A Flicker of Doubt (Book 4 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (27 page)

I relented, as I almost always did when my
big brother pleaded his case. “Okay, how about one of these, then?
I just made them.” I handed him one of my newest creations, a
soft-violet-shaded card that sported pressed wildflowers embossed
in the paper and the envelope. On the front of the card, it said in
my best calligraphy, “Just Because . . . ,” and inside, simply, “I
Care.”

“
How much is this going to
set me back?”

“
You know,” I said,
snatching the card from his hand, “suddenly I’m not sure it’s going
to be enough. You didn’t say a word about how pretty my new design
is.”

“
It’s gorgeous, an absolute
work of art. Whatever it costs, I’m sure it’s worth a lot more than
you’re charging me.” He gave me his brightest grin, the same one
I’m sure had won Cindy’s heart. My brother, despite his Neanderthal
leanings, could be quite charming when he put his mind to
it.

“
Okay, don’t show too much
enthusiasm. It’s out of character.” I rang the sale up, slid his
card and envelope into a bag, then gave Bradford his
change.

As he took the money, he said, “Now are you
going to talk to Sara Lynn?”

“
Hey, she knows where I am.
It’s completely up to her.”

He shook his head. “You two are more alike
than either one of you will ever admit.”

I smiled at him. “That was smart of
you.”

“
What, my powers of
observation?”

“
No, saving that crack until
after I rang up your sale.”

He tapped his temple. “Hey, nine years of
police work pays off from time to time. Be good, Jen.”

“
You, too. Watch your
back.”

“
Always.”

After Bradford was gone, I realized I hadn’t
told him about the Albright wedding. But then again, he’d probably
known about it before the bride. Our dear

sheriff prided himself on being
up-to-the-minute on the happenings and events in our town before
they occurred.

I was feeling pretty good
about my day, happy about the invitation order and my first actual
sale, | despite my general lack of customers. Then the telephone
rang and I heard that desperate cry for help.
^I

I stood there staring at the telephone in my
hand long after the woman on the other end had been cut : off. I
was pretty convinced that the call was no prank. Nobody could
scream like that unless her life was in ‘ serious jeopardy. ]

Okay, I could stand there all evening in
shock, or I could do something to help that poor woman on the „
other end of the line.

I dialed Bradford’s private cell phone
number, one of the perks of having the sheriff for a brother. ‘

“
Bradford, you’ve got to
come to the shop.” ;

“
Jen, I can’t. I’m going to
be late as it is. Besides, I’m not buying anything else, no matter
how nice your | cards and stuff are.”

“
This isn’t some errant
whim, you nitwit,” I said, much shriller than I’d meant to. At
least it got his attention.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
I think I just heard
someone get murdered.”

“
Are you in trouble? Jen,
bolt your doors and hide in back. I’ll be right there.”

Before I could explain what had happened, my
brother hung up on me. These abrupt disconnections were getting to
be too much.

Four minutes later I saw his patrol car rip
up Oakmont, lights flashing and siren blaring. He slammed the
cruiser into a parking spot in front of my shop, his gun drawn and
a look of intensity on his face that I hadn’t seen since we were
kids.

When I opened the door, I swear, he almost
shot me.

“
Get back inside,” he
commanded in a gruff voice.

“
The murder wasn’t here,
Bradford. It happened over the telephone.”

He stared at me a second, then frowned as he
holstered his gun. “If this is some kind of gag, I’m going to lock
you up.”

“
If you had given me the
chance to explain before you came rushing over here, you wouldn’t
have made such a fool of yourself.” Sure, it was a little harsh,
but I couldn’t help it. Hearing someone murdered kind of put a
damper on my social skills.

“
Okay, let’s just both
settle down,” he said as he reached into his patrol car and shut
his lights off. At least the siren had died when he’d stopped the
cruiser, though we were getting enough attention along Oakmont as
it was, thank you very much. An older couple had been walking
toward my store’s front door, but the second they spotted
Bradford’s car, they quickly veered off and went into Greg
Langston’s pottery shop. Greg and I had a history together longer
than the Holy Roman Empire’s, but I didn’t care one whit about it
at the moment. I had to get my brother off the street, and
fast.

“
Would you at least come
inside so the tourists won’t think I’m about to be
arrested?”

“
Sure, I can do
that.”

Once we were in the store, he asked, “So
what’s this all about?”

I explained to him about the telephone call,
the errant search for a Donna who wasn’t there, and the
bone-chilling scream I’d heard as the line had been cut off.

He took it all in, then asked, “And you’re
sure it wasn’t some kind of gag? No, forget I said that. I believe
you think it was real, Jen. I’m just not sure what I can do about
it.”

“
Somebody’s in trouble,
Bradford. You’ve got to help them, It’s what you do.”

He held out his hands. “I’d love to, Sis,
but how?

That call could have come
from anywhere in the country, or the world, for that matter, even
if it was on
^I
the level. It’s not
much to go on.”

“
That
woman had a Southern accent, and unless ! I’m way off, she grew up
somewhere around here.”
^I
‘ A lot of folks think one accent from the South is ! pretty
much like another, but I’d spent part of my life • traveling in my
region, and I’d gotten pretty good at telling Tennessee from North
Carolina from Mississippi. I’d worked in corporate sales for
several years
⁰
for a pet food
manufacturer, and while there were
^!
parts of the ob I loved, the absolute worst was constantly
being on the road away from home. It had ! seemed like a good idea
to take the ob right after , college, especially since it was the
only offer I’d received. I found it ironic that I couldn’t have
cats of
^!
my own until I quit my
ob selling pet food.

Bradford said, “I’m sorry, Jennifer, but
it’s too much to ask for what was most likely a prank.”

“
So you’re not even going to
try?” A part of me I knew I was being unreasonable, but I couldn’t
help ; myself. Bradford was my big brother. It was his ob to take
care of things like this.

“
Here’s what I can do. I’ll
go back to the office and let Jody and Jim and Wayne know what’s
going on. They can keep their eyes open tonight, and if anything
remotely comes in about this, I’ll let you know. I’m sorry,
Jennifer, but it’s the best I can do.” I

I reached up and patted my brother’s cheek.
“I guess I’m the one who should be apologizing. I know I’m acting
kind of flaky, but it really shook me up.” “I understand
completely,” he said. “There’s really nothing we can do, is there?
I just feel so helpless.”

“
That’s the story of my
life, kiddo. I help when I can, and hope it’s enough to make a
difference.”

After he was gone, I toyed with the idea of
keeping the shop open past my posted business hours, but I’d
learned from Sara Lynn that it would be a mistake. I

was going to be at the Three Cs enough as it
was without adding more time to my work schedule. I decided to
straighten up and then leave for home. When the telephone rang
again, I nearly dropped an expensive pair of specialty scissors I’d
just gotten in. My hand hesitated before I picked it up, but I
couldn’t allow myself to cringe every time the telephone rang.
Taking a deep breath, I answered, hoping it was someone ready to
place a huge order for specialty card stock.

“
Custom Card Creations, this
is Jennifer speaking. How may I help you?”

The caller hung up before I could get the
word “you” out of my mouth. I swear, people have gotten so rude
lately. No one ever says “excuse me” after a wrong number anymore,
clerks and cashiers say “no problem” instead of “thank you,” and
driving is getting riskier every day. I realized I was tired, and
when I’m tired, I’m cranky. Throw in the fact that I was hungry,
too, and I decided the only place I needed to be was home in my
apartment. I had my key in the dead bolt outside when a familiar
husky voice spoke my name behind me.

I’d been hoping to avoid dealing with Greg
Langston, but that was one wish that wasn’t going to come true.