Reservations for Murder (18 page)

It took a few moments, but Bill’s anger
suddenly dissipated. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. A good soaking
might do me some good. So why shouldn’t I leave before that
knobby-kneed sheriff throws me in jail?”

“If you run, it’s just going to look like you
really did kill Jefferson Lee. There’s a lot of anger in you, isn’t
there?”

“I’ve got a temper, I’m the first to admit
it, but I’d never kill anyone. I swear it.”

For some reason he couldn’t fathom, Alex
believed him. He knew he could easily be wrong, but his gut was
telling him that the young blacksmith was telling the truth.

Rachel said, “Bill, don’t you see that Alex
is right? You can’t run away from this. I’ll stay by your side; you
know it’s true.”

Yadkin put a powerful hand on her shoulder.
“I know you will, Rachel. It’s just so frustrating. Everybody in
town thinks I’m a killer.”

“Not everybody,” Alex said. “You’ve got
Rachel and me on your side.”

Bill nodded. “I thank you for that, Alex.
Maybe you’re right.”

Alex looked at him and grinned. “Maybe?”

Bill chuckled at that. “Okay, I admit it,
you’re right. Alex, I’m sorry I snapped at you. You didn’t do a
thing in the world to deserve it.” He held out a meaty paw, and
Alex took it. There was power to crush in that grip, but Bill’s
clasp stopped at a firm warmth.

“I guess I’d better unpack this stuff before
Armstrong comes along and gets the wrong idea.”

“I’ll be inside in a second,” Rachel said as
Bill Yadkin headed back into his modest house.

“Alex, I don’t know what I would have done if
you hadn’t come along when you did.”

“I’m glad I could help.” He looked back
toward the house. “Is he going to be all right?”

“I think so. I’ve been trying to get him to
think straight since all this mess started, but that’s the first
time I’ve seen the man I care about since Jefferson Lee’s murder.
Alex, do you really believe him? It’s important that I know you’re
not just saying it to keep him in town.”

“I’ll be honest with you, Rachel, I couldn’t
give you a reason that would stand up in a court of law, but I do
think he’s telling the truth. I’m worried, though. If he doesn’t
get that temper under control, it could be bad news for him. I’m
not trying to scare you, but you know it’s the truth.”

“I’m working on it, Alex. That’s all I can
do.” She squeezed his hand lightly as she added, “Honestly, you men
are so hard to train.”

“Yes, but we’re worth the effort, aren’t we?”
Alex said with a smile.

“Sometimes,” Rachel admitted as she headed
for the house.

Alex had gone around town searching for
answers, but he hadn’t learned anything new. Something was niggling
at the back of his mind; the only problem was, he couldn’t put his
finger on what it was.

Alex wanted to talk to Shantara again.

Maybe chewing things over with his old friend
would jar something loose.

At that point, it was the best he could hope
for.

As Alex walked toward Shantara’s store, he
had the distinct feeling that someone was watching him. Trying to
be cool, he looked over his shoulder, but he couldn’t see a soul
paying him any attention at all.

Chiding himself for his overactive
imagination, Alex hurried his pace nevertheless.

Chapter 21

“Hey, anybody here?” Alex called out as he
walked into Shantara’s store.

“I’m over here,” she said, and Alex followed
her voice to the craft corner. Shantara was trying to hang a large,
woven shawl on a hanger from a high nail. The handwork was
obviously one of Jenny’s latest bright creations.

Alex said, “Let me help you with that.”

She said haughtily, “Just because you’re a
man doesn’t mean you can do something I can’t, Alex Winston.”

He plucked the hanger from Shantara’s hands
and eased it over the nail. “It’s not because I’m a man; it’s
because I’m taller than you are.”

She wrinkled her nose at him, then said with
a smile, “Okay, maybe I overreacted. I’m still walking on eggshells
around here, hoping nobody finds out my connection with Jefferson
Lee.” For once the store was empty, so Shantara had no reason to
lower her voice.

Even Marcie was gone, no doubt enjoying some
well-earned vacation time.

Alex asked, “Is that shawl new? I don’t think
I’ve seen it here before.”

Shantara said, “Rachel had it on approval,
but she didn’t want it. Why, I’ll never know, especially at the
discount she gets.”

“Why does she rate a discount on Jenny
Harris’s handwork?”

Shantara explained, “All of the crafters at
the fair formed a little friendly circle long ago, even Jefferson
Lee. They can buy each other’s wares at half the retail price. I
guess it’s a way for them to support each other’s work. Jenny told
me last week she spent too much money this month at Bill Yadkin’s
shop, even with her discount. She’s been hanging curtains in her
house, and you should see the ironwork that girl has on
display.”

Shantara looked longingly at the shawl and
said, “You know, it’s ironic. I sell these things, but I can’t
afford them.”

Alex said, “Why don’t you treat yourself? You
told me you made enough from the fair to more than get you out of
the hole.”

Shantara looked at the shawl and said, “Would
you mind getting it back down?”

Alex retrieved the shawl and ceremoniously
wrapped it around Shantara’s shoulders. “I have to admit that it
looks awfully good on you.”

Shantara said, “Why, Alex, it’s such a
generous gift. You shouldn’t have.”

Alex laughed as he looked at the extravagant
price printed heavily on the tag. “I didn’t. Maybe I’d better go
ahead and hang it back up.”

She pulled away from him. “No, I think I’ll
take your advice and buy this for myself.” She winked as she added,
“Maybe I can talk Jenny into extending her discount to me just this
once. I make a profit on everything I sell for the crafters, but
it’s certainly not half.”

Alex said, “I’m here for a reason besides
your sunny presence. I want to ask you something.”

“Fire away.”

As Shantara moved to dust some of Marilynn
and Craig’s pottery on the shelf, Alex said, “I keep coming back to
the reason Jefferson Lee was killed, and I can’t understand
something. You’ve been around these crafters longer than I have. Do
you think Craig Monroe would kill Jefferson if he found out the man
was having an affair with his wife?”

Shantara frowned, but she showed no shock
from the news.

“So you know about that, too,” Alex added
gently.

“I’m afraid everyone in our little circle
did. Craig confronted Jefferson right after he found out. I was
there, along with the other crafters. It got ugly, but their
confrontation never came to blows. Alex, to be honest with you,
Craig Monroe would do a great many things to make Jefferson Lee’s
life miserable, but I can’t imagine him killing him.”

“Could you be wrong?” Alex asked.

“I could be, but I don’t think so. I’m not
saying he couldn’t kill Jefferson, but he wouldn’t use an iron
skewer; he’d be more likely to attack the man with his fists, if
you want my opinion. Did I say something wrong?” Shantara asked
when she saw the frown on Alex’s face.

“No, I had a thought, but now it’s gone.
Okay, if Jefferson wasn’t killed for competition or love or money,
why was he killed?”

“Just because you’ve ruled out a motive for
one suspect doesn’t mean you can’t apply it to a different person.
There was a lot Jefferson Lee was keeping close to the vest. I
can’t prove it, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he had more
than one girlfriend when he was murdered.”

Suddenly it struck home, that elusive clue
he’d been grasping for. That was the key Alex had been trying to
get his hands on!

He enveloped Shantara in his arms and lifted
her off the ground in a hug.

“What was that for?” she asked when he put
her back down.

“You just gave me the last piece of the
puzzle I needed. I know who murdered Jefferson Lee.”

“Don’t keep it to yourself. Who did it?”

Alex backed down from the strength of his
earlier statement. “Knowing it is one thing. Proving it will be
something else entirely.”

“So tell me your suspicions. I don’t mind a
little idle gossip.”

Alex shook his head. “Shantara, what if I’m
wrong? I’m not going to smear a good name any more than I have to.
I’ve got to dig a little deeper before I’m ready to share my
theories with anyone else.”

As he was leaving, Shantara called out, “Just
don’t dig too deeply, Alex. You don’t want to end up digging your
own grave.”

As Alex left the shop, a thousand thoughts
boiled over in his mind. Did he have enough evidence to go to the
sheriff? Did he have any choice? What if his delay caused another
murder?

No, he couldn’t live with that.

Ready or not, Alex had to find the sheriff
and tell him who the real murderer was, before they could strike
again.

Alex searched all over Elkton Falls for
Sheriff Armstrong. The dispatch office wasn’t any help at all. The
sheriff was off on two hours of personal time, and he couldn’t be
disturbed, even if Alex could get the dispatcher to admit knowing
where Armstrong was.

Alex decided to ask for Dave Jeffries
instead. After all, he knew Dave well enough to tell him his
suspicions. Unfortunately, the deputy was out of the office and
couldn’t be reached, either. Alex wondered who was protecting the
citizens of Elkton Falls if the sheriff and his best deputy were
out of touch. He finally left a message requesting that the sheriff
or the deputy come to Hatteras West as soon as they could get
there. Until then, all Alex could do was wait.

Driving to the inn, Alex was glad to be
heading back home. The Hatteras West was his harbor in a world gone
mad, the only place he truly felt safe.

As Alex walked in through the front door, he
saw Jenny Harris standing behind the desk going through his guest
book.

As he tried to back out of the room, she held
a gun up and said, “Come on, Alex. Things are just getting
interesting. You don’t want to leave now, do you?”

With a gun pointed at him, Alex gained little
satisfaction in knowing that his suspicions had been right.

Alex said, “There’s a part of me that still
can’t believe you killed Jefferson Lee. You had to be insane to get
the strength to skewer him to the post like that.”

Her voice was calm and reasonable as she
explained, “You’ve obviously never wrestled a heavy maple weaving
frame around. I’m a lot stronger than you could ever imagine,
Alex.”

“What about the murder weapon? Was it one of
Bill Yadkin’s pieces?”

“Hardly. The swooping design on the end of
the shaft was easy enough for Jefferson to duplicate. He’d done it
as one final favor if I promised to leave him alone after that. I
told him it had to match a set Bill had made, and that his younger
competition had claimed Jefferson didn’t have the skill to match
it. It was that simple. How delightful I ended up using it on
him.”

“What about the postcard I found in
Jefferson’s room? That was from you, wasn’t it? I saw how heavily
you pressed down on the pen when you wrote it, then I saw the same
thing on one of your price tags at Shantara’s store.”

Jenny’s voice was filled with disdain. “Of
course it was from me. When I found you’d made copies of it, I knew
you were on my trail. What happened to the original?”

“I took it back upstairs, and the sheriff
found it.”

She shook her head. “I was never worried
about him figuring this out. You’ve been my main threat all along,
Alex. I suppose you found my bracelet in your office.”

He nodded. “At first I thought Elise had
dropped it, but the more I played with it, the more certain I was
that it belonged to someone else. I knew I’d seen it before, but I
just remembered an hour ago that it was on your wrist, not Elise’s.
You wore it the first day of the fair as you worked at your
loom.”

“I came back here to look for it, and when I
found it in your room, I knew it was only a matter of time until
you figured it out.” As Jenny’s finger tightened on the trigger,
she added, “I’m sorry it had to end this way, but you really didn’t
leave me any choice.”

Chapter 22

“Don’t do anything stupid, Jenny. You can’t
get away with this.”

She smiled softly as she brought the gun up
toward Alex’s chest. Jenny was ten feet away from him; there was no
way she could miss at that range.

She said sadly, “Alex, you’re my last loose
thread. Once I take care of you, there won’t be any trail leading
back to me. I’m sorry. I really did like you, Alex.”

Alex scanned the lobby, trying to come up
with anything he could use to defend himself. He was too close to
the wall to be within reach of the fireplace poker.

So what could he use? The closest thing to
him was the end table with the ornate iron piece Jefferson Lee had
made perched on the edge of it. Alex couldn’t imagine using it as a
weapon, but what choice did he have? If he could distract Jenny by
throwing the iron at her, maybe he could get outside. No one knew
the land around Hatteras West better than he did, and if Alex could
just manage to escape out the front door, he might still have a
fighting chance.

It had to be better than just standing there,
waiting for Jenny Harris to pull the trigger.

Before Alex could make his move, he had to
divert her attention.

Alex prodded her. “How did you manage to
kidnap Marilynn? Why did you kill her, Jenny? I can’t imagine that
she really committed suicide.”

Jenny laughed softly. “Alex, you’re giving me
way too much credit. I had nothing to do with her disappearance or
her death. I imagine she was feeling so wracked with guilt over
betraying her husband that she overdosed.” A slight frown crossed
Jenny’s face. “I admit I thought about getting rid of her at one
point, but I’m not an animal, Alex. Jefferson deserved to die. He
dumped me the second he thought I was pregnant! The irony was, it
was nothing but a false alarm. When I tried to tell him, he laughed
at me! Can you imagine how I felt? I had the staff in my hands,
he’d just finished it at the fair. What choice did Jefferson leave
me? It was his own fault. I wasn’t going to stand there and take
his derision, Alex! He deserved exactly what he got!”