Snuffed Out - Tim Myers [39]
That was one benefit of owning my own business. It was never too early to go into work.
Chapter 10
I’d been studying a dip-cut-curl candlemaking technique from one of my books, so I decided that would be the perfect distraction. There was no way I considered myself accomplished enough to actually pull it off, but it was an intriguing process, and I looked forward to tackling it. I was surprised by how the time flew. Millie opened at 6:00 a.m., and I’d planned to be there when she unlocked her door, but it was half past the hour when I realized how long I’d been working.
She met me with a grim expression as I walked in. She said, “So you heard the news.”
“Heard it? I’m the one who put it out. How did you find out, though? I didn’t think anybody else knew.”
Millie said, “What are you talking about?”
“The fire in the stairwell. It was just a prank, but it nearly scared me to death. How did you hear about it?”
Millie said, “Let’s back up and start over. Did you hear someone tried to run Sanora over this morning?”
“Tell me what happened.”
Millie explained, “Vera Quimby called me early this morning. She’s got a fondness for her police scanner, don’t ask me why. She says it soothes her to have voices in her apartment. So she jolts awake when she hears Sanora’s name being broadcast to the dispatcher, and naturally she felt the need to call me and wake me up. George was not a happy camper when that happened, until I filled him in. You know he volunteers with the rescue squad, so he made a few calls for me and it turns out Sanora’s okay. She was jogging two hours ago on Hickory Lane and some nit in a Wee Haul rental truck forced her into the bushes. She’s got some cuts and scratches from the fall, but other than that, she’s fine. The thing is, Sanora claims it was deliberate.”
“I can’t believe it. It’s kind of a conspicuous weapon, isn’t it?”
Millie shook her head. “Harrison Black, it’s serious business, if it’s true. Now you know I’m no fan of Sanora Gaston’s, but that doesn’t mean I wish ill of her either. The sheriff’s tracking down rentals in the area, and you’ll never believe who’s name popped up on the list.”
“I couldn’t even guess,” I said.
“George heard this through the grapevine, so it’s reliable enough, though I’m having trouble swallowing it.”
“Who was it?” I pressed.
“Our very own Heather Bane. Now is that an odd coincidence or not? Of course I doubt it was her. Last I heard, she was in Charlotte staying with a friend.”
I knew better. After all, she’d been in town sometime the night before to change that sign on her door. Could she have rented the van to move some of her stock? Had she planned to run Sanora down, or was it an accident too good to pass up when she’d seen her rival jogging alone down a dark, deserted road? No, I couldn’t believe any of it, no matter how logical it sounded. But did I owe it to Sheriff Morton to tell him that Heather had every reason to be driving that van, and a few motives of her own to send Sanora off into the bushes?
“You’re awfully quiet, Harrison. You know something.”
I shrugged. “It’s a terrible thing, isn’t it? I’d love a cup of coffee and one of those blueberry muffins, if you have any.”
She wasn’t buying it, not for a second. “I’m not serving you until you come clean. What is it?”
I should have known better than to try to keep something from Millie. She was the eyes, the ears, and in some ways the heart of River’s Edge. “Do you have a second?”
“For you, I’ll manage it.” She called out, “Vera, I’m stepping out a moment. Would you watch the front?”
“Be right there,” Mrs. Quimby called out, and she was as good as her word. “Harrison, did you hear the news?”
“I already told him,” Millie said, and I watched Mrs. Quimby deflate. “We’ll be back in a shake.”
I led Millie to Heather’s storefront and pointed to the window. “The sign changed sometime from nine last night to three this morning. Heather was in town, and we both know she had reason enough to hate Sanora.”
Millie shook her head, a