Murder Checks Inn (Book 3 in the Lighthouse Inn Mysteries) (14 page)

Alex said into the microphone, “May I have
your attention please?”

Tony had deferred to him when it came to
making the announcement, and Alex had reluctantly accepted. He
wasn’t a big fan of speaking in public—it normally petrified
him—but he’d do the best he could in honor of Jase.

“
First, I want to thank you
all for coming out to remember my uncle Jase. Some of you might
find all this a little unusual”—there were more than a few nods in
the crowd— “but anyone who knew Jase understands. He was a law unto
himself in many ways.” There were even more nods now.

Alex gestured around him as he said, “This
party was his idea, a way of saying good-bye. Thank you all for
sharing it with us.”

At that moment, Tony walked forward,
carrying the urn that housed Jase’s last remains, and all eyes were
on him. As he joined Alex on the bandstand, Alex announced, “Per
Jase’s last request, we’ll scatter the ashes from atop the
lighthouse, and the lens will be turned on, one minute for every
year of Jase’s life.”

Alex felt his knees tremble as he walked
inside the lighthouse’s base.

Tony cradled the urn in one arm and put a
hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Nicely put, Alex. You did a good
job out there.”

“
Thanks,” he said as the
two men walked up the steps together, Tony carrying the urn and
Alex manning the powerful flashlight that lit up the
interior.

When they got to the top, Alex asked, “Do
you want to scatter the ashes or light the lens?”

“
Why don’t we do them both
together,” Tony suggested. “For old times’ sake.”

Alex said, “Think how dramatic it will be
when the light starts rotating and catches a glint of his ashes as
we release them.”

Tony agreed. ‘Tell you what, you turn on the
torch all the time. I haven’t done it since we were kids. You can
release the ashes, and then I’ll flip the switch.”

Alex agreed and walked to the rail. He
glanced back to be sure that Tony was at his post, then shouted to
the folks clustered below a variation on Taps, “To the lakes, to
the hills, to the sky,” and started slowly emptying the urn as the
lens came on above him. The wind gusted, shooting the flecks of
gray into the night as the lens slowly started to rotate.

Alex walked quickly back inside and found
Tony headed toward him. “Aren’t you going to hang around and enjoy
the view?”

Alex said, “No, I think it’s a lot more
dramatic on the ground, and we’ll have the light on for over an
hour this time. I want to enjoy it from the ground.”

Tony said, “Suit yourself,” as he brushed
past Alex and went out on the deck.

Alex hurried down the steps, and Elise met
him at the door, a handkerchief pressed in her hand. “Alex, that
was beautiful.” She studied his face, then asked, “It’s hard saying
good-bye, isn’t it?”

“
I just need some time to
get used to Jase being gone. It’s just beginning to sink in that
he’s not going to be around anymore.”

Elise said, “Why don’t we go inside, and
I’ll get you a glass of punch.”

He declined. “No, I’ll be all right. I need
to be here.”

“
Alex, I insist. You can
have something stronger if you’d like, but you shouldn’t have to
act as the host for your own uncle’s farewell.”

He said, “Who better, Elise? There are a lot
of people here I need to talk to.”

“
Just come inside for a
minute or two, Alex. You can collect yourself before you face them
all again.”

He found himself agreeing. Elise led him
through the crowd, and as the band started up, a great many people
began to dance again. As Alex walked up onto the porch, he looked
up at the lighthouse and saw the beam cutting through the clear
night above him. A single figure was outlined in each sweep,
casting an eerie light over Tony as he looked down on them all.

Alex started to sit down in one of the
rocking chairs in the lobby when he saw that the door to his room
was slightly ajar. He knew he’d kept it locked since moving Jase’s
things in with him. Alex ran to the door as Elise followed with a
cup of punch.

“
What is it,
Alex?”

“
Somebody broke into my
room,” he shouted as reached the doorway.

Inside, it was a complete disaster. The
boxes Alex and Mor had so carefully packed were dumped on the floor
in a jumbled mess. Had the thief found what he’d been looking for?
Alex had no way of knowing, but there was a gnawing feeling in the
pit of his stomach that he’d missed something important, some clue
to his uncle’s murder. But had the killer found it, or was it still
somewhere in that mess?

No doubt about it, the party had been the
perfect excuse to break in while Alex was occupied outside. Whoever
had done it had the nerves of a cat burglar, with most of Elkton
Falls just outside.

Alex slumped against the bed, dislodging a
book from the pile as it clattered to the floor.

Chapter 13

Elise, following close behind, asked, “Alex,
who would do this?”

“
Somebody was obviously
looking for something among Jase’s things. I can’t help wondering
if they found it.”

“
Why do you say
that?”

Alex started putting books back into their
boxes. “They’re not here, are they? It was a pretty thorough
search, so I’ve got to believe they got what they came for.”

As Elise knelt beside him and started
helping, she said, “Not necessarily. This looks like whoever was in
here got frustrated when they didn’t find what they were looking
for. Why else would the books be slammed around like this? You
certainly would be hard-pressed to find anything in this mess right
now.”

That thought hadn’t occurred to him. “You
know, you could be right. But what could they have been after? Tony
got the only valuable things there were in Jase’s estate.”

“
I wish I knew,” Elise said
as she started on another pile of books.

Alex said, “Elise, you don’t have to do
this, especially lot on your birthday. Why don’t you go and enjoy
the party. Peter’s probably already wondering where you are.”

“
I sent Peter back to town
an hour ago,” she said without further explanation.

Alex didn’t say another word about it as
they worked side by side putting things right again. After the
boxes were repacked, Alex studied the lock on his door. The frame
was splintered where someone had forced their way in. “I’ll have to
fix this tomorrow,” he said, “But for tonight, I’ll have to stand
guard.”

He started to leave the room, then hesitated
at the door. ‘If you’re right and the thief didn’t find what he was
looking for, how am I going to secure the room in the meantime?
I’ve got at least a hundred people out there I need to talk
to.”

“
Tell you what. Why don’t I
stay while you make your rounds? I’m not in much of a partying mood
right now.”

Alex said, “I’m not leaving you here
alone.”

Mor wandered in and saw the splintered door
frame immediately. “Geez, Alex, maybe you should have tried your
key first.”

“
It looks like somebody’s
still after Jase’s things,” Alex aid.

Mor nodded. “I can fix that for tonight, but
you’re going o have to replace the door frame in the morning. It’s
not going to be pretty, but it should work just fine.”

“
What did you have in
mind?” Elise asked.

“
I can patch the splintered
part with new wood, reinforce the whole thing with longer screws,
and tighten it up in heartbeat. Alex, do you still keep your tools
under the reservation desk?”

“
Yes, but I don’t want you
to have to work tonight.”

Mor shrugged. “Nobody’s dancing with me; I
think they’re all afraid of Emma, even if she is a couple of
hundred miles away. This won’t take long.”

Alex nodded. “Let me grab my tools, and we
can fix it together.”

Mor said, “I can handle this, buddy. Go on
out there. Everybody’s wondering where you moseyed off to.”

“
Thanks,” Alex
said.

“
All part of Mor or Les’s
service, Alex. You and Elise go on now. I’ve got this
covered.”

Alex and Elise walked out onto the porch and
watched the crowd spinning around on the makeshift dance floor. He
looked up at the lighthouse and watched as the beacon spun silently
around again. It would be lit for another half hour, and there were
no signs the party would break up any time soon after that. Whoever
had broken into Alex’s room had soiled his inheritance by pawing
through it, but Alex wasn’t going to let the burglary spoil Jase’s
farewell. The lighthouse, shining in all its glory, seemed to
cleanse the anger from his heart. This wasn’t the time to track
down thieves and killers.

This was Alex’s last chance to say good-bye
to a man who had meant the world to him.

Alex considered asking Elise to dance as the
music started up again, then changed his mind when he thought about
how hard it would be for him to hold her in his arms, especially if
it was for just one dance. Most likely it wouldn’t mean anything
special to her, regardless of what Tony had said, but he couldn’t
say the same thing about his own heart.

Shantara was by the punch bowl, so Alex
excused himself from Elise’s presence and walked over to her. “Can
I cash that rain check for a dance?”

Shantara smiled, “I’d be delighted.”

As the two of them danced, Alex asked, “You
aren’t even going to give me a hard time about saying no
before?”

“
I figure you’ve got enough
on your mind,” she said. “Besides, I knew you couldn’t resist my
charms all night.”

Alex laughed, in spite of the way he felt.
He and Shatara had been friends since kindergarten, and she was the
closest thing to a sister that he’d ever had. She always knew how
to make him laugh.

After the song was over, Sandra came over
and joined them. “Since the self-imposed ban on dancing seems to
have lifted, I believe you owe me a dance, sir.”

Alex nodded. “You’re absolutely right.”

As Alex and Sandra started dancing to the
next song, Shantara caught his attention and gestured to the porch.
Elise was there, watching every move. Maybe he’d ask her to dance
after this one was finished, despite the rumblings in his
heart.

Sandra asked, “How are you holding up?”

“
I’ll be okay. It’s tough
going, though.”

Sandra rubbed his shoulder gently. “If you
need me, my offer still stands. You know you can call me
anytime.”

“
Thanks. I might just take
you up on that.”

Though the music kept playing, Sandra
suddenly stopped dancing and said, “I can’t believe it.”

“
What’s wrong?” Alex asked.
“I didn’t step on your foot, did I?”

Sandra gestured toward one edge of the
crowd. “Julie and Amy are here. I told her to stay away from
Hatteras West until we cleared this mess up.”

“
You can blame me, Sandra.
I invited them myself,” Alex said.

“
You shouldn’t have done
that, Alex, and they never should have accepted. I’m going to take
care of this right now.”

Alex followed closely behind. Before he
could welcome them, Sandra said, “Julie, I told you yesterday, this
isn’t a good idea.”

Julie said, “Sandra, I’m not going to bury
my head in the

sand because of the way other people act. I
have every right to be here, certainly as much as they do.” Though
she was speaking to her attorney, her glare was locked on the
Trask: clan, hovering near the punchbowl and as yet unaware of her
presence.

Sandra said, “I still don’t think—”

Alex interrupted, “That you should be
standing here while there’s music playing. Julie, may I have this
dance?”

She agreed with a grim smile as she followed
Alex out onto the makeshift dance floor. The only problem was that
the second he took her in his arms, the music stopped.

“
That was the shortest
dance in recorded history,” she said with a smile.

Alex said, “That wasn’t the real thing; it
was just the warm-up.”

Then Harley Stouffers, the man who owned
Quality Garage and doubled as the quartet’s keyboardist, announced,
“We’re taking a short break now, folks, but we’ll be back in ten
minutes for more of your listening pleasure.”

Alex smiled. “I just can’t win.”

Julie laughed, then said, “Tell you what.
Let’s stand right here, and when the band starts up again, we’ll be
ready.” She looked up at the lighthouse and said, “It’s quite
lovely, isn’t it?”

“
I wasn’t sure you were
going to be able to make it,” Alex said.

“
Between Amy and Sandra, I
didn’t think I was coming myself, but the second I saw that beam, I
knew I had to come. I’m surprised you don’t light it every night,
Alex.”

He grinned. “I would if I could, but I have
to pay a fine every time I fire it up unless the town council
approves it ahead of time.”

“
So you’re breaking the
rules in your uncle’s memory? That’s so gallant.”

Alex admitted, “Don’t give me too much
credit, Julie. Jase got the town council to approve this before he
died. I couldn’t believe he got them to grant over an hour of
operation in writing.”

Julie watched the beam spin around again
before saying, “Jase was a special man, wasn’t he? How many of us
have the foresight to plan our good-byes thoroughly and so
well?”

“
It’s a real loss to
everyone in Elkton Falls,” Alex said, glad that someone had
actually said something to him about Jase. Certainly the party was
being thrown in his honor, but a part of Alex wished that others
would be a little more forthright in recalling why they were
gathered at Hatteras West. Alex supposed it was Jase’s own fault;
he hadn’t wanted a testimonial, but a party, instead.