Murder Checks Inn - Tim Myers [59]
“Oh, go on,” she said abruptly as she headed up the stairs.
After they were out on the porch, Alex said, “I feel bad leaving her alone.”
Elise said, “Alex Winston, if you think you’re going to go off investigating this without me, you’re sadly mistaken. Jase wasn’t my uncle, but I liked and respected the man.”
Alex smiled grimly. “Admit it. You like to dig as much as I do.”
Elise said, “Somebody’s got to keep you out of trouble.”
As they headed for the truck, Elise said, “Why didn’t you question Ashley while you had the chance? She’s feeling vulnerable, at least if we can believe her. She might tell you something she wouldn’t ordinarily.”
“I can’t see her killing Jase, can you?”
“Alex, someone did. Why not Ashley? Do you honestly think she’d be more inclined to talk with her mother around? Cynthia doesn’t seem to be the type to let her children go around unsupervised, no matter how old they are.”
“Maybe you’re right. What possible excuse can I use to talk to her now?”
Elise grinned. “Come on, Alex, turn on that charm of yours. Julie can wait while you talk to Ashley.”
Alex asked, “So what are you going to be doing while I’m interrogating a suspect?”
Elise said, “I’ll be eavesdropping nearby, of course.”
Alex tapped on Ashley’s door. It took her a moment to answer. “Who is it?” she said without opening it even the slightest crack.
“It’s Alex Winston. Do you have a minute?”
Alex heard the chain come off and the lock slide open.
“Certainly. Come in. What happened to that errand you were going to run with your maid?”
Alex said, “We decided to put it off for a little while. I didn’t want you to think for a minute that I’d desert you like that.” Alex felt a little uneasy being alone with a female guest in her room. He added, “I was thinking we could talk out on the porch. It’s such a glorious day.”
Ashley agreed, and they were soon seated on a pair of rockers overlooking the lighthouse. “So what’s on your mind?” she asked as she rocked gently back and forth in the breeze.
“I just wanted to check on you and see how you’re handling all of this. It must have been hard for you, discovering you have a sister the day your father’s will was supposed to be read.”
Ashley stopped rocking. “I don’t have a sister, no matter what that letter says.”
“Do you think there’s a chance that Mathias would lie about something as important as that?” Alex asked softly.
“I wouldn’t put it past him, even if that letter is legitimate.”
Alex asked, “Do you have any reason to believe it isn’t?”
Ashley said, “I don’t know what it could possibly hurt by telling you that Steven doesn’t believe that letter is from our father at all. If you can believe it, he’s been holed up in his room studying a book about forgery techniques to prove Father never wrote it in the first place.”
“But what if it is real?”
“If you’re looking for motives for my father’s erratic behavior, you’re not going to have much luck asking me. I never did understand him.”
“He sounds like he was a fascinating man,” Alex said as he noticed Vernum trimming the lower branches of the trees near the inn. At least Ashley couldn’t see him from her spot. Alex only hoped the arborist didn’t come any closer and interfere with his questioning.
After a few moments of silence, Ashley said, “He was quite aggravating as a father. I can’t imagine how much more exasperating he was as a husband. I honestly don’t know how Mother put up with him for as long as she did.”
Alex asked, “She divorced him right after he left, didn’t she?”
Ashley shook her head. “That’s a common misconception Mother wants the world to believe. Why, my own brother doesn’t even know they aren’t really divorced. Mother got tipsy one night and confessed to me that she’d never bothered, thinking that someday it might be to her advantage to still be married to him.”
“Now that’s interesting,” Alex said, slowly rocking in the chair.
“What do you mean?” Ashley asked.
“Well, if there is a significant estate, and everyone seems to think there is, she most likely stands to get a healthy cut of