Room for Murder (Book 4 in the Lighthouse Inn Mysteries) (8 page)

Emma said, “Even if she did, where in the
world would you put it?”

“
Hey, I’m a growing boy. I
need to eat to keep my strength up.”

She patted his stomach. “If you grow any
more, you’re going to have to buy new clothes.”

Mor said indignantly, “I’ll have you know
I’m the perfect weight for my height.”

Alex said, “I need to see that chart,” as he
helped Elise clean up. “Is everybody ready for the lighting?”

“
Absolutely,” Mor said.
“Why don’t you two go fire it up? Emma and I will watch it from
here.”

Alex said, “Don’t forget, face outward. That
lens puts out some real light.”

“
We’ll be careful,” Emma
said. Though they had enjoyed a good meal with fine fellowship,
Alex had noted a reserve in Emma that wouldn’t go away. It was
obvious that Toby Sturbridge’s death was on all their minds, a real
presence at their picnic, though no one brought up the man’s
death.

It was the best way to deal with it, at
least until they had more information.

Alex and Elise walked inside to the switch,
and Alex said, “Will you do the honors?”

“
Are you serious? I know
how much you love doing it, Alex. You go ahead.”

Alex said, “Please, Elise, I’d like you to.
The last time I lit it, you weren’t around to see it.”

Elise nodded. “I’m so sorry I missed the
last Lighting. Alex, are you sure?”

“
Absolutely.”

With a schoolgirl’s grin, Elise said, “I’d
love to.”

She punched the switch, and the light above
them jumped to life. After a moment, it started to turn on its
base. They walked out to the platform and watched as the beam cut
through the countryside, leaving a path of light wherever it
touched. There was sudden cheering from down below, and Alex saw
several of his guests on the porches of the two buildings looking
up at them. The beam ran through three circuits before Mor said,
“You know the rules, Alex, three times around and it’s got to go
off. Grady was pretty clear about that today.”

He nodded. “Elise, do you want to cut it
off?”

“
I can’t hog all the fun.
You go ahead.”

Alex walked back inside to the switch, his
finger hovering over it just a second before he finally killed the
light.

Things went suddenly dark without the light,
and Alex stood there until his eyes grew accustomed to the night.
The cheers below had heartened him. Many of his guests came to the
inn to see the lighthouse working, and nearly all of them were
disappointed when they discovered that the light was usually dark.
Blast it all, he needed to get the Town Council to let him light it
more. He could position the lens toward the mountains where not
many folks lived and leave it on for just a minute or two every
night before it swung back on Elkton Falls. If Tracy was elected
mayor, he was going to enlist her support and make it happen.

Maybe then they could keep the inn as full
as it was at the moment, and Alex would have a chance to actually
make a decent profit.

Elise and Emma led the way down the stairs
with sturdy flashlights Alex had brought up. By the time they got
to the base, the guests had already gone back inside.

Mor said, “Well, that was worth the cost of
admission, no doubt about it.” He turned to Emma. “Are you ready to
head back into town?”

“
I’m ready,” she said as
they all offered their good nights.

Mor said, “I’ll follow you back. I don’t
want you getting into any trouble.”

“
Then who’s going to watch
you?” she asked with a smile.

Soon enough, it was just Alex and Elise.

“
I’ll help you wash the
dishes,” Alex said.

She stifled a yawn. “Actually, I’m beat. I
think I’ll do them in the morning.”

That was odd. Usually they lingered over
shared tasks in the evening, enjoying each other’s company. There
was no doubt about it. Something, however subtle, was changing
between them.

Alex was still pondering the mood shift when
Paul and Sheila, the newlyweds, rushed in. “You lit up the
lighthouse,” Sheila said in disgust.

“
We had to replace a
switch, so we did a check of the light.”

She snapped, “You don’t have to tell me, we
heard about it in town. Paul and I were eating in some dreadful
place called Mama Ravioli’s or some such nonsense when someone
rushed in to announce it. By the time we got outside, the light was
off. I demand you turn it on again.”

Alex said, “Sorry, I wish I could, but
there’s a town ordinance that says I can’t. This was a special
case.”

Paul reached for his wallet and said,
“Surely another minute or two won’t hurt. She’s really got her
heart set on it.”

Alex declined. “I do apologize, I should
have said something.”

Jan and Corki came downstairs and spotted
Alex talking with the newlyweds.

Jan said, “Oh, Alex, that was
wonderful.”

Corki added, “Absolutely spectacular. I
can’t believe we actually got to see it.”

Jan said, “I got pictures!”

As the two ladies walked past toward the
door, the newlyweds turned and headed upstairs without another
word.

From the look of things, it was going to be
another night of marital unbliss for them.

Alex had just finished his nightly rounds of
checking both buildings and locking the lighthouse up when he heard
a car approaching on the gravel drive.

He was startled to see Sheriff Armstrong
getting out of his patrol car. Had he found something so urgent he
needed to talk to Alex this late?

There was a grim look on his face as he got
out of his squad car.

“
What’s going on?” Alex
asked.

“
It’s Oxford
Hitchcock.”

“
What about him?” Alex
asked as his heart went cold.

Armstrong took a deep breath, let it out
slowly, then said, “It’s bad news, Alex. He’s dead.”

Chapter 7

Alex asked, “I don’t suppose there’s any
chance he died of natural causes, is there?”

Armstrong shook his head. “No, there’s no
doubt about it. Somebody walloped him upside the head with a board.
It looks like they snuck up on him and hit him from behind.”

Alex took it all in, then asked quietly,
“Where was he, at his house?”

“
That’s the oddest part of
all. We found Oxford hanging under the old covered bridge. He fell
through one of those big holes your committee is trying to patch
up. Anyway, his suspenders caught on one of the braces below, else
he would have drifted down the river toward Charlotte by now. A
couple of teenagers were down by the river making out and the guy
flashed his light up under the bridge. We had the devil of a time
getting the body down.”

Elise came out into the lobby, dressed in a
thick robe. “What’s going on? Is it something about Mor or
Emma?”

Alex said, “No, it’s something else
entirely. You can go back to bed if you’d like.”

Ignoring him, Elise said, “What happened,
Sheriff?”

“
Somebody killed Oxford
Hitchcock at the old covered bridge,” the sheriff answered
calmly.

Elise shook her head in disbelief. “Why
would anyone do such a thing?”

Armstrong said, “That’s what I’m aiming to
find out. Alex, do you have any idea where Tracy Shook is?”

“
Sheriff, you can’t
seriously consider her a suspect. I’ve known Tracy all my life. I
can’t see her doing something like this.”

Armstrong rubbed his scalp. “Alex, every
murderer in the history of the world knew somebody, and the fact
is, just about every one of them had friends. People do things for
the craziest reasons.”

Alex couldn’t believe the sheriff was
serious. “You actually believe she’d kill him to get a job that
pays nine thousand dollars a year? You’re way off on this one.”

Armstrong took off his hat, then rubbed a
hand through his hair. “Alex, I didn’t come out here for
crime-fighting tips, I’m looking for Tracy. Once I talk to her,
maybe we can clear her right off the bat, but you can bet your last
hat I’m going to talk to her tonight.”

“
Sorry, I haven’t seen
her,” Alex said.

Armstrong looked at Elise. “And you,
Ma’am?”

“
No, I’m sorry I can’t
help.”

Armstrong nodded briefly, then put his hat
back on. “If she comes out here, call me. I don’t care what time of
day or night.”

“
I still say she didn’t do
it,” Alex insisted.

Armstrong just smiled. “You’re forgetting
one thing, Alex.”

“
What’s that?”

The sheriff said, “You don’t get a
vote.”

After the sheriff was gone, Elise said, “I
can’t imagine anyone killing that nice man, and I certainly can’t
see Tracy doing it.”

“
The sheriff’s way off on
this one.” He stretched, then added, “I can’t see getting to sleep
any time soon. Care to join me for a hot chocolate?”

She stifled a yawn. “Thanks for the offer,
but I’m going back to bed.”

“
Good night, then,” he
said.

Later, Alex went to sleep wondering who had
cause enough to kill Oxford Hitchcock. To Alex, he was just a
typical politician, but to someone, the man must have been a real
threat.

At least Alex wasn’t involved in that
particular investigation. He had enough on his hands trying to get
Mor and Emma off the sheriff’s list of prime suspects for Toby
Sturbridge’s death.

Alex opened the newspaper the next day to
see if there were any new details about Elkton Falls’ latest
murder. The headline announcing the murder took up half the page,
accompanied by a head shot of the victim and tons of background,
but it didn’t offer anything he didn’t already know. Alex wondered
briefly if Armstrong had ever found Tracy, but then put it out of
his mind as Elise walked in.

“
Morning,” he said as he
offered her the paper. “How’d you sleep?”

“
I tossed and turned all
night,” she said.

“
Yeah, I’m pretty excited,
too,” Alex admitted.

“
About that man’s death?
Alex, that’s not like you.”

Alex said, “I’m talking about our date. It’s
tonight, remember?”

Elise said, “Of course I do.” She finished
the breakfast setup without another word about it. He wanted to say
something else to her, but before he had a chance, Corki and Jan
came down, followed by Denise and Greg, a couple who were
rockhounds on their way to Hiddenite, and on their heels came Paul
and Sheila, the battling newlyweds. The lobby of the inn was
buzzing with conversation, but nothing substantial was spoken
between Alex and Elise.

The housekeeper finally said, “If you don’t
mind, I’m going to go ahead and get an early start on Dual.”

“
That’s fine, I can take
care of things here.” He took a deep breath, then added, “Listen,
if you don’t want to go out tonight, that’s okay with
me.”

Elise’s lips were pressed together in a thin
white line. “No, tonight will be fine.”

Alex laughed in spite of himself. “It will
be a lot better than fine, I can promise you that.”

Elise smiled softly. “Of course it will.
I’ll see you later.”

“
Bye,” he said as she
hurried away. Elise had something on her mind, and Alex thought for
a moment he should go ahead and cancel their date. But he just
couldn’t bring himself to do it. They had both waited too long for
this, and he doubted he could stand another delay.

As Alex waited for the guests to finish
their breakfasts so he could clean up, he took a chance and dialed
Doc Drake at his office. Madge, the doctor’s nurse who also
happened to be his wife, answered the phone.

“
Hi, Madge. Any chance I
can steal a minute from your husband?”

Madge said with a snort, “You’re welcome to
try your luck talking to him. I’m surely not having any luck.”

Drake came on the phone, and Alex asked,
“Trouble in paradise?”

The doctor said, “You don’t even want to
know. Madge has been after me to take a vacation, but I don’t know
how we can get away.”

“
Hey, you still owe her a
honeymoon,” Alex said. “We’ll manage to limp along without you
somehow.”

Drake spoke to his wife and said, “Alex
thinks you’re being unreasonable, too.”

He could hear Madge’s laughter through the
line. “I know better than that. He’s backing me up, isn’t he?”

Drake admitted, “Yes, but what does he know?
He’s still a bachelor.”

Alex said, “Much as I’d like to be your
couples therapist, I was wondering if you’ve had any luck with Toby
Sturbridge.”

“
Well, at this point, all I
can say for sure is that I’m pretty certain he’s still
dead.”

“
No clues at
all?”

Drake said, “I’m out of my league on this
one. I’ve got a special coroner coming from Raleigh, but he won’t
be here for three days.”

“
Three days? What’s the
delay?”

Drake mumbled something into the phone Alex
couldn’t hear.

“
Repeat that, Doc, I missed
it.”

Drake took a deep breath, then said loudly,
“He’s on vacation in Hawaii.”

Madge’s whoop of laughter in the background
was more than the doctor could take. “I’ve got to go, Alex. I’ll
let you know when I find something else out.”

Without an official cause of death, the
sheriff would probably back off from the case until he had a
definite idea about what had really happened to Toby Sturbridge.
Besides, he had his hands full with Oxford Hitchcock’s murder. Alex
admired Doc Drake as much for his abilities as for knowing his
limitations. A thorough job was important, and if they had to wait,
then there was no escaping it.