Innkeeping with Murder (12 page)

Alex saw Elise frown at the suggestion. “I
work here. I’m the maid.”

Hicking trotted out that huge grin again and
offered Elise his hand. “That’s hard for me to believe, Ma’am.
Someone as pretty as you shouldn’t be scrubbing floors.”

Elise coolly withdrew her hand from the
policeman’s, and Alex saw her features frosting over. “What I look
like has nothing to do with who I am, Sergeant. The work is honest,
and it needs to be done.”

Hicking realized he’d taken a misstep, but he
didn’t quite know how to atone for it. Suddenly all business again,
he turned to Alex. “If you’ve got the key to the lighthouse, I’d
like to see the murder scene.”

“Oh, it’s not locked. The sheriff let me
reopen the lighthouse after his cousin came by.”

Armstrong started blustering. “Come on, Alex,
you know Irene’s more than family. She’s taken all the required
classes. I didn’t release the crime scene until she went over
everything with her kit. We’ve got photographs and everything else
we need down at the station.”

Hicking said, “Settle down, Sheriff, nobody’s
saying your technician isn’t fully competent. I’d like to see her
after we leave here. Now, do you mind showing me where the body was
found?”

Armstrong led the state policeman to the
lighthouse door while Alex and Elise headed for the front porch of
the inn.

Hicking stopped. “Aren’t you two coming with
us?”

Alex shook his head. “We’ve got an inn to
run. If you need us, we’ll be around.”

Hicking headed up the lighthouse’s front
steps without another word.

Alex glanced over at Elise and found her
staring thoughtfully after the state policeman.

With a great deal less calm than he felt,
Alex said, “I still want to explain about the lipstick.”

“It’s none of my business, Alex.”

He said, “I don’t want you thinking I’m some
kind of Romeo. I helped a waitress in town get rid of a problem,
and she kissed my cheek in thanks. There was nothing else to
it.”

Elise said, “It’s perfectly fine with me,
Alex.”

Did she believe him? Suddenly, it was very
important to Alex that she did.

He said, “Hicking’s a good-looking man, isn’t
he?”

Elise shook her head. “I suppose so, if you
like that type. His attitude towards women needs a little work, if
you ask me.”

Alex laughed. “You gave him something to
think about. Be nice, Elise. I know you can’t help it, but you are
attractive.” Alex thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d
ever seen in his life, but he kept that to himself.

As the two of them walked up the porch steps,
Elise answered with a slightly vexed tone in her voice. “I had no
control over what you see on the outside. I picked the right
parents, that’s all. People should care a little more about what’s
on the inside.”

And that closed the discussion.

Alex went to the desk and looked at the work
schedule Elise had drawn up. He saw that she had checked off each
room on her morning rounds. As far as he could remember, Marisa had
never made it all the way through the rooms in the course of a
single working day.

When Elise returned to the front, Alex said,
“I’ve got to work on the books. If you want to get started on the
lobby floor, it needs a coat of wax desperately.” He smiled, then
added, “If you hadn’t done such a good job mopping it, I never
would have noticed.”

They walked over to the storage closet and
retrieved the buffer and wax.

Elise looked through the closet. “How about a
couple of ‘Slippery Floor’ signs?”

“I never thought of that. Guess we’ll have to
pick some up.”

“I swear, Alex. This place is a lawsuit
waiting to happen. Have you ever had any trouble before from any of
your guests?”

“Besides them stealing towels? None that I
can think of. People didn’t used to be so lawsuit happy. It makes
me wish for the good old days.”

Elise frowned. “No electricity, no indoor
plumbing and no penicillin? No thank you. I’ll keep the modern
conveniences.”

Alex said, “I guess you’re right. I’m not
even going to ask you if you need any help.”

“That’s a wise decision. I’ve handled a lot
worse than this. My dad said I was the best worker he ever had at
his hotel, and he wasn’t just saying that.”

“Wonderful. When you’re done in here, you can
rebuild the boiler.”

Elise started rolling up the lobby’s rugs,
and Alex naturally joined in. “I took a peek at your heating and
cooling system. I can’t believe it’s still running.”

“That’s what Mor keeps telling me. Give me a
hand with this sofa, will you?”

Elise motioned to a large armoire that took
up one corner of the lobby. “That piece is beautiful.”

“You’re not planning on moving it, too, are
you?”

Elise said, “No, I can work around it. But
the craftsmanship is wonderful.”

Alex let a little pride slip into his voice.
“Thanks. I helped my dad build it when I was fifteen.”

“I’m impressed. There’s certainly more to you
than meets the eye, Alex.”

“I’d like to think so.”

In a few minutes, they had everything ready
for Elise to begin.

Alex planned to work at his desk and started
to wade through his financial records when Sergeant Hicking and the
sheriff walked in.

Alex asked, “Have any luck?”

Armstrong started to say something when the
state policeman shook his head. “We’re not answering questions, Mr.
Winston, we’re asking them.”

Alex persisted despite the obvious rebuff.
“Do you know yet if the autopsy revealed anything unusual?”

Hicking looked at Alex closely. “Now why
would you care about that?”

The question was blunt, so Alex made his
answer match. “Reg Wellington was not just another guest to me.
I’ve known him all my life, and counted him as one of my best
friends in the world. I want to know who killed him, even if I have
to step on a few toes to find out.”

“Just make sure they’re not the wrong toes.
Okay, I don’t see what it can hurt by telling you. The report said
the wound was similar to one an ice pick would make.”

Alex asked, “So what happens now?”

Hicking glanced down at his watch. “I’ve got
a little time. Why don’t you show me the spot where your other
guest fell.”

Armstrong said, “It’s a waste of time. It was
an accident, pure and simple.”

Hicking’s stare at Armstrong wilted the man.
“It’s my time to waste, and I’d like to see it. Do you have some
urgent business elsewhere, Sheriff?”

“Nothing as important as this.”

Hicking leaned near Armstrong and lowered his
voice, though Alex was still able to make out the SBI man’s words.
“Find something.”

Armstrong nodded. “On second thought, I think
I’ll stay here and monitor the radio.”

Alex remained silent as he and Hicking walked
down the path toward the rocks. Having the SBI man on the premises
made Alex suddenly feel an odd loyalty to the sheriff. Elkton Falls
was all the family Alex really had besides a brother he hardly ever
saw, and while Alex himself had questioned Armstrong’s competence
on several occasions, he wasn’t sure how he felt about an outsider
coming in.

As the two men walked, Hicking said, “Is Miss
Danton seeing anyone special right now?”

Alex felt the hair bristle on the back of his
neck. So that’s why the patrolman had wanted a few moments alone
with Alex. He wanted to ask about Elise.

Stiffly, Alex replied, “I understand she’s
engaged, but it’s really none of my business.”

Hicking accepted Alex’s statement. “I figured
she was too pretty to be free.” After a moment, he added, “Where
are these rocks, anyway?”

“They’re just up around the bend.”

As Alex and Hicking turned the corner through
a stand of thick trees, they got their first glimpse of Bear
Rocks.

The rock formation was solid granite, worn
away by the elements until the area was nothing but two acres
of

intriguing gray stone shapes. The formation
was pocketed with holes and slides worn into the rocks, making it a
spectacular playground for the young and agile. Alex had grown up
on the rocks, dodging in and out of formations like a mountain
goat. The stones became Indian forts, tree houses and deserted
islands for Alex. He looked at the formations as a set of good
friends, each one having its own shape and personality.

The state trooper whistled under his breath.
“My God, it’s no wonder someone fell off one of these stones. It’s
a miracle she didn’t kill herself doing it.”

Alex turned to Hicking. “Emma Sturbridge is a
seasoned rockhound. She’s used to terrain a great deal rougher than
this. I can’t imagine her falling.”

Hicking turned away and headed back down the
path toward the inn. “Unless you turn up a witness or Mrs.
Sturbridge wakes up, I’ve seen enough. It was an accident, Mr.
Winston, nothing more. Take my advice, don’t borrow trouble.”

Alex walked silently with the patrolmen back
to the waiting cruiser. He still couldn’t believe Emma could have
fallen from the rocks, but he was getting tired of trying to
convince everyone else.

They had just cleared the path when Alex
heard a car horn. He spotted Armstrong leaning inside the cruiser
with his hand on the center of the steering wheel.

Armstrong said, “Sorry to interrupt, but
there’s an accident out on Highway 321. I’ve got to handle it.”

Hicking merely nodded. He offered his hand to
Alex. “I’m sorry I can’t stay, but we’re overwhelmed with work due
to the department budget cuts. The sheriff will let you know if we
find out anything else.”

Hicking moved around to the patrol car’s
passenger

side and got in. As the two law officers
drove away, Alex realized that he’d received all the cooperation he
was going to get out of the police. It looked like he was going to
have to find Reg Worthington’s killer himself. Why did everyone
choose to discount Emma’s fall as accidental? Sure, Bear Rocks
could be treacherous at times, especially during a rainstorm, but
the rocks had been dry when Emma had fallen. What could she have
seen or known that would have been worth killing her for? It just
didn’t make any sense, and Alex couldn’t begin to hazard a guess
without more information.

He only hoped no one else got hurt before the
murderer could be caught.

Chapter 12

Alex started to walk back into the annex, but
found the door locked. A few sharp raps on the frame brought Elise
to the front.

As she freed the bolt, Elise said, “Take off
your shoes. I hope your socks are clean, because the floor’s not
completely dry yet.”

Alex smiled. “You sound just like my mother.”
He slipped off his shoes and walked into the lobby. A quick
inspection of the floor showed it to be in the best shape Alex had
ever seen it. Alex asked, “Have you seen Junior Wellington
today?”

Elise nodded. “He came by when I was working
on the floor. He wanted to know something about the gem hunting
around here.” “What did you tell him?”

“I’ve never been myself, but I gave him one
of the brochures from Emerald Valley Mining Company I found behind
the desk. Is that all right?”

“That’s fine.” So Junior was going to do a
little prospecting. Alex wondered if he was trying to learn a
little gem identification on his own, and how it could relate to
his father’s murder. It seemed an odd way to pass the time if the
man was indeed in mourning. There were several suspects in Alex’s
mind, but none ranked higher than Reg’s own son.

“Elise, you’ve been working hard. How would
you like to take tomorrow morning off and do a little prospecting
with me? You should learn something about local gemstone
mining.”

Elise was quick on the uptake. “And if we
happen to see Junior there, we can watch him and see what he’s up
to, is that it?”

Alex stammered a little at her having seen
through him so quickly. “I didn’t mean it as any kind of insult. I
just thought—”

Elise interrupted. “It’s honorable that
you’re trying to find out who murdered your friend. I’d be happy to
go with you tomorrow, but what about our guests? Shouldn’t someone
stay here for them?”

Alex took quiet pleasure in the way she said
‘our.’ “The way I see it, one is dead and another is in a coma.
That leaves one angry man and one sour old woman. We’ll be
following another guest around, so that’s the whole lot of them
since Miss Ethereal left us. I think we’ll be fine.”

Elise tried again. “Then what happens if the
sheriff or that SBI man wants to talk to you about something?”

Alex offered a smile. “Then they can go
rockhounding with us,” he said, as he heard a car approach. Alex I
glanced out the window and saw Sandra’s silver BMW, and from the
expression on her face, he knew she’d already heard about
Elise.

Sandra was still in the stylish gray suit she
must have traveled in. Her short blonde hair was perfect, as
always, and her skirt was just high enough to draw attention.

She smiled broadly at Alex, but when her gaze
took in Elise, there wasn’t much warmth in it.

She hugged Alex at the front door and made a
show of kissing him.

“Did you miss me?” she asked.

Elise started to step away when Alex broke
free. “Sandra, I’d like you to meet my new maid. Sandra Beckett,
this is Elise Danton. Elise, this is Sandra.”

Sandra took Elise’s hand as she looked her
over and said, “It’s hard to believe you are part of the Danton
clan.”

Elise said quietly, “It’s nice to meet you.
Now if you’ll excuse me ...”

Sandra said, “Nonsense. I came to take Alex
out to dinner. You simply must join us.”

“Thank you, but I’ve already made plans.”

Before Alex could say a word, Elise was
gone.

Sandra said sharply, “I can’t believe she’s
living here with you.”