Innkeeping With Murder

by Tim Myers

  The older man was reading the latest issue of Soldiers of the World, one of his numerous magazine subscriptions. Les had more magazines coming into the shop than the library and the newsstand put together, and he could often be found fighting to catch up with his issues in his free time.

  “Is Mor around?”

  Les looked up, the strong shop light glaring off his bald head. “Eh? Oh, hello, Alex. No, he’s over at the hospital with that Sturbridge woman. I’m telling you, it’s getting to be a regular thing, him being gone. It’s tough running this place all by myself.”

  Alex gestured to the magazine and laughed. “I can see you’re swamped.”

  “Just taking a break, boy. Man, some of the things people are fool enough to buy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Les beckoned him closer, laying the magazine down on the cleared workbench.

  “Like this stuff here. This whole page is full of gimmick merchandise. Lethal weapons that look like everyday things. Here’s a ring that dispenses poison, and look at this ...”

  The rest of Les’s words were lost on Alex. At the bottom of the page was an item for sale that he had seen all too recently. Suddenly, the mystery of the murders at Hatteras West became clear: not the motives, but definitely who was behind the reign of terror.

  Alex mumbled his apologies to Les as he tore out of the store. With a deep, sinking feeling in his heart, Alex hoped he could get back to Hatteras West before the killer had a chance to strike again.

  Chapter 19

  The drive back to the inn was maddeningly slow for Alex. A pickup truck in front of him loaded with bales of fresh hay drove ten miles under the speed limit, hogging just enough of the road so that Alex couldn’t pass him. Alex’s thoughts weren’t for his own safety; all he could think about was how foolish he’d been to leave Elise at the inn alone. Cursing himself as a fool, Alex fought to keep his driving under control. Running off the road and wrecking wouldn’t do Elise the slightest bit of good.

  Finally, after a trip that seemed to take hours instead of minutes, he made it back to the inn.

  Everything looked calm on the grounds of Hatteras West, though the rain clouds still threatened to break loose at any moment.

  After a harried search of the inn, Alex couldn’t find a single soul there. Could the killer be at Bear Rocks, or maybe on one of the trails? Was Elise in danger even as he searched for her? If Elise had gone with him into town, she wouldn’t be in jeopardy now. He dialed the sheriff’s phone number with a shaking hand, but Armstrong’s line was busy, and Alex couldn’t spare even a few more seconds in his search for Elise. Alex ran down the porch stairs and hurried toward the trail to Bear Rocks. As he did, he glanced up at the top observation platform of the lighthouse.

  A quiver of fear ran down his spine. There, in the fading light of dusk, he could see two people facing each other in what looked like a heated confrontation on the narrow top balcony. From the dim outlines, Alex figured one of the two figures as the killer. The other looked like Elise. Alex only prayed he wouldn’t be too late.

  It felt like each of the two hundred sixty eight steps tried to impede his progress as he ran to the summit of the lighthouse. By the time Alex had raced up to the watch room just below the observation deck, his heart felt as if it was going to explode in his chest. Taking only a moment to rest against the smooth plastered wall, Alex approached the smaller set of steps that led to the upper balcony of the lighthouse and listened carefully. From where he stood, he could hear the murderer ranting at Elise.

  Fighting to calm his shaking nerves, Alex crept up, the ladder carefully, hoping to remain unseen. A sense of relief flooded through him as he realized the murderer was facing toward the mountains! It left Elise in a vulnerable position with her back toward the scanty iron railing that circled the very top of the tower, but it was the chance Alex needed.

  The killer was prodding her closer to the edge of the railing with something that looked like a short steel spear. In the distance a bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating the sky with its forked prongs.

  Elise must have seen his movements in the flash of lightning as he climbed up the last step. Before he could warn her, Elise’s face registered his presence. Alex wasn’t the only one to spot her startled expression in the next lightning flash.

  The murderer spun around toward him.

  “So you finally figured it out.”

  Alex joined them on the upper platform, keeping a safe distance.

  He said, “You were clever, but some of the events around here finally became clear. Why did you kill Reg, Mrs. Matthews?”

  The old woman spat out a curse. “The old fool had been watching me from this damn tower every day on my explorations. I knew he was going to steal my claim, so I had to get rid of him. It was ridiculously easy to kill him; he was a weak old man.”

  Elise spoke over the growing force of the wind. Her voice was calmer than Alex expected. “What claim? I still don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t even know why you want to kill me.”

  Barb Matthews turned back to Elise, and for a split second Alex considered jumping her and wrestling the deadly shaft out of her hands. But he hesitated a moment too long before acting, and the old woman pressed the blade closer to Elise’s chest. It was an exact duplicate of the stiletto-bladed cane Alex had just seen in Les’s catalogue.

  Barb Matthews snapped, “I’m warning you, Alex, if you try anything, she’s going to die.”

  He backed up a few steps.

  “That’s better,” she said. “Do you want to tell her what’s going on, or shall I?”

  Alex said, “I can give it a try; I’ve figured most of it out. Somehow you have the impression there’s a deposit of precious stones around here. You must have heard about my great-grandfather.”

  The Matthews woman snorted. “I heard about him all right. Those original jewels were found right here on this property, weren’t they?”

  Alex looked at the woman in shock. “Are you insane? Why would I sit on a fortune in gems and not do anything about it? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

  A look of doubt crossed Barb Matthews’s face, then dissipated as quickly as it had come. “Okay, you didn’t know the truth yourself. But there are precious stones here. I have proof!” She reached into her pocket with one hand and pulled out a handful of small green stones. “I found these emerald chips during my first visit here. They’re genuine, I had them tested. And where there are chips, there are whole gems nearby!”

  Alex said, “You found these on the property! They were salted.”

  A burst of cold fury escaped the older woman’s lips. “What are you talking about?”

  “My father thought a few gem-finds on our land would increase the tourist trade. When Mom found out about what he’d done, she hit the roof. So Dad backed down and retrieved all the stones he could remember planting in the landscape. Evidently he missed quite a few.”

  Barb Matthews hissed, “That’s impossible. You’re lying.”

  Elise said, “It’s true. Alex told me about it a couple of days ago.”

  In a fit of rage, the slight older woman lunged at Elise with the palm of her free hand and shoved her over the rail! As she fell, Alex prayed she would stay close to the tower instead of cartwheeling over, since the lower balcony extended out farther than the upper one. He heard a ringing thud as Elise made contact with the platform below. It was still a ten-foot fall, and Alex knew it was enough to seriously hurt her if she hit at the wrong angle, but at least she had a fighting chance.

  In desperation, Alex dove for Barb Matthews. He was too far away, and she managed to keep her hold on the blade. Alex saw the sharp point gleaming in another flash of lightning as she raised the weapon toward his chest. The wind assaulted him with growing fury, but Alex was so focused on the blade that was poised to skewer him, that he barely registered the wind’s presence.

  He yelled, “What are you going to do, kill everyone who suspects you
?”

  Barb Matthews seemed to think about that very thing for a moment. “There’s still a way out for me. Even if you’re telling the truth and this property is as worthless as you think it is, I won’t have to go to jail. No one would believe that a little old woman like me would be capable of murder, and with you gone, there won’t be anyone left who suspects me.”

  Alex said, “Why did you drag Elise into this? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I lured your maid up here because I was sure she’d found my emeralds. You know I told you people not to clean my room, but she did it anyway. I convinced her you were up here waiting for her. You should have seen the little fool rush up to be with you. It was pathetic.”

  Alex felt sick about having been used as bait. “You’ll never get away with this.”

  Barb Matthews laughed. “I’ve already got my story ready. Two secret lovers in a double suicide leap off the lighthouse tower. The press will eat it up.” She shook her head in disgust. “I should have killed you first. I know your brother would have sold me the property the second after he inherited it from you. That fact is obvious enough by the way your father’s estate was settled.” She frowned, then added, “That would have to be better than working through that idiot Finster.”

  Alex said, “Killing Finster with your cane was what gave you away. I figured you were trying to cover up your trail. And you burned down the main keeper’s quarters to force me into selling, didn’t you? I started wondering why someone would want to buy a less valuable piece of property, but you never were interested in the buildings, just the ground they stood on.”

  “When you wouldn’t give in, I decided to take matters into my own hands and speed things along. You’re not as bright as I gave you credit for.”

  Alex had to stall until he could come up with a way to disarm her. “You thought Reg was spying on you, but how about Emma Sturbridge? Why did you push her off Bear Rocks?”

  Barb Matthews spoke to Alex as if he were a child.

  “I didn’t want anyone to link her death with the others. I still don’t know how she survived the fall. In hindsight, I should have stabbed her, too. It’s much more efficient.”

  Alex persisted. “That still doesn’t explain why you wanted her dead.”

  “The fool woman was going to jump my claim. Where do you think I found my emeralds?”

  Alex groaned. “Somewhere near Bear Rocks. It’s all starting to make sense.”

  She smiled wickedly. “So you’ve finally got it.” With that, she thrust her blade toward Alex’s chest, trying to pin him to the lighthouse itself.

  At that precise moment, the Fresnel lens jumped into life above them, spearing Barb Matthews with its powerful beam. Alex lunged for the arm that brandished the deadly cane, but she jerked back instead of driving the blade home. His grab for her missed, as Barb Matthews went over the railing and dropped into the howling darkness. Several seconds later, he heard a muffled cry as her body hit the ground two hundred feet below.

  Alex rushed down the narrow stairs and found Elise leaning weakly against the switch that supplied power to the lens. It was a good thing Alex had explained to her how the light operated; there was no doubt in his mind she had kept him from joining Reg in his lighthouse death.

  Alex wrapped her in his arms, hugging her with all his might. “Thank God you’re all right. Elise, you saved my life.”

  Elise’s voice was muffled. “Take it easy, Alex, I’m pretty sure I broke a rib or two from that fall. We saved each other. If you hadn’t come along when you did, she would have either forced me over the edge or stabbed me with that cane. Oh, Alex.”

  Elise started sobbing into his shoulder. Alex held her as delicately as he could, stroking her hair with his hand.

  Softly, he said, “Will you be all right up here by yourself for a few minutes? I want to call an ambulance.”

  Elise’s voice was shaky as she answered. “I can walk down the stairs if I lean on you. I don’t think I can handle being alone up here.”

  Alex wasn’t in any mood to argue. They made it down the steps, though slowly. As the two of them stumbled back to the inn, they walked past the crumpled body of Barb Matthews.

  She didn’t look like a killer.

  When he thought about how close she’d come to killing both of them, Alex shivered.

  For once, he didn’t mind hearing the sirens of the ambulance and the police cruiser as they raced toward Hatteras West.

  Chapter 20

  Two weeks later, Alex, Elise, Mor and Emma were at the lake, enjoying a picnic near the placid waters. Alex had built a fire near the edge of the shore; the fresh pops and crackles of wood burning accented shimmering reflections of the flames on the water.

  Alex broke the silence. “It’s hard to believe you’re out of the hospital already, Emma.”

  Emma Sturbridge sat against a tree watching the fire and the water. A discreet bandage on the back of her head offered the only sign of her recent brush with death, though the doctors had told her to take things easy for a while.

  Emma laughed. “It’ll take more than that she-devil to keep me down. You two did me a real favor getting rid of her, though. I’m already sleeping better at night. The nightmares are just about gone.”

  Mor grinned at her. “From the look of things, you’ll be chasing the boys again in no time.”

  Emma’s smile was steady as she replied, “In that case, you’d better get your track shoes out, Mordecai.”

  Alex laughed when he saw his old friend’s smile vanish. Mor abruptly changed the subject. “Anybody else ready to head up to the inn? I’d like a drink before I go home. It’s getting kind of cool out here.”

  Emma said, “I would like to get back to that sofa. Do you two mind?”

  Elise stood up. “I’m ready, too. Are you coming, Alex?”

  “Let me douse this first.” He threw a bucket of lake water onto the flames and was rewarded with a billowing cloud of smoke and the loud hiss of the dying fire.

  Soon they were back at the inn, settled comfortably in the lobby. Alex couldn’t sit still. After lighting the stacked wood in the fireplace, he stood at the mantle and watched the fire take hold.

  Elise applauded the flames. “Two fires in one night. I love it.”

  Alex said, “I’d like to say it’s just to take the chill off, but I’ve got to admit, it’s nice having a fire in the autumn.” The inn was closed for lack of guests. Barb Matthews was dead, Junior was in town working on the sheriff’s campaign and Joel Grandy had persuaded Nadine to go on a trip with him to the Florida Keys. Alex had canceled the few upcoming reservations he’d had in order to figure out what he was going to do next.

  As he stared at the fire, Alex retrieved a brandy snifter full of unpolished stones that sat on the mantle. Shifting the glass in his hand, he swirled the rough rocks around gently, as if they were fine cognac. The SBI had recovered the stones from Barb Matthews’s pockets after she’d fallen. Since their intrinsic value appeared to be rather small and the woman had no known living relatives, Sheriff Armstrong had decided that the gems should stay at the lighthouse as a testament to the week’s events, and Hicking had agreed.

  Alex said, “To think this entire mess started because of a prank my dad pulled twenty years ago.”

  He lightly fingered a few of the stones in the snifter and then returned the glass to the mantle.

  Emma stretched out her hands for the glass. “Those are the stones they recovered off that awful woman’s body? Let me see them a minute, Alex.” She studied the rocks carefully in the flickering light of the fireplace, then asked excitedly for the house lights to be turned on. Alex complied, wondering if his new friend had completely recovered from her head injury.

  Emma snapped, “Mor, go get that magnifying glass for me, would you? It’s over on the counter.” He obeyed without a word, and Alex realized Mor was a little intimidated by the vibrant woman.

  When Emma spoke again, there was a hint of wonder in her
voice. “Alex, you said your dad salted the area with emerald chips.”

  “That’s right. It’s in Mom’s diary. I looked the entry up after Elise and I talked about it. Thank God it was in the attic over here and not in the main keeper’s quarters. At least I didn’t lose everything.”

  Emma pushed on. “No other stones? Just emeralds?”

  “As far as I know, that’s it. It’s turned into some kind of family legend. What’s on your mind, Emma?”

  There was a huge smile on Emma’s face. “I’ll be. I was right after all. This area is another vein location for some pretty nice stones.”

  She held a pretty rock up to the light. “Do you see

  this? It’s tourmaline. And this one is garnet. Hey, here’s a pretty nice sapphire.” She held a green stone to the light. “Your father never salted this emerald, it’s worth a fortune! Alex, unless I’ve missed my guess completely, Barb Matthews could have been right after all. This property was the only place she looked for stones, wasn’t it?”

  “She never left the grounds. You really think there are precious stones on my land?”

  Emma’s smile was genuine. “I would have to believe that your inn is saved. It looks like your great-grandfather had a real knack for choosing his land.”

  “Well I’ll be.” Alex laughed heartily. “Dad would have loved it. He salted an area that already had precious stones on it!”

  “That’s what it looks like. Now all you’ve got to do is find the veins and start digging.”

  Alex shook his head. “That can wait until you’re better. You can have the job if you want it, on one condition. I want you to recover what you can as discreetly as possible. After all, I don’t want to open up a mine. I like running an inn.”

  “That sounds like a fine offer. I accept,” she said as she looked steadily at Mor.

  Alex motioned gently to Elise, and they walked out together onto the porch. They had an excellent view of the lighthouse from where they stood.