Innkeeping with Murder (14 page)

“I used to think so myself. But if you know
the right questions to ask, they’ll tell you the truth. Some of the
buckets are ‘guaranteed,’ those are the ones that are salted, and
some of them are ‘native.’ It works. You have to remember, if there
was much hope of finding anything valuable, they’d operate as a
real mine instead of a tourist attraction. Some tourists have
surprised them though, pulling a real quality stone out of one of
their buckets. It’s happened more than once.”

Elise shook her head. “I still don’t like it.
It just doesn’t seem like a fair hunt.”

Alex nodded his agreement. “If it’s fair you
want, I’ll take you down the creek away from the main area.
Whatever you find there is pretty likely to be a genuine find.”

“Well, at least they don’t salt the
creek.”

Alex laughed. “Don’t kid yourself. Every time
a busload of tourists come in, they scatter a handful of gem
fragments right at the creek entrance. It must be working, because
people keep coming back for more. It’s harmless enough, if you know
the ground rules.”

Elise still seemed a little put off by the
arrangement. Alex protested, “Hey, if you’re going to think badly
of them, you probably wouldn’t have cared much for my father. I
told you he salted our land with quite a few fragments hoping it
would help the inn.”

“I believe I’ll side with your mother on that
one.”

Alex chuckled softly. “Mom nearly skinned him
alive. She made Dad go out and look for every stone he’d planted. I
can still see the sheepish look on his face, but to this day, I
can’t tell if it was from his actions, or just because he got
caught. I could never prove anything, but I don’t think he ever
stopped salting the land; he enjoyed it too much, and there are a
lot more stones around the inn than the times Dad admitted to. I
don’t know, with Dad, it was always hard to tell when he was
serious and when he was just having a little fun.”

Elise said grudgingly, “Okay, I guess I can
understand that. Promise me one thing, though. I want you to take
me where no one has salted any stones, okay? If I find something, I
want to be sure it’s legitimate.”

Alex nodded. “If that’s where Junior goes,
we’ll go there, too.”

They drove on in companionable silence. Alex
finally caught sight of Junior’s car on the road up ahead. It was
pulled off to the side, and Alex could see Junior leaning against
the hood. He thought about passing, but when he saw Junior’s
slumped shoulders, he pulled his truck in behind him on an
impulse.

Elise said, “Alex, he’s crying.”

“I know. Do you want to come with me, or
should I go talk to him alone?”

Elise paused in thought. “Why don’t you go?
You knew his father, and he might feel uncomfortable with me there,
too.”

Alex patted Elise’s hand and got out of the
truck. Only when the truck door squeaked did Junior look up to see
Alex walking toward him. He tried to wipe away his tears, but
quickly gave up.

Obviously embarrassed, Junior said, “Um,
Alex. What are you doing out here?”

“I thought I’d take Elise rock hunting since
she’s never been before.”

Junior glanced at Elise and waved slightly.
Alex could see the man’s discomfort at having been caught in such
an emotional state.

Gamely, Junior said, “I was going to try it
myself. I thought it might take my mind off all that has happened.
Then it started to sink in that Dad’s really gone.” A few sniffles
escaped. “Alex, my father wasn’t the easiest man in the world to
get along with, and it didn’t help that he was my boss as well as
my dad.” Junior stifled back a sob, then added, “I don’t know how
I’m going to manage without him.”

Alex said, “Surely he’s been grooming you to
take over for some time. Reg always talked about retiring up here
so he could be closer to the inn.”

Junior snorted. “Don’t believe a word of it,
Alex, he loved his work. Not only that, but I don’t think the
company will survive without him. Dad was the glue that held
everything together. I don’t care about that right now. I just want
to mourn him as his son.”

Alex patted Junior on the shoulder and said,
“Listen there’s a diner about two miles ahead. Why don’t we all get
a bite of breakfast?”

Junior wiped his face with a handkerchief.
Alex noticed that the man really was fastidious about his
appearance. He began to guiltily wonder if Junior could have
actually found a clean spot on the loop trail to take a nap. It
didn’t explain the grass-stained outfit he had given Armstrong, but
could Junior simply have made a mistake? Were these tears because
of the man’s loss, or motivated by remorse for killing his own
father? Now Alex somehow doubted that Junior could have done
it.

Junior tucked the handkerchief back into his
pocket. “Thanks, but I don’t want to spoil your plans. Why don’t
you two go ahead? I’m going back to the inn to pack. It’s too tough
staying there, Alex. Everywhere I look, I see something Dad
loved.”

Alex said, “Why don’t we head back with you?
Suddenly I don’t feel so easy leaving the inn at a time like this.
We’ll put on a pot of tea and see if we can convince Elise to make
something special. She’s really a great cook.”

Junior smiled slightly. “That would be nice.
I’ll follow you back.”

As Junior got into his car, Alex headed to
the truck. Elise had a puzzled look on her face.

He said, “We’re going back.”

Elise managed to hide her disappointment.
“Why, what’s going on?”

Before starting the truck, Alex leaned over
and looked her straight in the eye. “Elise, do you believe in
hunches?”

“Sometimes that’s all we have to go by.
Why?”

Alex repeated his conversation with Junior
after he started the truck and headed back toward the inn. “I don’t
believe that man had anything to do with his father’s death. He’s
too torn up right now. I believe he’s sincere.”

Elise said, “You told me he said himself he
can’t run the business without his father. Could it be the enormity
of what he’s done has finally hit home?”

Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve got to
admit that thought crossed my mind. I still don’t think he killed
Reg, though.”

They were just pulling on to Point Road when
Alex saw the smoke.

Elise caught sight of it at the same time.

She said, “Is someone burning leaves and
branches this early in the fall?”

Alex clenched his hands on the steering wheel
as he raced up the road. He knew nobody near him did any regular
burning this time of year. Besides the land that Alex had, the rest
of the acreage surrounding Hatteras West was owned by people who
lived out of state. That left the smoke coming from somewhere too
close to home.

Alex felt a sickness in the pit of his
stomach that made talking impossible. In two minutes, his worst
fears were confirmed. As they pulled into sight of the two
structures where guests stayed, only one building remained
standing. The main keeper’s house, the place Alex had grown up and
spent his formative years in, was burned to the ground.

From the look of things, only the dedicated
work of the town volunteer fire department had managed to save the
other building, now a lone twin left standing beside the
lighthouse. Alex felt himself crying as he stopped the truck away
from the firefighters. The pile of rubble, still smoldering under
the steady stream of water from the fire truck, held just about
every tangible memory of Alex’s childhood. And now it was all
gone.

Chapter 14

Alex looked up to see Mor approach the truck.
At first, it was hard for Alex to recognize him; the big man was
covered with ashes and black soot. Alex stumbled out of the truck
and nearly fell when his feet hit the ground.

“What happened?” His throat was raw as his
gaze swept across the burned ruins.

Mor said, “We’re still not sure, but the
chief says it looks like arson.”

“Arson?” That thought had never crossed
Alex’s mind. Unlike the original it had been based on, the
structure had been nearly solid wood, from the walls to the floors
to the ceilings to the exterior. He had assumed that faulty wiring
or something of that nature had destroyed the building. “My God,
who would want to burn down my inn?”

Mor coughed lightly. “Were there any guests
in the main house? I hate to ask, but we need to know.”

Alex blew out a sigh of relief. “No, we were
slow, so I decided to keep everyone in the annex. I thought it
would be easier to keep track of everybody that way.”

Mor looked visibly relieved. “Excuse me a
minute, I’ll go tell the chief. He’ll be glad to hear it.”

Elise had quietly joined Alex. The two of
them stood in silence, staring at the still-smoking ground where
the main keeper’s house had once stood. Alex yearned to sift
through the debris, searching for any lost relic of his past, but
Elise gently restrained him, keeping her hand on his shoulder.

She said, “When everyone’s gone and the ashes
have cooled, I’ll help you look for anything we can salvage.”

Alex said, “Do you think there’s a chance the
fire had anything to do with Reg’s murder and what happened to
Emma?”

“Don’t say anything to Armstrong about it. He
still doesn’t believe Emma’s fall was really a push.”

Alex twisted around and looked deeply into
her eyes. “You believe me, don’t you, Elise?”

She said softly, “Something strange is going
on around here, but if we’re going to convince anyone else, we’re
going to have to get proof first.”

A shiny black Porsche pulled up to the inn,
probably a tourist trying to see what had caused the black towers
of smoke. Alex didn’t pay it any attention, but Elise suddenly
dropped her hand from Alex’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong,” he asked her as a tall,
handsome man with longish blonde hair got out.

Instead of answering, Elise hurried to him.
“Peter. What are you doing here?”

Alex was close enough to hear them as the man
said, “I was worried about you. Your cousin told me you were out
here! When I saw the smoke, I was afraid I’d lost you forever.” He
hugged her tightly, and Alex felt a tug of jealousy. Peter had to
be the mysterious fiance.

Elise broke from the embrace, then led her
fiance to Alex. “Alex Winston, this is Peter Asheford. Peter, this
is my new boss, Alex.”

“So it’s true, you’re actually working as a
maid,” Peter said to Elise after shaking Alex’s hand briefly.
“Elise, we need to talk about this. Can we go somewhere?”

“Excuse me,” Alex said. “I’ve got to see
about what’s left of my inn.”

All hopes of winning Elise’s heart were gone
for Alex. He knew he couldn’t compete with Peter Asheford in looks
or money. The way the man gazed at her, it was obvious he was in
love with her.

Elise said, “Peter, Alex needs me here.”

Alex absently waved a hand in the air.
“There’s nothing you can do, Elise. Go with him.”

Elise looked startled by his answer, but
Peter jumped on the response. As he steered Elise toward the
Porsche, he said, “There’s a quaint little diner in town. Let’s go
have a cup of coffee. I’ve missed you so much, Elise.”

As the sports car drove away, Sam Finster’s
Cherokee passed it on the driveway of Hatteras West.

Finster’s sympathy was as natural as
machine-made snow, and just about as warming, too. Surveying the
damage, he shook his head from side to side.

“It’s a darn shame losing such a fine old
building. Have you kept your insurance paid up?”

Alex ignored the question. “How’d you hear
about the fire, Finster?”

The man cracked a smile. “I’ve got my
sources. To get ahead, a fella’s got to stay on top of things in
this old

world.” Alex figured the vulture had most
likely been eavesdropping on his police scanner. It was reported to
be one of Finster’s best sources for leads. The second a homeowner
died, Finster was at the funeral home making arrangements with the
grieving widow to sell the home.

Finster repeated, “Alex, this is important.
Is your insurance healthy?”

The man was relentless. Alex said, “If you’re
worried about your clients losing interest in the property, don’t.
It’s inevitable. I couldn’t afford replacement value on my policy,
so I won’t be attempting to rebuild it. I don’t know how much I’ll
be getting, but I know it won’t be enough to cover all of this
damage.”

Without the extra money those rooms brought
in during peak season, he was finished as an innkeeper. The wisest
thing to do was to see if the buyer would still be interested in
acquiring the property, at a reduced rate of course, then take the
insurance money and leave Elkton Falls forever.

No one had ever accused Alex of doing the
wisest thing.

Finster must have misinterpreted Alex’s
expression. He leaned forward in a conspirator’s gesture. “Tell you
what I’ll do. Let’s go down to my office as soon as everybody
leaves. You can sign the offer sheet, I’ll date it yesterday, and
nobody will have to be the wiser. That way this setback won’t touch
you. You can pass the loss off to the new owner. It’s a sweet deal,
Alex. You’d better jump on it.”

Alex didn’t try to keep the disgust from his
face. “That would increase your cut of the commission, too,
wouldn’t it?”

Finster stroked his chin. “Hey, you win, I
win. Who cares about the buyer? What do you say, have we got a
deal?”

Alex had suddenly reached his limit. All of
his anger shot out at Finster.

Alex jammed his index finger hard into the
real estate man’s chest. “Get the hell off my property this
instant. If I so much as see your Cherokee anywhere near Point
Road, I’ll run you into the bushes. Now go.”

Finster started toward his car, then turned
back. His face livid, he shouted, “You’ll be sorry for threatening
me, I’m a big man around these parts.”