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

I found
out the truth.
    I couldn’t wait to get back to River’s Edge
before I dug the newspaper out I found a park bench and opened the
paper to page 8A, the same sheet Becka had cut. Pulling the folded
section from my pocket, I laid it over the paper I’d just
bought
    The articles included brief snippets about
an indicted congressman, new proposed stalking laws, illegal
dumping and an unidentified woman’s body discovered in Larkspur
Lake. I got chills as I read the last article. Though there was no
mention of sleeping pills found in the woman’s system, I had to
wonder if Becka had an idea about what would happen to her. I cut
the section out with the penknife on my keychain and slipped it in
my pocket I’d have to see what Morton could find out about the
woman who drowned. Becka might have just managed to lead us to her
own killer.

Chapter 7

    I had some time before I had to get back to open
the candleshop, so I decided to try to see Cyrus again. Our earlier
conversation had disturbed me greatly, and I wasn’t about to obey
my friend’s wishes. Something was going on there, something that
just didn’t feel right.
    I tried the doorknob when I got to his
place, but it was locked this time. I rang the bell, and a few
seconds later a large, heavy set man wearing a pair of dress pants
and a Windbreaker answered the door.
    “ Help you?” he asked
gruffly.
    “ I’m here to see Cyrus,” I
said, trying to see past him inside the house.
    “ He’s not accepting
visitors,” the man said as he started to close the door.
    “ I’m his friend. Tell him
Harrison Black is here to see him.”
    The man said, ‘I’ve got orders about you in
particular. You’re supposed to go away and not bother him anymore.
Do you understand?”
    “ Just who are you,
anyway?”
    The man smiled grimly. “I’m the guy between
you and this door. Now beat it,” he said, then slammed the door in
my face.
    Why had Cyrus hired this bulldog to watch
his front door? I couldn’t imagine anyone threatening him, but why
else would he put such a formidable barrier up to visitors? I got
in the truck and drove around the corner, then parked behind
another vehicle that held ladders, buckets and other cleaning
equipment That was one good thing about driving a pickup truck in
neighborhoods like this one. I was usually mistaken for a craftsman
at work catering to the needs of people who spent mote time behind
their desks than they did in their homes. It was the modern,
too-often told story of suburbia. Bored housewives and
working-class folks inhabited those brightly decorated houses that
felt empty nonetheless.
    I grabbed a clipboard from under the seat
and shoved a pencil behind one ear. Markum had taught me that
trick. With a clipboard in his hand and a worried look on his face,
a man could go just about anywhere without anyone questioning him.
I cut through a neighbor’s yard and made my way over to Cyrus’s
house. There had to be something going on in there that someone
didn’t want the world to know about
    The windows were dirty from accumulated
grime. I pulled out my bandana handkerchief and tried to wipe away
the dirt Was that a newly built ramp covering the steps going up
from the sunken living room? Blast it all, I couldn’t see much of
anything. I was still struggling to get a good look inside when a
heavy hand landed on my shoulder.
    “ You don’t take no for an
answer, do you?”
    The clipboard fell out of my hand as I
realized it was Cyrus’s personal Cerberus, diligently guarding the
gate.
    “ He’s my friend,” I
protested.
    “ And he’s my employer,” the
man said as he started pushing me toward the front gate.
    “ How’d you know I was here?”
I asked.
    “ There’s new security around
the perimeter. I knew you were coming the second you stepped on his
land. Don’t come back. I won’t be so easy on you next time.” He
gave me a forced shove, and I nearly lost my balance as I stumbled
forward. By the time I’d