A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [28]
I was just finishing up with another customer when Millie came in carrying a basket of something that smelled like ambrosia. I quickly bagged the woman’s purchases and nearly shoved her out the door.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Harrison, I was wondering if you’d mind tasting a new recipe for me.”
“Let me grab some cold milk and I’ll get right on it. What did you make?”
She pulled the cloth aside and I saw some golden brown muffins. “They have orange slices in them. Try one.”
I took a bite, then another, and then the entire muffin was gone. “Wow. Was that nutmeg mixed in with the cinnamon?”
“You’re developing quite a palette for baking, aren’t you?”
“Hey, as long as you’re willing to keep trying new recipes, I’ll taste them for you. This batch is a keeper.”
“Pooh, I’m beginning to think you’re getting too lax. You like everything I bake.”
I grinned. “Hey, it’s not my fault. If you want a harsh critic, Eve should be here any minute.”
“No thanks, I’ll stick with your evaluation. Have you decided what you’re going to do about Heather and Sanora?”
They were two of my tenants and also my friends. The women had forged a truce the last I’d heard, but I hadn’t been at River’s Edge as much as I should have been lately. “What’s going on with them?”
“They’re both threatening to leave,” she said simply. I felt my heart plunge into an ice water bath. “Wait a second. What about their leases? They’ve both committed to River’s Edge.”
Millie frowned. “Do you mean to tell me Gary Cragg hasn’t spoken with you yet?”
“About what?” Despite how good that orange slice muffin had been, it suddenly lay in my stomach like concrete.
“He should be the one to tell you. I might get some of the details wrong.”
“Come on, Millie, don’t do this to me.”
She sighed, then said, “Oh, all right, I suppose you have to hear about it sooner or later. According to our lease agreements, any of us can leave River’s Edge up to six months after Belle’s death. It’s been nearly that, and Sanora and Heather are saying that one of them is going to have to go. I’m just afraid you’re going to lose them both.”
I couldn’t stand the thought of my River’s Edge family breaking up. “What about you? Are you going to bail out on me, too?”
She frowned. “Harrison Black, you know me better than that. Unless you double my rent, I’m staying.”
“What about the rest of the tenants? Come on, Millie, this is no time to be coy. I know everybody in the complex talks to you about everything.”
‘I’d be offended if I could manage to be convincing. Yes, several folks have already talked to me about the situation.”
“So who can I count on, and who’s going to leave?”
She said, “Cragg will stay, he’s got a fondness for this place, despite how he acts sometimes. I’m here, Suzanne Gladstone’s not taking her antique shop anywhere, and you know Markum will stay. The rest are mostly in favor .of continuing on, but I’m afraid you’re going to lose Heather or Sanora, if not the both of them.”
“Blast it all, I thought we got past that”
Millie shrugged. “Sorry to bring bad news to you. If there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”
“You could broker peace between them,” I said.
“Anything but that,” she said.
“Coward,” I said, smiling.
“I won’t deny it I’d better get back to my café. See you later, Harrison.”
“Bye, Millie, and thanks for the snack.”
“You’re most welcome.”
I tried to call Cragg, but either he wasn’t answering his telephone or he was out I dug through the stack of letters on my desk and found the one from him.
I ripped it open and read his brief missive. Millie had stated it clearly enough. I was in danger of losing every tenant I had at River’s Edge.
As soon as Eve walked in the door, I said, “Good, you’re here. I’ve got to take care of some things.”
“Harrison, are you meddling in Becka’s death? Need I remind you that you have a business to run?