A Flicker of Doubt (Book 4 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) by Tim Myers

“No
shortcuts next time, Mr. Black. We do it by the book, the
traditional way.”
    “ By the book,” I
promised.
    “ Till tomorrow then.” She
picked up her new candles and started for the door.
    “ I’ll see you tomorrow,” I
said, fighting to hide the relief from my voice.
    So I hadn’t lost her after all.
    At least not yet.

Chapter 5

    Eve waited until Mrs. Jorgenson was gone,
then said, “Tell me you didn’t use a water bath on those
candles.”
    I shrugged. “I would if I could, but you
know how I hate lying to you.”
    The look of dread and uncertainty on her
face said more than her question. “Did they turn out all
right?”
    I didn’t want to admit my failures, but Eve
would find out sooner or later. “Not so much. One was full of
hairline cracks and the other had pinpricks all over it” She
started to say something when I added, “Don’t worry about it, it’s
not a problem. I used some of our reference books, so I know what I
did wrong.”
    “ Is she ever coming back?”
Eve asked, her gaze at the door. She was as aware as I was that
Mrs. J was extremely meticulous about her candlemaking.
    “ She wants another lesson
tomorrow,” I said.
    Relief flooded her face. “No more baths,
Harrison. Promise me.”
    I smiled. “Mrs. Jorgenson’s words exactly.”
I glanced at the clock, realizing that it was nearly time to close.
It was hard to believe all that had happened since I’d decided to
go out in my kayak that morning.
    Eve said, “Would you like me to take the
deposit into town tonight? I don’t mind, honestly.”
    I knew she hated carrying around the cash
from our day’s take. “No, I don’t mind. You’ve done enough
today.”
    She touched my arm lightly, rare physical
contact from her. “Harrison, it will get better with each passing
day. I promise you that.”
    “ I hope you’re right,” I
said. I’d managed to keep busy enough so that I hadn’t dwelt on
finding Becka’s body, but I knew the night would be the worst, and
it was something I wasn’t looking forward to.
    She said, “Should you see your doctor? I’m
sure he’d be happy to prescribe some sleeping pills to help you
through the night.”
    Eve didn’t know that Becka had died from an
overdose, so I couldn’t blame her for suggesting it, but I still
felt my stomach lurch when she mentioned pills. “Thanks, but I’ll
be fine,” I said. We had four minutes left before closing, so I
added, “Why don’t you go on home? I’ve got this covered.”“
    “ I don’t mind staying, truly
I don’t”
    “ I know that but it might
help me to keep busy. Good night Eve.”
    “ Goodnight then.” I knew she
was really worried about me when she didn’t put up a fuss about
leaving early. Normally Eve wanted to stay longer than I did, and I
owned the place.
    As I ran the reports from our cash register
and started balancing the till, I suddenly realized that I still
had Becka’s thousand dollars in my pocket. What was I going to do
with it? I surely didn’t want to keep it on me all the time, but I
didn’t want it in my apartment, either. I went into the storeroom
and pulled down one of the rubber molds from the back of the
highest shelf. It was of a Christmas tree, and I loved the candles
it made. I jammed the folded bills up into the peak, then put the
mold back on the shelf where no one would stumble across it One way
or another, that cash would be long gone before people started
buying Christmas molds again.
    By the time I got back to the register the
reports were all run. The totals matched the cash, so I made out my
nightly deposit. As I was locking the door behind me on my way to
the bank, I heard a car horn.
    Erin Lane, the young woman who owned the
canoe and kayak rental place on the Gunpowder River, was speeding
into the empty parking lot
    I waited for her by the steps.
    She said, “Harrison, I just heard about what
happened. I’m so sorry.”
    “ Thanks,” I said, already
tired of talking about it. If I