock when movement caught my attention out of
the comer of my eye. The bushes near the building shook slightly,
and I wondered if it was just the wind, or perhaps something more
ominous.