Reservations for Murder (17 page)

Alex wondered what Craig Monroe would be like
now that his wife was dead. Alex remembered the shivers Craig had
given him the night before, and though he felt foolish about his
reactions in the light of day, he couldn’t help wondering if his
instincts were trying to tell him something. Was Craig Monroe a
grieving spouse, or was he a murderer, intent on covering the last
vestiges of his trail? More importantly, did Monroe believe that
Alex had held back on him, refusing to share something damning his
wife had said? He’d believed Craig when the man had broken down,
but could it all have been an act? Alex was going to have to watch
his step until he knew for sure.

Alex found himself with time weighing heavily
on his hands at The Hatteras West. With no guests at the inn, he’d
easily done his day’s work in the morning, and while he liked
someone to always be at the front desk to answer the phone, he was
going crazy all by himself. The travel agent had called with
regrets, so that was that. There was really no other reason to hang
around. Finally, Alex decided to hang a sign out front and lock the
place up tight. He believed in his heart that the answers he was
looking for were in town, not at Hatteras West.

The first place Alex stopped was at
Shantara’s General Store. Alex loved the old mercantile; he had
since he was a kid, though his friend hadn’t owned it then. Old Mr.
Gruber had been delighted to have kids explore the shelves filled
with treasures every inch of the way. Shantara hadn’t changed much
of the old, but she’d added enough new to give the place her own
mark. The tiny post office was still in one corner, with its odd
little boxes and the iron-barred window in front of it. The aisles
held everything from massive electric coolers stocked with chilled
beverages to shelves filled with nails, screws, kitchen gadgets and
a thousand other things a general store should have.

The shelves on the outside walls featured
biscuit mixes, pots, pans and all types of specialty goods that
weren’t available anywhere else in town. Shantara had added a craft
corner where the old pickle barrel had once stood, displaying
samples from many of the people who had worked the Golden Days
Fair. Another corner featured a potbellied stove with three
mismatched rocking chairs around it, while the fourth corner held
the sales counter and the cash register, a machine that looked
old-fashioned but in fact was a modern piece of equipment.

Alex found Shantara behind the counter
selling Jake Trush a pound of sixteen-penny nails.

“I should have bought an inn instead of a
farm,” Jake said, smiling when he saw Alex. “It must be nice
goofing off in the middle of the day.”

Alex knew the man was just trying to be
neighborly, but he wasn’t in the mood for light banter. Still, he
had to hold up his end of the exchange, or the word would go out
that Alex was in a “bad way,” no doubt attributed to Elise’s
absence.

He said as lightly as he could manage, “Yeah,
it probably is nice not to be working, but I wouldn’t know a thing
about it. If I find somebody who is goofing off, I’ll be sure to
give him a pat on the back.”

Jake smiled. “Give him a rap for me, too,
will you? See you later, Shantara. You know what they say: Every
new project takes three trips to the store before it’s done.”

“You’ve got one more coming then, Jake.”

After he was gone, Shantara said, “What
brings you over here in the middle of the day, Alex? Not that I’m
not glad for your company.”

“I thought you might like to know. Marilynn
Baxter just died.”

“I found out an hour ago. Alex, from what
I’ve heard, she never really had a chance.”

“Is there anything you don’t know,
Shantara?”

“It’s part and parcel to running a general
store. Everybody and his brother shows up sooner or later, and it’s
a rare customer who doesn’t have a bit of gossip to share over this
counter.” Shantara lowered her voice as she added, “I just wish I
knew who killed Jefferson Lee. Alex, I won’t feel safe until they
arrest someone.”

“Have you heard anything at all about
that?”

Shantara shook her head. “Nobody’s talking.
Dave Jeffries came by when he got off work, but all I could get out
of him was that they were still following leads. I got the
impression the sheriff was about to arrest Bill Yadkin,
though.”

“I know. Rachel’s worried sick about it.”
Alex was about to tell Shantara his suspicions about the other
suspects on his list when a young woman came in with three
overactive kids.

“Sorry, Alex, I can’t really talk right
now.”

“I’ll see you later.” As Alex left the store,
he headed for Buck’s Grill on foot.

Even if he didn’t make any progress in his
investigation, at least he’d get something to eat.

Chapter 20

“Alex, are you following me?”

He was approaching the counter at Buck’s
Grill when he heard Sandra’s voice coming from one of the nearby
booths.

“No, I just dropped in for a quick bite.”

Alex was just about to slide onto a stool
when she said, “I just got here myself. Why don’t you join me?”
Sandra lowered her voice as she added, “You can pay for your own
meal, I promise.”

Alex wasn’t all that fond of eating by
himself either, though he’d grown more or less used to it over the
years before Elise came onto the scene. He slid into the booth and
noticed Sally Anne’s eyebrows shoot up when she saw him hesitate at
the counter before joining his ex-girlfriend.

She stopped at the table, sliding a glass of
iced tea in front of Alex. “The usual?”

“Sounds good to me.”

After Sally Anne left to deliver the order to
her father, Sandra said, “So, you still have your standing order
here. Some things never change, Alex.”

“And some things do,” he replied.

“Hi, Alex,” Jenny Harris said brightly as she
stopped by their table on her way out the door. “If I’d known you
were coming here later, we could have had lunch together.”

Sandra said, “Sorry, Jenny, but he’s already
got a lunch date.”

Jenny smiled as she said, “I sincerely doubt
that.”

“Easy, ladies, I’m not on a date with anyone.
Jenny, Sandra and I just ran into each other, it’s that simple.
You’re more than welcome to join us if you’d like.”

“No thanks, I’m on my way out,” Jenny said as
she twisted her purse strap in her hands. She smiled as she added,
“Besides, it would probably look like a meeting of the Alex Winston
Ex-girlfriends’ Club.”

“We’d need a bigger booth than this one,”
Sandra said with a laugh.

Jenny headed out the door after paying her
bill, and Smiley O’Reilly stopped by the table a second later.
“Sorry about your loss.”

“What are talking about, Smiley?”

“Heard your maid quit for good. Too bad.”

Before Alex could say a word, Smiley was
gone.

Sandra hesitated a moment after the insurance
man left, then said, “You look like you just lost your best
friend.”

Alex said, “I’m just tired of everyone around
town assuming Elise isn’t coming back to Elkton Falls.” He took a
sip of tea, then added, “I guess maybe a part of me is afraid
they’re right.”

Sandra reached a hand across the table and
touched Alex’s arm lightly. “Whether she comes back or not, it’s no
fault of yours, Alex. Maybe life in Elkton Falls isn’t everything
she’d hoped it would be. Not everyone’s cut out for small-town
living, you know.”

Alex said, “You know, now that you mention
it, I’m surprised you came back home after college, Sandra.”

She tilted her head askance. “What, and give
up the fine cuisine offered here?”

“Seriously. Why did you come back?”

Sandra drank some of the tea in front of her,
studying the surface as if she could read the future in it.
Finally, she said, “I guess I like being a big fish in a small
pond. There’s not a lot of competition for me here, and I get most
of the best cases. I like being able to see a dozen people I know
every day, no matter where I go. I like the history of the place.
The foothills and mountains are in my blood, Alex, and I can’t
think of any place in the world prettier than it is right here. I
guess what it boils down to is, this is home.”

Her last three words summed up all of Alex’s
own reasons for staying in Elkton Falls. The lighthouse, the
Keeper’s Quarters, Bear Rocks; he couldn’t imagine living without
them as a constant and reassuring presence in his life.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Sandra said. “I
didn’t mean to bring you down even more.”

“You didn’t,” Alex said, trying to lighten
his mood. He saw Emma Sturbridge coming toward them from one of the
back booths. Alex knew too well what had caused the grim look on
Emma’s face as she neared their table. The clouds had to be
lingering from her earlier time with Mor.

Emma suddenly tried to brighten her demeanor
as she said loudly, “Why, Alex, how are you?”

As if they hadn’t just seen each other
yesterday.

“I’m fine, Emma. And you?”

She ignored the question. “Have you heard
from Elise lately?”

“We spoke for a few minutes last night,” Alex
admitted.

As she gave Sandra a sideways glance, Emma
broadcast, “Elise Danton is a fine woman. I can’t wait till she
gets back to Elkton Falls. I expect it to be anytime, don’t you?
I’m sure you’ve missed her sorely at the inn.” Emma reached over
and patted his shoulder. “Now don’t you worry about a thing. She
asked me personally to help out until she comes back, and I promise
you, I’ll be there for you. I’m certain she’ll be back any
day.”

Mor, having paid the check, joined them.
“Come on, Emma, lower your voice. Half the town can hear you.”

Emma shot him a stern glance. “Are you ready
to go, Mor? I believe we still have a few more issues to
discuss.”

The big man nodded his agreement. “You’re
right about that. See you later Alex, Sandra.”

After they were gone, Sandra said, “Elise
certainly has a good friend in that woman.”

“It’s true; they hit it off from the very
start.”

Sandra shook her head; there was a faint
smile on her lips. “Alex, that speech was aimed a great deal more
in my direction than yours. Emma wanted to make certain that I knew
your maid was coming back and not to get too cozy in the seat
across from you.”

“How do you get all that from what she just
said?” Alex asked.

Sandra was saved an answer by the arrival of
their food. She managed to steer their conversation in a thousand
directions, all of them directly away from Elise Danton.

After they’d eaten, Alex said, “Sandra, I
need to ask you something. Do you really think Armstrong’s going to
arrest Bill Yadkin for the murder?”

Sandra said, “I gave up trying to figure our
sheriff out long ago.” She lowered her voice as she added, “I
shouldn’t say this, but it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I’m
afraid Bill’s temper is going to be his downfall.” As she pulled
her check from the two on the table, Sandra said, “Alex, I don’t
know how well you two know each other, but he needs every friend
he’s got right now.”

She stood beside the table, and before
walking to the register, Sandra added, “Alex, for your sake, I do
hope Elise comes back soon. I really mean it. I know how much you
miss her.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, amazed that Sandra was
being so adult about it all. After all, he’d been the one to break
their relationship off, one of the reasons being so he could pursue
something with Elise. Though that hadn’t materialized, Alex knew
the breakup had still hurt Sandra’s feelings. As he paid his own
check, Alex wondered if Sandra did indeed think Elise was gone for
good.

It could be she was just being gracious in
her victory.

Alex decided to take Sandra’s advice and pop
in on Bill Yadkin before heading back to the inn.

He heard angry voices coming from the shop in
back of the man’s house when he arrived. Calling it a shop was
quite generous. The blacksmith’s building was in stark contrast
with the modern efficiency of Jefferson Lee’s workplace. Bill’s
equipment could have been taken from a smithy a hundred years
before, with massive leather bellows by his forge and a faded black
anvil that looked ancient to Alex. No fire was burning in the
forge, though. All of the heat was coming from Bill Yadkin as he
argued with Rachel Seabock.

“I don’t care. Do you hear me?” Bill shouted,
the words dying as he spotted Alex behind him. “What do you
want?”

“I thought you might need a friend about
now,” Alex said gently.

Rachel snapped, “Alex, you try pounding some
sense into him, he won’t listen to me.”

Alex saw that the young blacksmith had a bag
by his side, obviously full of clothes and some of his most
precious tools. “Going somewhere, Bill?”

“I’m getting as far away from Elkton Falls as
I can, if it’s any of your business!”

Rachel snapped, “Bill! He just wants to
help!”

Bill Yadkin threw a set of metal pincers down
on his anvil so hard the steel rang. “That’s the trouble with this
place! Everybody just wants to help. Why don’t you people get it
through your thick skulls? I don’t need any help!”

Alex said calmly, “The biggest mistake you
can make in the world right now is running away. I’ll wait until
you finish your little tantrum before I tell you why.” He pointed
to a bucket of water beside the anvil. “Why don’t you soak your
head in that bucket for a while until you cool off?”

Alex fought the fear in him as the
blacksmith’s strong hands twisted a knot in the handle of his bag.
There was a rage and an energy in the young blacksmith that was
truly frightening, but Alex knew if he showed the slightest sign of
weakness, it could spell disaster.

Rachel started to say something, then thought
better of it and remained mute.