Death Waxed Over (Book 3 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (23 page)

He paused, then added, “Harrison, I’ve just
about decided that Runion was responsible for Gretel’s murder.
There’s little doubt in my mind that he did it. I keep thinking
about who had the most to gain, and he keeps coming up number one.
I don’t know how much he stood to make if he could buy Gretel’s
property, but you can bet it’s more than the forty grand those
masks Pearly got are worth. Even Hans’s share would be peanuts
compared to the total take Runion was set to bring in.”

“
I don’t know, I keep
thinking Hans had to have had something to do with her death. Don’t
forget, he had a lot to gain, too.”

Markum said, “But what if Runion was sure
Hans would sell the building if he inherited it from Gretel?
Wouldn’t that give him enough of a push to expedite the
inheritance?”

“
If that’s true, wouldn’t
that mean that Hans would have to be around?” I said. “I’m starting
to wonder if Pearly’s the only one hiding around here. Think about
it. We don’t have anyone’s word that he’s out of town, except for
Jubal. How hard is it to fake a long-distance telephone call,
anyway? These days it’s as easy to call from London as it is
Charlotte.”

Markum nodded. “You’ve got a point. Now I’m
not generally a trusting soul, but why did I so readily accept the
fact that man was out of the country? Harrison, my friend, perhaps
it’s time I went into another line of work. If my internal lie
detector isn’t working, I don’t have a chance doing what I do.”

“
Don’t be so hard on
yourself,” I said. “This isn’t one of your business
adventures.”

“
No, but it’s turned out to
be some kind of twisted hobby, hasn’t it? So what’s the complete
list? Who do we think might have had a hand in this?”

I took a paper bag from under the counter,
the type Belle had used before I took over. I’d switched over to
plastic because it was cheaper to print our candlelit logo, but Eve
preferred the old style, so we kept both at the register, at least
until we ran out of the paper. “Let’s list our suspects,” I said.
“First, there’s Hans.”

“
I don’t agree he’s number
one, at least not by himself,” Markum said.

“
This isn’t in any
particular order, but if it will make you feel better, we’ll put
Runion first.” I squeezed Runion’s name in on top of Hans’s, then
jotted down Martin Graybill’s name.

“
Who’s this
character?”

I explained to Markum, “He owns a restaurant
on the block Runion wanted to buy. The man’s pretty desperate to
move out of town, and Gretel’s refusal killed that dream.”

“
Okay, he can stay. Don’t
forget your Mrs. Jorgenson. She needs to be on that list,
too.”

“
Come on, do you really
think she could have done it? I don’t believe it. If nothing else,
I can’t see her dressing up as a clown and shooting someone. You
don’t know her as well as I do. It would be beneath
her.”

Markum tapped the bag. “We’re just
hypothesizing here, remember? Besides, she could have paid someone
to do it. Put her down.”

I reluctantly wrote down “Mrs. J,” then
said, “Who else does that leave? There’s an investor in Minnesota
who owns part of that block, but from what I understand, he’s never
even been here. At least that’s what Runion said. So where does
that leave us?”

Markum studied the list, then said, “Well,
I’m pretty sure Pearly didn’t do it, and I think we can rule you
out as well. You couldn’t very well be in two places at once,
dressed up as a clown and running your booth at the same time.”

“
Gee, thanks for your
support,” I said.

He smiled. “Come on, Harrison, I’m kidding.
I don’t think Jubal killed her; he didn’t have any motive since she
left him squat, so that should wrap up our list.”

I studied it a moment, then added one last
question mark. Markum said, “Who’s that for?”

“
There could be somebody
involved in this that we don’t know about, someone with a grudge
against Gretel from another time and place in her life.”

Markum took the pen from me and scratched
through it.

“
Why’d you do that?” I
asked.

“
Harrison, if somebody
killed her we don’t even know about, there’s not a prayer in the
world we’ll find him, so it’s not all that productive to spend time
worrying about it, is it?”

I had to agree with his logic. I looked at
the list again and studied the names: Runion, Hans, Graybill and
Jorgensen. “So as far as we’re concerned, it’s one of these
four.”

“
Like I said, I’ve got my
money on Runion,” Markum said.

“
And I think Hans did it,” I
said. “It would help if I knew exactly where he was.” I shook my
head. “I just don’t know what good it’s going to do us. I’ve been
digging into everyone’s life who’s been connected to Gretel since
the newspaper accused me of killing her. What else can we
do?”

Markum said, “I’ll tell you exactly what I’m
going to do. I’m going to go have a talk with Runion myself. I’ve
got a feeling I might be able to get more out of him than you did,
no offense.”

“
None taken,” I said.
“You’re more than welcome to try.”

“
So what are you going to
do?”

“
I’m going to see if there’s
any way I can find out more about that clown. That’s the real key
to uncovering who killed Gretel.”

Markum grinned at me. “How much do you want
to bet it was Runion behind the greasepaint?”

“
Let’s see, I’ve got about
ten bucks in my wallet. How’s that sound?”

“
Harrison, that’s what I
like about you. You’re not afraid of high stakes.”

“
I just don’t want to take
any more of your money than I have to.”

Markum said, “Let’s touch base again later.
I want to see if I can catch this developer before he takes off for
the day.”

“
Be careful,” I
said.

“
I didn’t think you believed
he did it.”

I shrugged and asked, “What if I’m wrong? I
don’t want anything to happen to you because of me.”

“
Don’t worry, I’ll be on my
toes. I promise you that.”

After Markum was gone, I decided to call in
a favor to see if I could find the identity of that lethal
clown.

“
Mary Fran, this is Harrison
Black over at the candleshop,” I said after looking up the number
for the local television station in the Micah’s Ridge telephone
book.

“
Is my order in yet?” she
asked. Mary Fran Duffy had just discovered the joys of pouring, and
she was having a blast with the process. She was also a writer for
our local news outlet, a cable team that was too small to support a
channel of their own.

“
No, the Christmas tree
mold’s been back-ordered again. Soon, I promise.”

“
So why are you
calling?”

“
I hate to ask, but I need a
favor. I saw one of your cameramen shooting footage at the
Founder’s Day Celebration. Is there any chance I could come by and
watch what they shot?”

Mary Fran didn’t reply immediately, and I
quickly added, “If there’s a problem or if it’s going to get you in
any trouble, let’s forget about it, okay?”

She said, “It’s not that. The sheriff asked
for the same thing last week. He watched our footage for an hour
but he didn’t find a thing on it. I’m afraid you’d be wasting your
time.”

“
You could be right, but
maybe we aren’t looking for the same thing. Can I come by this
evening?”

“
Tell you what, it would be
better if you could drop by in the morning. We’re just about ready
to shut down for the night. How early can you make it
here?”

“
I can be there at six,” I
said.

She groaned. “A.M.? You’ve got to be
kidding. Come at seven, and bring two coffees with you.”

“
Should I bring anything for
myself?” I asked.

“
One of the coffees is for
you, Harrison. See you tomorrow. Argh, at seven.”

“
Thanks, Mary
Fran.”

Maybe I’d be able to spot the clown in the
video they’d shot, or maybe it would be a total waste of my time,
but at the moment, it was the best thing I could come up with.

I was glad to see Eve when she came in later
in the day to relieve me. I grabbed my coat and she said, “You’re
in an awful hurry. Do you have a big date tonight?”

I raised an eyebrow and said, “You’re
kidding, right? I haven’t had a real date since I took over this
place.”

“
Well then, what’s the
hurry?”

“
Jubal Grant is shutting
Flickering Lights down,” I explained. “He’s offered to sell me
their stock at rock-bottom prices, but I’ve got to jump on it
fast.”

“
Harrison, I should go with
you. I know you’ve picked up a great deal working here, but I’m
better versed in what things cost.”

“
Come on, Eve, don’t you
think I know that? I’ll take a rough inventory, then we can come up
with a price tomorrow morning.” I suddenly remembered my
appointment with Mary Fran at the television station. “I’ve got an
errand to run first thing, but it shouldn’t take too long. I
promised Jubal we’d have a price for him by noon.”

“
What’s the rush?” she asked
as she hung her jacket up.

“
He wants to be done with
it, and he’s only got forty-eight hours to clear out. I already
told him he’d do better by having a big sale, but he’s not
interested. Jubal told me he just wants to get out of Micah’s Ridge
as quickly as he can.”

Eve frowned, then after a few moments’
thought, she said, “Here’s what we’ll do. After you take the
inventory tonight, come back here and put the list on your desk.
I’ll come in early tomorrow and give you a figure we can live with
before we open.”

“
I don’t want to steal from
him,” I said. “This is going to be the only inheritance that Jubal
gets.”

Eve said, “As you’ve told me so many times
before, we’re not running a charity here, Harrison. But don’t
worry, I’ll work up a fair price. Remember, though, he’s the one
who’s demanding a quick sale. I’m taking that in to account, or you
can figure it and come up with an offer yourself.”

I’d been dreading the process of coming up
with prices for a jumble of supplies. “No, I trust you’ll be fair
to him without bankrupting us. So, it looks like we’re in the
clear, doesn’t it?”

“
What, just because there
isn’t any competition left in town? Hickory’s not that far away,
Harrison, and you know all of the craft shops they have, not to
mention what all’s available in Charlotte. This is certainly no
time to rest on our laurels.”

“
But it’s still good news,”
I insisted.

“
Yes, it’s going to help us,
there’s no doubt about that.”

I smiled. “That’s all I wanted to hear. I’d
better get over there. I’ve got a long night ahead of me as it
is.”

She said, “Hold on a second, I’ve got
something that might help.”

She disappeared into the office for a few
minutes, then came out with six printed sheets. I took them and
asked, “What’s this?”

“
It’s something I’ve been
working on for the shop. I’ve just about got it ready, but it needs
a little tweaking before I’m ready to use it here.”

The sheets had listed in neat entries
everything we stocked at the candleshop, from additives to wicks.
“Wow, this is incredible.”

She fought her smile, but I saw it creep in
before she vanquished it. “I just thought it would make our lives
easier when we ordered supplies.”

“
This is excellent. You’ve
just saved me four or five hours of work.”

“
At least that,” she said.
“One thing, though. You should make a copy of this before you use
it. It’s my master list.”

“
You did this on a
typewriter?” I asked.

“
I’m not a big fan of
computers,” she said. “Just be careful with it.”

I went back to the office and found a large
envelope, then slid the sheets inside. “Thanks, this will help a
lot.”

“
Go on, you’ve still got a
lot of work to do.”

I left the candleshop, happy for the first
time in weeks. It actually felt like we were going to make a go of
it. It was too bad that Gretel wouldn’t have the chance to run her
shop, and I honestly felt terrible about her death. But for now, I
was feeling like At Wick’s End was a going concern again.

Chapter 18

“
Have you ordered anything
since you’ve been open?”

I asked Jubal as I studied his shelves.

“
Gretel handled all that,
I’m afraid. Is it worth your while to make an offer?”

“
I’ll know better after I do
a complete inventory list. It shouldn’t take too long.”

He saw the sheets in my hand. “What are
those?”

I handed the copies to him and said, “Eve
made these up for our shop.”

“
What a grand idea.” He
handed them back to me and said, “Do you need my help?”

“
No, I should be fine.
You’re not going anywhere, are you?”

“
I’ll be right here. I’ve
got scads of paperwork to complete for Hans.”

“
He’s at least paying you
for your work, isn’t he?” I wasn’t sure how much of a legacy I’d be
able to offer for the meager supplies at the candleshop.

“
Oh yes, I’m on the clock. I
don’t really need the money, but he’s being such a nit about it
all, I’m going to stick him for every hour I can. I daresay after
this, we’ll never see each other again.”