Innkeeping with Murder - Tim Myers [64]
Mor grinned at her. “From the look of things, you’ll be chasing the boys again in no time.”
Emma’s smile was steady as she replied, “In that case, you’d better get your track shoes out, Mordecai.”
Alex laughed when he saw his old friend’s smile vanish. Mor abruptly changed the subject. “Anybody else ready to head up to the inn? I’d like a drink before I go home. It’s getting kind of cool out here.”
Emma said, “I would like to get back to that sofa. Do you two mind?”
Elise stood up. “I’m ready, too. Are you coming, Alex?”
“Let me douse this first.” He threw a bucket of lake water onto the flames and was rewarded with a billowing cloud of smoke and the loud hiss of the dying fire.
Soon they were back at the inn, settled comfortably in the lobby. Alex couldn’t sit still. After lighting the stacked wood in the fireplace, he stood at the mantle and watched the fire take hold.
Elise applauded the flames. “Two fires in one night. I love it.”
Alex said, “I’d like to say it’s just to take the chill off, but I’ve got to admit, it’s nice having a fire in the autumn.” The inn was closed for lack of guests. Barb Matthews was dead, Junior was in town working on the sheriff’s campaign and Joel Grandy had persuaded Nadine to go on a trip with him to the Florida Keys. Alex had canceled the few upcoming reservations he’d had in order to figure out what he was going to do next.
As he stared at the fire, Alex retrieved a brandy snifter full of unpolished stones that sat on the mantle. Shifting the glass in his hand, he swirled the rough rocks around gently, as if they were fine cognac. The SBI had recovered the stones from Barb Matthews’s pockets after she’d fallen. Since their intrinsic value appeared to be rather small and the woman had no known living relatives, Sheriff Armstrong had decided that the gems should stay at the lighthouse as a testament to the week’s events, and Hicking had agreed.
Alex said, “To think this entire mess started because of a prank my dad pulled twenty years ago.”
He lightly fingered a few of the stones in the snifter and then returned the glass to the mantle.
Emma stretched out her hands for the glass. “Those are the stones they recovered off that awful woman’s body? Let me see them a minute, Alex.” She studied the rocks carefully in the flickering light of the fireplace, then asked excitedly for the house lights to be turned on. Alex complied, wondering if his new friend had completely recovered from her head injury.
Emma snapped, “Mor, go get that magnifying glass for me, would you? It’s over on the counter.” He obeyed without a word, and Alex realized Mor was a little intimidated by the vibrant woman.
When Emma spoke again, there was a hint of wonder in her voice. “Alex, you said your dad salted the area with emerald chips.”
“That’s right. It’s in Mom’s diary. I looked the entry up after Elise and I talked about it. Thank God it was in the attic over here and not in the main keeper’s quarters. At least I didn’t lose everything.”
Emma pushed on. “No other stones? Just emeralds?”
“As far as I know, that’s it. It’s turned into some kind of family legend. What’s on your mind, Emma?”
There was a huge smile on Emma’s face. “I’ll be. I was right after all. This area is another vein location for some pretty nice stones.”
She held a pretty rock up to the light. “Do you see
this? It’s tourmaline. And this one is garnet. Hey, here’s a pretty nice sapphire.” She held a green stone to the light. “Your father never salted this emerald, it’s worth a fortune! Alex, unless I’ve missed my guess completely, Barb Matthews could have been right after all. This property was the only place she looked for stones, wasn’t it?”
“She never left the grounds. You really think there are precious stones on my land?”
Emma’s smile was genuine. “I would have to believe that your inn is saved. It looks like your great-grandfather had a real knack for choosing his land.”
“Well I’ll be.” Alex laughed heartily. “Dad would have loved it. He salted an area that already had precious stones on it!”
“That