A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [27]
As I drove to At Wick’s End, I wondered exactly what had happened to Cyrus. Was he a prisoner to his fears, or was there something more ominous going on there?
I got back to the candleshop and started on the daily preparations to open it. There was a knock on my door ten minutes till opening, but I’d learned not to ignore those summonses in the past. When I looked up, though, I was surprised to see that Heather was standing outside.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I said as I opened the door for her.
Instead of answering, she held up a bouquet of flowers arranged in a coffee cup. It was filled with muted shades of yellows and browns, and there was enough green finery in it to make the contrast apparent.
“What’s with that?” I asked, pointing to the bouquet.
“They’re for you,” she replied.
“I didn’t know you cared.”
“I didn’t buy them, you nit. The floral shop dropped them off with me when they saw you weren’t open yet.”
I took the arrangement and said, “Thanks, I appreciate that”
Heather said, “Aren’t you even going to read the card?”
“Why, have you seen it already?”
“I resent that Harrison. I would never do such a thing,” she added with a slight smile, “Besides, it was taped shut and I couldn’t figure out how to peek without you knowing it”
I laughed, then said, “Thanks again.”
“Okay, but don’t expect me to share the next juicy secret I uncover with you.”
“It’s a deal.”
The look of frustration from her denied curiosity as she left would have been worth the price of the bouquet if I’d sent it myself.
I slit the envelope open and retrieved the card. “Thanks for sharing last night with me. Don’t worry, your secret is safe. Erin.” It was a sweet gesture, but I thanked the heavens above that I hadn’t read it in front of Heather. There were a thousand things she would have read into that message, and all of them would have been wrong. I put the flowers on the front counter, but tucked the card into my jeans pocket I wasn’t eager to have Eve quiz me, either.
I called Erin’s number at work, and she picked up on the first ring. “Thanks for the flowers,” I said.
“You don’t mind, do you?”
“Why should I mind? I appreciate the gesture.”
Erin sighed, then said, “As soon as I ordered them, I started having second thoughts. Most men would be embarrassed to get flowers.”
“Well, I’m not one of them. I should have been the one to think of it, though. You did me a lot more good than I did you.”
“Don’t be so sure of that, Harrison, I needed that talk myself. And I promise, I meant what I said. I’ll keep your secret”
“I know you will.” A customer knocked on the door, and I glanced at my watch to see that I was thirty seconds past opening. “Listen, I’ve got an eager candle- maker dying to get in. I’ll talk to you later, but I wanted to say thank you.”
“You’re most welcome,” Erin said.
I hung up and unlocked the door. Before I could flip the sign from closed to open, the man bolted inside.
“May I help you?’ I asked.
“I need mold release. I thought I had enough, but I ran out in the middle of a pour.”
“You didn’t leave the heat on your wax, did you?” I asked as I led him to the spray releases.
“Of course hot. What do you think I am, an amateur? I’ll take two cans.”
I rang up the sale, put his purchases in the bag, then handed it to him. “Thanks for coming by.”
He raced for the door. “I don’t have much choice, do I? You’re the only game in town.”
It was customers like that that made me sometimes wish that Belle had left me an emerald mine instead of a candleshop. Mostly, though, I loved the people who shopped At Wick’s End.
After he was gone, I looked though the mail and saw a letter from Gary Cragg. He was my attorney of record for River’s Edge. The only advantage of having him was his proximity; it was also the biggest disadvantage of the arrangement. I put the letter under the stack of others I had to read and