Snuffed Out (Book 2 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (16 page)

A few customers managed to find their way
down to At Wick’s End, but they were more interested in browsing
than buying. When it was time to close out the register for the
day, I realized we were actually quite a bit below our normal daily
take. So much for the trickle-down theory of customers shopping all
the stores at River’s Edge. I sent Eve home and closed out the
books, filled out the deposit, and locked the shop up for the
evening. It was one of our early closing days, and I was looking
forward to a little time away from River’s Edge. If I hurried, I
might be able to get down to Erin’s boating shop before she closed.
But the bank deposit came first.

I dropped the bag off, and
made it to Erin’s twenty minutes before closing. No one was there,
though. I found a sign on the door that said,
gone for the day. whitewatering on the nolichucky.

So much for that. I wondered how much a
kayak cost, and more important, if I could afford it on my limited
budget. It would be nice to hit the water whenever I felt like it
and not have to rely on someone else. Then again, I wouldn’t have
the excuse to pop in on Erin anymore either.

I’d have to think about it, then consult my
bank balance.

I was in no hurry to get back to River’s
Edge, not after being so eager to leave it, so I decided to head
over to the library to see what was new in the stacks. I had my
share of mysteries on the shelves from Belle, but I also had a
passion for biographies, one my late Great-Aunt hadn’t shared with
me.

Robyn, my friend and the best research
librarian in the state, was busy helping a patron. I waved to her,
and she acknowledged me with a bob of her head. I wandered over to
the biographies, located near the open study area, and was browsing
through the Gs when I heard a familiar voice.

It was Cragg, and from the look of things,
he’d gotten himself into a spot of trouble.

I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but it was hard
not to, given the volume of the two men’s voices. Cragg was talking
with a man nearly twice his size, with thick shoulders and hands
that looked like they could crush rocks.

“
Stay away from her,” the
man said, punctuating his point by jabbing Cragg’s chest. The
attorney stood up under the assault, though he did back up a step
or two.

“
Let her make up her own
mind,” Cragg said.

“
She did. She wants
me.”

Cragg said, “When she tells me that, I’ll
believe it. That first tap was free. If you touch me again, I’ll
sue you until you’ve lost every last dime to your name.”

“
Lawyers. What a bunch of
cowards.”

Robyn suddenly appeared, and though she was
quite a bit smaller than Cragg, let alone the giant with him, she
marched in between them as if she was twenty feet tall.

“
I’ve told you both twice to
lower your voices. Leave this library, and I mean right
now.”

The big man said, “We’re not finished.”

Robyn walked up under his chin and said,
“Believe me, you don’t want to push this. Now are you going to go
peacefully?”

The big man looked at her a second, then
said, “Yeah, I’m going.” He stopped and said to Cragg, “Leave her
alone.”

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
Sanora 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.”