A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [18]
“Let me check something,” I said, pulling out one of my reference books. I found the page on water baths and said, “I’m guessing the bath water must have been too cold. Sorry about that.”
“It’s my fault,” she said. “I shouldn’t have rushed the process.” Then she studied the candle again and said, ‘To be honest with you, though, this presentation is growing on me.”
“It does have a certain rustic charm, doesn’t it?”
She said sternly, “Not that I have any desire to repeat the experiment.”
“Of course not,” I quickly agreed.
“Is the other candle ready?” she asked.
“Let’s check on it.” The cracks could have been disastrous, but it was pretty obvious Mrs. Jorgenson wanted her candlemaking to succeed. That was something in my favor, but I knew I didn’t have too many more grace periods before she got fed up and moved on to another craft, blackballing At Wick’s End along the way.
At least her second candle turned out beautifully. Or so I thought
“This one has pinpricks all over it Oh, dear,” she said as I reached for another manual.
I found the culprit right away. “Okay, the wax was too hot that time.”
“So much for the art of the pour,” she said frostily.
I tried my best to grin. “Third time’s a charm, they say. Shall we make another candle?”
“It will have to be another time,” she said. “I’m nearly out of time.”
“Let’s at least finish off the bottoms,” I said, desperate to salvage something out of the session. I heated a small metal disk oil one-of the hot plates and held the bases of both candles on it long enough to melt them into perfect flat surfaces.
She surveyed the results as I asked, “Shall we have our second lesson next week?”
“No, I’m afraid not,” Mrs. Jorgenson said abruptly. Well, it looked as if I’d blown it after all. I just hoped we could survive her abandonment
She shocked me by adding, “I don’t think I can wait that long. Let’s do it again tomorrow, shall we? I’m eager to get another crack at it” She arched an eyebrow, then added, “No shortcuts next time, Mr. Black. We do it by the book, the traditional way.”
“By the book,” I promised.
“Till tomorrow then.” She picked up her new candles and started for the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, fighting to hide the relief from my voice.
So I hadn’t lost her after all.
At least not yet.
Chapter 5
Eve waited until Mrs. Jorgenson was gone, then said, “Tell me you didn’t use a water bath on those candles.”
I shrugged. “I would if I could, but you know how I hate lying to you.”
The look of dread and uncertainty on her face said more than her question. “Did they turn out all right?”
I didn’t want to admit my failures, but Eve would find out sooner or later. “Not so much. One was full of hairline cracks and the other had pinpricks all over it” She started to say something when I added, “Don’t worry about it, it’s not a problem. I used some of our reference books, so I know what I did wrong.”
“Is she ever coming back?” Eve asked, her gaze at the door. She was as aware as I was that Mrs. J was extremely meticulous about her candlemaking.
“She wants another lesson tomorrow,” I said.
Relief flooded her face. “No more baths, Harrison. Promise me.”
I smiled. “Mrs. Jorgenson’s words exactly.” I glanced at the clock, realizing that it was nearly time to close. It was hard to believe all that had happened since I’d decided to go out in my kayak that morning.
Eve said, “Would you like me to take the deposit into town tonight? I don’t mind, honestly.”
I knew she hated carrying around the cash from our day’s take. “No, I don’t mind. You’ve done enough today.”
She touched my arm lightly, rare physical contact from her. “Harrison, it will get better with each passing day. I promise you that.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said. I’d managed to keep busy enough so that I hadn’t dwelt on finding Becka’s body, but I knew the night would be the worst, and it was something I wasn’t looking forward to.
She said, “Should you see your doctor? I’m sure he’d be happy to prescribe