A Flicker of Doubt (Book 4 in the Candlemaking Mysteries) (8 page)

He opened it and pulled out an envelope.
“Look at that”

It was addressed to Becka. Despite the water
damage, I could read enough of the return address to see that it
was from Washington, D.C., but the name of the agency had been torn
off the corner. I opened the envelope, not sure what I was hoping
to find, but it was empty. Then I flipped it over and saw a brief
note scrawled in Becka’s handwriting. The last few words were
smudged and the first part was obscured by a smear of mud. All I
could make out for sure was the single word “land.” As a clue, it
wasn’t much use. If she’d used a pen I might still be able to read
it, but the pencil lead had been blurred almost beyond recognition
during its submersion. “Sony, there’s not enough here to do us much
good.”

I had a thought and said, “Wait a second,
I’ll be right back.” I retrieved the photo fragment I’d found on
her dresser mirror and handed it to him as I said, “Maybe they’re
connected in some way. Could she have been asking someone about
this barrel? But how do we find out what they said?”

Markum studied the photo, then said, “The
postmark on the envelope is two weeks before the date on the back
of the picture.”

I felt deflated. “So they’re not
related.”

“
Maybe, maybe not. Can I
have this? I’ve got a guy who does me favors on occasion, and he
might be able to give us something more than we’re seeing
here.”

“
Sure, be my guest.” I took
a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “This isn’t going to be
easy, is it?”

Markum said, “Patience, Harrison. We have to
gather as many pieces of the puzzle as we can before we can figure
out what really happened to her.”

I leaned forward and snagged the purse. It
had a mildewed smell to it and I could feel some kind of slime on
it Becka was fastidious about her appearance—the state of her
apartment notwithstanding—and I knew it would have infuriated her
to see her purse like that. Instead of getting sadder, it only
fueled my anger. Somebody was going to pay for what they’d done to
her.

I started going through her purse with new
determination. There was a grocery list there, her checkbook, half
a dozen makeup items and an odd assortment of things that collect
in the bottom of some women’s purses. I found another telephone
number—this one written in permanent ink on the back of a deposit
slip—so I dialed it and was startled to hear Greg Runion
answer.

I hung up the telephone, and Markum asked,
“What was that all about?”

“
I found a phone number in
Becka’s purse, so I dialed it. It was Runion.”

“
The developer? Why would
Becka have his number in her purse?”

I scratched my head, then laid the paper
aside. “I’m not sure, but it’s something we need to look into.” I
studied the contents of her purse for a few more minutes, then
asked, “So what’s missing here?”

“
I don’t know, I was hoping
you would.”

“
Her car keys aren’t here.
Did you see her car anywhere near the overlook? She didn’t walk,
that’s for sure; it’s too far from town.”

Markum nodded. “You’re right. There were no
cars in the parking area when I went there to look around. Why
don’t you call your buddy the sheriff and see if he’s looked for
her car?”

At least it was something. “I’ll give it a
shot, but I don’t know if he’ll tell me anything.”

“
You’ve got a better chance
of finding out than I do,” Markum said.

I dialed the sheriff’s office, and after
going through the switchboard, I reached Morton himself. “This is
Harrison Black. I need to ask you something.”

“
Harrison, I’ve got a
hit-and-run that’s driving me nuts. Some guy got mowed over by a
car on the city limits boundary. Half of him is in Micah’s Ridge
and the other half is on county property. They’re out there now
trying to figure out where most of the man’s body is lying. Make it
quick.”

“
Where’s Becka’s car?” I
asked.

“
Come on, it was a
suicide.”

“
She didn’t walk from town,
Sheriff. Becka wouldn’t do that So how did she get out there, and
where’s her vehicle?”

He said curtly, ‘I’m going to tell you, but
only because

of the day you’ve had. We found her vehicle
at the overlook. The keys were in it and the engine was still
running. I know Micah’s Ridge is a small town, but I’m still
surprised nobody stole it Now will you drop this? She killed
herself.”

I wanted to say something else when the
telephone connection ended.

“
What did he say?” Markum
asked.

‘
They found the car with the
engine still running at the overlook.” •

Markum frowned. “I’m sure that just
reinforces his belief that it was suicide.”

“
Not for me, it doesn’t” I
said. “Becka wouldn’t leave her car running like that. She used to
give me grief about running my truck in the winter to warm it up.
Over the last six months, she’d developed a real environmental
conscience.”

“
And if he’d stayed on the
line long enough for you to tell him that I’m sure the sheriff
would have said that she wasn’t in her right frame of mind, or she
never would have killed herself in the first place. For every new
bit of information we find, there’s a way he can turn it around on
us. I’m not all that surprised that we’re not going to be getting
any help from him.”

“
So why do you believe me?”
I asked.

It looked like he thought about it then
said, “Your gut tells you it was murder. I’m going with that.”

“
Good enough,” I said. “I’m
not wrong about this.”

“
I never thought you were.
Now what are we going to do about it?”

I reached for the accordion folder and said,
“We keep digging.”

Chapter 6

After an hour of searching through her
personal papers, I was ready to call it a night “There’s nothing
here that shouldn’t be,” I said.

Markum nodded. “I’ve got to agree with you
about that So what did we miss?”

“
I don’t follow
you.”

“
Those two suits weren’t at
Becka’s searching for decorating tips. Is there anything we found
that they might have been looking for?”

“
What about the message on
the answering machine?” I asked. “Could they be working for the guy
we heard?”

Markum nodded. “You could be right So then
who is our mystery man?”

“
I don’t even have a guess.
Have you talked to your friend about the tape?”

“
He’s not going to be able
to help after all,” Markum said. “I’m going to get a
Coke.”

I’ll grab one for you, I’m thirsty myself.
So what happened, is your friend out of town?”

Markum shrugged. “That’s as good a euphemism
as any. He’s in jail.”

“
You know the most
interesting people.” I grabbed two Cokes and handed him
one.

“
You don’t know the half of
it. It looks like we’re on our own with the tape. I should have
taken her answering machine, too; I don’t have anything that will
play that size tape.”

“
I’ve got a handheld tape
recorder around here somewhere. Don’t they take the same size tapes
as those old machines?”

Markum said, “I never thought of that. Get
your tape player and I’ll go get the tape.”

After we met back in the living room, I held
out my hand. “Let me try it.”

“
It won’t work,” he said as
he handed me the tape.

I didn’t even have to try it; he was
clearly, right about the tape’s size. That wasn’t our only problem,
though. The tape was heavier than it should have been. I held it up
to my nose and sniffed, then realized that it had gotten wet.

Markum looked disgusted. “I had it with me
when I went after Becka’s purse. It was a stupid mistake, Harrison.
I’m sorry. I don’t even know if it’s still any good.”

“
Don’t be so hard on
yourself. It wasn’t a mistake, it was an accident. There still
might be something we can hear.”

“
So what do we
do?”

“
We go out and get a machine
that will play it”

He took a deep breath, then said, “Do you
really think there’s hope for it?”

The only way we’ll know is if we try.”

I saw Markum smile, so I quickly added, “I’m
not breaking back into Becka’s, even if we do have a key.”

“
Do you honestly think the
Community Watch is working this late at night? If Morton even
bothered with a stakeout, his deputies are probably long gone. Come
on, we can be in and out in five minutes.”

“
Are you
serious?”

“
What did you have in mind,
going to Hickory to Best Buy and listening to it on one of their
machines? That’s just a wee bit suspicious, wouldn’t you
say?”

“
And breaking back into
Becka’s isn’t?”

I grabbed my coat and he asked, “So where
are you going?”

“
If we’re going to do this,
let’s get it over with before I change my mind.”

“
That’s the spirit,
Harrison. I’ll make a salvage man out of you yet”

“
Thanks, but no thanks.
After this, I’m sticking to candlemaking.”

Markum said, “I suspect that’s the wisest
thing you can do, but just think about the fun you’re missing.”

Driving through the darkened streets of
Micah’s Ridge with just the lights from the dash illuminating us, I
felt like a spy on a dangerous mission.

Markum must have sensed my mood. “There’s
nothing like it, is there?” he asked.

“
Do you do this a
lot?”

There was a pause, then he said, “Harrison,
I get as much joy out of the hunt as I do actually achieving my
objectives. How many people get to do something they love these
days?”

“
I do,” I said. “I never
knew what I was missing until Belle left me the
candleshop.”

“
Don’t you ever wish your
life was a little more exciting?”

I turned into Becka’s complex. “Honestly?
Lately I’ve been getting more adventure than I care to.”

“
Paik over there,” he said,
pointing to the general parking lot away from the housing units. I
did as he said, then asked, “So we’re actually trying to be
stealthy this timer

“
It’s an entirely different
proposition breaking into someplace at night I’d rather do it in
broad daylight but I’m afraid what we might find if we wait until
morning. Follow my lead and try to make as little noise as
possible.”

I followed him around the gated pool, past
the tennis courts and up to Becka’s sliding patio door in back. He
studied the interior through the glass while I kept watch all
around us. There were a thousand noises in the night and I had the
creepy feeling that every one of them was after us. After what
seemed like hours, Markum tapped my shoulder and motioned me to
follow him.

We crept around the building and he hit the
knocker’s slide to retrieve the key. I’d only shown him once, but
he had no problem finding it in the distant lights of the complex’s
parking area.

After a minute, he hissed, “It’s not there.
Are you sure you put it back?”

“
You saw me,” I said as I
brushed past him. The key wasn’t in its usual place, and I started
panicking, thinking that someone was in the apartment I almost said
something to Markum when my fingertip brushed something in the
bottom of the tray. I must not have put it

back in its place properly, and I was lucky
it had fallen inside instead of out onto the ground.

I handed the key to Markum, who looked
surprised, but pleased. He slid it into the lock, opened the door,
then replaced the key immediately. Once we were inside, the
apartment was nearly pitch-black. I knew Becka always bought the
heaviest drapes she could find, since she liked to sleep late
whenever she could. A light suddenly sprang up, and I realized
Markum had turned on his small flashlight.

“
Let’s just grab the machine
and go.”

“
Easy, Harrison. We’re here.
Why don’t we look around again?”

“
Markum, we searched the
place in the daylight I don’t want the sheriff to catch us in
here.”

“
He’s busy with a body on
the county line, remember? Okay, I don’t want to explain this to
him any more than you do.”

He unplugged the machine and wrapped the
cord around it “Are you ready?”

“
Let’s go.”

We were back outside in less than a minute.
As I stepped back to let Markum close the door, the porch light
from next door came on. Without thinking or hesitating, I dove
through the bushes and started running. Markum was beside me, then
suddenly he passed me and was waiting for me when we got back to
the truck.

I jammed the key into the ignition, started
the truck and took off without looking back. “Man, that was too
close,” I said once we were on the highway again.

“
It wouldn’t feel right if I
didn’t have at least one adrenaline rush from all of
this.”

We got back to my apartment and quickly
plugged the machine in. I hit the play button after I put the tape
in, but all we got was a garbled mess. Markum said, “So we took
that risk for nothing.”

“
We had to know,” I said. “I
don’t know about you, but I won’t forget that voice anytime soon.
If I hear it again, I’ll know it”

“
There was a lot more on
that tape than the voice, though. There was something in the
background, something I didn’t quite catch that might have helped
us.”