Murder Checks Inn - Tim Myers [60]
“And she deserves every penny she gets, Alex!”
“I’m not saying otherwise,” Alex quickly added.
Ashley frowned, then said, “Well, I resent the implication that my mother could have possibly had anything to do with this mess.”
“I’m just looking for the truth. I know you all came in different cars. Why was that?”
“It just seemed easier that way.”
“I suppose that’s true,” he said.
“And what do you mean by that? Alex, I don’t like the way this conversation is going, and I won’t sit here while you question me about my family.”
Alex said, “Wait a second,” but she was already gone. Vernum still trimmed, oblivious to what had happened. The man truly was in his own little world when he was working with his tools.
Elise quietly joined him from the corner of the building
where she’d been standing out of sight, listening. “Well, that went well.”
“I made a mess of it, didn’t I,” Alex confessed.
“Don’t be so sure,” Elise said. “You didn’t say anything all that bad. Ashley definitely overreacted. She’s rattled about something.”
“About what, I wonder?”
Elise said, “Alex, all you can do is stir things up and see what happens. You can bet she’ll tell Cynthia about your conversation the second she and Steven get back to the inn. So where do we go from here?”
“I think we should go ahead and talk to Julie,” Alex said. “If the will was never modified after Mathias’s letter of intent to her, she’d have a huge motive to make sure that particular document never saw the light of day.”
“So what are we waiting for?” Elise asked as she headed for Alex’s truck.
As they drove to Amy’s, Elise asked, “So who are your main suspects now?”
It was a game they’d played before, laying out their thoughts as they drove somewhere in Alex’s truck.
After a moment of thought, Alex said, “Cynthia’s got to be near the top, but Steven and Ashley aren’t far behind. Julie could be guilty; I’m not as willing to count her out until we find out a little more information.” Alex drove a minute, then added, “I hate to even mention it, but I guess there’s still a chance that Tony’s lying and I’m wrong about him after all. But I don’t believe it.” Alex gripped the steering wheel harder. Were his mixed feelings about his brother tainting his logic, causing him to overcompensate for the battles they’d had in the past?
Elise said, “Alex, you don’t even need to consider that possibility at the moment. Leave that avenue to Sheriff Armstrong. The best thing you can do for Tony is to focus on the people Sheriff Armstrong isn’t looking at.”
“Yeah, I know you’re right,” Alex said as he drove. He tapped the steering wheel. “Anybody else we should add to the list of suspects?”
“None that I can think of.” Elise looked out the window as she added, “How about Sandra? Could she be wiping out her competition?”
Alex said, “Come on, I’m serious, Elise.”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t joke about that. I might as well accuse Vernum of the murder.”
“If shears had been used, or maybe even a tree saw, but honestly, I doubt the man could stand being that close to anyone long enough to kill them.”
Elise said, “There’s one other suspect you haven’t considered. Alex, is it possible Nadine killed your uncle?”
“My grade school teacher? Come on, Elise, what motive could she possibly have?”
Elise said, “What if she was stealing from Jase and he caught her? Could she have killed him in a panic and taken the files to throw the sheriff off her trail?”
Alex shook his head. “I’d trust that woman with my life. No, that’s a stretch I can’t make.” Alex looked down the road as they neared Amy’s studio and asked, “Elise, what’s that?”
She looked ahead as he pointed to the sky, where a billowing mushroom cloud of smoke had suddenly exploded into the air.
Elise said, “Oh, no, it’s not the inn again, is it, Alex?”
He shook his head. “No, it’s in the wrong direction. I’m afraid it’s Amy’s place.” Alex pushed his old truck harder, forcing it over the ruts of Amy’s road. By the time they got closer to the house and barn-studio, they were assaulted by
burning odors, as well as waves of dancing ashes