Scent of Murder. Virginia Smith
came the mumbled reply.
“Really?” Caitlin didn’t bother to filter the delight out of her tone. “I play the flute, too.”
That brought the girl’s gaze back to her. “You do?”
Caitlin nodded. “I’m in town because I’m playing in a wedding this weekend. I’m a flute teacher. I teach flute and piccolo back home in Kentucky.”
Nicky’s eyes widened to twice their normal size. “Do you think you could give me a lesson?”
“Nicky! Don’t be rude.” The girl’s mother scolded her with a stern look. “I’m sure she doesn’t have time to give you a lesson.”
“But it would only take a few minutes.” Nicky turned a pleading glance toward Caitlin. “I’m not very good, and I just know I’m going to blow the whole thing.”
In the face of Nicky’s worried expression, Caitlin hated to turn her down. Many of her students were that age, so full of middle-school angst that a solo they weren’t prepared for could feel like the end of the world. And now that she thought about it, giving a lesson to an anxious girl might be the perfect excuse to cancel with Chase.
No, she’d feel like a heel. Mrs. Hollister would be beside herself. Caitlin had said she’d go, and she would. Besides, she really was looking forward to an evening of gospel music.
Caitlin was saved from answering Nicky’s plea by the appearance of a man through a doorway in the corner. Irritation clipped his words short as he spoke to the clerk. “Laura, do you have any idea where I left my glasses?” His irritated expression deepened when he caught sight of Nicky’s mom. “Janie, what are you doing here? I’m working.”
Now it was Janie’s turn to look worried. She flashed a quick, almost embarrassed smile in Caitlin’s direction and then placed a hand on her husband’s arm. “We came to tell you some good news, Ed. Nicky has a solo in tomorrow night’s concert. Isn’t that great?”
Ed’s gaze flickered toward his daughter for an instant before he asked impatiently, “What concert?”
“The band concert at school.” Janie’s voice lowered. “You remember. It’s the last one of the year.”
“Oh, yeah. Right.” He put a hand on top of Nicky’s head and gave it a quick rub. “That’s great, sweetheart. Congratulations.” He glanced toward the door he’d just come through, then spoke to his wife. “I might not be able to make it, though. Be sure to take the camcorder, okay?”
Nicky looked at the floor, the corners of her lips twitching downward. Caitlin’s heart twisted in sympathy. Her arms itched to comfort the girl with a hug. Or her mother, who looked just as stricken as Nicky.
“You’ll try though, won’t you, Ed?”
“Yeah, sure. Of course I will.” He seemed to register Caitlin’s presence at that moment. A wide smile transformed his features as he gestured toward the candle in her hands. “Are you finding everything okay?”
It was all Caitlin could do to reply pleasantly, when she’d much rather march him into the back room and give him a good talking to about paying an appropriate amount of attention to his sensitive preteen daughter. “I am. Thank you.”
“Good, good. If you need anything, Laura will be happy to help you.”
As though on command, the sales clerk appeared at his side holding a pair of reading glasses. “You left them up front.”
“Thanks.” He took them and gave Nicky’s head a final rub. “I gotta get back to work. I’m having an inventory problem with one of the suppliers.”
As he disappeared through the doorway into the back, Caitlin made a snap decision. She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got about half an hour. Just enough time for a lesson.”
The girl lifted her head, hope flooding her face. “Really?”
Janie’s look was full of gratitude. “Our house is just around the corner. You can follow us over, or I’ll take you back to your car when you’re through, if you prefer.”
“Since I’m parked all the way down at the other end of town, that’ll be faster.”
“Then let’s go!” Nicky headed toward the door at a jog, anxious not to waste any more lesson time.
Caitlin started to follow, and Janie stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Thank you.”
Any regret Caitlin might have had about her impromptu decision fled at the sight of grateful tears in Janie’s eyes. Without a doubt, this was an opportunity from the Lord’s hand. The small act of kindness she could show this woman and her daughter was worth the minor interruption of her shopping spree. Given the glimpse she’d just had of Ed, they weren’t accustomed to kindness.
She squeezed the woman’s warm hand. “I’m happy to do it. Really.”
She might have to forgo a shower before Chase arrived to pick her up, but she wasn’t going to dress up for him, anyway. Right? Right.
Glasses perched on the end of his nose, Ed scanned the inventory list. A turbulent storm of unease churned in his stomach. What did it matter if every other item on the list was accounted for? That one missing candle could ruin everything.
“You’d better take care of this, Willie.”
The fidgeting deliveryman from Good Things In Wax wouldn’t meet his gaze. Standing in the open doorway with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his baggy pants, he scuffed a foot on the doorjamb. “The boss said he’d take care of it.”
Ed scribbled his name at the bottom of the form, his teeth grinding against each other. “We can’t let that candle go. I don’t care what it takes, you’ve got to get it back.”
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