Murder Checks Inn - Tim Myers [17]
Surveying the sheer volume of books around him, Alex realized it was going to be an arduous task to pack up all of Jase’s books and personal items, but he’d worry about that after the send-off. For the moment, he just wanted to be near his uncle’s things. Alex moved into the tiny bedroom to find the room curiously nearly devoid of books. The place was neat, the bed was made, and there was no mess in sight. It was almost as if Jase had known he wouldn’t be coming back.
There was a thick accordion folder full of papers on the room’s simple desk, and Alex decided he should take those back to Hatteras West with him when he left. There might be something important that needed to be addressed. He also found Jase’s collectibles box, something he’d seen around his uncle his entire life. Alex lifted the lid with bated breath as he stroked the sides of the box, made from the now-gone American chestnut tree. He was tempted to sit down and go through his uncle’s treasures. At the top, Alex could see a Confederate bullet, a few Indian arrowheads, and the fragment of meteor Jase had. There were chips of emerald there, of no real cash value, but ones Jase had found himself in Hiddenite. There were, just like the last time Alex had seen the box, a handful of the steel pennies Jase loved. It was a box full of memories, more than anything else. He could spend all evening going through it, but there wasn’t time at the moment. Alex tucked the box under one arm and walked over to the nightstand. He picked up the last book Jase would ever read. It was titled The Treasure Below. Just then, he heard someone else in the house!
Throwing the book on top of the bed, Alex moved quickly toward the door. As he approached, he heard something fall in the living room.
“Who’s there?” Alex shouted as he raced through the doorway, the papers, the collection box and the book now forgotten.
He got into the hallway just in time to see the front door slam shut. Running to it, Alex tripped over a pile of books that had been upset by the intruder. By the time he got to his feet and jerked the door open, whoever had invited themselves in was gone. There were a dozen stores nearby that the intruder could have ducked into, and Alex knew he’d never find the interloper.
As Alex stepped back inside, he wondered why anyone would just walk into Jase’s house uninvited. What could he, or she for that matter, have been looking for?
Alex started leafing through the books that had been disturbed. There was nothing out of the ordinary that he could see as he restacked them. Had it been an accident that they’d been spilled, or had the would-be thief been looking for something in particular?
He was still on his knees in the living room when there was a knock on the door.
It was Mor, standing just in the shadows, a weary frown on his face.
Mor said, “Listen, I hate to interrupt you, but do you have a second? I really need to talk to you. I know the timing stinks, but it’s important.”
Alex felt his heart race. “Is something wrong?”
“No, no. At least I don’t think so. Not yet, anyway. Well, maybe, it depends on how you look at it.”
“That certainly clears things up,” Alex said with a smile.
His best friend didn’t respond to the jab, and that’s when Alex knew just how serious Mor was.
Alex walked out onto the abbreviated porch with Mor close behind, and the two men sat on the steps out front, avoiding each other’s gaze.
Mor said, “Sandra told me I could find you over here, but she didn’t want me to come. She said you needed some time alone. That woman’s an overprotective hen when it comes to you. I don’t remember her being so careful of your feelings when the two of you were dating.”
“Sandra means well, but I don’t have to have perfect solitude to say good-bye. What’s up?”
Mor took a deep breath, then said heavily, “It’s Les. He’s talking about retiring again.”
Alex knew Mor’s partner talked about quitting their business a dozen times a year. Though the man was in his early