Death Waxed Over - Tim Myers [12]
“I can take it. I’m not going to hide,” I said.
He looked around. “Isn’t that what you’re doing up here? Eve’s getting overrun with customers downstairs. If you don’t care about yourself, at least shut the place down for her sake.”
“I didn’t realize she needed help,” I said, mustering as much dignity as I could. “I’ll go help her.”
“I wouldn’t, if I were you.”
“Well, you’re not me, are you?”
“It’s your funeral,” the sheriff said as he followed me out of my apartment.
“You might want to work on your choice of expressions, Sheriff,” I said as we walked down the steps together.
He shook his head, then held the door at the bottom of the landing for me. “You want some crowd control? I’m on my way over to Flickering Lights, but I can send one of my people over to help you out here.”
“I’m sure we can handle it.” I started to change my mind when I followed his gaze and saw that most of the parking lot was full. At Wick’s End was being overrun with customers, something I’d been dreaming about since I’d taken over.
It was a wonderful lesson in being careful what you wish for.
Chapter 4
I’d never seen the candleshop so crowded, even though few of our visitors had any of our products or supplies in their hands. It appeared they’d all shown up to get a look at the accused killer. Well, if I was going to be on display, I was going to at least make some money from it.
I said loudly, “My name’s Harrison Black. If you’re here to buy candlemaking supplies, welcome. But if you’re in At Wick’s End for any other reason, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Why aren’t you under arrest?” a woman asked from the back of the store.
“Because I didn’t kill Gretel Barnett.” I suddenly had a thought. “If you have a question for me, I’ll consider answering it as I’m ringing up your sale.”
That caused a run on the shelves, and I saw Eve shaking her head in obvious disapproval. So be it. It was my candleshop, and my choice.
I walked to the register as the line started to form. A woman handed me an expensive candlemaking kit, and as Eve rang it up, I said, “So what’s your question?”
She said meekly, “I don’t have one. I just wandered in to buy a kit. I hope that’s all right.”
“Of course it is,” I said, feeling my face flush. “That’s why we’re here.”
As she signed her credit card slip, the woman asked timidly, “So who was it you were supposed to have killed?”
“A fellow candlemaker, but it’s not true.”
She grabbed the bag from Eve and scurried out, hesitating to look back at me before she bolted through the door.
“Nicely done, Harrison,” Eve said.
“So I wasn’t right about everyone here. How much do you want to bet I’m right about most of the rest of them?”
She said, “I won’t wager on a sure thing against me. You should hear some of the questions they’ve been asking me about you.”
“No doubt I’m going to.”
The next person in line said, “I saw the sheriff’s patrol car out front. How’d you manage to convince him you didn’t do it?”
Eve rang up his sale as I replied, “That one’s easy. I’m not guilty.”
“Hey, that’s not much of an answer.”
I shrugged and said, “Well, you didn’t buy much, did you?”
That sent several people in line scurrying back to the shelves. I saw Eve watching me closely, and I asked, “Is that a smile?”
She chuckled softly. “Harrison, you’re incorrigible, you know that, don’t you?”
“So I’ve been told. How are we doing? I just about sold out my stock at the street fair.”
Eve said, “Oh, we’re having a banner day. I thought about closing up as the crowd began to grow, but then I figured you’d want to stay open.”
“I know you don’t approve, but I appreciate it anyway.”
She shook her head. “It’s not up to me, but do you think Belle would have liked this?”
My Great-Aunt had loved candlemaking, so I’d been told by those closest to her, but she hadn’t been that enthusiastic about marketing and promoting her wares. I was more concerned with the bottom line. Besides, it wasn’t like I was trying to benefit from