Death Waxed Over (Book 3 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (5 page)

“
You might want to work on
your choice of expressions, Sheriff,” I said as we walked down the
steps together.

He shook his head, then held the door at the
bottom of the landing for me. “You want some crowd control? I’m on
my way over to Flickering Lights, but I can send one of my people
over to help you out here.”

“
I’m sure we can handle it.”
I started to change my mind when I followed his gaze and saw that
most of the parking lot was full. At Wick’s End was being overrun
with customers, something I’d been dreaming about since I’d taken
over.

It was a wonderful lesson in being careful
what you wish for.

Chapter 4

I’d never seen the candleshop so crowded,
even though few of our visitors had any of our products or supplies
in their hands. It appeared they’d all shown up to get a look at
the accused killer. Well, if I was going to be on display, I was
going to at least make some money from it.

I said loudly, “My name’s Harrison Black. If
you’re here to buy candlemaking supplies, welcome. But if you’re in
At Wick’s End for any other reason, I’m going to have to ask you to
leave.”

“
Why aren’t you under
arrest?” a woman asked from the back of the store.

“
Because I didn’t kill
Gretel Barnett.” I suddenly had a thought. “If you have a question
for me, I’ll consider answering it as I’m ringing up your
sale.”

That caused a run on the shelves, and I saw
Eve shaking her head in obvious disapproval. So be it. It was my
candleshop, and my choice.

I walked to the register as the line started
to form. A woman handed me an expensive candlemaking kit, and as
Eve rang it up, I said, “So what’s your question?”

She said meekly, “I don’t have one. I just
wandered in to buy a kit. I hope that’s all right.”

“
Of course it is,” I said,
feeling my face flush. “That’s why we’re here.”

As she signed her credit card slip, the
woman asked timidly, “So who was it you were supposed to have
killed?”

“
A fellow candlemaker, but
it’s not true.”

She grabbed the bag from Eve and scurried
out, hesitating to look back at me before she bolted through the
door.

“
Nicely done, Harrison,” Eve
said.

“
So I wasn’t right about
everyone here. How much do you want to bet I’m right about most of
the rest of them?”

She said, “I won’t wager on a sure thing
against me. You should hear some of the questions they’ve been
asking me about you.”

“
No doubt I’m going
to.”

The next person in line said, “I saw the
sheriff’s patrol car out front. How’d you manage to convince him
you didn’t do it?”

Eve rang up his sale as I replied, “That
one’s easy. I’m not guilty.”

“
Hey, that’s not much of an
answer.”

I shrugged and said, “Well, you didn’t buy
much, did you?”

That sent several people in line scurrying
back to the shelves. I saw Eve watching me closely, and I asked,
“Is that a smile?”

She chuckled softly. “Harrison, you’re
incorrigible, you know that, don’t you?”

“
So I’ve been told. How are
we doing? I just about sold out my stock at the street
fair.”

Eve said, “Oh, we’re having a banner day. I
thought about closing up as the crowd began to grow, but then I
figured you’d want to stay open.”

“
I know you don’t approve,
but I appreciate it anyway.”

She shook her head. “It’s not up to me, but
do you think Belle would have liked this?”

My Great-Aunt had loved candlemaking, so I’d
been told by those closest to her, but she hadn’t been that
enthusiastic about marketing and promoting her wares. I was more
concerned with the bottom line. Besides, it wasn’t like I was
trying to benefit from Gretel’s murder. There was a good chance
many of my regular customers might shun me until I was cleared of
suspicion, and if I was going to keep my business afloat, I had to
take advantage of the opportunities as they presented
themselves.

“
The thing you’ve got to
remember is that Belle wanted the candleshop to stay
open.”

“
But at what
cost?”

I didn’t know how to answer that, and
fortunately the line was re-forming. There was a man up front with
a basket full of our most expensive stock, both kits and actual
candles that Eve and Belle had poured themselves. There was even
one of my creations in his selection, something I felt very good
about.

He handed the basket to Eve and said, “Take
your time.” He then turned to me and said, “Harrison, I understand
there was bad blood from the start between you and Gretel
Barnett.”

“
I wasn’t exactly thrilled
she was opening up a candleshop franchise so close to my shop, but
I was willing to extend a neighborly hand to her.”

“
So what’s this I hear about
you two facing down in a shouting match this morning?”

This guy was relentless. “We had a
disagreement, plain and simple. I’m sorry we won’t have the
opportunity to resolve it.” And that was true. I felt a little sick
that Gretel had died with bad blood brewing between us. She wasn’t
my favorite person in the world, but that still didn’t mean I’d
wanted to see her dead.

“
Were you trying to bury
her, like you said?”

I was doing my best not to lose my temper,
but he was goading me. “She said she was going to bury me, not the
other way around.”

Finally Eve handed the man his card slip and
he signed a hasty scrawl. As our customer took it, he said, “How
about this relationship between the murder victim and one of the
men here at River’s Edge?”

Before I could answer, Eve said, “That’s it,
I knew your name sounded familiar. You’re Tom Francis from The
Gunpowder Gazette, aren’t you?”

Oh, no! I hadn’t realized I was being
interviewed by the newspaper trying to hang me.

It was time to get rid of him. “Your
shopping trip is over, and if you quote me, I’ll deny every word of
it.”

He grinned and held up a tape recorder he’d
retrieved from his front pocket. “Just try it.”

As he scurried away, I said, “No more
interviews. Buy or don’t buy, I’m finished talking.”

Half the people left at the announcement,
but the rest lingered, hoping I’d change my mind. Eve said,
“Nothing like locking the barn after the horses are all gone.”

“
Was it that bad? Did I say
anything I shouldn’t have?”

“
Harrison, anything more
than ‘no comment’ would have been too much.”

I nodded. “Okay, maybe I should have given
it a little more thought before I made my offer to them.”

As Eve rang up another sale, she said, “I
wouldn’t waste my time worrying about it. Chances are they would
have smeared you without the interview.”

“
If that’s supposed to make
me feel better, it’s not working.”

We got through the rest of the customers as
closing time neared. I had had enough. “Why don’t we lock up early?
All I want to do is to go upstairs, take a hot shower and lose
myself in a good book.”

Eve said, “I thought our table was still at
the fair? And weren’t you supposed to help Heather take her display
down, too?”

“
Blast it, I forgot all
about that.”

“
If you’d like, I suppose I
could do it.”

I shook my head. “No, I need to do it
myself. I promised Heather I’d be there. You can shut down early if
you’d like.”

“
You know how I feel about
that. I’ll stay open till the posted store hours are
over.”

“
Just leave the deposit
then. I’ll make it this evening.”

As I headed for the Ford truck, I was
surprised to find a stranger waiting nearby for me. The alley
behind River’s Edge was as uninviting a place as I’d ever seen, not
exactly a spot to linger. The man wore faded blue jeans and a
jacket that had seen its share of rough weather. I thought about
turning around and going back inside when he called my name.

“
Harrison Black?”

“
What can I do for you,” I
said, clenching my key ring in my fist.

“
I want to talk to you about
what happened today.”

Yeah, well, I didn’t. “Listen, I’m tired of
answering questions. If you want to hear what really happened, read
the newspaper tomorrow and believe just the opposite of what
they’ll be printing.”

“
No, you don’t understand. I
was at the fair today. I know you didn’t kill her, because I saw
who did.”

“
Are you serious? You need
to go to the police.”

He looked at River’s Edge, then said, “This
place must be worth a fortune.”

“
You’d have to ask the bank,
it mostly belongs to them. What’s that got to do with anything,
anyway?’

“
I was thinking maybe
there’d be some kind of reward for coming forward,” the man said
softly.

“
Get out of
here,”

It was obviously not the kind of reaction he
was expecting. “What do you mean? You’re not going to pay me?”

“
For telling the truth? I
doubt you’d know it if it bit you on the leg. You probably weren’t
even at the fair today. Now go away.”

He started to do as I’d asked, but paused
before leaving the alley. “I could have seen it the other way just
as easily, you know. If I give it enough thought, I might just
remember that I saw you shoot her after all.”

“
You’re bluffing
now.”

“
What makes you think
so?”

“
Because there’s nothing in
it for you. Besides, I didn’t do it.”

I started the truck, my hands shaking from
the confrontation. I couldn’t believe anybody would try to shake me
down for testifying to the truth. I realized that I’d better
mention what had happened in the parking lot to the sheriff, just
in case the lunatic tried to follow through with his threat of
smearing me. I didn’t need any more headaches at the moment than I
already had. I finally managed to collect myself by the time I got
to New Conover. It was just in time to break the displays down,
too. Most likely I was in for another round of accusations before
the night was over.

Surprisingly, things were quiet as Heather
and I dismantled our tables. She said, “It’s been like this all
afternoon. The other vendors have been ignoring me, and the
customers just stare as they walk by.”

“
I’m sorry,” I said. “I feel
responsible.”

“
It’s not your fault,
Harrison,” she said. “I can’t believe this happened right under our
noses. Who would have had any reason to shoot Gretel
Barnett?”

“
Do you mean besides
me?”

“
Come on, I already told
you, I know you didn’t do it. But I can’t help wondering who
did.”

“
I don’t have a clue. It
could have been anybody. With all those firecrackers going off and
the crowds milling around, it would be so easy for the killer to
fade back into the mob. It’s really none of my
business.”

Heather said, “You’re joking, right? If
anybody should be searching for the killer, it should be you.”

“
Why? Let the police handle
it. Sheriff Morton’s good at what he does.”

“
So you’re willing to let
your candleshop die, just like that? Harrison, there’s something
you don’t understand. Just the implication that you had anything to
do with Gretel’s death could be enough to destroy your business.
What she couldn’t do in life, she might just manage in
death.”

“
We had a load of customers
today,” I said in my own defense.

“
Curiosity seekers,” she
said. “How many of your regular customers will come back if they
think you’re a killer? Do you think Mrs. Jorgenson is going to come
waltzing in for more private lessons while you have this hanging
over your head? Believe me, you’d better figure out who killed
Gretel, and do it soon if you want to keep At Wick’s End
open.”

I hadn’t even thought about Mrs. Jorgenson.
If I lost her business, which I very possibly could, my profit
margin would sink like a stone in the Gunpowder. Heather was right.
If I was going to keep my candleshop open, I was going to have to
figure out who had killed the only other chandler in town.

After unloading Heather’s things back at
River’s Edge and putting the tables we’d used back into storage, I
decided to pay a visit to Flickering Lights to see if I could find
anything that might point to a reason Gretel had been murdered.
Knowing Sheriff Morton, there was a good chance he would be there
himself, and while he probably wouldn’t be all that crazy about me
just showing up, maybe I’d be able to find something out that would
help clear me.

The new candleshop was lit up when I got
there, though there was no sign that the police were anywhere
around. Morton must have finished his search and moved on. I tried
the door anyway and was surprised when it opened. As I walked
inside the franchise store, I saw that Gretel didn’t shy away from
carrying the most expensive candlemaking kits available, and the
prices on her display pieces were nearly double mine. I didn’t know
if she’d be able to sell much of her wares, but with the mark-up
she’d built in, it wouldn’t take much for her to show a profit.

Two steps inside, I spotted an older
gentleman behind the counter, nervously rubbing the bridge of his
nose with one finger. He looked up and said, “I’m sorry, but we’re
not really open. I shouldn’t even be here, but I don’t know what
else to do. The police just left.”