At Wick's End - Tim Myers [43]
Pearly nodded. “I don’t doubt that. Rumor has it that he’s under a great deal of pressure from the mayor and town council about the murder in the jewelry store, Harrison. It most likely makes this appear to be nothing more than the act of a juvenile delinquent.”
“You don’t believe that any more than I do,” I said. “There’s no way this could be random, not with what happened in Belle’s apartment. Besides, who carries bolt cutters around with them on the off chance they’ll be able to use them?”
“There are odd powers at work here, Harrison. It would be in your best interest to keep your eyes open and your back protected.”
I asked softly, “Pearly, is there something you know that you’re not telling me?”
“Nothing concrete, Harrison, but I suspect we’re not done with this, and I’ve learned to trust my instincts over the years.”
After the handyman was gone, I decided to see what was keeping Eve so enthralled back in the storeroom. “Everything under control back here?” I asked.
“We’ll need to reorder our sheet wax kits, Mrs. Jorgenson nearly wiped us out. Is Pearly gone?”
I nodded. “Listen, I’ve been thinking about it. If you honestly think I cheated Mrs. Jorgenson on her lesson, I’d be happy to give her a rebate the next time she comes in.”
She shook her head. “No, I overreacted. Belle was always chastising me for looking out for the customer more than I did the shop. It is a business, after all, and we must run at a profit if we want to continue. I believe you charged just the right amount, Harrison. I’m certain Belle would have approved.”
“Okay, we’re set then. And now we have a fee schedule for private lessons, if it should ever come up again.”
Eve laughed. “Oh, I doubt we’ll get many Mrs. Jorgensons. They are a rarity in our circles.”
“Hey, we never thought we’d get one, remember?” My stomach rumbled, and I said, “Do you want to go to lunch first, or should I?”
She glanced at her watch. “You go. I like eating later, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Good enough. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
I headed over to Millie’s and picked up a sandwich and a Coke to go. I wasn’t in the mood for company after the morning I’d had. The lesson had gone well with Mrs. Jorgenson, and my meeting with Ann Marie had been quite illuminating, but I just wanted to be by myself, if only for a half an hour or so. I was discovering that part of owning a store was the fact that the store owned part of me. As soon as Eve went back to her regular hours, I’d be tied to it as if I had a toddler of my own, and I wasn’t sure I liked that feeling.
Pearly was in Millie’s standing near the counter, and I nodded to him as I placed my order. I half expected him to say something else about the trouble at River’s Edge, but one look into his eyes told me that he was in no more of a mood to discuss it than I was. As Millie started making my sandwich, Pearly said, “I was just sharing with Millie news of my recent day trip to the dog park to wager on a few of the tail-waggers with a lady friend from Charlotte. On the tour bus, I spent most of the ride enjoying myself analyzing the folks there from Micah’s Ridge. You wouldn’t believe it, it was like a roster of Who’s Who in local society. The mayor was there, Lucas Young sitting right beside him, why, I even saw Clara Ridgway from the Junior League pretending she was going to visit a cousin I know for a fact she doesn’t have. Watching them squirm was more fun than the gambling.” It was obvious he was trying to lighten the mood, but I wasn’t interested. I had too much on my mind.
Millie returned with my sandwich, and Pearly said, “Care to join me, Harrison? I’m getting ready to order myself.”
“Thanks, but I’m going to take advantage of this day while I can.”
I took the sandwich and started for the steps that led to the water, but it was too close to River’s Edge, and for once I just wanted to get away from the complex. I walked along the riverbank for ten minutes until I got to a spot that offered an uninterrupted view of the water and was away from