Reservations for Murder (6 page)

He was just about to give up when a voice
nearby caught him by surprise.

“What are you doing, Alex?”

Chapter 7

“It’s just one of my lists,” Alex said as he
quickly tucked the folded copy under his arm. “Running an inn, you
have to keep lists of all kinds of things to do. Jenny, shouldn’t
you be at the fair?” When he saw the expression on her face, he
added, “Is something wrong?”

Jenny admitted, “I just can’t believe
Jefferson’s gone. It’s finally hitting home. I just had to get away
for a few minutes.”

“I’ve heard you two were close.” He watched
her carefully for some kind of reaction.

Jenny frowned, her nose crinkling just like
he remembered. She said, “That’s not what I mean. Life is truly
short, isn’t it? Jefferson and I went out once or twice, but do you
want to know the truth, Alex? I never really got over you.” She
moved a step closer, and Alex found himself backing into the
registration desk.

“I seem to recall you were awfully glad to
get rid of me at the time.”

She wasn’t about to let him off that easily.
“I was a fool, Alex, and I’m not afraid to admit it.”

Alex couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“How come you never said a word about all this when I went back to
Sandra? That didn’t seem to bother you at all.”

Jenny looked him straight in the eye. “It
took me this long to realize just how wrong I was,” she said
strongly.

“Jenny, I’m truly sorry, but I just can’t.”
Alex said, just as Elise walked up with a suitcase in her hand.

She said. “Alex. I’m sorry to interrupt, but
we need to talk.”

Alex said quickly. “You’re not interrupting.
Elise. We were just discussing Jefferson’s murder.”

Alex couldn’t take his gaze off her bag. Was
she leaving?

Jenny looked at Alex intently. “Well, I’d
better get back to my booth before Shantara comes hunting for me.
She doesn’t want us taking any unscheduled breaks.” She added
softly. “Alex, we’ll talk more later.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing left to
discuss.” he said as she walked away.

Alex turned to Elise, gestured to the
suitcase and said, “Don’t tell me you’re leaving.”

Fighting back her tears. Elise said, “I just
got a call from Peter. It’s about Dad.”

Alex knew how much Elise worshiped her
father, an innkeeper himself, in the mountains of West
Virginia.

“What happened?” Alex asked.

“Dad had a heart attack,” she choked out.
“They’re going to do a bypass tomorrow. Alex, I hate to leave you
like this, but I have to be there with him. Peter said it was
imperative that I get there as soon as possible. I’m sorry, I have
to go.”

Alex said, “Absolutely. Let me grab my truck
keys, and I’ll take you to the airport.”

“I talked to Emma after I got the call. She’s
going to drive me to the airport. You need to stay here with your
guests, especially with this fair going on. I’m so sorry about
this, Alex.”

He touched her shoulder gently. “Hey, you
need to be there for him. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

The inn’s front door opened, and Emma hurried
in. “Elise, I don’t mean to rush you, but we’d better get moving if
you’re going to make that flight.”

Alex nodded, then said, “Call me when you get
there.”

“Be careful,” Elise said softly. “I’m not
even going to ask you not to look into this murder while I’m
gone.”

He smiled. “Good, because I’d hate to have to
lie to you.”

“Elise, don’t worry about Alex. Mor and I
will keep an eye on him,” Emma said.

After they walked out, Alex saw that Evans
Graile had shifted his attention to him. The older man offered a
gentle shrug before turning back to the window.

Alex couldn’t believe Elise was really gone.
He’d come to rely on her help in running Hatteras West, and if he
was being strictly honest with himself, her company meant more and
more to him every day.

There was no doubt that she had to go; her
father needed her. And now that Elise was gone, Alex was going to
have to work harder than ever.

But he wasn’t about to give up his murder
investigation. Alex had given Shantara his word, and it wasn’t
something he was willing to break.

“Alex, can I talk to you a second?”

“Shantara, I’m really busy right now. I’m up
to my eyebrows in work.”

“Please, it’s important,” she said.

Alex nodded reluctantly, then noticed that
Evans Graile was listening to them, though his eyes were still
focused outside. He was certainly getting a show for his money
today.

“Why don’t we go into my office,” Alex
said.

She followed him, and after they were inside,
Alex asked, “So, what’s going on?”

“I owe you an explanation.”

“You don’t owe me anything. I already said
I’d help you.”

“I wasn’t playing fair with you before, Alex.
I shouldn’t have pressured you into this without giving you all the
facts.” Shantara let out an explosion of breath, then said, “I owed
Jefferson Lee quite a bit of money. If the police investigation
takes too long, I’m afraid it’s all going to come out and make me
look like I had something to do with his murder.”

“How much are we talking about here?” Alex
asked softly.

“Ten thousand dollars. It’s enough of a
motive to make me a suspect, isn’t it?”

Alex’s silence was all the answer she
needed.

Shantara paced around the cramped room.
“Alex, I knew it was a mistake taking a loan from him, but I didn’t
know where else to turn. The bank had already turned me down, and I
was in real danger of losing the store.”

“What made you go to him?”

“I knew he had money to burn, Alex. Jefferson
had more things going on that just his blacksmithing.”

Alex said gently, “So you let him get a
foothold in your store.”

Shantara wrung her hands together. “Alex,
you’d better believe I regretted every second of it! There were no
papers drawn up, nothing legal, anyway, just an IOU from me to him.
It made my skin crawl, the way he’d come into my store and act like
it was his. Alex, that’s the main reason I created this fair! It
was the only way I could get him off my back. I had some of the
money, and the proceeds from the fair would have covered the
rest.”

Alex studied her carefully. “There’s more to
this that you’re not telling me.”

Shantara moved to the window, refusing to
meet his gaze. She didn’t confirm or deny Alex’s accusation
immediately.

After a few moments, she said, “Alex, I’m
honestly scared.”

“Go on,” Alex said softly.

In a shaking voice, Shantara said, “When I
told Jefferson I was finally going to be able to pay him off, he
said I wasn’t taking the extra interest into consideration. He was
trying to extort more money from me, Alex. He was threatening to
take my shop.”

“So what did you say?”

Shantara sighed deeply, then admitted, “I
told him if he tried to collect, I’d kill him.”

Alex couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Was anyone else around when you said it, Shantara?”

She nodded glumly. “It happened in my store,
Alex. A dozen people probably heard me. I didn’t exactly lower my
voice when I threatened him. I was upset.”

Alex had to admit that his friend certainly
had gotten herself into a jam.

After a few moments of thought, Alex said,
“Here’s what I’d do if I were you. Keep this loan arrangement to
yourself. It’s not going to do you any good volunteering the
information to the sheriff. He’s got a one-track mind, and you
don’t want it focused on you.”

“What if he asks me about it later? Won’t it
look like I’m trying to hide something if I don’t come clean
now?”

Alex walked to her side. “Shantara, if you
tell him now, he’s bound to get suspicious. Let me dig into this
some more. Your arrangement may never come to light.”

Shantara leaned over and kissed him quickly
on the cheek.

“What was that for?” Alex asked.

“For not asking me if I killed him. Thanks
for believing in me, Alex.”

“You’re welcome. Now let me see what I can
find out.”

There was a knock on the door. Alex opened
it, and Sandra Beckett walked into the small space.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Sandra
asked.

Shantara said, “No, I was just leaving. I’ve
got to get back to the fair.” Without another word, Shantara left
the room.

“What was that all about?” Sandra asked.

“We were just covering a few things about the
fair,” he lied. Changing the subject, Alex asked, “Did you have any
luck with the sheriff?”

Sandra nodded. “That’s what I came by to tell
you. Armstrong’s released Bill Yadkin, at least for the moment. He
warned Bill not to leave town, but the sheriff knows he’s going to
have to come up with more evidence before he can charge him with
murder. Our sheriff told me to let you know he’ll be here shortly
to finish interviewing suspects. I’ve got a feeling he’ll be trying
to find some corroborating evidence to nail our young blacksmith
friend.”

Sandra paused at the door as she was leaving,
trailing one hand on the frame. “Alex, if you need to talk, just
give me a call. I know it could get lonely without Elise here.”

“Everything’s fine,” he said impatiently.

She said, “I’m not doubting it for an
instant. Just remember, sometimes it helps to have a friend
nearby.”

Before he could reply, she was gone. How had
Sandra already picked up on the fact that Elise was gone? That’s
when he remembered that Betsy Jenkins, the town’s only travel
agent, was Sandra’s secretary’s sister-in-law. There was no doubt
in Alex’s mind that as soon as the ticket had been ordered, a
follow-up telephone call went out. That was just great. Soon
everyone in town would think she’d abandoned him.

Elise’s absence was going to be a hardship,
there was no doubt about that. Alex wasn’t sure how in the world he
was going to run Hatteras West single-handedly and solve Jefferson
Lee’s murder at the same time, but he was going to give it
everything he had.

He had given Shantara his word.

Chapter 8

By the time Sheriff Armstrong showed up, Alex
was nearly finished folding another load of towels fresh from the
dryer. Elise had taken care of cleaning the rooms before she’d
gone, but he still had a great deal to do if he was going to keep
his guests happy.

“You have a second?” the sheriff asked. His
tone was the nicest it had been in days.

Alex finished folding the last towel.
“Absolutely. I heard you released Bill Yadkin.”

Armstrong said, “Let’s just say I’m looking
at all my options before I jump one way or another. I don’t want to
do anything official until I’m ready.”

“What can I do for you, Sheriff?”

“Do you mind if I use your office again? I
want to talk to that pottery couple, the woodworking lady and the
weaver, too. I never had a chance to get to them earlier.”

Alex nodded. “Sure, you know you’re welcome
to it. Is there any chance I can sit in on the interviews?” he
asked casually.

“Normally I’d be okay with that. Alex, but
I’d rather do this in private, if you don’t mind.”

“I understand.” Alex said, trying to hide his
disappointment. He would rather have been included in the
interviews, but he’d been present before only by Sheriff
Armstrong’s grace, and it looked like he’d used up his share of it,
at least for the moment.

“Don’t worry. I’ll track you down before I go
and let you know what happened.” Armstrong said as he walked out
the door.

Alex made sure he had plenty to do in the
main lobby the rest of the day. He wasn’t spying: there truly was
dusting and sweeping to do, but he did want to be close when the
suspects left. If he was really lucky, he might even overhear
something. At this point, anything would help.

Evans was in his chair as Alex worked,
watching the world pass him by outside the inn’s windows.

“Young man, I envy you,” Evans said as Alex
dusted off a collection of lanterns his grandfather had amassed.
They were displayed prominently in one corner of the lobby on a
stand Alex’s father had built just for them.

“Grab a rag, Evans, there’s plenty of dusting
for everyone,” Alex said, smiling.

The older man chuckled. “I don’t mean I envy
your daily tasks, I’m referring more to this life you lead.
Interesting people traipse in and out of your life on a daily
basis, and you have a beautiful home to live in with a wondrous
lighthouse next door. You’ve truly got it all, young man.”

Alex refrained from adding the realities of
being an innkeeper: blocked toilets at two in the morning, guests
who believed if it wasn’t nailed down it was free for the taking,
and all of the bone-wearying, mind-numbing work that had to be
started fresh each and every day. In spite of it, not because of
it, Alex loved Hatteras West, but he was also very aware of the
tremendous amount of work involved in keeping it afloat. The fact
that Evans Graile, a guest, sat enjoying the beautiful day while
Alex, the innkeeper, worked steadily away punctuated the point more
than anything he could ever say.

“It’s a good life, Evans,” he agreed, meaning
it deep in his heart.

Alex heard raised voices coming from his
office, so he moved to the front desk a few paces away from his
door, where he pretended to go over the register receipts as he
listened in.

The voices were suddenly much clearer now.
Jenny Harris was in the office with Sheriff Armstrong, and from the
sound of it, there was quite a battle going on.

Alex saw the knob on his door spin. It gave
him just enough time to bury his nose in the register before the
door opened.

“You know where to find me,” Jenny snapped at
the sheriff as she stormed past Alex without even a nod.