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

by Tim Myers

  Alex said, “Tell you what, I’ll try to break something when we get back.”

  Mor shook his head. “Hey, I was only kidding. Les has me running around seven counties trying to catch up after our honeymoon.” He shot a quick glance at Emma, then added, “Not that it wasn’t worth every minute of it.”

  Emma agreed, then said, “Alex, you really should get away. You haven’t left Hatteras West since I’ve been in Elkton Falls.”

  Mor said, “He’s an innkeeper, Emma. He hasn’t left that nightlight of his in donkey years.”

  Alex looked at Elise, got her nod of approval, then said, “Actually, there’s a possibility we might be taking a vacation to the coast later. Sort of a busman’s holiday, actually.”

  “How fun,” Emma said after hearing Harry Pickering’s proposal.

  “It could be,” Alex agreed. If he still had an inn to swap, he added softly to himself, and someone to help him run it.

  He turned to Emma and said, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, since you’re our registered gem and precious metal expert.”

  “No, I’m sorry, I haven’t a clue if there are still any emeralds on your land,” Emma said. It was one of her responsibilities to be searching for a potential emerald vein somewhere on Winston land, but so far, she’d come up empty.

  “I’m not pushing you on that,” Alex said. “What I was wondering about is the possibility of gold anywhere around here.”

  “No, the nearest place I know of is Charlotte. The conditions aren’t right around here at all for gold. Why do you ask?”

  Alex pulled out the photocopy of the soil analysis paper he’d found in Patrick Thornton’s room. He’d meant to tell Elise about it, but he’d been so distracted by her rare talking jag that he hadn’t gotten the opportunity on the drive over.

  He explained to all of them, “I found this in Patrick Thornton’s room.”

  Elise nodded her acceptance of the fact without accusing him of keeping information from her.

  Emma studied the paper, then said, “I don’t know where this sample came from, but if I had to say, Alaska would be my first guess.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mor asked.

  Emma explained. “This particular concentration is most likely from Alaska.”

  “So it’s not from around here,” Alex asked.

  “No, I’d be willing to bet on that, no matter what the header says.”

  He took the paper back and tucked it into his jacket pocket. If that was true, why had Thornton been hiding it? He’d have to spend some time thinking about that. Thankfully their food arrived and that particular conversation ended.

  After they’d finished eating a pleasurable meal, Mor said, “I’ve got to hand it to the man, that was excellent.”

  They all agreed. When Monet came to check on them, Alex said, “It was wonderful, but I don’t feel right not paying for it.”

  Monet held his hands up as he said, “Not even the gratuity, my friends. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and I hope to see you again soon.”

  “Try to keep us away,” Mor said, and Monet’s smile brightened.

  “I look forward to it.”

  After they were outside, they decided to split up and call it a night. As Alex and Elise drove back to the inn in the truck, Alex said, “Listen, I meant to tell you about that paper. It just slipped my mind.”

  “There’s nothing to explain,” Elise said. “I’m just sorry it was another dead end.”

  He said, “I’ve been known to run into one now and then. So, is there anywhere else you’d like to go, or are you ready to go back to Hatteras West?”

  “Why don’t we go back. We can have a fire and enjoy that. Honestly, I’d rather be at the inn than anywhere else.”

  “So would I,” Alex said. It had become especially true now that he was in real danger of losing it.

  There was a message on the machine when they got back to Hatteras West. Oddly enough, it was from Eggars, the man in Florida who owned the orchard that had once belonged to Alex’s family before they’d sold it off. And, Alex added, the man who could very well own half of his lighthouse.

  “Alex, call me. I don’t care what time you get in, we need to talk tonight.”

  “Who was that?” Elise asked.

  “Eggars, the man who owns the orchard.”

  Elise nodded as Alex dialed the man’s number. He picked up on the first ring and said, “Alex?”

  “Hi, Mr. Eggars. What’s up?”

  “Some fool is trying to buy my land, but I keep telling him it’s not for sale. What’s going on up there?”

  Alex said, “Do you know the man’s name?”

  “He wouldn’t say, which made me even more suspicious. I won’t do business with a man who won’t identify himself, not even if he’s waving big money at me.”

  “You aren’t looking to sell, are you?” Alex asked.

  Eggars snapped, “Alex Winston, I called you to clear this up, not muddy the waters. What’s going on?”

  Alex conveyed the surveyor’s dire message, only to hear Eggars laugh on the other end of the line.

  “What’s so funny?” Alex asked, hurt that the old man would find amusement in his sorrow.

  “I’m sorry, Alex, but that’s the biggest load of manure I’ve ever heard shoveled. That lighthouse is yours, and all the land around it.”

  “But he said there was a surveying mistake,” Alex said, not trusting himself to believe it was true.

  “Oh, there was a mistake, but your fellow up there made it. Alex, I own land in six states, do you think for one second I didn’t have that orchard surveyed by a pro before I bought it from your grandfather? There’s no possible way a mistake was made.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “The lighthouse is yours, Alex. You have my word on it. So what’s this foolishness all about?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” Alex said.

  “Call me when you sort it out. How’s the orchard doing?”

  “We get enough peaches to keep us in cobbler, and the apples are coming along nicely, too.”

  “Good, good. I appreciate you looking out for my stake up there.”

  “Thanks for letting me harvest from it. And thanks for the call, Mr. Eggars. You made my night.”

  “Glad to help, son.”

  After they signed off, Alex started toward Patrick Thornton’s room. The surveyor had some explaining to do.

  Elise grabbed his arm before he could get up the stairs. “Alex Winston, you stop this second and tell me what he said.”

  “Thornton made a mistake. There’s no doubt the lighthouse belongs to me. Eggars is positive, and the man knows what he’s talking about.”

  “So why aren’t you celebrating? That’s wonderful news.”

  “It is, but Thornton’s not going to think so. Somebody tried to buy the orchard from Eggars, and I’ve got a sneaking suspicion who it was.”

  “You mean Thornton was just trying to scare you off so you wouldn’t realize what he was up to?”

  Alex shook his head. “No, it’s worse than that. I think he’s the one who tried to kill us.”

  Elise said, “Alex, how can you be sure?”

  “Too many things add up. I seriously doubt he’s a surveyor at all, not with the way he’s been acting. He’s up to no good.”

  “Then call the sheriff before you confront him,” Elise said. “It’s not safe to face him alone.”

  “Do you think Armstrong’s going to come out here on one of my hunches? I can tell you now, it’s not going to happen.”

  Elise put herself in front of him. “You’ve got to convince him to come out here, Alex. I know you can do it, but if you can’t, there’s no way I’m going to let you put yourself in danger.”

  He thought about protesting, but she was right. Alex was in no position to confront the man, not if what he thought was true. “I’ll try,” Alex agreed.

  He found Armstrong at home. �
�Sheriff, I need you out at Hatteras West.”

  “You didn’t find another body, did you?”

  “No,” Alex replied, “but I’ve got an idea who’s responsible for shooting at me.”

  Armstrong said, “Who do you think it was?”

  “One of my guests.”

  The sheriff said, “Alex, it’s understandable how all this could shake you up, but now you’re pointing fingers at your own guests? What are you basing that on?”

  “Would you believe a hunch? I don’t have anything concrete. I’m asking you to trust me.”

  The sheriff took a deep breath, huffed it out, then said, “Alex, I’ve benefited from a hunch or two of yours in the past. I’ll be right there. Don’t do anything till I show up.”

  Alex said, “I won’t confront him, but I’m not going to let him walk out of here, either.”

  “I’m leaving right now,” Armstrong said.

  Alex grabbed a baseball bat he kept in his room and walked back out into the lobby where Elise was waiting for him. “Alex, you can’t go up there by yourself.”

  He said, “I’m just standing guard. I won’t go after him, but he’s not leaving the inn.”

  Elise didn’t say a word, but Alex noticed that she kept herself between him and the stairs, just in case he changed his mind. Alex felt calmer than he had in weeks, and it had nothing to do with saving the lighthouse. There was a confidence, even if it was false, that he was finally doing something about the helpless feelings he’d been experiencing.

  Armstrong made it up Point Road in record time, and Alex was happy to see that the sheriff had decided against sirens and lights. If they were going to tackle Thornton, it was probably best if the man was unaware of it.

  Armstrong came in and asked, “Is he still there?”

  “He hasn’t gone past me,” Alex said. “How do you want to do this?”

  “I’m going to knock on his door, tell him it’s the police, then we’re going to sit down and have a nice long talk.”

  Alex said, “Why don’t you let me knock? I can tell him I have a message for him, that way he won’t suspect a thing. When he opens the door, you can go in.”

  “I don’t like you putting yourself at risk,” Elise said.

  “I’ll be fine. He’s not expecting anything,” Alex said.

  Alex knocked on the door of Thornton’s room. “Patrick, I’ve got a message for you.”

  “Slide it under the door,” Thornton said.

  “I can’t, I’m supposed to deliver it in person.”

  There was a pause, then Thornton said, “Give me a second, I’m not dressed.”

  They waited a full minute, and Alex knocked again. “Patrick?”

  No answer. “What should we do?” Alex whispered.

  “Use your key.”

  Alex’s hand was shaking as he unlocked the door and stepped quickly back. Armstrong went in cautiously, his gun drawn. Then Alex saw the window curtain flapping in the breeze. He heard a car spin out in the gravel outside, then saw a pair of headlights cutting up Point Road.

  “He got away,” Alex said.

  “Not if I can help it.”

  The sheriff raced out of the room despite his bulk, and

  Alex saw his car’s headlights quickly follow Thornton’s. Alex started to look around the room as Elise joined him.

  “I saw him jump off the porch roof, but I couldn’t do anything to stop him,” Elise said.

  ‘The sheriff will find him. I just hope I was right.”

  She said, “You had to be. Why else would he run?”

  Elise pointed to the bathroom door, partially open. Inside, broken down into its basic pieces, was a rifle that was being cleaned on a bedsheet on the floor. No wonder Thornton hadn’t made a stand. His weapon was dismantled, completely apart, and he hadn’t had the time to put it back together. It was their luck that they had tackled the man at precisely the right moment.

  Armstrong came back a few minutes later. “I don’t know how he did it, but he gave me the slip.”

  Alex showed him the rifle, then said, “At least he’s not armed.”

  Armstrong said, “Assuming things like that can get you killed. He could have a dozen other weapons in that trunk of his.” Armstrong studied the barrel of the rifle, then said, “This could be the same rifle that was shot at you. Irene can take a look at it before we send it off to the state crime lab. What I don’t get is why he did all this.” Armstrong bit his lower lip, then asked, “Alex, do you think it’s possible he’s the one who took the emerald?”

  Alex thought about it. “He had the same opportunity as my other guests. But it doesn’t make sense for him to hang around after the murder. If he stole the emerald, why did he stay in Elkton Falls?”

  “Maybe he thought it would be too suspicious if he took off too soon after the theft.”

  “That might be it, or it could be that he was after more than the Carolina Rhapsody,” Alex said as he pointed to the marked map on top of the table near the bed. There was a small chunk of gold sitting on the map, and a circle marked around the orchard. “Patrick thought there was gold around here, but somebody was scamming him.”

  Alex explained Emma’s belief that the analysis he’d found was falsified, though no doubt the gold was real enough. “My guess is that somebody sold him the location of a ‘gold mine’ for who knows how much money. He threw in some real gold to make it appear legitimate, and Thornton bit.”

  Elise said, “So he shot Vince to keep him away from the orchard, I can see that. But why did he shoot at us?”

  “We were cleaning the lens a long time, so most likely he thought we were spying on him,” Alex said. “You had my dad’s binoculars, too, remember? If we’d spent as much time looking out as we did in, we might have spotted him digging on the property. It would be pretty hard to explain why a surveyor would be doing that.”

  “But if Thornton didn’t know he was being cheated, why kill Cliff? And where’s the emerald now? It doesn’t make sense,” Elise said.

  Armstrong said, “She’s got a point.”

  “I don’t have it all figured out yet,” Alex said. He thought a moment, then said, “You know, Cliff had a gold nugget in his pocket when he was murdered. I recently found out he was always looking for a way to get rich without earning it. What if he sold Thornton a fake claim to a vein of gold around here?”

  The sheriff said, “It’s possible, but I don’t know how we’ll prove any of it.”

  “When you find Thornton you can ask him. Is there any chance of tracking him down?”

  “I’ve got my men on it, they’re setting up roadblocks. Unless he knows the roads around here better than I think he does, we’ll have him in an hour.”

  “Good, you can ask him then.”

  Long after Armstrong had cleared out and Alex went to bed, he found himself tossing and turning most of the night. Elise’s doubts kept creeping into his thoughts, and the more he considered them, the more certain Alex became that he’d uncovered just a part of the story. There had to be more, but he couldn’t put his finger on it until it was time to get up the next morning.

  He awoke from his half-sleep with a start, suddenly realizing another way all the pieces actually fit together into a credible explanation. That’s when Alex knew who was really behind the guard’s murder and the theft of the Carolina Rhapsody emerald.

  Now all he had to do was prove it.

  Chapter 20

  Elise had already prepared everything for the breakfast but the muffins.

  He asked, “Fiona hasn’t come yet, has she?”

  Elise said, “No, but she still has ten minutes. Do you think she’s going to show up after what happened yesterday? I’ve got her check, but I don’t know if she’s going to come around to collect it.”

  Alex said, “I don’t think she can afford not to. I need to make a call. If she comes, stall her until I get off the phone. It’s important she doesn’t leave.”

  “Alex, what’s goin
g on?”

  “I think I figured something out, but I need Armstrong to check on something for me before I jump the gun.”

  Alex went into his office, keeping his door ajar so he could see the lobby while still having some privacy.

  Armstrong was at his office, though it was not yet six-thirty.

  From the sound of the man’s voice, he’d most likely been up all night. “Alex, I’m glad you called. The state police just snagged Thornton on the Tennessee line. He should be back in Elkton Falls around lunchtime.”

  “That’s good to hear, but I’m calling about something else. Did you ever track Cliff’s ex-wife down?”

  “No, I never could find her. Her name’s Blanche Cliff. I don’t have a maiden name for her. She seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.”

  “Do me a favor, go upstairs to the clerk’s office and dig out a permit for me.”

  “Alex, Maggie will shoot me if I go digging through her files when she’s not around.”

  “It’s important,” Alex said. “I’ll hang on the line.”

  “I’m trusting you on this, Alex. What do you expect me to find?”

  “If I’m right, you won’t have to ask.”

  Alex waited nine minutes for the sheriff to get back on the line. Fiona still hadn’t shown up, and Alex was wondering if she would. She had to, he kept telling himself. If I she’d already bolted, they might never find her again.

  The sheriff said, “Okay, I’m here. What’s up?”

  “Look at Fiona White’s permit to peddle.”

  “Hang on a second.” There was a break, then Armstrong said, “I’ve got it. Nothing odd about it that I can see.”

  Alex asked, “Is there a social security number on it? Run it through the system.” Everything depended on his hunch, and the only way he’d be able to prove any of it was if she’d used her correct number. She had to have slipped up somewhere.”

  “I’ll have to go back to my office to check this,” the: sheriff said.

  Armstrong came on a minute later and said, “Nope, it’s a fake. Looks like another dead end.”