Invitation to Murder (Book 1 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (16 page)

“
Bradford, if they could
get into my apartment, they wouldn’t leave the warning on the front
door. I’m safer inside than I am in my car.”

“
Blast it, Jennifer,
listen to me. That door could be booby-trapped. Now do what I’m
asking.”

“
Fine, I’ll be in my car
when you get here.” After we hung up, I stared at the wig a few
more seconds, then hurried downstairs to the parking lot. If the
killer had meant to put me on edge, then she’d done a marvelous job
of it. I rushed back to my car, got in and locked the doors.
Suddenly I found myself wishing for a bigger automobile, some kind
of monster SUV that might give me more protection. But the Gremlin
was all I had, and it would have to do.

I kept watching my apartment door, half
expecting the killer to come out at any minute after Bradford’s
alarming comments, so I nearly missed it when Sara Lynn showed up
with a bagful of groceries in her arms. Rolling down my window, I
called out, “Sis. Over here.” “What is it, Jennifer? This bag is
heavy.”

“
We can’t go inside right
now,” I said as I unlocked he passenger door and popped it
open.

“
What is
it, some kind of gas leak or something?” he asked as she hurried
over to me. “It’s something else,” I said.
After she was safely inside the Gremlin, I locked
the doors. She looked at me a second, then said, “Would you mind
telling me what this is all about?”

“
Somebody left me a
message on my door. I called Bradford, and he told me not to do
anything until he got here.”

“
What kind of message was
it, Jennifer?” I repeated it, mentioning the wig, too. Sara Lynn
whistled under her breath, something she always did when she was
nervous or unsettled about something.

“
Yes, calling Bradford was
the right thing to do. Do you have the slightest idea about who’s
doing this?” I was about to answer when our brother pulled up in
his cruiser, slamming the car into place as he jumped out. I
started to get out to join him when he said, “You two stay right
there.”

Bradford pulled out his gun and started
toward my apartment, then hesitated and came back. “Do you want me
with you after all?” I asked. “I need your key,” he said. I started
to protest when Sara Lynn said, “For heaven’s sake, take mine.” She
thrust her keys out it window to him, and he nodded his thanks.

“
Why did you do that?” I
asked. “If we’d held a little longer, he might have let us come in
with him.”

“
Jennifer, sometimes you
are reckless beyond belief. Our brother’s a trained police officer,
he’s got a gun and he knows how to use it, and you want to along to
see what he’s doing. This isn’t a scavenger hunt or a church
picnic; someone means you harm.” I hated it when my sister lectured
me, especial when I deserved it. “It’s my life that’s being
threatened, not his or yours, either, for that matter. I have a
right to be in on this. I know Bradford’s a good sheriff, but he’s
not infallible. There might be something he misses.”

“
Then you’ll see it and
point it out to him. I’m positive of that. In the meantime, let’s
allow him assess the situation and determine if there’s a threat or
not.”

“
Sara Lynn, you’ve been
watching crime shows on television again, haven’t you?”

My sister, an avid reader who vehemently
denies ever watching television on general principle, nodded “I’m
addicted to Law and Order, I confess, but that’s beside the point.”
She looked up toward my apartment and said, “It appears that
Bradford is signaling for us to come upstairs.” We met him at the
door. “Ladies, don’t touch anything. I want Jim to come over and
get some photographs for the record.” “You mean they got inside?” I
asked, suddenly feeling hollow. I couldn’t stand the thought of
someone violating my space. Well, anyone but my family. “No, your
apartment hasn’t been touched. I was talking about the front door.”
Sara Lynn said, “I’ve got to get some of these groceries in the
freezer before they melt. That’s all right, isn’t it?”

Bradford said, “Go right ahead.” After Sara
Lynn was gone, I took a step closer to the door and studied the wig
for a few moments. That’s not the wig I borrowed from Lillian.”

“
I didn’t think it was,”
Bradford said. “But it still shows that the killer saw through your
disguise when we went inside the crime scene. She knows who you
are, Jennifer.”

“
Yes, but she doesn’t know
that Lillian played a part in it. I’m guessing that whoever saw me
didn’t see our aunt, so that must mean that whoever was at the
house where the murder took place wasn’t at Tina’s
home.”

Bradford grabbed his cell phone, and I
didn’t even have to ask who he was calling. After a minute, I heard
him leave a message. “Lillian, call me on my cell phone as soon as
you get this. Don’t worry about the time, okay?”

“
You think she might be in
trouble, too?” I asked. “I’ll never forgive myself if something
I’ve done puts her in danger.”

“
Take it easy, Jen. I’m
just touching all the bases right now. I’m sure she’s
fine.”

“
So what do we do now?” I
asked.

“
Like I said, Jim’s coming
by with his camera so he can get some good shots of this door. Then
we’ll bag the wig and save it for evidence.”

“
That’s it?” I
asked.

“
What else do you suggest
I do, Jennifer? I can’t afford to guard you around the clock, and
you won’t leave your apartment or your store. I’m doing the best I
can.”

“
I know you are,” I said,
ashamed at my outburst. “I’m sorry I overreacted. It’s just so
frustrating.”

“
Welcome to my world,”
Bradford said.

Sara Lynn rejoined us. “Bradford, why don’t
stay and have dinner with us? It will be just like old times.”

He looked like he was tempted by the offer.
“I’d love to, but Cindy will have my hide if I skip out on her.
This diet she’s got me on is killing me.” He frowned for a second,
then asked, “What are you having?”

“
Oh, nothing special. I’m
throwing together some meat loaf, scalloped potatoes and green
beans. We’re having a special treat for dessert. There’s going to
be plenty for you, too, if you’d like to stay.”

He looked at me. “Jennifer, would you feel
better if I hung around here awhile?”

The pleading in his gaze
was obvious. “It would help,” I said.

“
That’s all I need, then.
Cindy will have to understand that. After all, it’s
family.”

He turned his back to us and called home on
his cell phone. Sara Lynn smiled brightly when I said, “That was
cruel. You know he’s on a diet.”

“
Nonsense, he doesn’t need
to lose weight. He’s big-boned. Now I’d better get started on
dinner, will be wonderful being together again.”

“
Sara Lynn, we’re together
all the time,” I protested.

“
Not like this, without
work or our spouses or the errant murderer thrown into the mix. It
will just be the three of us.”

I could swear I heard her humming as she
went back inside the apartment. My sister was big on family, but it
was an odd thing. While our parents had been alive, she’d been just
as reluctant to spend free time with us. But as soon as she was the
oldest member of our immediate family, Sara Lynn became a demon for
get-togethers and family time. Lillian wasn’t always invited to our
little mini reunions, and I understood why. As much as I loved our
aunt, she wasn’t a part of our core, the three of us. Sara Lynn, ii
Bradford and I had gone through quite a lot together, both good and
bad, and somehow I always felt better knowing that they were close
by. I Bradford hung up and looked at me. “I guess you heard all of
that, huh?”

“
To be honest with you, I
was thinking about something else. Did she give you a hard
time?”

“
She actually accused me
of making excuses so I wouldn’t have to eat at home. Imagine me
turning down a tofu burger so I could get meat loaf.” His grin was
so big he could barely contain it. “I, for one, do find it hard to
believe.”

“
Listen, do you mind
staying out here and watching the door until Jim shows up? I need
to talk to Sara Lynn about something. I’ll be here in a second if
you need me.”

“
Go ahead,” I said. “I’m
fine.” He patted my shoulder. “I know you will be. Besides, you’ve
just gotten the warning; I can’t imagine you being in any real
danger yet.”

“
Thanks,
you’re all heart,” I said as I sat down on the top step and looked
out into the growing night, amazed that Rebel Forge could look so
calm and peaceful from a distance. There was a killer loose
somewhere out there, and I wondered if she was watching me now.
What did that warning mean? I hadn’t done anything productive to
help my brother with his investigation. So why had the killer
chosen this particular method of communication? If I could unmask
her, I would do it without fear or hesitation, but in all honesty,
I didn’t have a clue who might have killed Tina. A thought suddenly
struck me. Could the murder be tied in to the upcoming wedding
somehow? If the killer was watching my shop, seeing the mothers of
both bride and groom visit me might give her the
impression that I was looking into the murder
more actively than I was actually doing. What was I supposed to do,
though, bar anyone from coming in who had the slightest connection
to the happy couple? That gave me an idea. If the killer thought I
was getting closer, then I had to be on the right track; chances
were, Tina’s murder had to be tied in to the wedding. But could I
go to Bradford with that suspicion, and more importantly, would he
take it seriously? I kind of doubted it. No, if that connection was
right, I was the one in the best position to use it and find the
murderer. I’d never been discouraged by threats. If anything, they
would just make me dig my heels in more.

I was still thinking about the possibilities
when I saw someone coming up the steps toward me. Instead of Jim,
Wayne Davidson was there, a camera slung around his neck, ready to
take pictures of my front door.

“
I
thought Jim was coming,” I said, not at all happy to see Wayne
coming to my apartment again for any
reason.

“
Nice to see you, too,
Jennifer. Jim was buried in paperwork, so I volunteered to come
by.” He looked around, then asked, “Where’s the
sheriff?”

“
He’s inside. Would you
like me to get him for you?”

“
No, that’s fine. I know
the drill.” As he got ready to take the photographs, my first
instinct was to go inside where my family was. Then I thought about
what Corrine had told me, and I realized this could be the perfect
time to reconcile the two versions of Wayne I’d been hearing about
lately.

As he lined up a shot, I
said, “I ran into an old girlfriend of yours this week.”

“
Yeah? It wouldn’t take
much around here. Rebel Forge isn’t all that big, and the dating
pool is kind of shallow.”

I waited until he snapped his first picture,
then said, “Actually, she hasn’t lived in town for a while. She’s
been away at college.”

Wayne had been ready to take another
photograph, but he lowered the camera and stared at me with a glare
that chilled me. “What did she say?”

I was getting nervous being with him.
“Nothing important,” I said as I eased toward my door. My s
apartment had been built like a bomb shelter, and while I usually
relished the sound protection offered inside it, I was wishing for
paper-thin walls so my brother could hear me if I got in trouble.
Wayne stepped forward, cutting off my way inside. “I asked you a
question, Jennifer. What did she tell you?”

He was so close I could smell the slightest
trace of liquor on his breath. It appeared that Wayne was the kind
of man who got mean when he started drinking, and I didn’t want to
do anything to set him off. “She told me you just broke up with
her. Corrine seemed surprised by your excuse.”

For some reason Wayne looked relieved by the
admission. “Yeah, well, it was a long time coming.” He kicked off
and started to shoot again.

“
Why were you so upset
about her saying anything o me?”

“
I don’t like people
talking about me behind my back, that’s all,” he said
nonchalantly.

“
Aren’t you a little old
to be dating college girls?” I asked him, wondering why he’d
reacted so strongly to my earlier statement.

“
In case you hadn’t
noticed, there aren’t a lot of women my age in town. Why, are you
interested after all? If you changed your mind, I’d still like to
take you out.”

Great. It looked like if I gave him the
slightest encouragement, I was going to get a stalker of my very
own. “Thanks, but no thanks. The reasons I told you before still
hold. I don’t have the time or the interest to date right now.”

He shook his head slightly, whispered
something under his breath, then went back to taking photographs. I
was just about to push him a little more when; my door opened and
Bradford walked out. “What are you doing here?” he rumbled at
Wayne. “You’re off duty.”

“
I was hanging around the
station when you called and Jim was loaded down with paperwork. No
big deal, I was happy to come.”

Bradford took the camera
from him and said, “Go
home, Wayne. I’ll
see you in the morning.” He studied his deputy’s appearance, then
asked, “Do you need a ride?”