Innkeeping with Murder (13 page)

“She’s my maid, Sandra. That’s all. By the
way, I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

Sandra must have seen the storm clouds in his
eyes. “I’m sorry. Alex, I just don’t want to see you taken
advantage of. The poor thing doesn’t look like she’d be much of a
maid.”

“She’s the best worker I’ve ever had at
Hatteras West, Sandra.”

She waved a hand in the air, dismissing his
comment. “I’m sure she is. Now why don’t you put on your best suit,
and we’ll go someplace nice to celebrate my homecoming.”

“I don’t feel much like going out tonight,
Sandra. A lot has happened since you’ve been gone.”

She arched one eyebrow. “I can see that.
That’s why we need to go out. You can bring me up to date.” Alex
started to protest, but Sandra wouldn’t allow it. “You can be ready
in ten minutes, Alex. Why stand here arguing?”

He said abruptly, “You know what? I don’t
seem to have much of an appetite. Go on without me.”

Sandra looked stunned by Alex’s refusal.
“Maybe I’ll do just that.”

“That’s fine by me,” Alex said, instead of
acquiescing like he knew Sandra was expecting him to.

Rebounding quickly, Sandra said, “On second
thought, I am rather tired from my trip. Why don’t we do lunch
tomorrow instead, Alex?” She kissed him lightly on the cheek, then
quickly drove away. Alex had to admire Sandra for one thing; she
always knew when to cut her losses.

Suddenly, Alex realized that he’d just lost
the chance to have dinner with two different women.

Tonight, he’d be eating alone.

Elise came out just as Alex was lighting the
night’s fire.

“I thought you two went out,” she said.

“Sandra suddenly decided she was too
tired.”

Elisa took it in without comment.

Alex said. “I’ve never given you the grand
tour. Would you like to see the grounds before it gets too
dark?”

A slight frown cropped up on Elise’s face.
“Well, I’d love to see Bear Rocks, but I’m going to need more time
to explore than the daylight we have left. Can we walk up to the
top of the lighthouse instead?”

Alex nodded. “We might have to share the view
with someone else. A lot of townsfolk have been coming to see the
murder scene. Do you mind?”

Elise placed her hand delicately on Alex’s
arm. “Oh, Alex. I’m sorry. That’s probably the last place in the
world you want to be so soon after your friend’s death. We can go
some other time.”

“The lighthouse means a lot to me. I hate
that someone used it as a place to kill Reg, but there have been
deaths there before. The old stone walls just absorb it all, the
good along with the bad.”

As they walked outside and over to the steps,
Elise said, “Tell me who else died here. Goodness, I sound
ghoulish, don’t I?”

Alex shook his head. “It’s part of the
lighthouse history. Fifty years ago, a couple of kids were stopped
from eloping by their parents. Before anyone knew what was
happening, they broke into the tower and climbed the steps
together. It was the last thing they did in this lifetime. Dad
found their bodies at the base the next morning. Some of the people
in town wanted the inn closed because of the deaths, as if it was
somehow the lighthouse’s fault.”

Elise said, “That’s so unfair. If someone
wants to kill

himself, there are surely more ways to do it
than leaping from the top of a lighthouse.”

They were just starting to climb the first
level of the stairs when Barb Matthews came racing down the final
steps toward them. Instead of a greeting, she started attacking
Alex.

“Where were you today? I needed fresh linen
and had to scrounge it myself. What kind of inn are you running,
anyway? I hear someone else almost died today, a fact you neglected
to share with me. Who’s next? Me? ‘Gas leak’ my foot. You can’t
pull anything over on me, Mr. Winston. I’m too sharp for that.”

Alex bit back his first response. He knew
perfectly well Elise had been at the inn all day. It was obvious
Barb Matthews just wanted something to complain about. “I’m sorry
about the linen, but we’ve got a lot going on right now. If you
aren’t happy with your accommodations at Hatteras West, I’d be glad
to make alternate arrangements someplace in town for you.” Alex
offered his slickest smile to the woman.

She tapped him squarely in the chest with the
dragonhead cane. It surprised Alex that she carried the walking
stick up the steps of the lighthouse when there was a handrail on
either side of staircase, but Mrs. Matthews was obviously a law
unto herself.

She scowled and said, “You’re not getting rid
of me that easily, Mr. Winston. I’m planning to stay here till they
drag my body out. You understand?”

Alex barely refrained from snapping a salute.
“Yes Ma’am. I’ve got it.”

Mrs. Matthews started to leave through the
red doors when Alex called out, “By the way, we’ll both be out of
the inn tomorrow morning, so you’d better make your linen requests
tonight.”

She whirled around. “Where do you think
you’re going, young man? In case you’ve forgotten, you’ve got a
business to run.”

Alex offered his open palms in a plea. “We’re
going rockhounding. Care to join us?”

The look of pale contempt she shot him as she
walked away was far greater than Alex ever imagined he actually
deserved. Or maybe Reg’s murder had made him a little more
sensitive than normal.

Elise smiled lightly after the woman was
gone. “Oh, you’re bad. You couldn’t get her out of here now with a
crowbar. Look at that. It’s like a wave of clouds coming right at
us.”

Alex had been watching Elise as she drank in
the surrounding hills from high atop the lighthouse’s upper
balcony. He pulled his gaze away from her and saw a massive flank
of clouds rolling down the mountain toward them like spilled liquid
marshmallow.

Alex said, “It’s really something, isn’t it?
‘The fog rolls in like silent thunder, dressing the trees in liquid
smoke.’”

Elise turned towards Alex. “Who wrote
that?”

Alex admitted, “That’s from one of the poems
I wrote in high school. There used to be a lot more of it, but I’m
afraid I’ve forgotten the rest.”

Elise’s eyes went back to the hills. “It’s
exactly what a real lighthouse should see. Instead of the ocean,
we’ve got the clouds.”

In a few minutes, the ground was covered with
the low-lying fog. Only at the observation level could Alex see
clearly. It was like flying in an airplane, only better. This
particular trip didn’t cost a thing, and there was no risk of
crashing.

Alex touched the railing with his hands. “I
used to come up here to get away from everything. Dad finally gave
me a key to keep me from taking his all the time. I’m not sure Mom
ever knew where I disappeared to, but I suspect Dad told her. I
always figured this was Dad’s secret place as a boy, too but we
never talked about it. It was one of the few close bonds we had. He
loved Hatteras West as much as I do. Before the town built up so
much, my favorite reason to come here was because of the stars.
Elise, they were breathtaking. Looking up into the night, it was
like the sky was on fire. I swear you could almost read by their
light. Then slowly, Elkton Falls began to grow. As it did, the town
lights stole more and more of the sky from us.” Alex gestured to
the sky. “It’s still magnificent, but it’s more like a faded
flower, just a reflection of the beauty that I remember.”

Alex realized he had talked for an awfully
long time. When he glanced at Elise, he saw her eyes were on him
instead of the magnificence around them.

Alex shrugged. “I’m sorry. I always get
carried away up here. Especially at night.”

Elise smiled softly. “I bet your girlfriends
loved it, here.”

Alex grinned. “Do you want to know the truth?
You’re the first person I’ve ever brought up here at night.”

“Not even Sandra?” Elisa asked.

“She wants me to sell out to Finster’s
client. Sandra never has understood the pull Hatteras West has on
me.”

Elise said softly, “How can she not feel
it?”

In the next moments of silence, Alex had to
fight the urge to kiss her. He wanted to, there was no doubt about
that. Elise’s presence had made Alex realize that he and Sandra
weren’t going to be together much longer. Though they’d been a
couple off and on for a long time, there wasn’t the bond there that
he’d already formed with Elise.

It was a shame she was engaged to someone
else.

With a false air of casualness, he said,
“Would you like to see the Fresnel lens work?”

Elise suddenly turned into a little girl.
“Can we? I thought you said the town banned it.”

Alex grinned. “In this fog, they won’t care.
Besides, it’s still early.”

“Let’s do it. Can I light the wick?”

Alex smiled. “You could if we had one. Dad
converted the lamp to electricity thirty years ago.”

“Show me what to do.”

Alex led Elise down to the watch room just
below the lantern itself. On one wall there was a lonely two-button
switch, much like one found in the average home of the forties.
Elise didn’t look impressed. “That’s it? I expected something
more.”

“Push the top button in.”

Elise did as she was told, and suddenly the
tiny room was filled with bright light. Alex led Elise onto the
lower observation platform where they could see the beam cutting
into the growing night. Its brilliance was overwhelming. They
watched it for a few moments as it started to rotate, then Alex
went back inside and hit the lower button, cutting off the lens’s
power.

He rejoined Elise outside and explained, “Dad
hooked up a motor to turn the Fresnel lens instead of the weights
they used to use. I try to keep the beam pointed away from town.
It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Let me tell you when I get my eyesight back.
Wow, I can’t believe how bright it is.”

Alex took her hand and led her inside to an
old wooden bench that hugged one wall. “The beam will blind you if
you’re standing in the wrong spot up there, but it’s a magical
sight, especially in the fog.”

Suddenly, a shout rang out from below.

“Decent folk are trying to sleep down here.
Keep that overgrown night-light off, you durn fool.”

The voice unmistakably belonged to Barb
Matthews. The moment between them had passed.

Alex and Elise walked down the steps of the
lighthouse and headed back for their separate rooms. Back inside
the inn, Elise quickly said, “I had a lovely evening, Alex. Good
night.” And then she was gone.

Chapter 13

The next morning, Alex had just gotten
dressed when he heard a timid knock on his door. It was Elise.

She said, “Good, you’re awake. Listen, I just
saw Junior drive off, so if we want to follow him, we need to go
right now.”

Some detective he was. Alex had forgotten all
about trailing Junior this morning. “Let me grab my keys and we’ll
go.”

Even though they were in a hurry, Alex
managed to find time to hold Elise’s door for her.

As they headed down the road, he asked, “Have
you eaten anything?”

She opened her large handbag. “No, but I
packed a few bananas and an apple I got yesterday at the store, and
I filled a thermos with hot coffee. Want to share with me?”

“That sounds good. It would be nice if we
could grab a biscuit, too, but I’m not positive Junior’s really
going

rockhounding. Still, it’s a good thing you
dressed for a dig.”

Elise wore a faded pair of jeans and a work
shirt that had probably belonged to her father. He hoped it wasn’t
her fiancé’s. Alex desperately wanted to ask her about the mystery
man in her life, but he just couldn’t find the words. Had he
imagined her interest in him up in the lighthouse the night before?
He had to admit that Elise could have been under the beacon’s
spell, too. Now, in the cold light of day, he wondered if she’d
regretted their lost opportunity as much as he did.

Alex studied her a second as he drove. She
had on a sturdy pair of work boots, and her lustrous hair was
pulled back into a ponytail, secured by a wide band of red cloth
that matched the shirt she wore.

Elise said, “You warned me what we might be
doing. I debated on wearing Dad’s old shirt, but I didn’t really
have anything else appropriate. I usually don’t look this
ragged.”

Alex smiled. “I think you look fine.”
Glorious, wonderful, stunning, he substituted, but only in his
mind.

Alex himself was dressed much the same. He
had grown up digging in the hills around the valley, hoping to
match his great-grandfather’s find. All he’d ever managed to come
up with were tiny chips of ruby and emerald, a carload of smoky
quartz and even some Hiddenite, a greenish rock found only in the
area they would be digging.

Elise shared a banana and then said, “Tell me
what to expect. I’ve never been rockhounding before.”

“Well, a lot of it depends on where Junior
goes. I’ve been to Emerald Valley before, and they’ve got their
commercial operation down cold. You can dig up on the mountain,
what they call the ‘mining area,’ or you can sluice a pail full of
dirt they provide, for a fee of course.”

“It’s not very likely there will be anything
in one of those, is it?”

Alex grinned. “Don’t bet on it. Just about
every bucket on the place has been salted with one stone or
another, unless you tell them otherwise.”

He looked over to find a puzzled expression
on Elise’s face. She said, “That doesn’t make any sense. How can
they make any money if they give their stones away?”

Alex laughed. “What they give away are large
common stones, usually not worth much of anything. But the tourists
feel lucky unearthing a hunk of smoky quartz, so they buy another
bucket.”

“Why, that’s not honest at all.” Alex didn’t
need to see Elise’s face. He could hear the outrage in her
voice.