A Flicker of Doubt (Book 4 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (3 page)

“
What is it you want?” I
asked.

“
Since my latest downtown
project was so successful, I’m putting a package together out here
by the river. We could squeeze thirty condos and apartments into
this building alone. I understand this place is tied up legally,
but if you want to fight it, I’m willing to put my lawyers on the
job I’ll make you a rich man, Harrison.”

My great aunt Belle had given me the deed to
River’s Edge with the stipulation that I run the candleshop for
five years, and though I knew I could probably break the

Codicil if I had to, I would have rather
defaulted on the bank loan than go against her last wishes.

“
I told you before, I’m not
interested.”

“
You can’t stand in the way
of progress, Harrison. I’m coming out here, one way or another.” He
gestured out the window of my shop. “It would be a shame to lose
all these trees around you, wouldn’t it? Think about
that.”

“
What are you talking about?
Cyrus Walters and his sister aren’t selling.” Cyrus and Ruth owned
a great deal of the land that abutted River’s Edge, though they’d
never done anything to develop it Instead, Cyrus had cut a path for
strolling in the undergrowth that ran along the river, one I walked
nearly every day.

“
You obviously haven’t
talked to them lately.” The expression on his face made my stomach
knot up. “If you change your mind, call me, but don’t wait too
long.”

He breezed out of the shop and I felt my
heart sicken. Was it possible that Cyrus was actually thinking
about selling his land?

When the complex had been a warehouse
factory in its first incarnation, Cyrus’s father had bought up all
of the surrounding land for expansion. When the factory failed, he
was busy dying himself. The land went to Cyrus and his sister, and
while Cyrus had stayed in Micah’s Ridge his entire life, Ruth had
moved to West Virginia to be closer to her grandchildren.

I walked out onto the walkway in front of
River’s Edge and looked at the trees that bracketed us. It would be
horrible to lose them, especially to a massive block of apartments
and condominiums. The construction noise and debris alone would
make my life miserable, not even considering what would happen when
all those people moved in right on top of me. The nearby location
of so many new residents would probably help some of my tenants,
but I wasn’t sure how many of the Yuppies, Dinks and local social
climbers would be interested in candlemaking.

I called Cyrus to see if Runion was just
bluffing, but there was no answer at his home. In fact, his
answering machine wasn’t even connected. The phone rang for a solid
four minutes before I finally gave up. I’d have to talk to him
before Runion could persuade him and his sister to sell. I knew he
hadn’t yet, or Runion wouldn’t have wasted his time with me.

Eve came back to the candleshop an hour
before she was supposed to start work, but I didn’t push it I knew
she meant well.

“
Harrison, I can work this
shift by myself if you want to go upstairs.”

“
I appreciate it Eve. I
think you all are right. What I really need to do is to get out of
here for a while. Are you sure you don’t mind watching the place by
yourself?”

“
Just be back before
closing. I’d rather not take the deposit to the bank if I don’t
have to”

‘
I’ll be back in plenty of
time to handle that” I said. I walked upstairs, but skipped my
apartment and headed to Markum’s office. He was just locking up as
I approached.

“
Going somewhere?” I
asked.

“
I thought I’d grab some
lunch. Did you shut the candleshop down after all?”

“
No, Eve’s handling things.
Millie called her, and she came in early.” I took a deep breath,
then added, “I heard from Morton.”

Markum’s eyebrows shot up. “What did he have
to ‘ say?”

“
He told me what the coroner
found. Becka didn’t drown; she overdosed on sleeping
pills.”

Markum frowned. “Then how did she end up in
the river?”

“
The sheriff believes that
she went to the overlook to think things through before she took
the overdose, but it’s wrong. Becka hated taking pills. There’s no
way she would have killed herself that way, even if she was
despondent.”

Markum asked softly, “And if she was, I’m
willing to bet you’re wondering why she didn’t call you before she
did anything, aren’t you?”

‘
That’s not the point I’m
telling you, Becka hated pills.”

“
So you’re going to look
into tins yourself,” Markum said.

“
I’ve got to. What choice do
I have?”

Gary Cragg, an attorney with his office
close to Markum’s, poked his head out his door. “Do you two mind?
I’m trying to work.”

“
Sorry,” I said, “We’ll keep
it down.”

“
Better yet, we’ll take it
outside,” Markum said.

That seemed to mollify the attorney. As we
walked down the hallway, I told Markum, “I thought you might like
to help me do some digging, but I guess I was wrong.”

He put a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Now
what in the world gave you that impression? Let’s go”

“
But you don’t agree with
me.”

Markum said, “You knew her better than I
did. I learned a long time ago to trust my gut, Harrison. If it
feels wrong to you, the least we can do is look into it”

“
What makes you trust my
gut?”

He laughed. “You’re all we’ve got right
now.”

We walked downstairs and I said, “Do you
want to grab some lunch at Millie’s before we go?”

He said, “Do you really want to subject
yourself to Twenty Questions? I know she means well, but Millie
won’t let up until she finds out what we’re up to.”

“
You’re right. So where
should we eat?”

As we walked to the back alley where my two
trucks were parked—one bought and one inherited—he said, “If you
trust me, I’ve got just the place.”

“
Let’s go,” I
said.

As I drove us in Belle’s Ford to Markum’s
restaurant choice, I told him about Runion’s visit.

“
One tiling’s for sure. He’s
not bluffing,” Markum said. “I’d believe that guy was capable of
doing anything. There’s no doubt in mind that he’d sell his
grandmother’s burial plot if he could make a buck doing
it”

“
But what can we do about
it? I tried calling Cyrus, but he didn’t answer his
telephone.”

Markum said, ‘I don’t know the man. Do you
feel comfortable visiting him at his home?”

“
Sure, I’ve been to his
place a few times. He’s pretty much a recluse, but he’ll talk to
me.”

Markum nodded. “Okay then. First we eat,
then we talk to your friend. After that we start digging into
Becka’s life.”

“
It sounds like a plan to
me.”

Markum directed me to-a place that was not
much more than a shack on the outskirts of Micah’s Ridge.

There were two dozen cars parked in front,
pulled up on the grass, since there was no parking at all. There
wasn’t even a sign, though I saw a faded red T-shirt hanging from a
nearby tree.

“
Where are we?” I
asked.

“
Grover Blake, the smartest
man I’ve ever met, lives here. He sells barbeque out of his
backyard.”

I got out of the truck reluctantly,
following Markum’s lead. “Is it legal?”

He laughed. “Harrison, look at these cars.
This one belongs to the mayor,” he said, pointing to a shiny new
BMW. It was from the mayor’s car lot. I knew he didn’t make enough
serving the town to afford to own it on his meager salary. “You
think he’s going to shut Grover down? Come on.”

I followed him to a string of picnic tables
and saw some of the most influential people in Micah’s Ridge eating
barbeque sandwiches and drinking Cokes out of glass bottles. Markum
pointed to the lone empty table and said, ‘Take a seat I’ll be
right back.”

I tried not to stare at the people around
me, but it fascinated me to know that this outdoor restaurant
existed not eleven miles from my apartment and I’d never heard the
slightest whisper about it Markum came back with two big sandwiches
wrapped in brown butcher paper in one hand and a pair of Cokes in
the other, along with a thick stack of napkins.

I took the drink from him and said, “What if
I don’t like Coke?”

“
Well, Grover’s got a spigot
at the side of the house.”

“
Coke’s great,” I said. The
smell from the sandwich was amazing. “What’s in this?”

“
Just barbeque on a buttered
bun. No pickles, no slaw, no sauce.”

“
It sounds kind of plain,” I
said.

Markum said, “Keep your voice down, Grover
might hear you. Take a bite, then tell me what you think.”

I took a bite, then another and another.
Before I realized it, my entire sandwich was gone. Markum was
grinning at me between bites. “It’s good, isn’t it?”

“
Come on, it’s better than
good. How does he do it?”

“
He swears it’s because he
recites Emily Dickenson to the pork as it is cooking. Who’s to say
he’s wrong?”

I started to stand. “I’ve got to have
another one. I’m buying this time.”

Markum said, “Sit back down, Harrison. It’s
one per customer, no exceptions. Grover wants to make sure there’s
enough for everybody.”

I found myself wishing I’d taken a .little
more time with my first sandwich, then I looked around and saw that
several of the people eating were lingering over their food like
they were participating in some kind of ritual. “When can I come
back?”

“
You can’t, at least not
without me.” Markum finished his sandwich, then said, “Maybe
there’s something I can do about that, though. Wait right
here.”

I saw him approach a wizened old man the
color of wet ashes. The two of them talked a few minutes, then
Markum nodded toward me and waved. I joined them and noticed that
somehow we’d managed to attract the attention of most folks
there.

Markum said formally, “Harrison, this is
Grover. Grover; this is my friend Harrison Black.”

“
It’s an honor to meet you,
sir,” I said. “If I had a pen and paper, I’d ask you for your
autograph.”

Grover snorted at that “Why would you want
that for?”

“
What I just had wasn’t a
sandwich, it was a work of art”

I thought for a moment I’d blown it, and so
did Markum, if the tenseness in his expression was any indication.
Grover stewed it over it for a full minute, then his scowl turned
into a grin.-”Nothing wrong with enjoying it, but I don’t put on
airs around here, Harrison. That’s something you need to keep in
mind next time.”

“
Yes, sir, I
will”

Grover said, “And another thing. There
aren’t any sirs or ma’ams around here. I’m Grover, just that”

“
Grover,” I said, extending
my hand, “it’s a real pleasure to meet you.”

He took it, and I felt the
coarseness of his hand, brought on by manual labor, and years of it
“And you, Harrison.” We all saw a woman approach, and Grover said,
“Scuse me a second, fellas.”

A distinguished older woman I knew to be a
judge over in Canawba County approached. “Oh, dear, I hope . I’m
not too late.”

“
Sadie, you know I’ll always
save one for you.”

“
Grover, you are a true
Southern gentleman.”

She put her money under a rock on the table
in front of him, and Grover retrieved a Coke from the cooler beside
him. After he handed the drink to her, he opened a homemade grill
the size and shape of a fifty-five gallon ] drum. The full aroma of
the cooked meat hit me. In a heartbeat, he slapped melted butter on
a bun, toasted for a few seconds, then retrieved it and loaded it
with barbeque.

She took it reverently, and Grover turned
back to us. “Sadie’s something. Now Harrison, I hope to see you
next week.”

“
Do I have to wait a week?”
I asked, unable ft hide my disappointment

“
A week’s not too awful long
to wait,” Grover said, then he slapped my shoulder. “Thanks for
bringing him by, Markum; he brings a smile to my face.”

“
Happy to do it Grover. See
you next week.”

After we were back in the truck, I said,
“How long has this been going on?”

“
For twenty years, the way I
understand it.”

I drove toward Cyrus’s house and asked, “So
how did you get invited for the first time?”

Markum smiled. “The same way you did.
Somebody brought me. It’s special invitation only, and you’d better
be sure about who you’re bringing, because if Grover doesn’t like
your guest you’re not welcome yourself anymore.”

“
Thanks for taking a chance
on me. You said something that makes me curious. I know the man’s a
magician with barbeque, but why did you call him the wisest man
you’ve ever known?”

Markum said, “Grover was one of the richest
men in this part of North Carolina, but the stress of keeping his
fortune growing was killing him. He had a scare from his doctor, a
man Grover respected, who told him he’d be dead in six months if he
kept at it Grover told me he stayed up around the clock worrying
about what to do, then he decided if he was going to die anyway, he
was going to do what he’d always longed to, so he sold off his
businesses, gave his money to charity and opened his barbeque
stand. The doctor died seven years ago, but Grover swears he’s
never felt better in his life. Following your dreams is what it’s
all about, Harrison.”