Death Waxed Over (Book 3 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (16 page)

She studied the candle a moment more, then
put it back on the display table. “That’s a lovely candle. Was it
one of Belle’s?”

“
I made it myself,” I
admitted.

“
My, you’re getting quite
good at it.”

I picked the candle up and handed it to
her.

She said, “What’s this?”

“
Accept it as a token of my
friendship and appreciation,” I said.

“
Oh, Harrison, I can’t do
that. You sell these.”

“
And you sell your muffins,
Pan Dowdies and everything else you let me sample. Come on, Millie,
it would mean a lot to me.”

She nodded. “Thank you, Harrison. I’ll
display it on my counter, and tell everyone where I got it.”

I laughed. “Hey, I wasn’t looking for free
advertising.”

“
Just consider it a bonus,
then.”

After she was gone, I worked until closing
selling a few supplies but barely making enough to pay the electric
bill. At least there was enough to deposit, something I wouldn’t
have bet on a few days earlier. I made out the slip, locked the
candleshop and drove into town to get the money into the bank’s
night deposit. While I was in town, I decided to swing by Erin’s on
the off chance she was in. Unfortunately, the lights were off at
her rental place, and though we’d been building something, a
friendship or a budding relationship or what I wasn’t sure, I
wasn’t ready to just show up on her doorstep.

There was someone I could visit unannounced,
though.

When I pulled into Wayne’s driveway, I was
happy to see his car parked there. With his new girlfriend, he
hadn’t had much time for me, but it looked like I was in luck.

I had to ring the doorbell twice before he
answered.

“
Hey, what’s up? Did we have
something planned tonight?” he asked.

“
No, I just thought I’d drop
in and grace you with my presence. Come on, there’s got to be some
kind of game somewhere on television. Let’s watch it.”

In the background, I heard a woman’s voice
calling out, “Wayne? Who is it?”

I started to back away. “Sorry, I should
have called first.”

“
No, it’s all right,” he
said. “Come on in. You really should meet Nichole.”

“
Another time,” I said as I
headed back to my truck.

“
Sorry,” he called
out.

“
Not a problem.”

Of course I should have realized he’d be
with his new girlfriend. I drove back to River’s Edge and decided
to find that game on television myself. That all changed suddenly,
though. As I drove up to the complex, I saw a light burning in one
of the windows that had no business being on.

Chapter 12

“
I didn’t realize you were
still around,” I said to Heather after she let me into her
shop.

“
I had some cleaning to do,”
she said, looking toward the back of her store, The New Age. At
that moment, we both heard something fall.

“
Is there somebody back
there?” I asked. “Or is it just Esmeralda?”

“
It must be,” she said.
“Wait right here and I’ll go get her. I know she’ll be thrilled to
see you.”

“
How would we be able to
tell?” I asked. “She’s never shown the slightest interest in
whether I’m around or not, unless it’s mealtime and I’m the one
feeding her.”

“
Come on, Harrison, admit
it. You and my cat have a special bond.”

“
Heather, if it helps you
sleep better at night believing it, good for you.” I started toward
the back of the store when Esme herself trotted out. Proving my
point, she ignored me completely and leapt into Heather’s
arms.

I added, “Oh, she’s absolutely devoted to
me. You were right all along.” I reached out slowly, then scratched
Esmeralda under her chin. She purred softly, moving her neck until
I had the precise spot she wanted. She would have probably stayed
like that for the rest of the night, but I wasn’t going to spend it
catering to her whims.

Heather said, “Honestly, I don’t know why
you’re afraid to express any affection for my cat.”

I looked directly at Esmeralda and said to
her, “You’re not the worst roommate I’ve ever had in my life.”

Heather laughed, then said, “See, Esme? He
does care.”

Esmeralda seemed singularly unimpressed by
it all.

It was time to change this particular
subject. “Are you finished up here, or do you have much more to do?
I could help, if you need a hand.”

“
You spend too much time
around the complex as it is. You deserve a life of your own,
Harrison.”

“
Yeah, well, that’s open for
debate. So what do you say? If we both dig in, we can have your
cleaning done in half the time.”

She frowned, then said, “You know what?
There’s nothing that needs to be done here that can’t wait until
tomorrow. Why don’t you buy me a drink?”

“
I guess I
could.”

“
Gee, your enthusiasm is
underwhelming.”

“
I was just thinking we
could go upstairs instead. I’ve got some wine chilling in the
fridge, and there’s beer if you prefer that.”

She said, “Harrison Black, are you trying to
take advantage of me, say, by plying me with alcohol?”

“
No, Ma’am, I’m a Southern
Gentleman. If you’re not in the mood to be plied, I won’t try. I
promise.”

She laughed, then said, “Just in case, I
think I’ll bring Esmeralda along as our chaperone.”

“
That’s a dandy idea. You
can never be too careful these days.”

After locking up her store, we headed
upstairs and I opened my apartment door. Esme squirmed out of
Heather’s arms and ran inside. I called out, “Don’t get too
comfortable, you’re not staying over this time.”

What a surprise; Esme ignored me
completely.

Heather looked around and said, “I just love
what you’ve done with the place. Honestly, Harrison, don’t you ever
get tired of candles? They’re everywhere.”

I looked around at the candles scattered
through the apartment. There were botched and more successful
attempts of mine on display from more experiments than I could
name. I’d managed to butcher techniques in pouring, rolling,
gelling, dripping, molding, flaring, twisting, marbling and
incising candles in my attempts to perfect my newfound trade. I was
in the process of burning my failures; it gave me real satisfaction
that even if some of my efforts weren’t the most beautiful candles
ever made, they still gave off light, and in many cases, aromas
that brought back memories I’d thought I’d lost long ago. “I don’t
know, I think it looks just about right.”

She laughed and asked as she picked up one
of my latest efforts, “What happened here? Did you run out of
wax?”

I plucked the candle out of her hands. “Hey,
that’s one of my better ice candles.”

“
Candles and ice? You’re
kidding, right?”

“
Trust me, this is really a
cool process. You take a dipped taper and put it in the center of a
cylindrical mold. Then you arrange the ice chips in the mold around
it and pour the hot wax in. It’s not nearly as tough as it
looks.”

“
So you say,” Heather
said.

“
It’s the truth,” I said.
“Take it, burn it, enjoy it.” After all, I’d given Millie a candle
earlier. One of the best things about making candles was sharing
them with the people around me. Heather didn’t even put up token
resistance. “I love it, but it’s too pretty to burn.”

“
Candles are meant to be
enjoyed. Tell you what. You burn this one, and next time I’ll teach
you how to make one of your own.”

“
It’s a deal,” she
said.

“
How about that drink now?”
I asked her.

“
To be honest with you, what
I’d really like is a cup of tea.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Now how am I supposed
to get you liquored up if you won’t drink?”

“
You’ll just have to rely on
your charm,” she said with a laugh.

“
Then I’m in trouble. I’ll
put the kettle on to boil; tea sounds good to me, too.” As I did, I
asked Heather, “Where’s that delinquent cat of yours? I’ve learned
from experience that she causes the most trouble whenever she’s
quiet.”

Heather pointed to one of the bookcases and
said, “She’s watching you.”

I nodded. “I’ve been told I bear
watching.”

We were just settling down to our cups of
tea when there was a knock on my door. I half-expected Markum to
pop his head inside.

Instead, Becka was in the hallway. “Hi,
Harrison. Do you have a second?” She looked past me and saw Heather
inside. “Sorry to bother you. I didn’t realize you had
company.”

“
Nonsense, come on
in.”

Heather said, “I was just leaving,
anyway.”

“
You don’t have to go on my
account.”

I looked at Heather and said, “You’re more
than welcome to stay.”

She shook her head. “I’d really better be
going, Harrison. Let me collect Esme and I’ll be on my way.”

“
Are you sure you have to
go?”

She looked at Becka, who was intently
studying her hands, then said, “I’d better. We’ll talk again
tomorrow.”

She scooped Esme off the shelf, then said,
“Thanks again for the tea.”

She was nearly to the door when I said,
“Hey, don’t forget your candle.”

Heather took it from me, then kissed me
lightly on the cheek. “That was so thoughtful of you.”

“
I was happy to do
it.”

Heather nodded toward Becka, then she and
Esme left. She’d been gone two minutes when Becka said, “I’m sorry
about just barging in like that. I didn’t realize you were dating
anyone, Harrison.”

“
Heather has the shop
downstairs beside mine. We’re just friends.”

Becka perked up at the news, so I added
quickly, “Just like the two of us are.”

“
But we used to be so much
more,” she said.

“
The key part of that
sentence is ‘used to.’”

Becka stared at me a few seconds, then said,
“Are you trying to be mean, or does it just come naturally?”

Before I could say another word, she stormed
off into my bathroom and slammed the door.

Now what had I said to bring that on? If she
was laboring under the misimpression that we were ever going to
date again, the sooner I dispelled that notion the better. I’d had
more than enough of her prima donna behavior in the past to ever
put up with it again.

After a few minutes, Becka came back out,
acting as if nothing had happened.

I stretched and stifled a yawn. “I hate to
be rude, but I’m really worn out.”

“
I can take a hint as well
as the next gal,” Becka said. She started to kiss my cheek, just as
Heather had, then changed her mind at the last second and offered
me her hand. I took it lightly, then held the door open for
her.

“
Good night,” I
said.

“
Bye,” she called out and
headed down the steps to the exit.

After Becka was gone, I decided I’d had
enough excitement for one night. I grabbed a quick bite, then
headed off to bed to read. I worried about Pearly, with a likely
arrest looming the second he got back to Micah’s Ridge. But there
was nothing I could do to help him, no matter how much he needed
it.

And it killed me to admit it.

Eve and I were working the morning shift
together the next day when I heard the chime go off over the front
door. To my surprise, it was Mrs. Jorgenson. Eve was right. I
couldn’t tell from the expression on her face whether she was there
to hug me or slap me with a lawsuit.

“
Harrison, I’d like to speak
with you.”

“
Absolutely. What’s on your
mind?”

She looked around the candleshop, and though
we were alone except for Eve, Mrs. Jorgenson said, “I’d rather have
this conversation away from the shop.”

I had no idea what that meant. “Fine. We can
go to The Crocked Pot for a cup of coffee.” I started to tell Eve,
but she just nodded her approval.

Mrs. Jorgenson said, “I’m sure it will be
acceptable.”

We walked outside and down the front
promenade toward Millie’s place. The wind was gusting slightly,
just enough to raise some of the flags displayed in front of the
shops. I’d found a flag place going out of business and had bought
several themed flags for my tenants. There was a single white
candle on a field of red in front of my shop, while Millie’s had a
coffee cup, Sanora’s pottery sported a vase and Suzanne Gladstone’s
antique shop had a rocking chair on it. Heather’s had been a
problem, but I’d finally settled on a brightly colored rainbow for
her. She’d been delighted with the choice, and I had to admit, the
banners waving in the wind did give all of River’s Edge more of a
whimsical look. I’d thought about it for some time before making
any changes to my late Great-Aunt Belle’s place, but in the end I
was the one responsible for how the complex looked, and if
something would help in any way, I was all for it as long as I
could afford it.

If Mrs. Jorgenson noticed the banners, or
anything else that morning, she didn’t say.

“
What would you like?”
Millie asked Mrs. Jorgenson when we walked into the
cafe.

“
Something more mundane than
your exotic choices,” she said, studying the menu.

“
I’ll take care of this,” I
said. “Why don’t you find us a table and I’ll be right with
you.”