Invitation to Murder (Book 1 in the Candlemaking Mysteries)

by Tim Myers

  Chapter 8

  “What are you, some kind of glutton for punishment?” I asked as I unlocked the door.

  Greg brought one of his hands out from behind his back. He offered the roses to me with a contrite look on his face. “I’m sorry.”

  I just couldn’t blast him again, not with that hurt-puppy look in his eyes. But I wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easy, either. “What are you sorry about?” I asked, not taking the flowers from him.

  “Let’s see, let’s start with my attitude earlier, and the way I jumped to the wrong conclusions. How’s that?”

  “Surely you can think of more to add to that list, can’t you?”

  Lillian spoke up behind me. “Don’t be so hard on him, Jennifer. He’s offering to make peace.”

  Without turning, I said, “Don’t you have something you need to be doing right now?”

  “Oh nonsense,” she said, but I could hear her move away.

  “Go on,” I said to Greg. “I’m still listening.”

  “What else do you want me to apologize for? I said I was sorry.”

  I frowned at him. “How about for spying on me?”

  He lowered the flowers. “That’s one thing I’m not sorry about at all. I agree with Bradford. As long as a killer is on the loose in Rebel Forge and you could be the next target, I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you safe, and if that includes lurking outside your apartment at night, then so be it.”

  “When is everyone going to get it? I don’t need any help.”

  “You don’t know what you need,” he said as he thrust the flowers into my chest. “Here, take them.”

  Before I could say another word, he was gone. I knew I’d been a little too hard on him, but I hadn’t been able to help myself. Greg had a tough time apologizing about anything, and I’d ground him down pretty good, but it was the only way I could be sure he got the message. Once upon a time I would have meekly accepted his offering without hesitation, but I‘d lived and learned since then. If he was truly sorry, he was going to have to do better than he had so far. I considered throwing the flowers away, but they were too pretty to just toss into the trash can, and besides, I loved roses. It wasn’t fair to them. I grabbed a vase, arranged the flowers, then put them by the cash register. Lillian came out of the back just as I finished. “So you came to your senses and accepted them,” she said, smiling.

  “I took the flowers, but not the apology.” Lillian started to say something, but from the look on her face, it was pretty obvious she changed her mind at the last second. Once I was sure she was intent to leave it alone, I said, “You can go home now. There’s no reason to hang around, because I don’t know how long the lesson’s going to last.”

  “And leave you here alone with a stranger?” she said. “Your brother would have my hide. I think I’ll stay in back until you’re ready to go home.” I felt my blood pressure spiking. “Now don’t you start with me. I won’t have it!”

  “Jennifer, I have an idea. What if I stay, but for a completely different reason? I need to learn to make cards as quickly as possible if I’m going to be of any help to you at all. May I audit your lesson tonight?”

  I frowned and considered it. “If it weren’t such a good idea, I’d refuse on general principles. Tell me something, Lillian. I know I drafted you into doing this, but do you really want to help me here at the shop? It’s not that I don’t love your company, but I feel guilty forcing you to work with me here, especially since I can’t even afford to pay you.”

  “Dear, sweet Jennifer, there is nowhere I’d rather be. If we’re being honest with each other, I’m not certain I have your passion for handcrafted cards, but I do feel it’s possible I’ll develop it. What we’ve done so far has been fun, but I need more experience before I can decide if this is how I want to spend my time. Is that a fair answer to your question?”

  I hugged her, then said, “It’s the best one you could give. In that case, I’d be delighted to have you join us here tonight.”

  There was a knock on the front door, and I saw that my student had finally arrived. I said, “I’ll let Melinda in, and you gather up more supplies from the back so you can join us.”

  After I let Melinda in, I was going to tell her about Lillian joining us when I noticed her eyes were red “Is everything all right?”

  “I’m sorry I’m late, Jennifer,” she said.

  “I don’t give a flip about that, but I can see that you’ve been crying.”

  She dabbed at her eyes. “I thought I would be all right, but I’m not all that certain this is a good idea.’

  “Tell me what’s wrong. I’m a good listener.” The woman was obviously distraught about something, and if I could help her, I would. I hated seeing anyone in pain.

  “A young woman I was very fond of is dead.” She blurted it out, then covered her face with her hands.

  “Are you talking about Tina Mast?” I asked as I patted her shoulder.

  She jerked her hands from her face. “How did you know that?”

  “My brother’s the sheriff,” I said, trotting out that same tired old excuse I’d used before. It was a nice little generalization that didn’t come close to explaining the entire truth about my involvement in the situation, but it seemed to satisfy everyone I gave it to, so who was I to mess with perfection? “So how did you know Tina?”

  “She was a friend of my son’s. Tina was set to be the maid of honor at Larry’s wedding. Now I’m not even certain there’s going to be one.”

  “He’s the young man marrying Donna Albright. I didn’t know you were the groom’s mother.”

  Melinda said, “Now you’re scaring me.”

  “I’m doing the wedding invitations. I just never put you together with the groom, that’s all. As far as the wedding going forward, Anne Albright was here this afternoon, and she ordered a hundred invitations. I’m working on them right now.”

  Melinda shook her head. “That woman is determined that this wedding is going to occur, but I’m not sure it’s the best idea for everyone involved.”

  “Have you talked to your son about it?” I asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Lillian was listening to every word from the back room.

  “He swears he wants to go through with it, but I honestly believe that if he had the opportunity to back out, he would in a heartbeat.”

  “I understand there’s a time constraint involved,” I said. Boy, that was a euphemism if ever there was one.

  Melinda nodded. “You’d think that Anne would want to keep that news to herself. Yes, there’s a pregnancy rushing matters, but we’re in the twenty-first century. I don’t necessarily approve of having children without the benefit of marriage, but a forced union can be worse than none at all. At least that’s what I keep trying to tell everyone. No one’s listening, though.” That brought another trickle of tears, which were banished immediately. “I’m sorry. I really would love a lesson, but I’m afraid I’d be useless tonight, may we do it another time?”

  “Of course. Just let me know and I’ll be happy to reschedule.”

  After she was gone, Lillian came out of the storeroom. “Well, imagine that.”

  “It does seem we’re involved in this up to our eyebrows, doesn’t it?”

  Lillian said, “I just can’t help wondering if Anne Albright and her daughter are the only ones who are pushing for this wedding to go on.”

  “I’m not even certain the bride wants it. She’s never even bothered to come by to check on the invitation to her own wedding. That’s rather telling, isn’t it?”

  “Perhaps she’s too busy picking out her nursery furniture,” Lillian said. “So, should we have our lesson anyway?”

  I stifled a yawn. “Sure. Just give me a minute to regroup.”

  “Nonsense, you’re exhausted. Why don’t we save it for later? I know enough right now to help you with the invitations, and I can pick up the rest as we go along. Besides, there’s no need for you to have to
teach the same class twice in a row.”

  “Are you sure? It’s true that I am worn-out, but I promised you.”

  “And I’m relieving you of that promise. Honestly, there’s plenty I can do instead. I have an idea. Why don’t we go out and see what mischief two single women in Rebel Forge can get themselves into? It might be nice to put our troubles behind us.”

  I considered going out carousing with my aunt, but we’d spent the entire day together, and as much as I loved her company, I was badly in need of some solitary time. “Could I take a rain check? I’m beat, and there’s some paperwork here that I really need to catch up on before I go home.”

  “I can stay with you until you finish it,” she said.

  “Come on, go have some fun. I’ll be fine here. I promise, I’ll be careful going home. Besides, do you think for one second that my self-appointed bodyguards are going to leave me alone? Go, you deserve a night out on the town.”

  Was that a glimmer of relief in her eyes? It looked like her offer to stay had been out of politeness more than a desire for my company, but I wasn’t about to say anything. She said, “Jennifer, you may cash your rain check at any time. Good night, then.”

  When I let her out, I half expected to find my brother or Greg waiting outside the door, but Oakmont was deserted. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved by the discovery, or uneasy. I’d been proclaiming my self- sufficiency to everyone in sight, but now that I was done, I was having second thoughts. I hated the feeling of vulnerability, that I couldn’t handle everything myself, and I resented the fact that the killer had stolen my confidence from me. I was going to have to buck up and handle it if I was the grown woman I kept telling everyone I was. I worked through the bills, sadly gazing at the dwindling balance in my card hop’s checkbook. Business was slow—I’d known it would be—but seeing the steady decline on paper was more than I could bear. I decided to get out of there and forget about the Three Cs for a while. As I locked my front door, I saw someone standing in the shadows across from my shop. There was no streetlight close by, so I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman, couldn’t help wondering whether it was someone watching over me or someone meaning me harm. I clutched my purse to my chest as I hurried off to my car, hoping that the watcher wouldn’t follow me. As walked fast to the Gremlin, I swore if I ever got out of this I’d get some Mace or something to defend myself with. A gun was out of the question; I hated the things, and was never really comfortable with my brother’s carrying one around all the time. But I didn’t have any problems spraying chemicals into someone’s eyes if he was coming after me.

  I was ten feet from the Gremlin, my keys in my hand, when I felt an arm grab me from behind. “Suzanne, where are you going?”

  I whirled around to face a homeless man, his clothes dirty and his face smudged. He was huge, over six and a half feet tall, and he must have weighed three hundred pounds. I tried to break free of his grip, but it was like steel.

  “I’m not Suzanne,” I said, fighting to keep my voice calm.

  The pressure on my arm was suddenly harder. “Don’t lie to me, Suzanne. You know I won’t take that from you.”

  “Will you let go of me if I admit that I am Suzanne?” I thought about hitting him with my purse, | but I wasn’t sure what kind of damage I could do to him.

  His grip didn’t ease. “What kind of a game are you playing? You’re going to see him, aren’t you?”

  I could smell the liquor on his breath, overpowering even the stench from his clothing. “I don’t know what if you’re talking about,” I said.

  “You’re lying.” He pulled back his free hand, forming it into a fist.

  That was all I could take. “Let go of my arm, you jerk.” I shouted it in his face, close enough to blow his straggly hair. My words snapped his neck back like a blow.

  “You’re not Suzanne, are you?” he asked, his voice clearly mystified.

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” My temper was out in full force. “Now let go of my arm before I make you sorry you ever tangled with me.”

  He pulled his hand away and I was free. Without hesitating an instant, I jammed my key into the Gremlin’s lock and jumped inside. When I was safely away, I pulled over to the side of the road until my nerves settled down. Then I dialed Bradford’s cell number.

  He answered on the second ring. I said, “So much for your watchdog patrols on me. Somebody just came after me.”

  “What happened? Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, suddenly very sorry I’d called him. Here I’d been complaining about too much surveillance, and now I was whining because nobody had been there when I’d needed them. Nice consistent behavior there, Jennifer. “It was just some homeless guy. He shook me up.”

  “So Frank’s still around.”

  “You know him?” I asked.

  “Was it a big man, maybe six six? He weighs a ton, too.”

  “That was him. What’s his story?”

  Bradford hesitated, then said, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he was dumped out of a mental hospital in Richmond and he somehow made his way to Rebel Forge. You know, when we found Tina Mast’s body, I had a thought that Frank might have done it, but he was in the shelter at the Presbyterian church all night. He’s an ex-marine, and he knows how to kill in more ways than I can even imagine.”

  “You mean he’s capable of murder?” That was great. My safe little mountain town was suddenly turning out to be a dangerous place to live.

  “That’s what he was in the hospital for. I heard he was committed for killing his wife after he found out she was having an affair with his best friend.”

  I nearly dropped the phone. “Let me guess. His wife’s name was Suzanne, wasn’t it?”

  Bradford hesitated, then said, “Yeah, I think that’s right. What happened?”

  “He grabbed me before I could get to my car, and he kept calling me Suzanne.”

  “What did you do? Why didn’t Wayne step in?”

  “So it was his night to watch me? Well, your deputy dropped the ball; he was nowhere in sight.” Wayne lad probably been too embarrassed to face me after I‘d blown off his request for a date.

  “I’ll have his badge for that,” Bradford said. “Was he on the town clock, or was he doing you a favor?” I asked.

  “He was off duty, but that doesn’t matter. A promise is a promise.”

  “Bradford, you can’t fire him for that, and you know it. Besides, I handled it fine myself.” “What did you do?”

  “I screamed at him,” I reluctantly admitted.

  “And that worked? You were lucky, Jennifer.” I swear, my brother never would learn, but I decided to let that one slide. After all, he was probably right. “So what are you going to do about him?”

  “Well, I guess I should hear what he has to say for himself. You’re right, I can’t fire him. But I can surely make him wish he was working for somebody else.”

  “I’m not talking about Wayne, you nitwit. I’m talking about Frank.”

  I could hear the weight in Bradford’s voice. “He threatened you, so I’ve got to take action. I was kind of hoping he’d move along, but I’ve got to step in now.”

  “What are you going to do to him?” As frightened as I’d been in the middle of the confrontation, I wasn’t sure I wanted some stranger locked up because of me, even if he was delusional.

  “I’ve got to arrest him. Then I’ll let the courts decide what to do with him.” “What if I don’t press charges?” Bradford snapped, “You’re willing to take that kind of chance with the next woman he goes after? Do you really want that on your head? Besides, if he’s in the system again, maybe they’ll be able to do him some good this time.”

  “Do what you have to, but I don’t necessarily have to like it,” I said.

  “Little Sister, you’d be amazed at how many times I don’t like parts of my job description. Listen, I’ve got to take care of this right now. Are you going to b
e okay?”

  “I’m fine. Sorry to have bothered you, Bradford.”

  “Hey, I’m here to protect everybody I can, including my baby sister.”

  I drove home, unsettled by what had happened. I hated the idea of anybody being locked up in a cell, but I knew in my heart that that was exactly where some people belonged. I wouldn’t hesitate to throw Tina Mast’s murderer in prison, so why should I draw the line there? The world was a strangely complex place, and the more time I spent in it, the more confusing it became. It amazed me how the black-and-white distinctions of my teens and early twenties were getting grayer by the minute. Maybe it was a good thing that it wasn’t all left up to me.

  By the time I got home, I found Wayne sitting on the staircase outside my apartment.

  “Listen,” he said before I could say a word, “I dropped the ball tonight, and I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

  “You don’t owe me any explanations,” I said.

  “According to my boss, I do. I was gone maybe three minutes, but when I got back the lights were off and you weren’t around. I didn’t know what else to do, so I drove over here to wait for you.”

  I felt sorry for him, knowing how my brother must have chewed him out. “Don’t sweat it. I’m fine.”

  He grinned slightly. “From the way I heard it, you did more than fine. I wouldn’t be eager to tackle Frank with a stun gun and a net.”

  Suddenly I was tired, of Wayne and the rest of the world. “Good night.”

  Without even looking back, I stepped inside my apartment and locked the door behind me. I hated that my entrance to my apartment was outside. Oggie was waiting for me by the door—at least it looked that way—but the second I put my keys on the table, he turned his tail up and stalked off. It was almost as if it were his birthday and I’d shown up without a gift. That cat was nuts—there was no doubt about it—but that didn’t stop me from loving him. Nash came in and rubbed against my legs. I picked him up, and a few minutes of stroking his fur did more for my nerves than two drinks and a hot bath. I released my grip on him and he dropped to the floor like he was on strings. Oggie popped his head around the corner and mewed, I announcing that he was ready to eat, no doubt.