Booked for Murder (Book 5 of the Lighthouse Inn Mysterys)

by Tim Myers

  Alex knew full well what a difficult time Elise had had ending her engagement to Peter Ashford.

  “I’m not asking you to marry me,” Alex said, though the prospect wasn’t exactly out of the question. “I do think that if we let this opportunity pass us by, it might be our last chance of ever being together.”

  “Alex, I’m not going anywhere. You know how much I love Hatteras West.”

  Alex took a deep breath. “You’ll always be welcome here, I couldn’t run this place without you, I hope you know that. I’m not talking about work right now, Elise. I’ve made no secret about how I feel about you for a long time.” She started to speak, but he held his hand up. “Let me finish or I may never have the courage again. If you honestly aren’t interested in being with me, I’m going to have to do my best to forget about my feelings for you, and the only way I can do that is to move on. I don’t want to, believe me, you are the only woman I want to be with, but my heart can’t take this anymore, at least not the way things stand now.” He felt himself shaking after the declaration, but he knew in his deepest core that it was true. Having Elise there with him every day, working side by side, holding out hope that someday they could be together, was slowly destroying him if it could never be. He was so lost in her he wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull himself back if she didn’t, or wouldn’t, return his love.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Elise said.

  “I’m not putting pressure on you,” Alex said, “but it’s something you need to think about.” He took her hands in his. “Elise, it’s okay to be afraid, I’m scared myself, but no matter what happens, I believe in my heart we can work things out between us. But we both have to want it, and we both have to be willing to give it a chance. Otherwise, it will never work.”

  She stood, pulling her hands from his. “I won’t keep you dangling any longer than I can help. Give me a few days to think about what you’ve said.”

  “I hope I haven’t scared you off,” Alex said as she started for her room.

  “No, I don’t blame you a bit for what you said.” She lingered before going through her door. “Alex?”

  “Know that no matter what happens, I do care about you.”

  He smiled gently. “I know that. I care about you, too.”

  “Good-night.”

  “Good-night,” he said as she disappeared. Had he blown it with her forever, or was his ultimatum the shove she needed into his arms? Time would tell which would be the result, but one thing was certain. Soon enough a new chapter would be starting in his life, one with Elise by his side, or one where he renewed his search for someone to spend the rest of his life with.

  And suddenly nothing else seemed all that important to him anymore.

  Chapter 17

  Alex woke up the next day, glad the miserable night was finally over. A small part of him wouldn’t let go of the possibility that he’d blown any chance of ever having a relationship with Elise outside the Hatteras West Inn. He was still glad he’d done something at last about the frustrating situation between them, but his conviction wasn’t one hundred percent certainty, not by any means. Steeling himself with a quick icy shower and a brisk toweling, he couldn’t delay his room exit any longer. It was time to go to the lobby and see if his fate had been determined yet.

  Alex wasn’t sure what he was expecting from Elise when he came out into the lobby. Oddly enough, she wasn’t there yet, though she usually beat him by at least half an hour. Neither batch of muffins for the day had arrived yet, either. That was the first thing he checked. Alex glanced at the clock. It was barely past six a.m., so they weren’t due for another forty-five minutes. He busied himself by brewing a fresh pot of coffee, laying out the fruit, and setting up their light buffet. After that was accomplished, there was nothing more he could do for the moment, so Alex cleaned out the ashes from the previous night’s fire and started preparing things for the next time.

  Elise came in as he placed the last log. “What a grand idea, a fire in the morning. There is a nip in the air, isn’t there?”

  Alex was relieved to see her smile. There was no awkwardness in her voice, but there was no added warmth there, either. “My thought exactly,” he said, which was a total lie. Alex struck one of the long matches and the fatwood kindling jumped to life. Soon they were greeted by the aroma and warmth of the fire, and Alex realized it was a custom he could grow to like.

  “I need to talk to Wilbur McFear,” Alex said. “At the rate we’re burning wood around here, we’re going to need more firewood than I ordered.”

  Elise said reluctantly, “I suppose we could cut back.”

  “No way, I love it as much as the guests do. Besides, Wilbur lives for cutting wood. He’ll be delighted, he’s been after me for years to double my order.”

  “He’s kind of an odd bird, isn’t he?” Elise asked.

  “For Elkton Falls? I think he fits right in.”

  “Is it true he taught at Harvard, and now he lives in a shack and cuts firewood?”

  Alex said, “I don’t know how these rumors get started. He never taught at Harvard, though he was a guest lecturer on economics at Stanford a time or two in the sixties. Wilbur took his economics know-how and invested it wisely enough in the stock market to retire at forty. He told me once that he’d had enough of the outside world, sold everything he had in the market, then bought a chainsaw and two hundred acres of forest. He’s been happy ever since thinning his stands and selling the firewood. I wouldn’t call his place a shack either, it’s cozy enough for one man, and he told me he was afraid if he built anything bigger people would be more inclined to visit.”

  “You know what I want more than just about anything?”

  “I’d love to hear it,” Alex said.

  “I’d like to be just another story around Elkton Falls, you’ve made that status yourself, you know.”

  Alex was surprised by the statement. “How’s that? I’m one of the most ordinary guys you’ll ever meet.”

  Elise smiled at that. “If you count men who own lighthouses in the mountains and run them as inns, you’re as common as a penny.”

  Alex laughed. “Sometimes I forget that most lighthouses aren’t as landlocked as mine is. It’s just always been here.” He glanced at the clock. “Where’s Fiona, anyway? She’s running late again and Sally Anne’s behind, too.”

  “I know. The last few days Fiona’s grown a little too complacent for my taste. I’ll speak with her.”

  They heard a knock outside and Fiona White herself was there, laden with a big basket of muffins. “Sorry I’m late,” she said with a sing-song voice. “The sunrise reminded me of a time I was at Denali in the springtime. Beautiful country.” She shook herself gently, then said, “Tell you what, I’ll throw in an extra muffin on the house to atone for my tardiness.”

  “We need them here when the guests come down for breakfast,” Elise said gently.

  Fiona glanced at the clock and said, “I’ve a minute to spare then; Alex told me you don’t start serving until a quarter till seven.”

  Though that was the true starting time listed at the inn, Alex and Elise were used to having the fare out and ready by six thirty at the latest. Their guests seemed to appreciate it, as it gave them an early start on their day trips into the mountains.

  Elise was about to say something else when Patrick Thornton came downstairs. He said sternly, “Alex, I need to speak with you.”

  “Certainly,” Alex said. There were a few things he’d like to cover with the surveyor himself.

  “Let me grab some coffee and we can go in your office,” Thornton said.

  “Wouldn’t you care for a muffin, as well?” Fiona asked, offering the basket toward him.

  “No thanks, I don’t care for them,” he said.

  Fiona’s smile vanished for a moment, and Alex could see Elise fighting back her laughter. It was good seeing her back to her old self, but he couldn’t help wondering if she’d made her decision, and worse yet, if i
t was one he wasn’t going to like hearing.

  Patrick tapped his shoulder. “I’m ready if you are.” Alex nodded to Elise and Fiona, then followed Patrick into his tiny office. Alex sat behind the desk and said, “What can I do for you?”

  “You can stop meddling in my room, for one thing,” the surveyor said abruptly.

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean,” Alex said, somewhat taken aback by the directness of the man’s comments.

  “Let’s stop with the games, shall we? I know you found my hiding place in the toilet. I carefully marked the location before I placed my packet there, and when I returned it had been moved.”

  Alex thought about playing dumb, but he wouldn’t learn anything that way. “Your toilet kept running; I noticed it while I was cleaning your room. It’s my job to keep things in good repair around here, so I lifted off the reservoir lid and found your little tube blocking the stopper. I wasn’t going to bring it up, but since you’ve seen fit to mention it, I need to say this. We won’t tolerate illegal activities at Hatteras West.”

  “What in blazes are you talking about?” Thornton asked, tensed on the edge of his chair.

  “If you choose to do anything against the law that’s your business, but I won’t knowingly have it at Hatteras West.”

  Alex was prepared for more outrage, but Thornton’s reaction surprised him. The man started laughing so hard he nearly spilled the cup of coffee in his lap. “Is that what you think? That I’ve been hiding drugs or something? Let me assure you, Alex, I’ve never done any such thing in my life.”

  “Don’t try to tell me you were hiding something innocent in there, because I don’t believe it.”

  Thornton said, “Believe what you like. My precautions were for hiding a sum of money I owed my ex-wife. She demanded her alimony payment in cash this month, and yesterday she met me in town at that diner of yours.”

  “We have a safe here at the inn, you know,” Alex said. “You would have been free to use it.”

  “Pardon me for saying so, but some of the safes I’ve seen in small towns aren’t as secure as I’d like. I’ve taken to storing my valuables in my room whenever I’m away.” He finished his coffee, then said, “I’m glad we cleared that up, aren’t you?”

  “I suppose,” Alex said, still not believing the surveyor’s story entirely. “Will you be checking out this afternoon, Mr. Thornton?”

  “I thought we agreed I’d keep the room until my work is finished here.”

  “I just assumed you had to be close to wrapping things up,” Alex said. “After all, how much more could there be to do around here?”

  “Quite a bit, I’m afraid. It appears the original survey was off by substantial yardage. In fact, I’m sorry to say that some of it is going to directly affect you.”

  That caught Alex’s attention. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m not positive, I have more sightings to make and a few more calculations, but it appears that the property line is much closer to your lighthouse than you think.”

  “How close?” Alex asked, barely able to breathe.

  “As it stands now, the line appears to run right through the center of it.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Alex said, his face suddenly gone numb.

  “I’m afraid it’s looking more and more likely. There’s no need to panic at this point, but I wouldn’t count on things staying the way they are.”

  “I’m calling my attorney,” Alex said. “She’ll know how to handle this.”

  As he reached for the telephone, Thornton put a hand on the receiver. “That’s premature, let me assure you. There’s no need to get an attorney involved until I make my formal report, and I’m nowhere near doing that now. I haven’t even found the one benchmark I need to determine the exact line. That’s what’s taking me so blasted long here.”

  “Then why did you tell me it cut right through the lighthouse?”

  Thornton said, “I said it might. Give me seven days. By then I’ll have an answer for you. Now I’ve got to go. I’ve a great deal of work to do today.”

  After he was gone, Alex thought about what he should do for all of twenty seconds before he called his attorney, Sandra Beckett.

  “I hope I didn’t wake you,” Alex said when Sandra picked up after the seventh ring.

  “No, I just got back from my run. This can’t be good, you calling me this early. What happened, did you find another body at Hatteras West?”

  “I hope I’ve found my last one. Listen, I’ve got a surveyor here who claims that my lighthouse might not even be on my property. He told me not to worry about it right now, but I feel like I’m going to lose it.”

  “Don’t worry about anything yet. Let me get into the office and I’ll see what I can come up with. Real estate isn’t my field, but I’ve got some friends I can call.”

  Just knowing Sandra was on top of it made Alex feel better. She was very good at what she did; he’d seen her in court enough to know that.

  “Thanks. I appreciate this.”

  “I’d tell you not to worry, but I won’t waste my breath. I’ll call you later when I hear something myself.”

  Alex was just hanging up when Elise came in. “What was that all about?”

  “Thornton just dropped a bombshell on me. He said the lighthouse might not be part of my property after all.”

  “Alex, that’s impossible. It’s been in your family since it was built.”

  “I know, but we’ve been selling off land in bits and pieces for generations. If one of those surveys was wrong, we could lose possession of the lighthouse. Without that, there’s no reason to keep running Hatteras West as an inn.”

  “Let’s not borrow trouble. How can we find out for sure what’s going on?”

  “I just got off the telephone with Sandra, she’s going to look into it and get back to me.”

  Elise said, “I’ll give her that, she won’t let anyone cheat you. Oh, Alex, I’m so sorry.”

  “So am I. If Thornton is right about the lighthouse, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t have enough to buy the true owner out, and I won’t own half a lighthouse that’s been mine all these years. I don’t know, maybe it’s time to move on with my life and do something else with it.”

  “Don’t give up yet. You’ve got to believe.”

  “The only thing I’m beginning to believe is that I never should have gotten up this morning.”

  Elise said, “I know what will take your mind off things. Let’s go clean the rooms. We can do them together today if we hurry.”

  “I’ll be there in a minute. I want to go check on Skip.’“

  Elise said, “Goodness, I forgot he was still out there. Let me come with you.”

  Alex said, “I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather do this by myself.”

  “You’re trying to protect me, aren’t you? You’ve got to stop doing that, Alex, I’m a grown woman.”

  “Believe me, you don’t have to keep reminding me,” Alex said. “If you want to come, you’re more than welcome.”

  Elise looked a great deal less certain about coming along as she followed Alex out to the parking area. Skip had told them he’d be in the shadows, parked by the storage shed of the lighthouse where he could keep an eye on things. Alex was relieved to see the car still sitting there; the man had stayed true to his word watching over the inn.

  But the closer Alex got, the more worried he became, Instead of sitting upright with his gaze on the inn, the body in the car was slumped forward over the wheel.

  It appeared that Alex’s worst fear had just come true.

  Chapter 18

  “You don’t want to see this,” Alex said, turning to Elise.

  “I can handle it,” she said, though he heard the quiver in her voice.

  “There’s no reason for you to have to, but I won’t argue with you.”

  Alex’s hand was shaking as he put it on the door handle. There was no sign of trauma, no blood or bull
et holes that he could see, but Skip looked as if he’d been dead for some time.

  As Alex pulled the door handle open, hoping to check for a pulse he was certain he wouldn’t find, he nearly had a heart attack when Skip snorted once, then woke up.

  Rubbing his eyes, the ex-cop said, “I can’t believe it, I fell asleep on a stakeout. What time is it?”

  “It’s just after seven. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you’re okay.”

  “What, you thought I was another body? Well I might as well have been. I’m so sorry, Alex, Elise. I don’t know what happened.”

  “No harm done,” Elise said. “We’re just glad you’re not hurt.”

  Skip said, “Listen, I need to go. I’m truly sorry about what happened.”

  Before Alex could say another word, Skip drove quickly away.

  “Why did he leave so abruptly?” Elise asked. “I was going to have him in for a cup of coffee and a muffin.”

  “It was pretty obvious, wasn’t it? He was embarrassed,” Alex said. “He fell asleep on the job.”

  “It could have happened to anyone,” Elise said. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  Alex didn’t know how to explain to her that in Skip’s mind he had put them in mortal jeopardy through his own weakness. It wasn’t machismo; it was something much more than that. The one-time detective had failed to deliver on a promise; probably for the first time in his career he’d let down his charge.

  “It’s a guy thing,” Alex said, aware that the explanation was nearly as unsuitable as no answer at all.

  As they walked back into the inn, Alex saw that some of his newest guests were already seated and eating. Elise took Alex to their tables and made the introductions. Eve Newton finished her bite of muffin and said, “How do you get these from Charlotte and manage to keep them so fresh?”