Snuffed Out (Book 2 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (19 page)

As I drove home, I wondered who I’d ask. At
one time I would have said Heather might be a nice dinner
companion, but lately, with her erratic actions and vanishing acts,
I wasn’t sure. The fact that she’d dated Aaron had nothing to do
with it. Well, not a lot, at any rate. She’d reacted so strongly to
his demise that I wondered how close they’d really been. It would
most likely take her some time to get over him, especially since
her chance at closure was now gone forever.

Erin? She intrigued me, there was no doubt
about that, but I’d already asked her out once, and her reaction
had been tepid, at best. Wow, I was certainly quite the ladies’
man, wasn’t I? Of one thing there was no doubt; I wouldn’t go back
to any of the women I’d dated casually before. It was time to meet
someone new.

Saying it and doing it were two different
things, though. I was past hanging out in bars, while I felt
Laundromats and grocery stores were unacceptable singles’ scenes,
so that left customers at the shop and other tenants. Should I ask
Sanora out? She was certainly lovely, and I did enjoy her
personality. But she was also a suspect in her ex-husband’s death,
in my mind if not the police’s. And if I was being, honest with
myself, Heather was, too, though I still had a hard time believing
that, Tick was twenty years too old for me, Eve thirty years and
too tempestuous to boot.  Millie was married, so that brought
me back to square one.

That was the way things seemed to go.
Whenever I was looking, there was no one around, but the second I
found myself starting a new relationship, the opportunities
suddenly appeared boundless. I usually did fine on my own; I’d
grown comfortable enough with my own company, but there were times
when it would have been nice to have someone to call. It would
happen again for me, but in the meantime, I did have plenty on my
plate, certainly enough to keep me busy and occupied.

I was debating about what to make myself for
dinner as I climbed the stairs to my apartment.

I couldn’t have been more surprised to find
Heather waiting for me by my front door.

Chapter 14

I said, “Where have you been? What’s going
on with you?

Do have any idea what’s been happening
around here?” My questions tumbled out in a rush.

“
Slow down. Aren’t you going
to invite me in?”

“
Of course I am.” I stepped
past her and unlocked the door to my apartment. “Come on
in.”

She followed me in, and I locked the door
behind us. “Can I get you something to drink? How about a bite to
eat?”

“
No, I’m fine.” She averted
her gaze from me as she said solemnly, “Harrison, I didn’t mean to
run out on you like I did.”

“
You didn’t run out on me,
well, not just me. What happened?”

“
I guess everything around
here was just too much foe me. First Aaron died, and then you
sprang Sanora on me, it was more than I could take. So I left. That
was a mistake.”

The second she mentioned Sanora’s name, a
burning question came to mind. “Have you rented a truck lately for
your move? A Wee Haul van, in particular?”

“
What kind of a question is
that?” she asked.

“
One I need answered,” I
said.

She met my gaze and said solemnly, “No, I
haven’t rented a van, a Wee Haul or otherwise. I wouldn’t leave
without talking to you first.”

So that cleared Heather of the attempted hit
and run, at least if she was telling me the truth. Of course what
would a little white lie count against trying to kill someone? On
the face of it, her assurance shouldn’t have meant a thing to me,
but it did. I believed her, whether it was the right thing to do or
not regardless of what Millie’s husband George had heard about
Heather renting a van.

I asked, “So what’s going on in your
life?”

She said, “It’s been too crazy to tell. How
are things at River’s Edge?”

“
Never a dull moment. Some
genius tried to burn me out, somebody tried to run Sanora down with
a van, and Pearly and Eve have been secretly
dating.”                          

She took it all in, then said, “So that’s
why you asked me about the van. I suppose I had that coming.”

“
Heather, I saw your sign
change in the middle of the night and there was a rumor you were
moving everything in your shop to Charlotte. You fired Mrs. Quimby,
for goodness sake. What was I supposed to think?”

“
I don’t blame you, but I’d
be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that you didn’t believe in
me.” She got up and started for the door.

“
Wait a second, Heather,
that’s not fair. I never said a word to anyone but
Millie.”

“
And what did she say?”
Heather asked.

I admitted, “She didn’t think you could do
it, not for one second.”

“
So at least one of my
friends still believes in me.”

I said, “You haven’t given me much reason to
lately, but I believe in you, too. You can walk out of here right
now, goodness knows you’ve done it before, but if you want to stay,
you’re welcome to.”

She thought about it a second or two, then
said, “You know what? You’re right. I’m tired of running.” She
slumped down on the couch, then said, “If the offer’s still open,
I’ll take that drink.”

“
You’ve got it. Is bourbon
okay?”

“
Cut it with some Coke,” she
said. I got the Maker’s Mark out and poured her a drink, splashing
some soda in on her request. Mine I took neat.

After she took a sip, she said, “Okay, you
wanted to talk. I’m ready.”

Suddenly I didn’t have the heart to push her
anymore. I was her friend, and though there were several questions
I wanted to ask, our friendship had to come first. I said, “I’m not
going to interrogate you. I do have one question, though.”

“
Fire away.”

“
Where’s Esmeralda?” I
asked.

Heather laughed. “I knew she’d get under
your skin. She’s got a way of making converts out of
unbelievers.”

I protested, “It’s not that. I just
wondered, that’s all.”

Heather said, “She’s downstairs in my shop,
curled up on her bed, if I know her. Don’t worry, you can see her
tomorrow.”

I waved that off. The idea that I was
getting close to her cat was ridiculous. I’d asked out of
curiosity, nothing more. I thought about giving Heather the catnip
mouse I’d picked up, but decided it could wait for another
time.

I took a sip of my drink, then asked, “So
are you staying, or did you come to say good-bye?”

“
If you’ll have me, I’m not
going anywhere.” There was a conviction in her words that I
liked.

“
As far as I know, your
lease is still good.”

She leaned forward and touched my knee.
“That’s not what I’m asking. If you don’t want me here anymore,
I’ll pack up and move tomorrow.”

I took a sip, then said, “Of course I want
you here. You shouldn’t even have to ask.”

“
Oh yes I should,” she said.
“Thank you, Harrison.”

“
For what?”

“
For everything.”

I smiled. “Well, I can’t take credit for
everything, but I’m happy to do my part. Are you sure you’re going
to be okay, working here with Sanora around?”

“
I’m over it,” she said.
“I’ve had my little snit. I’m not saying we’re going to be best
friends, but I won’t go out of my way to cross her.”

“
That’s all I can ask for.”
I raised my glass to her, then said, “Welcome back.”

“
It’s good to be back,” she
said.

I had a thought, one last thing to clear up
in my mind while we were having a frank discussion. “Hang on a
second,” I said, “I’ll be right back.”

I retrieved the crystal bauble Sanora had
discovered in Aaron’s office and held it out to her. “I believe
this belongs to you.”

She studied it a second, then said, “Sorry,
it’s not mine.”

“
Are you sure?” I asked. “It
looks like it came off a necklace or something.”

She shook her head. “Nothing I carry. It
looks like—.”

At that instant, the outside lights sprang
to life, shining through my window.

“
Your security lights are
working,” she said.

I peered through the window. “I wonder who’s
out there at this hour.” I was going to have to get Pearly to
reposition the light over my apartment. There was a reflected glare
that blinded me as I looked out.

“
I’d better go see what’s
going on,” I said, grabbing the baseball bat I kept by the door.
“I’ll be right back.”

“
I’m going with you,”
Heather said as she put her drink down.

“
Maybe you should stay
here,” I insisted.

She just rolled her eyes. “Are you coming?”
she said as she started for the door.

“
At least let me lead the
way.”

I started to flip on the hall light when
Heather put hen hand on mine. “Maybe we shouldn’t advertise that
we’re coming.”

“
That’s a good idea,” I
said. There was enough light! shining through for me to see the
stairwell, and I grabbed the rail with one hand as I clutched the
bat in the other. I had never been all that fond of guns, but the
bat felt reassuring in my hand.

I carefully opened the door and found
Sheriff Morton standing in front of Heather’s shop.

“
Have a night game?” he
asked, then sneezed.

I relaxed. “Just thought we’d hit a few
balls in the parking lot. I thought you were sick.”

“
No way,” he said, then
sneezed again. He looked as pale as I’d ever seen him.

I said, “No, you’re a picture of perfect
health. What are doing out here?”

Morton said, “Patrolling. Too many men out,
so I had to work.”

“
Go home, sheriff. There’s
nothing going on out here.”

He gestured to the lights. “Those are
new.”

“
I thought they might
help.”

“
Couldn’t hurt,” he said as
he wiped at his eyes.

“
Sheriff, if we need you,
we’ll call.”

“
Yeah, I’d better get back
to the office.”

I thought about offering to drive him, but
decided against it, knowing that the only result of my offer would
be his howling protest.

As he drove off, Heather came up behind me.
I suddenly realized that she’d held back in the shadows as I’d
spoken to the sheriff.

“
There you are,” I
said.

“
When I saw it was the
sheriff, I went back for my purse. It’s been a long day, and I want
to get home.”

I looked around and noticed her car was
missing. “Where’d you park?”

“
I’m in back. I’ll just go
through my shop and collect Esme, then I’m going home.”

“
Let me walk you through
your store,” I said.

“
You don’t have to,” Heather
protested.

“
I know I don’t have to. I
want to.”

As she unlocked the door to her shop, she
said, “Admit it, you just want to say hi to the cat.”

“
Sure, that’s it,” I said as
I followed her inside.

She flipped on a few lights as we entered
the shop, and Esmeralda got up from her bed and stretched as only a
cat could. I didn’t expect her to rush to me, but we’d formed a
friendship, so I thought she’d at least acknowledge my
presence.

Instead, she ignored me utterly and jumped
up into Heather’s arms.

“
Hello to you, too,” I
said.

Heather laughed. “What were you expecting?
She’s a cat, Harrison, not a dog.”

“
I know that,” I
said.

I walked her through her shop, then out the
back. Heather put Esmeralda in the passenger seat and turned to me.
She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek.

“
What was that for?” I
asked.

“
For believing
me.”

I stayed there until she drove off, then
walked back around to the front of River’s Edge. I did believe her,
whether I had reason to or not. Sanora was still a suspect, and so
was Gary Cragg, but there was one person I’d ignored up to now: the
mysterious Ms. X. It was time to track down Aaron Gaston’s last
love.

But it would have to wait until morning. I’d
had a big day, and all I wanted to do was get some rest.

As I drifted off, I remembered the brush-off
Esmeralda, had given me. How could I begin to explain to a cat
that: the reason I hadn’t seen her for so long had nothing to do
with me? Maybe if I gave her the catnip mouse, she’d get over
it.

Cats and women. I was no closer to
understanding one of them than I was the other.

The first thing Eve noticed walking into At
Wick’s End the next day was the absent pair of candles. “What
happened, did you finally decide to throw them out?”

I kept looking at my inventory sheet as I
said, “No, I sold them after you left yesterday.”

“
You are kidding me,” Eve
said. “How in the world did you manage that?”

“
I had a customer with very
particular tastes.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe it.
Belle is probably spinning in her grave.”

“
Why do you say that?” I
asked.

“
Harrison, I can’t believe
she ever intended those for sale. They were her experiments, not
her stock. She would have been appalled to have them go out the
door.”