At Wick's End - Tim Myers [5]
“Pearly it is,” I said.
Millie next turned to a man nattily dressed in a three- piece, charcoal-gray suit with a Phi Beta Kappa key hanging down from his vest and said more formally, “May I present Gary Cragg, our resident attorney.”
Cragg shook my hand as he nodded to Mr. Young. “Delighted. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m due in court soon.” He was nearly to the door when he turned and said, “We need to speak later, Mr. Black. There are things most urgent we must discuss.”
“I’ll be here,” I said to his departing back.
Millie turned to the last woman still without an introduction.
“And finally, Harrison, I’d like you to meet Eve Pleasants. She worked with Belle.”
As I offered Eve my hand, she looked at it as if it were contaminated, then said gruffly, “If you’ll excuse me, it’s time to open the shop.”
I said, “That’s a great idea. I can’t wait to get started.”
Eve shot me a withering glare as she said, “I’m perfectly capable of running the candle shop without your uh ... assistance. Why don’t you finish your tour?”
There was nothing welcoming in her words at all, but I decided to deal with that later. “Thanks, I appreciate that. As soon as I get settled in, I’ll be over.”
As she huffed off, Millie said softly, “Don’t take it personally, Harrison. She and your great-aunt were quite close.”
“To be honest with you, I’m glad to know someone misses her,” I said.
Millie patted my shoulder as she said, “Oh, she’s missed all right, but the show must go on and our stores have to open. Belle was most clear about that, she left letters for each of us. Now let me get you that coffee. What kind would you like?”
Her smile was infectious. “Surprise me.”
She nodded as Mr. Young touched my arm. “We need to go upstairs and start our tour.”
“Coffee first,” I said. Millie declined my offered payment, then Mr. Young and I ascended the stairs to the second floor. He said, “The tenants with storefront shops have the lower level, while the upper area is reserved for businesses and your residence.”
“I had no idea the place was so big,” I said as I studied the second-floor directory.
“Oh, yes, Belle did her best to keep the building occupied at full capacity. That’s odd,” he said as we entered the hallway.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He gestured to the door at the end of the hall and said, “That’s Belle’s apartment. I inventoried her belongings earlier this morning, and that door was firmly locked when I left it.”
I looked closer at the door in question and saw that it was pushed open a few inches, as if someone had been in too big a hurry to shut it behind them.
Chapter 2
As I started toward the door, Mr. Young touched my arm.
He said, “Shouldn’t we call the police and let them investigate this?”
“If you’d feel better staying out here, you’re welcome to do just that, but I’m going in.”
He didn’t have much choice after that but to follow me in.
Someone had wrecked the place, tearing books from the shelves and dumping every drawer in the apartment. I spotted a two-foot-tall candle lying on its side and picked it up, since it was the closest thing there was to a weapon in sight. I couldn’t believe how heavy it was in my hands.
There was no need for defense, though. There wasn’t a soul around.
“I take it the apartment wasn’t like this when you left it this morning,” I said as I surveyed the damage.
“I assure you, it was in pristine condition,” Mr. Young said. “I’m sorry, but we simply must call the police now.”
“Fine by me,” I said, “but I don’t even know if anything’s been taken. You said you just did an inventory. Why don’t you take a few minutes after you call and see if anything’s missing?”
Mr. Young nodded, and after he telephoned the police, he took a quick survey of the place. As he scanned the mess, I picked up a photograph lying facedown on the floor. The glass had been broken in the frame, but the picture itself was unharmed. It could have been the static electricity in the air, but I felt a shock