Ring for Murder (Lighthouse Inn Finale) (2 page)

Alex moved back to the couch, and stroked
Elise’s beautiful chestnut hair lightly. “You’re really something,
aren’t you? After the way my brother has treated you in the past,
you’re still trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“Well, he’s going to be a
part of
my
family
too, soon,” she said.

He put an arm around her. “It’s not soon
enough for my taste. If we fly to Vegas tonight, we can get married
tomorrow and skip all of this drama.”

She laughed and pushed him away. “You want
to get married in front of the lighthouse as much as I do, and I’m
planning to just do this once. This is our home, Alex.”

“I know, but you can’t say you aren’t at
least a little tempted.”

She grinned at him. “Okay, maybe a little.”
Elise yawned, and then said, “I should get some rest. Tomorrow’s a
big day. We’ve got folks coming in all day, then the rehearsal, the
dinner afterwards, and finally the big day.”

“At least our last guests left today,” Alex
said. “It’s going to take some of the pressure off not having any
strangers staying here during the festivities. Are you sure we can
afford to do it?”

She smiled at him. “Consider it a wedding
present we are giving each other. I have a feeling our family and
friends will be enough to handle without adding any outsiders into
the mix, don’t you?”

“I guess. I still think we should have shut
the inn down completely and let them all fend for themselves.”

She laughed. “What would you do with
yourself if you didn’t have the inn to run, even for a day? This is
going to be perfect, trust me.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“You know I am. Now, kiss me good
night.”

Alex was only too glad to follow that
order.

As Elise started back for her room, she
asked him, “Aren’t you tired?”

He shrugged. “I’ve got to lock up, and then
I might stay up with the fire for a while. I’ll see you in the
morning.”

“Until then, my love,” she said.

Alex was about to lock up when there was a
light tap at the door. He considered ignoring it, and then saw that
it was his best friend, Mor Pendleton. A former linebacker on his
college football team, Mor had once had dreams of playing
professional football, but those had ended with a knee injury. The
scholarship, along with his college education, had ended with that
blow, and Mor had come back to Elkton Falls. He didn’t stay idle
for long, though. He’d soon gone to work for Lester Williamson, and
after a few years, the fix-it shop had become Mor or Les, a name
everyone in Elkton Falls loved.

Mor had something in his hands, and when he
held it up to the light, Alex saw that it was a large bottle of
champagne, the same kind Alex had served at Mor’s bachelor party.
“Where did you get that?”

Mor grinned at him. “There’s beer in the
truck, too, but I figured since it was just the two of us, this
would do.”

Alex looked back at the door. “Where’s Les?
Isn’t he coming?”

Mor shook his head. “He’s feeling a little
poorly these days.”

Alex was alarmed by the news. He knew that
his best friend’s business partner was more than just a work
associate to him. Lester had stepped in when Mor had needed him the
most, and the two men were more like father and son than either one
of them would ever admit. “Is it bad?”

“Who knows? The man is as tight lipped about
his health as they come.” He hoisted the bottle again. “Care for a
sip?”

“Why not? I’m not driving anywhere tonight,”
Alex said.

“We could go up to the top of the
lighthouse, if you’d like. That’s what you did for me for my
bachelor party.”

Alex shook his head. “It’s getting chilly,
and we aren’t exactly young men anymore. How’s right here in front
of the fire sound?”

“Like a real plan,” Mor said.

“Hang on. I’ll be right back,” Alex said as
he got a pair of glasses from the kitchen. As he returned, he
handed one to Mor, he asked, “Where’s your lovely bride
tonight?”

Mor grimaced as he popped the cork and
poured. “Where else would she be? She’s working on your wedding.
Since Elise asked her to lend a hand, the woman has become obsessed
with decorations, arrangements, caterers, and anything else you
could mention that might be even remotely related to your
nuptials.”

“And she didn’t rope you into it all as
well?”

Mor grinned. “I promised her that your
bachelor party would be along the same lines as mine, and she was
happy enough to let me go. To be honest with you, I think she was
just looking for an excuse to get me out from underfoot.”

Alex laughed. “I’ll make sure you keep your
word about my party.”

Mor took a sip, and then put his glass down.
Alex knew that his best friend was happier with root beer than
champagne, but they were celebrating. The big man asked him softly,
“Is your brother still coming in?”

“As a matter of fact, he’s already here.
He’s upstairs right now.”

“Should we invite him to join us?” Mor
asked, though he wasn’t fond of Alex’s brother, and everyone in
town knew it.

“No need. He’s already
drunk, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to pour any
more
liquor into
him.”

Mor shook his head. “Some brother you’ve got
there.”

Alex shrugged. “We can’t pick our families,
just our friends. Thanks for coming by tonight. I’d nearly
forgotten all about having a bachelor party.”

“Shoot, I should be thanking you. You got me
out of wedding central.”

As the two men sat by the fire, they chatted
about old times, of the troubles, and the joys, they’d shared over
the years. As far as Alex was concerned, it was the most fitting
way to have a bachelor party he could think of.

Mor finally left, and Alex knocked down the
last of the flames in the fireplace.

He glanced at his watch and saw that
tomorrow would be there sooner than he liked.

As Alex drifted off to sleep, he wondered
what his brother had been babbling about. He’d never been a
particularly nice drunk, or all that well-meaning when he was
sober, and Alex felt a little uncomfortable having him back at the
inn.

Tony would be gone soon enough, though.
After the wedding, he and Elise were going to shut down their inn
to take a proper honeymoon, three days in Colonial Williamsburg,
and then back home to run Hatteras West.

Alex couldn’t wait for all of the fuss to be
over so they could finally start the rest of their lives,
together.

Chapter 3

Alex woke up and realized that this was the
day before his wedding. It brought an immediate smile to his face,
and he knew that no matter how bad the next two days might be, at
the end of it, he and Elise would be husband and wife.

He came out of his room whistling, and found
Elise already at the front desk. She was displaying a broad frown,
and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. Though he believed that he
knew his bride-to-be well, Alex fully realized that his education
up to that point had been somewhat lacking. He looked forward to
getting to know her expressions and moods on a deeper level, but
for now, he wasn’t sure what to do. In a moment of spontaneity, he
decided to give her a hug. After all, if he couldn’t get her out of
a bad mood today, he was in for some rough sailing in the
future.

He walked in behind Elise, and then put his
arms around her.

She turned to face him, and then buried her
head into the nape of his neck. “How did you know? I really needed
that,” she said after she pulled away a full minute later.

“Heck, I was being selfish. I needed one
myself. Why the frown before?”

She pointed to their
registration book. “We have two couples booked for the Carolina
Jasmine room the week we get back. We have
got
to get a better
computer.”

“Pick one out. We’ll find a way to pay for
it.” Alex had a sudden thought. “Hey, maybe we’ll get some cash as
a wedding present. We could use it for that.”

She nodded with a smile. “What a great idea.
That sounds perfect.”

He hugged her again. “Elise, I’m just glad
you’re so flexible. I don’t know what I would do if you were the
type of person who expected to be spoiled all of the time,” he
said.

“Oh, I do. I insist on laughter, hugs,
kisses, and you being here, instead of anything more material. As
far as I’m concerned, the rest is just icing on the cake.”

“By the way, how’s the cake coming?” Alex
knew that Irma Bean from Mama Ravolini’s was taking care of their
wedding cake, and she’d promised them something extraordinary. Alex
wasn’t all that sure how unique their cake needed to be, but he’d
kept his nose out of it.

“It’s going well. Irma and I had a long chat
about what we want, and Emma’s riding herd over her, so I’m not
worried about it.”

“She’s taking on a lot, isn’t she? Mor was
here last night after you went to bed. During my bachelor party, he
told me how hard she’s been working lately.”

“She insisted, but I’m taking up some of the
slack.” Elise looked at him and smiled. “Your get-together must not
have been too wild. I didn’t even hear you.”

“We were quietly celebrating,” Alex said
with a grin of his own. “I don’t get the whole last chance to be
single idea, anyway. I can’t imagine anything more exciting than
being with you.” He wasn’t all that prone to declarations about his
feelings like that, but if a man couldn’t say those things on the
eve of his own wedding, maybe he shouldn’t be getting married at
all.

Alex looked at Elise, and noticed a tear
tracking down her cheek. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked.

“No, I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’m
weepy all of a sudden, and I’ve never been that way in my life up
until now.”

“Hey, we’re both happy. Let’s just leave it
at that. Everything set for the rehearsal dinner tonight, or do I
need to touch base with Monet’s Garden?”

“No worries, Alex, it’s all under
control.”

“Good,” Alex said. “What’s left for me to
do?”

She grinned at him. “I was hoping you’d ask.
Shantara called, and she got in that door-lock we’ve been waiting
for. Why don’t you take the truck and run into town?”

“You’re not trying to get me out from
underfoot, are you?”

Elise pretended to be astonished. “Me? I
wouldn’t dream of it.”

He kissed her, and they both laughed. “I’ll
be back later.”

“See you for lunch,” Elise said.

Alex got into his ancient pickup and headed
into Elkton Falls. Shantara Robinson was a long time friend of his.
She ran the general store in town, inheriting it from her father
about the same time that Alex’s own parents had died and left him
and his brother the lighthouse inn, cash and securities, and a
handful of stocks. Alex, in a moment he never, or rarely ever,
regretted, had offered Tony everything he’d inherited for his share
of the lighthouse property, and his brother, always driven by
greed, had readily agreed. Even growing up, Tony had never had any
use for the lighthouse, something he’d always considered an oddity
and an embarrassment instead of a delight.

Alex picked up the door-lock, spent a little
time browsing the aisles of the store, drove around town a little,
and basically just killed time until he had to meet back up with
Elise. The errand had another benefit as well. Alex didn’t have to
see his brother, at least not soon. Why couldn’t they get along?
Alex had made every effort over the years, but Tony hadn’t been
interested.

He was in Elkton Falls now, though, and Alex
resolved to make one last stab at getting along with his brother.
They were adults; surely they could put childhood slights and
fights behind them, on what was the happiest time of Alex’s
life.

As Alex drove up to the inn, he found his
brother sitting on the lighthouse’s front steps.

Tony waved to him, and Alex decided there
was no time like the present to start patching things up.

“Where did you run off to?” Tony asked, the
ire thick in his voice. “I’ve been looking all over the place for
you all morning.”

“I had to run into town on an errand. What’s
going on?”

“We need to talk,” Tony said.

From the angry tone in his brother’s voice,
Alex knew that this might not be the best time to work things out.
“I’ve got to get inside. Can we do it later?”

Tony was about to protest when Elise called
out from the steps of the Dual Keeper’s Quarters. “Lunch, guys.
Come on in.”

“Hang on a second,” Alex called out, and
then turned back to his brother. He might as well get it over with.
“What is it?”

“It’ll keep till later,” Tony said with a
frown.

“Good,” Alex answered. Delaying this
particular conversation was fine with him.

As the two of them walked back toward the
inn, Alex asked, “How long are you staying in Elkton Falls?”

“Maybe for quite a while,” Tony said,
shocking Alex with his reply.

“Really? That’s great,” Alex answered,
trying to mean what he said. “Any reason in particular?”

Tony just smiled, but there was something
about it that Alex didn’t like.

He didn’t have long to think about it,
though. When he got to Elise, he could see that she’d been
crying.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are
your folks okay?”

“As far as I know,” she said.

Tony butted in. “I’ll see you inside.”

After he left, they were alone. “Go on, you
can tell me.”

“Irma called. There’s an issue with the
cake.”

“That’s a relief,” Alex said. “I thought it
was something important.”

“You don’t think our wedding cake is
important?” she asked with a hint of anger in her voice.