Death Waxed Over (Book 3 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (15 page)

I felt an icy chill. “So you know who I
am.”

“
Son, everybody in the
county knows your mug after that spread they did on you in the
newspaper.”

“
The police know that I
didn’t kill her,” I said, a statement that was more optimistic than
I felt. “They’re looking for alternate suspects now.”

Marty said, “I’ll answer to them, but I
won’t answer to you.”

It was time to nudge him a little. “So you
do have something to hide.”

He got up, leaned over me and said, “Not
that it’s any of your business, but I was right here, just like
every other Saturday since I’ve owned this place. It’s our busiest
day, and no one gets off; not even me. I’ve got to go.”

After he’d disappeared, I waved the waitress
over. She said, “Are you ready now, Sugar?”

“
Just the check,” I
said.

She scribbled out something on a pad, then
slipped it to me. I left her a tip, a lot bigger than she merited,
then took my bill to the register. The redhead was ringing someone
up ahead of me, and when she got to me, I said, “Thanks for
pointing Marty my way.”

“
You’re welcome,” she said
as she took my money.

“
I heard you’all were
selling the place,” I said as casually as I could manage
it.

“
He was going to, but the
deal fell through. Marty hasn’t been the same since.” She lowered
her voice and added, “I shouldn’t say anything, but we’re just
squeaking by here. Marty always wanted to move out West, and he was
afraid this was his last chance.”

I was about to ask something else when Marty
suddenly reappeared. “Roxie, I need you in the office.”

“
But Thelma’s on break.
Somebody’s got to run the register.”

“
Let Shelly do it. Now,
Roxie.”

She handed me my change, then walked back to
Marty. He didn’t say another word to me, but his glare was smoking
as I left.

As I walked outside, I thought about how
casual Marty had tried to play me, and how earnest he’d really been
about selling out, according to Roxie. I hoped she didn’t get in
trouble for leveling with me, but I was glad she’d been forthright.
Marty Graybill could stand a little more scrutiny. Even though he
claimed he’d been working all Saturday, it shouldn’t be all that
hard to check. I’d have to leave that to Morton, though. He had the
resources to follow up on alibis. All I could do was point the
sheriff in the right direction. Morton and I were going to have to
have a long talk soon. I had to come up with some way to share what
I’d learned without stepping on his toes. It was going to have to
be a delicate dance, but I’d done it before.

I had some time on my hands
before I had to get to the candleshop for my shift, so I walked
down the block toward Flickering Lights. I wanted to see if Jubal
had been able to track down Gretel’s brother. As I walked down the
street, I saw
for rent
signs in three of the buildings along the way. These were
most likely Mrs. Jorgenson’s properties and the Minnesota investor.
At least Marty Graybill was generating income from his restaurant.
The two of them were losing money every day their buildings stood
empty. I still couldn’t see Mrs. Jorgenson as a killer, and I
promised myself I’d make another stab at patching things up with
her. Maybe after I spoke with Jubal, I’d drive back out to her
place and try to get an audience.

Jubal was alone in his shop, a sign I hoped
meant that my customers were starting to come back to me.
“Harrison, good of you to come by. Is your candleshop closed this
morning?”

“
No, I’ve got an assistant
running it when I’m not there.”

He sighed. “It’s an incredible amount of
work, operating a shop by yourself, isn’t it? It’s no wonder Gretel
invited me down here to work with her. Frankly, I’m not sure how
much longer I can keep the place open.”

“
What about Hans? Has anyone
heard from him?”

“
The attorney tells me he’s
doing everything in his power to locate him, but to be honest with
you, I don’t know how much luck he’s going to have. Hans never was
my favorite. I’d walk through fire for Gretel, but her brother is a
different story entirely. Greed ruled him.”

“
Do me a favor, Jubal. If
you do hear from him, would you let me know?”

“
More idle speculation,
Harrison? I was under the impression that things were quieting
down.”

“
What makes you say that?” I
asked.

He picked up a copy of The Gunpowder
Gazette. “It’s more what they’re not saying than what they’re
printing. You haven’t been mentioned in days.”

“
I suppose that’s something
to be thankful for, anyway.” I glanced at my watch and realized
that if I was going to have time to drive out to Mrs. Jorgenson’s
before my shift started, I’d have to get going.

As I headed for the door, I said, “Remember,
call me if you hear from him.”

Jubal nodded and I left him to his
candleshop.

Mrs. Jorgenson’s car was nowhere in sight
when I pulled up in front of her house, though she had a huge
garage that was a completely separate building. I walked over and
tried to peek inside, but the tinting was so dark I couldn’t see a
thing. Her butler must have noticed my arrival, because he opened
the door before I’d even had the chance to knock.

“
I’m afraid Mrs. Jorgenson
is still unavailable.”

“
Come on, I just want a few
words with her.”

“
So sorry,” he said, then
closed the door on me.

So much for the direct approach. I had no
doubt she was in there somewhere, but if I was going to make
amends, I was going to have to find another way to do it than face
to face.

I drove back to At Wick’s End wondering how
I was going to manage that. By the time I got back, I was no closer
to an answer than I’d been before. I went upstairs to my apartment
and made a quick sandwich, then headed down to the candleshop for
my shift.

Eve met me at the door, breathless.
“Harrison Black, where have you been?”

“
I’m not due to come in
until noon. Didn’t you look at the schedule?”

She said, “I know that, but it was an awful
time to be away from the shop.”

“
Oh no. What did I miss?” It
seemed like the few times I left the shop to Eve, something
happened that needed my attention. I wasn’t about to stay there
around the clock, though. Soon after I’d taken over all of River’s
Edge, I’d learned my time away from the place was important for me
to maintain my sanity. I could well sympathize with Jubal’s fatigue
at working every hour his shop was open.

Eve said, “Mrs. Jorgenson came by an hour
ago. She was quite upset that she’d missed you.”

“
I was at her place trying
to get past her butler. Did she say what she wanted?”

Eve shook her head. “No, all she would say
was that she’d talk to you some other time.”

“
How did she act?” I
asked.

“
Harrison, you know it’s
impossible to tell that woman’s mood from her expression or
behavior. She’s always so stone-faced it’s a wonder she doesn’t
freeze like that.”

I’d seen a few cracks in that facade since
I’d started teaching her candlemaking, but even I had to admit they
were rare in their appearances.

She studied me a moment, then asked, “So
what are you going to do?”

“
Eve, there’s nothing I can
do. I’ve tried to get past her butler, but he won’t budge. She
knows where I am. I apologized, I even gave her that basket you
made up, though she tried to get the butler to give it back to me.
I don’t know what else I can do.”

“
Harrison Black, you’re as
stubborn as she is.”

I grinned, “Yeah, but I’m not as stubborn as
Belle was. Give me time, though. I’m working on it.”

Eve snorted loudly, then said, “I’m going to
lunch.”

While she was gone, the foot traffic in the
candleshop picked up considerably. By the time she got back, I was
in a deep discussion with a woman about incising candles with
dimensional designs and overdipping. The woman purchased a set of
carving knives and some different wax tints, and after she was
gone, Eve said, “My, you’ve come a long way, Harrison. I didn’t
know you’d learned to incise candles.”

I showed her a round white candle I’d
overdipped in red wax, then scribed feathery crystals into the
surface. “I made this last week.” It had actually been much easier
to create the effect than it appeared. I had always enjoyed
drawing, and etching the surface of the red wax to expose the white
beneath it was the same technique as drawing, just in a different
medium.

Eve took the sample from me, studied it in
the light, then said, “You may have gone a little deep here.” She
pointed to a slight gouge. “And you should have brushed this wax
away after you scribed it,” she added as she pointed out an errant
hint of white.

Before I could reply, she said, “Otherwise,
it’s a perfect job.”

“
Thanks,” I said, happy to
get any compliment on my candlemaking from her, even if it was a
backhanded one. We worked together until five, then Eve prepared to
go home. I was staying open until seven that evening, and while I
didn’t particularly care to work the shop alone, getting a morning
off now and then more than made up for the
inconvenience.

Ten minutes after she was gone, Sheriff
Morton walked in, and from the sour expression on his face, I knew
he wasn’t there to make a social call.

“
Where’s Pearly?” he said
without salutation.

“
Still in the mountains,” I
said. “And how are you today, Sheriff?”

“
Save it, Harrison, I’m not
in the mood for your glib comments. I need to find your
handyman.”

“
Like I told you before,
he’s away on vacation. What’s the sense of urgency?”

Morton frowned. “The headline from The
Gunpowder Gazette tomorrow is going to name Pearly as my chief
suspect. It’s going to be kind of embarrassing if I don’t know
where he is, now isn’t it?”

“
Is the Gazette running the
sheriff’s office now?”

Morton got up in my face and said hotly,
“You might want to watch yourself.”

I took a step back. “Sorry, that was out of
line. Who told them Pearly was even on your list?”

“
You’re not the only one
digging into this besides me. Don’t even try to look shocked or
outraged; I’ve heard what you’ve been doing around
town.”

“
Sheriff, can you really
blame me? I’ve been trying to clear my name.”

“
I never named you a
suspect,” Morton said.

“
You didn’t have to. The
newspaper did that without your help. What did they find
out?”

“
Somebody leaked Gretel’s
bequest to Pearly. That, added to the fact that they’d just broken
up and Pearly was spotted at the fair, makes for a pretty solid
case.”

“
Surely you don’t believe
it,” I said.

“
Love and greed can be a
pretty powerful combination,” Morton said. “I need to talk to him,
Harrison.”

“
Sorry, but I don’t know
where he is. Believe me or don’t, but it’s the truth.”

Morton frowned at me again, then slammed the
door to the candleshop on his way out. There hadn’t been anything I
could do to protect Pearly. Even if I’d known where he was, I
wouldn’t have told the sheriff, though. I would have warned my
handyman to stay out of town as long as he could. I knew firsthand
what the scrutiny of an article in the Gazette could bring, and I
didn’t envy him the experience.

Millie walked in and said, “Thank goodness,
you’re still here.”

“
Why would you think
otherwise?”

She said, “I saw the sheriff drive up, but I
was with a customer when he left. I just thought...you know, that
something might have happened.”

“
No, he didn’t arrest me,
but he probably wanted to. He’s after Pearly, though. There’s going
to be an article in tomorrow’s paper about him, and the sheriff
wants to find him first.”

“
Poor Pearly,” she
said.

“
I made the mistake of
saying the newspaper was running the sheriff’s department. I
thought he was going to arrest me on the spot.”

Millie said, “You probably shouldn’t have
done that.”

“
I know, but who knew he’d
be so touchy?”

“
During the last election,
there were complaints that Morton received too much press, and that
Coburn was barely mentioned at all, even though he was the
incumbent. The sheriff’s been kind of touchy since
then.”

“
Wonderful. I seem to always
manage to say exactly the wrong thing.”

“
You couldn’t know,
Harrison. So what are we going to do about Pearly?” She picked up
the candle I’d shown Eve and spun it in her hands.

“
We can hope he stays away
until this blows over,” I said.

“
We’ve got to do more than
that. Harrison, you need to get to the bottom of this. You’re good
at puzzles. You should look into this.”

“
I’ve been so busy trying to
clear my own name, I haven’t had time to think about
Pearly.”

Millie said, “Well, you’d better start. We
can’t lose him, Harrison; he’s the glue that holds this place
together.”

“
I’ll do what I can,” I
said.