Read Online Death Waxed Over (Book 3 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) by Tim Myers - Free Book Online Page A

down with it.”
    Eve frowned, started to say something, then
changed her mind as she headed for the front.
    I asked her, “Where are you going?”
    “ We’re still open for
business, Harrison. I’m going to go unlock the door.”
    I let her go, lost in my
own self-pity. My worst fear had come true: Mrs. Jorgenson had
abandoned us, cutting the last vestiges of profitability we had.
I’d have to speak with Mary Ann, my bookkeeper, and see how much of
a cushion we had before it was time to print up the going out of business signs.
    When I walked up front to find her number,
Eve was actually waiting on a customer. The woman looked familiar
to me, but I didn’t recognize her immediately. She had frosted hair
piled on her head in some kind of complicated structure that defied
gravity, no doubt with the aid of a full can of hairspray. As Eve
rang up her sale, I said, “It’s good to see you here again.”
    “ I’ve never been in this
shop in my life,” she said, avoiding eye contact with me. “I just
found out about this place this morning.”
    “ I’m sorry, but haven’t we
met before?”
    “ No, I’m sure you’re
mistaken. I’m new to the area.” She grabbed her change from Eve,
nearly forgot her bag, then retrieved it and bolted out of the
shop.
    “ What was that all about?” I
asked. “Another faithful reader of The Gunpowder
Gazette?”
    “ No, at least she never
mentioned it. She told me she just moved down from Charleston, West
Virginia. Harrison, you really should try harder to remember our
customers. Belle was an expert at it.”
    “ Come on, Eve, I can’t
remember every single person who comes in the door.” I looked
around the shop. “Until lately, that is. I’m telling you, that
woman looked familiar. If I didn’t see her in here, where did I see
her?”
    “ I do hope that’s a
rhetorical question,” Eve said. “I certainly can’t help you with
it.”
    “ It’ll come to me. Just give
me some time to think about it.”
    She frowned, then said, “In the meantime,
you really should speak with Mary Ann about our situation. It might
be prudent to find out where we stand financially. Not that I’m
trying to tell you how to run the business.”
    “ I was just thinking the
same thing myself. I’ve been meaning to give her a
call.”
    I couldn’t bring myself to dial Mary Ann’s
number. I was serious about seeing what kind of slump we could
handle before things got really desperate, but the phone call would
have to wait. Pearly Gray walked into At Wick’s End, and from the
look on his face, he’d just lost his last friend in the world.
    Pearly said, “Harrison, do you have a
moment?”
    “ I do for you. Come on back
to the office.”
    He said, “I hate to ask, but could we speak
outside?”
    “ No problem.” I would have
gone to the zoo with him if it would make him feel better. “Eve,
I’ll be back.”
    “ That’s fine,” she said,
carefully avoiding Pearly’s glance. The two of them had gone out a
few times, until Eve had discovered that Pearly was escorting
several different women around town. Since then, they had been
going through a rather chilly exchange of insincere
pleasantries.
    I walked outside the candleshop with Pearly
and asked, “So where would you like to talk? We can take Belle’s
truck somewhere.”
    “ That won’t be necessary,”
he said. “The steps here will be fine.”
    I followed him down the concrete steps in
front of River’s Edge that led to the Gunpowder River, and we sat
three levels from the water’s edge. It was nearly as good as the
tailgate of a truck for talking. Most Southern men didn’t like a
lot of eye contact when they talked to each other, and any pretense
to avoid it was acceptable.
    As he stared out over the water, Pearly
said, “Harrison,
    I owe you so many apologies I don’t even
know where to begin.”
    “ My friend, you don’t owe me
anything. You come here every day and do a fine job keeping River’s
Edge afloat.