At Wick's End (Book 1 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF

it wasn’t locked
when I got here. In fact, I was kind of surprised to find the door
wide open. Harrison, I should have asked you for your permission to
do this first, shouldn’t I? I can’t help myself, I just get an
impulse and go with it. That’s how I got my shop, you
know.”
    She continued working, stowing things from
the floor in boxes as she talked, and I found myself joining her.
At least I could keep an eye on her that way, and the work had to
be done before I could move in. “I’d like to hear the story,” I
said as I folded some of Belle’s sweaters and put them in a nearby
box.
    Heather said, “One day I was canoeing on the
Gunpowder and saw River’s Edge for the first time. The building was
so cool, and I’d been looking for something to do with my
inheritance.” She paused, then said, “I’m not rich or anything, but
my grandmother died and left me some money. Only thing was, there
was a catch. I had to start a business and run it, or the money
would go to my sister. She’s the sensible one, or so everybody
thinks. Grams was always concerned that my life was without
direction, so I took a deep breath and rented my space. I’ve always
been fascinated with crystals and the power stones have to heal, so
naturally that’s the kind of store I wanted. When you get the
chance, I’d love to give you the grand tour.”
    “ I’d like that,” I said as
the last of Belle’s clothes went into the boxes. Most likely this
young woman was harmless and my suspicious mind was just working
overtime.
    Heather said, “Okay, you’ve got clothes in
these four boxes, and miscellaneous stuff in these two. Would you
like me to take the ones with Belle’s clothes to the Salvation
Army? A lot of her things are too nice to just throw out.”
    Something gnawed at the edge of my mind. Had
Heather actually been trying to help, or had she come back for what
she’d missed earlier? What better excuse to show up again than to
say she was cleaning up the earlier mess made in her search? And
what was really in those boxes? I just couldn’t take the chance, no
matter how benign it all seemed.
    ‘ Tell you what,” I said,
“I’ll take them later myself.”
    “ I don’t mind,” she
insisted. “The drop-off is right on my way home.”
    I took the box that was in her hands and
said firmly, “I appreciate the offer, I truly do, but there are a
few things that have great sentimental value I may want to keep as
a remembrance. Thanks again, though.”
    Heather tried to hide her disappointment.
“Okay. If that’s all then, I’d better get back downstairs and close
up my shop.”
    “ You didn’t leave it open
the entire time you were up here, did you?”
    “ Yes, but I’ve got a woman
helping me who comes in three afternoons a week and works the
occasional full day to give me a break. Mrs. Quimby is a godsend.
Don’t forget, you’ve got one deluxe tour coming any time you want
it.”
    “ I won’t forget,” I said as
I tried to see if Heather was leaving with more than she had had
when she arrived. It was impossible to tell under her baggy outfit,
but I doubted she’d had the chance to take anything yet. After all,
it was obvious she had expected to leave with those boxes long
before I ever showed up at Belle’s apartment.
     
    I don’t know what I was expecting to find in
the boxes: jewelry, cash or something. All I could come up with was
a quarter that must have slipped out of one of Belle’s pockets, and
a broach that was obviously costume jewelry. It was looking more
and more like Heather had been the Good Samaritan she claimed to be
after all.
    Unless she had indeed managed to walk off
with something I hadn’t seen.
    There was yet a third possibility. I might
have interrupted her second search before she’d had the chance to
find her bounty.
    I wasn’t about to give her or anyone else
another chance. I picked up the telephone book and called a
locksmith.
    There was no way I was going to sleep in
that