A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [64]
“And you don’t have any idea where he’s going?”
“That’s just it,” she said. “He always makes such a fuss about traveling. I have to get his tickets, make the Intel reservations, everything. He stopped at my desk and told me he’d be back in a day or two, but I don’t believe him. Should you call the sheriff?”
“And tell him what that your boss decided to leave town? Jeanie, Morton thinks I’ve got an overactive imagination as it is. There’s nothing I can do.”
She hesitated, then said, “I just thought you should know.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right. I shouldn’t have been so abrupt. I do appreciate you calling me. Listen, if you come across anything else I should know about, call me is back, okay? And thanks again. I mean it.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. As I finished ringing up my customer’s wax, I wondered what had gotten into Runion. Jeanie knew him better than anyone else in the world, and if he was running scared, she’d know it But what could have shaken him up so much? I wish I knew, but I couldn’t do anything about it at the moment
I waited on another customer or two, happy to be back in the groove of working the candleshop while my mind wandered among the possibilities. Becka’s death, Cyrus’s mysterious debilitation and Runion’s odd behavior swirled through my mind.
I was pulled out of my musings by the chime over the front door. One look at Mrs. Jorgenson’s face and I knew I was in serious trouble.
“Harrison Black, I knew you could be dense at times, but I always gave you credit for having a minimum of common sense. It appears that I was wrong.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Jorgenson. And how are you today?”
“In your office. Now.”
I followed her back to my cubbyhole, wondering what I’d done to infuriate her so much. Eve looked ashen as we walked by, her gaze begging for an answer, too. I just wished I could illuminate things for her. Honestly didn’t have a clue what I’d done this time. We got back to my office and she closed the door behind us. “What were you possibly thinking? Or was actual cogent thought a part of your process?”
“This might be easier if I knew exactly what you were chewing me out about,” I said.
“Have you made any more grievous errors lately that you’re blissfully unaware of?”
“Ma’am, it seems lately I’ve been making them all the time.”
“I’m talking about Grover. What did you do, confront him with what I’d told you?”
“I went by to see him. That was your suggestion, wasn’t it?”
She fought to control her temper, and after a few moments, she said, “Harrison, it should have been handled delicately. You’ve done more than jeopardize your chance to eat the best barbeque around here. You’ve put me in a tenuous position with the man at exactly the wrong time.”
“Wait a second,” I said. “I never mentioned your name. In fact I made it a point not to.”
She picked up a candle-shaped letter opener from my desk. It had been Belle’s, and I liked the look and heft to it. What was she going to do with it though? As angry as she was with me, I was half-afraid she was going to skewer me with it.
“Do you honestly believe that in a town as small as Micah’s Ridge that it’s possible for any visits here to go unnoticed? I daresay everyone in town knows about our candlemaking lessons. Honestly, how hard do you think it was for Grover to decipher where you got your information?”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Jorgenson, but I honestly didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She frowned, then said, “Of course you didn’t but the damage has been done nonetheless. The question is, what do we do about it now?”
“I’ll go apologize again, but I doubt it will do any good.”
“Harrison, we need to pay him a visit together, and I mean right now.”
“You’re coming, too?” I asked. It reminded me uneasily of the time as a child I’d taken a candy bar from the store without bothering to pay for it. My mother had marched me back there and lorded over my full confession. I’d learned that lesson well enough, and my criminal act was never repeated.