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

It’s all I have any right to expect of
you.”
    “ You said it yourself,
though. We’ve become friends since your Great-Aunt died. And a
friend owes you more than an employee does. I should have told you
from the beginning that I was keeping company with Gretel. In my
defense, I didn’t know that she’d planned to open a candleshop
until she’d already bought the place. The fool woman paid cash for
the building and her franchising fee, if you can imagine
that.”
    “ She wasn’t just renting? I
can’t believe she owned the space outright.” I was more than a
little jealous. If I lived to be eighty, I might own River’s Edge,
but that depended on a lot of good luck to happen along the
way.
    “ She got some kind of
incredible inheritance when her parents died. Her brother
squandered his, but Gretel had a knack for making her portion grow.
They ended up hating each other because of it. It bothered me at
first, knowing how much she was worth, but Gretel never put on airs
about it. I’m doing this badly,” he added with a heavy
sigh.
    “ You’re doing fine,” I said.
Though I knew Pearly’s history as a psychologist, I also realized
that professional relationships and personal ones were quite
different. While I never doubted for an instant that he had been
good at his job, I knew it was difficult for most people to
apologize.
    “ Don’t be so sure. There’s
more I haven’t told you yet. I’m afraid she got the idea for her
shop from me, at least indirectly. I was bragging about what a fine
job you’ve been doing here, and she started to ask questions. I
thought she was just taking an interest in my life, but it turns
out she was mining me for information. I probably should have
walked away after that, but blast it all, it’s been difficult for
me to find a woman who challenged me like she did.”
    “ Nobody has the right to
expect that kind of loyalty in their friendship. You followed your
heart, Pearly.”
    “ You’re being too easy on
me, Harrison. She thought River’s Edge was coming between us, and
I’m afraid she started to resent you. She told me she was going to
wipe you out, so I broke it off with her.”
    “ When did all this
happen?”
    “ The night before she was
murdered,” Pearly said, his voice nearly choking. “I was at the
fair to make amends—to see if we couldn’t work out some kind of
compromise— but it took me too long to work up my nerve, and by the
time I was ready to talk to her, she was dead.”
    I couldn’t imagine what he was going
through. His unresolved issues with her would probably haunt him
the rest of his life, and I didn’t envy Pearly that at all. And to
think I’d called my troubled sleep nightmares!
    “ I’m sorry if I played any
part in your grief, Pearly.”
    “ I’ll work it out, Harrison.
I have to find a way to live with what happened. The first step is
making things right with you.”
    “ We’re fine, Pearly. If you
need someone to talk to, I’m right here.”
    He nodded, then we both stood. As he offered
me his hand, Pearly said, “I appreciate the offer, but what I
really need right now is a few days away to clear my head. Would
that be all right with you? I’d like to go up into the mountains
alone and sort this out.”
    I could hardly deny his request. “Take as
much time as you need.”
    “ You’re a good friend,
Harrison, better than I have any right to expect.”
    “ I have my moments,” I said,
smiling slightly.
    Pearly left, the slump in his shoulders
eased somewhat. I couldn’t imagine what he was going through, but
I’d do my best to help him deal with it. I’d find a way to hold the
complex together until he got back.
    It was too early for lunch, but I couldn’t
face going back to an empty shop, so I decided to indulge in one of
Millie’s pastry treats. She waited on a few customers ahead of me,
then said, “What can I get you today, Harrison?”
    “ I was hoping you had
something special on the menu this