Innkeeping with Murder - Tim Myers [0]
By Tim Myers
Book 1 in the Lighthouse Inn mysteries
Praise for the Lighthouse Mystery series by Tim Myers
“Entertaining ... authentic ... fun ... a wonderful regional mystery that will have readers rebooking for future stays at the Hatteras West Inn and Lighthouse.”
—BookBrowser
“Colorful... picturesque ... light and entertaining.”
—The Best Reviews
Praise for the Candlemaking Mystery series by Tim Myers
“Excellent storytelling that makes for a good reading experience…(Myers) is a talented writer who deserves to hit the bestseller lists.”
---The Best Reviews
“An interesting mystery, a large cast of characters, and an engaging amateur sleuth make this series a winner.”
---The Romance Reader’s Connection (four daggers)
The Lighthouse Inn Mysteries by Tim Myers
Innkeeping With Murder
Reservations For Murder
Murder Checks Inn
Room For Murder
Booked For Murder
The Candlemaking Mysteries by Tim Myers
At Wick’s End
Snuffed Out
Death Waxed Over
A Flicker Of Doubt
The Soapmaking Mysteries by Tim Myers
Dead Men Don’t Lye
A Pour Way To Dye
A Mold For Murder
The Cardmaking Mysteries by Tim Myers written as Elizabeth Bright
Invitation To Murder
Deadly Greetings
Murder And Salutations
Innkeeping With Murder
by Tim Myers.
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2001 Tim Myers
All rights reserved.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
For Patty, who never stopped believing.
Chapter 1
“Alex, we’ve got a problem.”
At the sound of the maid’s voice, Alex Winston jerked his head up, cracking his skull on the steel pipe placed treacherously just above the opening of the furnace he’d been working on. Alex had been crouched in an awkward position staring at the mysterious workings of the inn’s antique boiler, trying unsuccessfully to figure out what was wrong with the blasted thing this time.
For a moment, all Alex could see was a dancing whirlwind of flashing white lights.
“Damn!” he said as he rubbed the crown of his head. No blood came away on his hand, thank God for small favors.
“Are you cursing at me?” Marisa Danton’s tone implied that an improper response from Alex would send her fleeing to her room in tears yet again. It had happened too many times to count over the past three months she’d been housekeeping for him at The Hatteras West Inn, an exact replica of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse nestled on forty acres of land in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
With a forced smile, Alex said, “No, of course not, I would never swear at you.” He’d become quite adept at soothing Marisa’s ruffled feathers. Alex needed his maid’s goodwill, but he also needed a working furnace. Without it, they would both be out of work. Worse yet, Alex could lose the only home he had ever known.
Marisa stared at the mechanical workings of the boiler, a slow smile coming gently to her lips. “It’s broken again? That’s the third time in two weeks.” She looked absolutely delighted by the misfortune.
Alex couldn’t figure out what there was to smile about. The cantankerous boiler supplied the heat and hot water for all the guest rooms in the two buildings that made up the inn. It was difficult keeping up two guest buildings as well as the lighthouse, but there really wasn’t much choice. The arrangement and construction of the buildings had been