Virginia Smith - Scent of Murder

Chase flashed a quick smile of dismissal before he turned away, and Caitlin fell in beside him. As they passed through the workroom, Alex stopped in the act of placing another slab of wax on the sturdy table to watch their progress across the room. Caitlin didn’t seem to notice his attention, but stuck right by Chase’s side, holding her candle close. Chase straightened his shoulders and smirked over the top of her head. Take that, Casanova.

They stepped into the shop to find Chase’s mother chatting with two older women. Caitlin hesitated. Should she buy something? It would probably be the polite thing to do, since she’d taken up so much of his time—and since he’d given her one candle as a gift already.

She turned away from him to hide a fit of nerves. The suddenness of his gesture in the back room led her to believe not every person who took the tour left with a gift. Especially one of the special candles they didn’t even sell in their own store. That definitely counted as flirting. And she’d probably flirted back, despite her best intentions.

She straightened and infused her tone with politeness. “Thank you for that tour. And for this.” She popped the lid off the candle, lifted it to her nose, and inhaled. “Mmm—”

Her throat closed off in a choke as the odor reached her nostrils. Or, rather, assaulted her nostrils. A pungent blend of eucalyptus and…was that licorice? Tears sprang to her eyes. Whatever it was, the combination was horrible.

“Oh.” She replaced the lid, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes. The smell clung to the back of her throat. If Chase hadn’t been standing there watching, she would have wrinkled her nose and coughed. “That’s really strong.”

“You don’t like it?”

“Oh, no, it’s not that,” Caitlin hurried to assure him. “It’s just that it’s, uh…” She swallowed. What could she truthfully say about that terrible smell without offending him? “Really strong,” she repeated lamely.

Though his expression was serious, laugh lines creased the edges of his eyes. “It is one of our strongest scents.”

“Well, at least it’s…” Caitlin held the jar up and peered at the dark purple wax. She’d been about to say, “At least it’s pretty,” but she wasn’t a fan of purple. And this was so dark it was almost black. Black candles had such sinister connotations, she wouldn’t dare display this one in her living room. She searched desperately for something nice to say.

“To be honest,” Chase said, “it’s not one of my favorites.”

She caught sight of a twitch at the corner of his lips, and relaxed. “Mine, either,” she confessed. “I’m more of a plain vanilla kind of girl.”

He took the candle from her unresisting hands and tucked it on a shelf beneath the sales counter. “In that case, we have a triple-scented vanilla candle you’re going to love.”

Caitlin let him guide her toward a shelf on the opposite side of the shop, ignoring the warmth of his light touch at the small of her back. “You said the store in town sells a lot of those Forbidden Fantasy candles?”

“A ton.”

She tried to keep the disbelief off her face, but apparently failed, because he held his hand out, palm up and fingers splayed, as he shrugged.

“I don’t understand it, either.” He lowered his voice and glanced at the three women on the other side of a display shelf. “Personally, I think they stink.”

A giggle escaped her lips. Caitlin cut it off quickly. She might not be interested in the guy, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to think she was one of those giggly women she couldn’t stand. They were often the same ones who checked for wedding rings.

Chase didn’t seem to mind. He picked up a jar filled with creamy white wax, twisted off the lid, and extended it toward her. “How’s this?”

She inhaled, and breathed a happy sigh. “Wonderful. I love that one.”

His smile deepened as he put it in her hands. “Good. We like to keep our customers happy.”

Was there a bit of extra meaning in those words? Heat flooded Caitlin’s face, and she tore her gaze away from his. “I think I’ll buy one of those Fresh Apples you showed me earlier. My mom loves candles, and the green will match her bathroom perfectly.”

Mrs. Hollister stepped behind the cash register to ring up the purchases of the pair of women she’d been helping. Caitlin took her place in line behind them while Chase wrapped her candles in thick paper. When the women left with bulging bags clutched in their hands, Mrs. Hollister turned her wide grin on Caitlin.

“And how did you like the tour, dear?”

“It was fascinating. I never knew the process of making candles was so involved.”

The woman locked her arm through Chase’s and beamed up at him. “Chase is going to own the whole company some day.”

“Mother.” He gave her a stern look and extracted his arm.

Caitlin hid a smile as she took her wallet from her purse. She handed Chase enough money to cover the total displayed on the register’s screen.

“So, how long are you in town?” Mrs. Hollister asked.

“Until Sunday afternoon. My friends and I have a musical trio and we’re playing at a wedding Saturday evening, but I came up a few days early.”

“You’re here alone?”

Caitlin could almost see the thoughts flying back and forth behind the woman’s arched eyebrows. Uh-oh. She knew what came next. Better halt this conversation right now, or she’d find herself fending off an invitation to their house for a big family dinner.

“My friends couldn’t get off work until Friday, but I decided to come a few days early to spend some time in prayer and bible study. You know, a kind of retreat.” She raised her eyebrows. “Alone.”

That made Mrs. Hollister pause.

Chase cut into the conversation, his tone holding a note of polite dismissal. “Thanks for taking some of your retreat time to visit our factory.” He extended the bag across the counter toward her, his smile friendly. “We hope you have a nice time in Little Nashville.”

Caitlin took the bag, more than willing to be dismissed. The sooner she got out of Mrs. Hollister’s calculating presence, the better. “I’m sure I will. Thank you for the tour, and the candle.”

She turned to go, and Mrs. Hollister practically ran around the counter. “Wait! Since you’re here on a retreat, you should come to our church tonight.”

Caitlin paused. “Your church?”

The woman’s eager smile deepened as she nodded. “We’re having a miniconcert tonight instead of our regular Wednesday service. One of the local gospel groups is performing. I really think you’d enjoy it, especially since you’re a musician yourself.”

Caitlin’s interest sparked to life. She loved gospel music. “That does sound good.”

“Excellent!” Mrs. Hollister put a hand on Caitlin’s arm. “The concert is at seven-thirty, so how about coming to dinner at our house around six?”

Ah. There it was. As expected.

Chase stood silent behind the register, his lips pressed into a tight line. He didn’t want Caitlin at his family’s dinner table any more than she wanted to be there. A completely unreasonable stab of disappointment assaulted her at the realization.

Caitlin took a step toward the door, beyond the woman’s clutch. “Thank you, but I’d better not come for dinner. Tell me where your church is, and I might come to the concert.”

Mrs. Hollister was nothing if not determined. “Oh, it’s much too complicated for you to try to find on your own. Chase will pick you up. Where are you staying?”

Caitlin opened her mouth to protest, but Chase stopped her.

“Actually,” he said, “our church is off the beaten path. It might be best if I gave you a ride. That is, if you plan to come.”