Death Waxed Over - Tim Myers [38]
Heather shivered. “No thanks. The closest I ever want to get to a river again is having lunch on the steps in front of River’s Edge. I nearly drowned when I turned my canoe over last year, and the thought of going out on the water again terrifies me.”
“I didn’t know that,” I said. “I love my kayak.”
She smiled. “I know. You really fly up and down the river in front of the complex.” I looked over Heather’s shoulder and saw Sheriff Morton come in. Heather and Erin followed my gaze as he spotted us and headed our way.
“Now what does he want?” Heather asked.
“We’ll know in a second,” I said, hoping that the sheriff wasn’t bringing me any more bad news.
Morton nodded his head toward my dining companions, then said, “Harrison, I need a word with you.”
“Whatever you have to say, you can tell me in front of them,” I said.
“Okay, have it your way. When’s the last time you saw that handyman of yours?”
“He’s on vacation,” I said.
Morton frowned. “That’s too bad. I really need to talk to him.”
“What about?” I asked.
“I’m sure if you use your imagination, you can guess,” Morton said.
“Surely you don’t think he had anything to do with Gretel’s murder, do you?”
The sheriff shrugged. “That’s what I need to talk to him about. I thought you’d be happy I was looking at someone else.”
Before I could say anything, Heather interrupted. “You should be looking for the real killer.”
‘That’s what I’m trying to do.” It was obvious neither one of them was fond of the other. He turned back to me and said, “So where did he go, Harrison?”
“All I know is that he’s somewhere in the mountains.”
“Do you happen to know when he’s coming back? If he’s coming back?” Before Heather could say anything, he held up a hand. “Save it, Heather. Have Pearly call me when he gets in town, Harrison. If you hear from him, tell him to get back here as soon as humanly possible, you got that?”
I promised, and the sheriff left. After he was gone, Erin asked plaintively, “Would someone please tell me what’s going on?”
I brought her up to speed on recent events with interjections from Heather.
After we’d finished, Erin said, “And the sheriff’s actually been treating you like a suspect? Harrison, that’s awful.”
“It hasn’t been pretty, but I’m no happier about him going after Pearly now.” I hadn’t shared any of the inside information I had about the handyman, not wanting to add any more speculation to the mix.
Our food arrived a short time later, but the joy of it was lost on me.
Armstrong had indeed shifted his focus, just as I’d been hoping.
Unfortunately, it appeared that it now lay squarely on my handyman and good friend’s broad shoulders.
Chapter 10
Come down to my office, no matter what time you get in. The note on my apartment door was from Markum, and I realized he’d be expecting the name of Gretel’s lawyer. I didn’t want to tell him I’d been too busy working at the candleshop, but I didn’t have any choice. I didn’t even bother going inside my own place first. I just pulled the note off and walked down the hallway.
His door was standing wide open, something I’d seen only twice since I’d taken over River’s Edge.
I knocked on the frame, then stuck my head inside. “What’s up?”
He looked up from a map he was studying and said, “I kind of miss the old Soviet Union. At least then I knew where everything was.”
“Is that map for business or pleasure?” I asked.
He said, “Believe me, I wouldn’t plan a vacation to Eastern Europe. I’ve got a lead that might be too good to pass up, though. Want to come with me? Eve can watch the candleshop, and Pearly can take care of River’s Edge while we’re gone.”
“If he’s not in jail,” I said.
“What’s going on?” Markum asked as he pushed the map away.
“Morton came by A Slice of Heaven tonight looking for Pearly. He found out our handyman was dating Gretel, and that they ended it rather harshly