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

around as the time crept by before finally
heading down to At Wick’s End. It was Sunday, and we didn’t open
until noon, so I had a lot of time to kill. Ordinarily I’d take my
kayak out on the water—regardless of the cold—or go for a walk, or
even go down to the candleshop and practice some new technique, but
I was in no mood for any of my options.
    Though it was nearly eleven
when I finally stepped outside for the first time that day, the
weather had turned back to the cold we normally expected for late
fall in our part of North Carolina, and I was glad for my jacket
even in my brief commute from my apartment upstairs to the
candleshop below.
    As I hung my coat up in the office, I
glanced at the schedule and realized that Eve wasn’t due to come in
at all that day. It looked like I was going to have to face the
crowds alone. As I busied myself preparing to open the store, the
telephone started to ring, but I wasn’t about to answer it until I
had to. Unfortunately, by noon it still hadn’t given up, and it was
time to unlock the doors.
    Bracing myself, I walked to the door and
pulled the blinds back.
    No one was there.
    I opened the door with more relief than I
should have felt and peeked outside. Not a solitary soul was
loitering anywhere nearby. While I was happy none of the pests from
the day before had shown up, the fact that none of my regular
customers were there either took the edge off my temporary joy.
Sunday was normally a big day for us, but it was looking bleak from
the start. So was this going to be it? Would Gretel manage to carry
out her threat in death, to bury me and my candleshop?
    The ringing telephone pulled me back into
the shop, and my hand shook as I answered it.
    “ At Wick’s End,” I
said.
    “ Harrison Black, I was
worried something had happened to you. I’ve been calling since ten
thirty.”
    “ Hi, Eve. I’m
here.”
    I could hear her take a deep breath, then
she said, “Harrison, I realize I’m not scheduled to work today, but
I don’t think you should be alone. Are you crushed with people
today?”
    I looked around the empty shop. “It’s
nothing I can’t handle.”
    “ Don’t put up a brave front
for me, I know how overwhelming it was yesterday. I’m coming
in.”
    It was time to come clean. “Eve, there’s not
a soul in sight. It looks like we’re already yesterday’s news.”
    She hesitated, then said, “Oh dear, I was
afraid of that, too. I gather you haven’t read The Gunpowder
Gazette yet.”
    “ I forgot all about it. How
bad is it?”
    “ They didn’t overtly name
you as the killer, but they did everything else. I’m afraid it’s
quite nasty in its quiet little way.”
    I let out a heavy sigh. “Well, at least that
explains why I’m by myself. I’m going to go over to Millie’s and
buy a newspaper.”
    “ I wouldn’t if I were
you.”
    I shrugged. “If they are going to be lying
about me, I want to know what they’re saying.”
    “ Would you like me to come
in, if nothing else, for moral support?”
    “ No, but thanks for asking.
I’ll need you tomorrow for a full day, at least if Mrs. Jorgenson
keeps her lesson. Enjoy today off. I know I would.”
    “ Harrison, ordinarily I’d
never suggest this, but you could just close the candleshop for a
few days until things calm down.”
    “ Eve, this isn’t going to
blow over, and I’m not going to hide or run away. I didn’t do
anything. I’m going to be right here at the candleshop, where I
belong.”
    “ Suit yourself,” she said.
“If you change your mind, call me and I’ll be right in.”
    “ Don’t wait by the phone. As
it is, it looks like I’ll be getting a lot of dusting
done.”
    After we hung up, I changed my mind about
grabbing a newspaper. Did I really want to put myself through that?
I decided I could sit around and mope all afternoon or I could
actually be productive, so I grabbed a duster and started in on the
shelves. Two hours later the place was as clean as it ever