Innkeeping with Murder - Tim Myers [14]
Armstrong rejoined them. “There was a big accident up on Route 70, so they’re going to be late. Do you mind if I run Doc and Irene into town, Alex? I’ll be back before the ambulance gets here.”
Alex nodded. “Fine by me.”
As the sheriff walked to his car, he said, “You might want to lock those doors again. “We don’t want anybody wandering upstairs.”
Alex agreed and did as the sheriff asked. After securely locking the doors, he watched in silence as the squad car disappeared from view. As he turned to head back up the path to the main part of the inn, Alex saw movement in one of the bushes planted near the annex’s side porch. By the time he got over to the spot, whoever had been standing there quietly eavesdropping had gone. Alex had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that whoever had murdered Reg Wellington was not going to be satisfied with just one body. He was going to have to do everything he could to be sure the killer didn’t have the opportunity to strike again.
Chapter 5
Just as Alex reached for the knob, one of his guests opened the front door. Joel Grandy looked like everybody’s favorite grandfather, from his portly frame and silver hair to the craggy lines of his face. This was his first visit to Hatteras West, but it hadn’t taken Alex long to get to know the outgoing man. A recent widower, Joel was touring the country in an effort to rediscover himself. He’d told Alex on the first day of his visit that he had spent sixteen months watching cancer slowly, painfully destroy his wife of thirty-four years. When death had finally come for her nine weeks ago, he’d embraced it as a welcome friend, a final relief to her heroic struggle.
At least the man didn’t have money problems added to his personal grief. Joel was wearing an expensive and obviously custom-made suit. Several large diamonds glittered from the gold rings adorning his massive fingers.
His eyes lit up when he spotted Alex. “Just the fellow I’ve been looking for. I understand there’s been a bit of trouble around here.”
Alex’s heart sank. It looked like the news of Reg’s death had already gotten out. Still, it wouldn’t do to assume anything. “Trouble?”
Joel grinned. “That crazy bird Matthews cornered me in the hallway. She said something about the lighthouse being shut down.”
“That’s true enough.”
He could feel Joel’s gaze studying him. “It’s surely not a gas leak. You told me the power supply had been converted to electricity thirty years ago. What’s up? You can tell me, lad.”
Alex knew he couldn’t keep the truth from his guests any longer, not with a murderer possibly still loose on the grounds. “I’m afraid something tragic has happened. Somebody murdered Reg Wellington.”
Joel walked over to one of the porch rockers and sat down heavily. Alex joined him.
The older guest stared at the floorboards for a few moments before speaking again. “Who’d want to kill that old codger? We had a chess game scheduled for tonight after dinner.”
Alex had seen the two men engaged in a heated discussion over a game the night before. They appeared to take their chess seriously, and Alex had been forced to step in to prevent a brawl in the lobby. Could tempers have flared enough to cause murder?
Trying to sound casual, Alex said, “When’s the last time you saw Reg, Joel?”
His guest thought about it a full minute before answering. “He was going to the lighthouse tower two or three hours ago. I happened to be looking out my window and I saw him go inside.”
“And you didn’t see him after that?” Alex asked.
Joel looked at Alex carefully. “I don’t like the direction this conversation is heading. You’re not accusing me of anything are you, Alex?”
Alex bit his lip. If Joel had murdered Reg, he’d needed to be more careful in his questioning. “No, I was just wondering if you might have seen anyone else. You must have been the last person to see him alive.”
“Besides the murderer,