Invitation to Murder (Book 1 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (4 page)

I’d positioned a small table near the front
window where I’d laid out a selection of cards as a display. Since
it didn’t seem to be drawing anybody in, I gathered everything
together and put it all on the checkout counter. What a perfect
work space the table made I could look out along Oakmont once I
moved my chair there, and I found that the height was just right
for working. I folded the two sheets in half after marking them,
then trimmed both pieces with stirrup pattern scissors, making the
burgundy sheet an inch smaller all around than the silver. Using
one of the punch outs, I made a few balloon-shaped holes in the
burgundy paper; then the paper was ready to glue to the backing.
Silver balloons seemed to float in the burgundy field. How lovely!
I still wasn’t sure what the theme of the card was going to
be—something I usually made certain I knew before I even chose my
paper—but I could always come up with something. I was still
considering the possibilities when the front door of my shop
opened.

“
May I help you?” I
asked.

An elegantly dressed young woman in her
thirties came inside. She studied my card and then said with a
Boston accent, “That looks lovely. I was walking by your shop and
saw you working through the window. Tell me, is it difficult to
do?”

“
It’s the easiest thing in
the world,” I assured her. “Here, sit down and I’ll show
you.”

“
I’m sure I couldn’t,” she
said, but from the way she was looking at my card in progress, I
knew she wanted to.

“
You’re in luck; I’m
giving free lessons today. Now, what kind of card would you like to
make?”

“
Well, my mother’s
birthday is coming up soon, and I’d hoped to find something special
for her.”

“
You came to the right
place.” I offered my hand, “I’m Jennifer.”

“
I’m Leslie,” she
said.

“
It’s nice to meet you,
Leslie. Tell me a little about your mother so we can make this the
best card she’s ever gotten in her life.”

We spent a pleasant half hour making her
card, and by the time Leslie was finished, she’d told me more about
herself than she had probably ever mentioned to her hairdresser or
her priest. Crafts were funny that way. People really opened up
when they were happy and busy doing something productive. Leslie
left the shop with a great deal more than her mother’s
complimentary birthday card. She’d chosen a wonderful selection of
products and supplies from the shop, and I decided after she was
gone to make up a few more kits just like it.

When I’d opened the Three Cs, I’d had folks
exactly like Leslie in mind. Sharing my love of cards was what it
was all about for me. I was still feeling the joy from her visit
when I decided it was time to tackle the mail.

One letter stood out from the rest. There
was no stamp, no postmark, not even an address on it. “JENNIFER”
was the only thing printed on the front in large block letters.

Inside, it said, “Forget what you heard or
you’ll be next.”

Chapter 3

At first I thought it had to be a mistake.
There was only one thing I’d heard in the last twenty-four hours
that the note could possibly apply to, but what was I supposed to
forget about that haunting phone call I’d received? I replayed the
young woman’s words in my mind before her scream. I didn’t have any
trouble coming up with the exchange; I doubted I’d ever forget it.
She had said I had to tell the other woman the truth, that she
would believe me. When the young woman realized I wasn’t Donna,
there had been an air of resignation in her voice just before her
final scream. I couldn’t think of anything I’d heard that would be
a threat to anybody. But then I remembered that the killer had
walked in during the middle of our conversation. She wouldn’t know
what I’d been told, I would she? The killer, whoever she was,
probably thought I knew more than I did. And then I thought of
something that chilled my heart. The note had been dropped off at
my card shop. That meant that the killer knew who I was! She must
have hit the redial, button after the earlier call. That’s when I
remembered the hang-up right after I’d identified myself and my
shop’s name. At the time I’d written it off as another rude sign of
the times, but now I was firmly convinced that a murderer had been
on the other end of the line, and worse, she was looking for me. I
started to punch Bradford’s cell number on my phone when I saw his
squad car pull up in front of the store. For once I was glad to
have him checking up on me.

The second he walked in the door and spotted
me, he said, “Jennifer, what’s wrong?”

I handed him the note. “This came with my
mail this morning.”

Instead of taking the letter from me, he
said, “Just put it down on the counter.”

I did as I was told, and he put on a pair of
rubber gloves he had stashed in his pocket. “Where’s the
envelope?”

I gestured to it on the floor where I’d
dropped it after reading what was inside. “It didn’t go through the
mail. Somebody put it in my slot. Bradford, my fingerprints are all
over that letter and the envelope, too. I probably ruined whatever
evidence there was on them.”

As he carefully collected both pieces of
paper, he said, “I’ll make a deal with you. You don’t tell me how
to run the sheriff’s office and I won’t teach you how to make
cards.”

“
This is tied in with that
telephone call—it has to be. What did you find out about that girl?
Is she mixed up in this?”

“
I’m not ready to say
anything about that just yet.”

“
At least tell me who she
was.”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that, Jen.
I’m sorry.”

I frowned. “Why not? Is it part of your
precious police procedure? Are you going by the book when you
should be easing my mind about all of this?”

“
Jennifer, the reason I
won’t tell you who she was is because we haven’t been able to
notify her parents yet. Is that all right with you?”

“
I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Of course you’re right. But Bradford, I’m not exactly an
uninterested party here. That note proves it.”

“
Believe me, I’m not happy
about it, either. Why don’t you move into our guest bedroom for the
next few days? Cindy would love to have you, and the kids would be
bouncing off the walls with joy.”

“
Thanks, but I can’t. Sara
Lynn made the same offer, cats included, but I’m not going to run
and hide. Besides, if this mad-dog woman wants me, she can always
find me here at my shop.”

“
Jennifer, I can’t afford
round-the-clock protection for you if you don’t cooperate. This is
serious.”

“
Do you think I don’t know
that? I’ll be careful, Bradford, but I’m not crawling into a hole.
Don’t worry. I’ll take precautions.”

He rolled his eyes. “What are you going to
do, bring your two furry bodyguards with you to work?”

“
With all this paper just
waiting to be shredded? You’re out of your mind. I’ve got your old
baseball bat by my bed. I can bring it to work with me, then take
it home at night.” I bit my lip, then said, “I can’t stop thinking
about that poor girl. Was it bad?”

“
It was pretty tough to
see.” I felt a shiver run through me. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”
I knew my brother was always overprotective of me, but at that
moment, I was kind of glad to have him looking out for me. It
wasn’t that I couldn’t take care of myself—I could—but sometimes
having him watch my back was good, too.

He sighed, then said, “I’m
sorry, but carrying a baseball bat’s not good enough. I’m going to
keep an eye on you for the next few days whether you like it or
not” “Bradford, be reasonable,” I said as I gestured outside.
“Nobody’s going to come into a card shop with the sheriff on duty
at the counter and his patrol car parked out front. You’ll destroy
my business before it even has a chance to get started.”

“
And which do you prefer,
being ruined or being dead?”

“
I’d like to avoid both of
them if I can.”

He thought about it for a few seconds, then
said, “How about if I stay in the back? Would that suit you?”

“
And what is Rebel Forge
supposed to do while the sheriff is babysitting his little
sister?”

“
Jennifer, I’m not leaving
you here alone.”

I thought about it, then came up with the
answer. “I’ve got it. I’ll call Aunt Lillian. She’s been
complaining that she’s bored with her life right now. She can help
out here at the card shop and keep an eye on me at the same
time.”

Bradford said, “You’re kidding, right? Do
you honestly think you’re going to be safe because you’ll be under
the protection of our crazy old aunt? Sis, you’ve lost your
mind.”

“
Hey, Lillian has had
seven ex-husbands; she knows how to handle herself. One of them was
a karate instructor, remember? We’ll be fine.”

“
Please tell me you don’t
honestly believe that. She’ll be so busy looking for husband number
eight, she won’t have time to watch out for you. Karate or not, I
still don’t like it.”

“
Well, it’s the most I’m
willing to do.” I grabbed the telephone, and Bradford said, “You
mean to tell me you’re calling her now?”

“
There’s no time like the
present.” I dialed our aunt’s phone number as my brother shook his
head in utter disbelief. He always underestimated Lillian,
something a lot of folks did. She was the original source of Sara
Lynn’s strong will, and I would rather have my aunt watching out
for me than the entire Rebel Forge police department.

After I got her on the phone, I said,
“Lillian, are you still bored with your life?”

“
To tears, my dear,” she
said. “Save me from this desolate existence.”

“
Come work for me at my
card shop. I can’t afford to pay you anything, but on the plus
side, I think somebody’s trying to kill me.”

There was a whoop of laughter on the other
end. I knew I could count on you. I’ll be right there.”

“
She’s coming,” I told
Bradford as I hung up the telephone. “Problem solved.”

“
So why don’t I feel any
better? You don’t mind if I check this note for prints, do
you?”

“
Go right ahead,” I said.
As Bradford started to leave, I asked, “You’re not hanging around?
She’ll be here in ten minutes.”

“
That’s why I’m leaving
now. Don’t worry. I’ll stay outside until she gets here, but then
I’m taking off. Those screeching tires you hear will be
me.”

“
Sissy,” I said as he
left.

Just knowing Lillian was on her way made me
feel better. Since our folks had died, she had been a constant
source of amusement and support for the three, of us. It would be
wonderful having her at the shop; with me. My aunt prided herself
on marrying well and divorcing even better. She’d dyed her hair red
even since I could remember, claiming that with her temper, it was
too good an opportunity to pass up. There wasn’t anything in the
world we couldn’t handle together, even a killer on the loose in
Rebel Forge.

As I peeked out the window waiting for
Lillian to arrive, I saw my brother in earnest conversation with
Jody Jeffords, one of his deputies. Jody was in blue jeans and a
T-shirt, and judging from his tousled hair, and the way he kept
rubbing his eyes, I was willing to bet that my brother had summoned
him from a dead sleep. They both turned in my direction, so I
ducked back behind the edge of the curtain and watched them. Jody
studied the shop for a few seconds, bought a newspaper from one of
the vendors across the way, then wandered off down the street. He
finally settled on a bench in front of Dot’s Ices Cream Palace, a
name much grander than the tiny shop merited. As Jody opened his
paper, I noticed that it was upside down. That was some crack
surveillance team watching over me. A part of me wanted to protest
my overprotective brother’s action, but another part was glad he
was the sheriff. That note had bothered me more than I’d been
willing to admit to; him. It wasn’t exactly a death threat, but it
was closes enough for my tastes. True to his word, Bradford got
into his patrol car and left thirty seconds before Lillian pulled
up in front of my shop in her vintage candy-apple-red Mustang
convertible.

I held the door for her as she approached,
and Lillian ducked into my arms and gave me a bear hug squeeze.
“It’s been forever since I’ve seen you, Jennifer. Let me look at
you.” She grabbed my cheek.

“
You need more exercise;
you’re getting plump, girl.”

“
So we’re playing that
game today, are we? Now is it my turn to tell you what you need?”
She frowned for a second, then burst out laughing.

“
It will
be good for me to spend some time with you
here. So what’s this about someone wanting to
kill you?” With just a little too much excitement in her voice, she
added, “Do you think I’m in danger, too?”

“
This is serious,” I said.
After I told Lillian about the telephone call and the note, she
grew somber.

“
Don’t worry about this,
Jennifer. We’ll keep an eye out for each other.”

“
We have help, too.” I
pointed to Jody sitting on the bench, his newspaper still upside
down. “That’s our police protection.” As I said it, the paper
drooped in his hands, and I could see that Jody had fallen
asleep.