Reservations for Murder (7 page)

Armstrong walked over to Alex, shaking his
head. “She always was a little high-strung, wasn’t she?”

Alex knew that better than Armstrong ever
would. “I take it she objected to your line of questioning,” he
said with a slight grin.

It defused the tension in Armstrong’s face.
“You might say that. She’s got to realize I know she was dating
Jefferson Lee as recently as a few months ago. Of course she’s
going to be a suspect on my list.”

Alex had known about Jenny and Jefferson; the
two had struck him as an odd pairing, but love was sometimes
indiscriminate in the couples it brought together.

Armstrong said, “Alex, I wouldn’t say no to a
soda. You have any in your fridge?”

Alex nodded. “Help yourself. In fact, I think
I’ll join you.” He retrieved two drinks, thought about offering
Evans one, but realized the man would never consume anything but
his special blend of tea.

Besides, Alex wanted some time alone to pump
the sheriff.

As they drank their sodas in his office, Alex
asked, “So how do things look?”

“There are just too many people who had a
reason to hate that man! I never cared for Lee myself, but I look
like one of his biggest fans compared to what I’ve heard these last
few days. I don’t care if he was a real slug; he didn’t deserve to
die the way he did.”

“Nobody does,” Alex agreed. “So, the
husband-and- wife potters are next, right?”

Armstrong nodded. “I think I want to tackle
them one at a time. Would you do me a favor, Alex? Would you go get
one of them, I don’t care which one, and tell them I want to see
them? I need to make a phone call while you’re doing that.”

“Sure thing,” Alex said. It would give him a
chance to talk with the potters, and perhaps that would even help
in his own investigation.

Marilynn Baxter was working on the potter’s
wheel, forming the clay gracefully into a bowl right before Alex’s
eyes. The spinning motion of the shifting clay was mesmerizing. How
did she do it? He watched another minute before approaching Craig
Monroe.

Instead of the summons he’d been ordered to
give, Alex said, “She’s really good, isn’t she?”

Craig nodded absently. “One of the best I’ve
ever seen, including me. I just wish ...”

“What,” Alex prodded.

“Nothing,” Craig said abruptly as he moved
back to a drying rack starting to fill up with gray-shaded pieces.
There were all kinds of items displayed there, from pitchers to
bowls to plates to whimsical little pinched figures, all made of
clay.

Craig was just moving a bowl when Alex said,
“By the way, the sheriff sent me out to get you.”

“That’s right,” Craig said as he nearly
dropped the bowl. “He said he wanted to talk to us.”

“One at a time,” Alex added.

That brought a burnish to Craig’s cheeks. “We
talk to him together, or we don’t talk to him at all!”

Alex said, “Hey, don’t take it out on me, I’m
just the messenger.”

Craig walked over to Marilynn and said
something Alex couldn’t hear. Her hands faltered for a moment, and
the delicate structure collapsed.

She tried to make a joke of it as the
onlookers gasped. “Earth to earth, and all that,” she said as she
peeled the remnants of the clay off the wheel. “That’s all for now,
folks. We’re going to take a little break. Don’t forget, everything
you see behind me is for sale.”

As Marilynn cleaned her hands in a bucket of
water, she said, “I’ll get Shantara to watch the booth while we’re
gone. We can’t make any money if we don’t have anybody here selling
our wares.”

Craig said, “The sheriff wants us one at a
time, and he wants to see us now!”

“He’s just going to have to wait,” Marilynn
said calmly. “Shantara! Could you come over here?”

Shantara joined them and readily agreed to
take over their sales while they were gone.

As the three of them walked to the inn. Alex
said, “I don’t know what the sheriff’s going to say about this. He
only asked me to get one of you.”

Craig started to snap a retort when Marilynn
put a hand on his shoulder, “He’s in luck. Today’s special is two
potters for the price of one.”

Alex said, “Do you mind me asking how well
you two knew Jefferson Lee?”

Did Craig flinch at the question? He couldn’t
tell for sure; the hot afternoon sun was in his eyes.

Marilynn stepped in and said, “We’ve done a
few fairs with him in North Carolina and parts of Tennessee, but we
traveled a lot more than he did.”

Craig grunted, “Jefferson liked to stay close
to home. For everything.”

The man was definitely on edge. Alex decided
it might be a good time to give him a shove. “Did you have any
reason to hate him, Craig?”

The man started to speak when Marilynn
interrupted coolly, “Who’s running this investigation, Alex, you or
the sheriff?”

“The sheriff is, of course. I just couldn’t
help wondering about it from the way your husband’s been
acting.”

“It’s none of your business then, is it,”
Craig said before Marilynn could stop him.

“You’re absolutely right,” Alex agreed,
smiling.

They were on the front porch by then, and the
couple hurried in ahead of him.

Armstrong didn’t look all that surprised that
they’d come together.

“I just need one of you right now. That way
the other can go back to your booth,” he said.

Marilynn said, “That won’t be a problem. We
have someone watching it for us. Don’t you think it would be more
efficient if you talked with both of us at the same time?”

“Ma’am, I’ll do it my way, if you please.
Since you’re so eager to talk, why don’t you go on in first?”

Craig started to say something, but Marilynn
cut him off yet again. It was a wonder the man ever got to say
anything. “Let’s get this over with, Sheriff, I have a living to
earn.” Marilynn turned to Craig. “Why don’t you go back to the
booth? I’ll come get you when the sheriff’s ready for you.”

Craig obviously wasn’t thrilled with the
plan, but Alex could see there was no room for debate. The potter
stormed past Alex and slammed the door on his way out.

Marilynn said, “You’ll have to forgive him.
Craig hasn’t been sleeping well lately.”

“He can join the club,” the sheriff said.
“Murder gives me insomnia, too.”

As they disappeared into his office, Alex
couldn’t help feeling that Armstrong was wasting his breath with
Marilynn Baxter. She was too cool to let anything slip. He would
love to hear the sheriff’s interview with Craig Monroe, though.
That should prove to be very interesting.

As predicted, Marilynn’s time with the
sheriff was brief, and from the look on Armstrong’s face, not all
that productive.

After she left in search of her husband,
Armstrong said, “That woman missed her calling. She should have
been a lawyer.” There was no admiration in his voice as he said
it.

“Maybe you’ll have more luck with her
husband.”

“I doubt it. By the time she’s through with
him, I doubt I’ll be able to get him to admit his own name.”

As predicted, by the time the sheriff got
Craig in Alex’s office, the man was as silent as the nearby
mountains. Armstrong shook his head sadly as Craig left the
lobby.

“Well, that was purely a waste of
breath.”

Alex asked, “What now?”

“It’s time I talked with our lady woodworker.
I’ve been putting it off, since Rachel blew up at me, but I’ve got
to interview her. She’s strong as an ox, and I don’t relish making
her any madder at me than she already is.”

Alex smiled. “Just another benefit of being
sheriff.”

“I’d send you to get her if I thought she’d
come, but I’ve got a feeling she isn’t exactly eager to talk to
me.”

A few minutes later, Rachel came back in with
the sheriff. He’d been wrong about one thing; she was perfectly
willing to talk to him. In fact, from the sound of it, Armstrong
wasn’t going to be able to get a question in between the verbal
attacks. Alex was truly glad he wasn’t in the sheriff’s shoes.

Alex touched the woodworker’s shoulder
lightly to say something when she grabbed his hand and pulled it
off her. She was strong! When she saw that it was Alex, she
immediately released her grip. “Sorry, I didn’t know it was
you.”

Alex fought the urge to rub the feeling back
into his hand as he said, “Take it easy, Rachel. Sheriff Armstrong
wants the same thing as you do, to find out who killed Jefferson
Lee.”

“Well it certainly wasn’t Bill.” she
snapped.

“So answer his questions and help him move
on.”

Rachel took a breath, then said. “Of course
you’re right, Alex. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

She turned to the sheriff and said, “Let’s
get this over with. Aren’t you coming?”

As she stepped into Alex’s office, Armstrong
said, “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

After the door closed, Alex briskly rubbed
the stiffness out of his hand. He’d had no idea looking at Rachel
just how strong she was. An unwelcome thought crept into his mind.
She would have had plenty of strength to drive that spear into
Jefferson Lee’s chest. He had discounted the women up front, not
thinking they had the physical power to accomplish it, but it was
time to reconsider. Added to that was the fact that Jefferson Lee
had been her boyfriend’s rival, intent on destroying the young
blacksmith’s career. Had Rachel decided to take matters into her
own hands? It was a possibility well worth considering.

She was much meeker when she left Alex’s
office, even offering him a nod and a slight smile as she walked
past.

Alex found Armstrong at his desk. “Have any
luck?”

The sheriff threw his hands up. “Nobody’s
seen anything or done anything around here at all. They’re nothing
but a bunch of innocent lambs.”

“So where does that leave you?”

Armstrong leaned back in Alex’s chair, and
the seat protested. The sheriff said, “I’ve interviewed all my
suspects out here. It’s time to catch up with Irene and see if
she’s come up with anything.” As Alex walked him to the squad car,
the sheriff said, “I’ll be in touch, Alex.” Getting into his car,
he said awkwardly, “By the way, I was sorry to hear about
Elise.”

“She’s not gone forever, Sheriff. She was
called away on a family emergency.”

“Uh-huh,” the sheriff said quickly as he
started the engine.

After he was gone, Alex watched the trail of
dust from the squad car as it sped down the lane. Why was everyone
so quick to assume that Elise was gone for good?

Were they jumping to conclusions, or did all
of Elkton Falls know something that he didn’t?

He went back into his office and saw
something sparkling in one corner near the copier. Alex retrieved a
bracelet, swung it on two fingers, then put it in his pocket. It
looked familiar, and he was sure Elise must have dropped it when
she’d been cleaning his office. It only made him realize more how
much he missed her.

But he couldn’t dwell on her departure. He
had an inn to run, and as if that wasn’t enough, he’d promised
Shantara he’d find the murderer.

There just weren’t enough hours in a day.

Chapter 9

Alex was relieved when the fair was finally
over for the evening, the crowds of visitors gone at last. One more
day and it would be finished. A part of him regretted agreeing to
let Shantara hold the fair at the inn, particularly during the
Lighthouse Lighting festivities, but he knew in his heart that he’d
honestly had no other choice. The lighting was scheduled for
tomorrow night’s closing ceremonies, but for the first time since
he’d taken over The Hatteras West Inn, he wasn’t eager to fire up
the Fresnel lens. The murder had thrown a dark cloud over
everything, and Alex wasn’t looking forward to hitting the switch
at all.

It didn’t help that Elise would miss it,
too.

It was stressful enough running Hatteras West
by himself without the added traffic of visitors wandering through
the inn during the day. He’d caught one woman actually trying to
sneak out the front door with one of the lanterns displayed in the
lobby just as the fair was shutting down for the day. She dropped
the lantern when he’d caught her, shattering the glass in it. Alex
had been so shocked by her actions that he’d just stood there as
she raced out the door without her prize.

It was the last straw. Alex cleaned up the
mess, carefully searching the floor to make sure he hadn’t missed
any errant pieces of glass. After he was certain he’d retrieved
every last sliver, Alex posted a hastily scrawled sign on the front
door that said Guests Only in bold, thick letters.

Evans Graile, back from one of his rare
forays into the world, shook his head when he saw the sign. “Not
very welcoming, is it, Alex?”

“Sorry, but this fair is driving me
crazy.”

Evans smiled gently. “Ah, but look what a
spectacle it’s provided for me. I can’t remember the last time I
saw so many people without ever having to leave my chair.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Alex said as he
adjusted the sign. He probably should have used something stronger
to tack it in place; someone would probably walk off with his sign
as a souvenir.

Evans went on, “To be honest with you, it’s a
real shame it’s all ending tomorrow night, Alex. I don’t know what
I’ll do for entertainment after everyone else is gone.”

Alex said, “We’ve got checkers, chess, books,
hiking trails, Bear Rocks, and don’t forget the lighthouse
itself.”

Graile shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid most
of those things are a little too strenuous for me, Alex. Besides, I
like to watch. I’m not a big fan of actually participating.”

Alex was saved from responding as Jenny
hurried up to him. “Can we talk?”

“Sure,” Alex said as he led her inside. Evans
Graile was close on his tracks. That man wasn’t about to miss a
thing!