My Deadly Valentine by Valerie Hansen Read Free Book Online

lock and turned it.
    Jace laughed. “Oh, really? Then why are we here?”
    “I’m resting. As long as I don’t have to deal with customers, it’s not stressful.”
    “Selling cards and gifts is stressful?” He held the door for her so she could pass through ahead of him.
    “It can be.” She stopped in the doorway, almost causing him to bump into her as he followed. “Good grief.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Don’t you feel it? It must be a hundred degrees in here.”
    He took a deep breath to test the air. “You’re right. I don’t smell any smoke, though. Maybe your furnace is malfunctioning.”
    “Maybe.”
    Dogging her steps, he followed her to the control panel. All the electrical fuses were in order but there were exposed wires where the power fed into the thermostat that controlled heating and cooling.
    Rachel pointed. “Look.”
    “I see it.” Every muscle in Jace’s body was tensed for defense and his hand hovered near his hidden holster. “I want you to go wait outside while I look this place over thoroughly.”
    “No way, mister. This store is half mine and I’m not going to let anybody chase me off.”
    He figured it was just as well to keep her with him so he relented. “Okay. But stay behind me and don’t argue.”
    “Me? I never argue with you.”
    “Right.”
    “Well, hardly ever. Is there any way we can shut off this heat before we go any farther? I’m roasting and it’s terrible for all my decorative candles. They may already be ruined.”
    “I’m no electrician. If we mess with this, we may not only destroy clues, we may trigger something else much worse than a little heat.”
    He hated to be so blunt but he didn’t want her taking matters into her own hands and getting hurt. Or worse. Judging by the look on her face she was taking his warnings very seriously.
    “You mean like a bomb? ”
    “I don’t know. And neither do you, so I suggest you not touch anything.”
    “Yes, sir. You’re the boss.”
    Satisfied, he drew his pistol and led her slowly toward the back room, fully expecting to see that that was how the intruder had gained access again. To his shock, the heavy metal rear door was securely in place this time.
    As soon as he had poked into every corner and closet, he holstered his gun. “Okay. We’re alone. So, tell me, how many people have keys to this store?”
    “Just me and Eloise, as far as I know. I suppose she may have more than one set but I have only the one that she gave me when she made me the manager.”
    “What, exactly, is your job here?”
    “I run the place,” Rachel said. “Eloise has been having some health problems and she’s really not good at making decisions. Her late husband, Delbert, used to handle the mechanics of the store while she waited on customers. Since he’s been gone, business has really been poor. When she offered me a partnership, I couldn’t refuse.”
    “You invested?”
    Rachel shook her head. “No. I wanted to. But she insisted that I was like family to her and we became partners without any money changing hands. I didn’t like the idea. Still don’t.”
    “She has no blood relatives?”
    “There is a nephew. Her sister’s grown son. He pitched a fit when Eloise told him what she planned to do. He actually threatened to file papers alleging she was senile.”
    That was the most interesting thing Jace had heard since the beginning of this apparent vendetta. “Really. Hmm. What else do you know about him? Is he local?”
    “No. He lives in Tennessee, near Memphis. Why? Surely you don’t think he’d go to all this trouble to scare me off. What would he gain?”
    “The business, for starters.” To his chagrin, Rachel laughed.
    “If he had any idea how little this store is worth, he’d run for the hills. Considering all the money we still owe our suppliers, we’d be lucky to break even, let alone make a profit, even if we sold out to the bare walls.”
    “Then somebody should tell the guy. I will, if