Reservations for Murder - Tim Myers [49]
Alex didn’t have a gun at the inn; he’d never seen any need for one. He did have several classic blunt instruments, though, and he placed the fireplace poker within reach of his favorite chair. Alex decided to light a fire and settle in for the wait.
He was still staring at the burning logs in the hearth when he heard the front door open. Craig Monroe came in, looking carefully around as he did.
“It’s awfully quiet here,” he said. “I didn’t see a single car in the parking lot.”
Alex lied, “I’ve got a guest upstairs, a hiker who walked in from town. He’s a big brute,” Alex added as he moved closer to the poker.
“I won’t take long,” Craig said as he slumped onto the couch opposite Alex. “This day has completely wiped me out.”
“Any word on your wife?”
“No, she’s still unconscious. The doctors won’t call it a coma for some reason, but that’s sure as hell what it looks like to me. She just lies there, hour after hour. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Alex decided to end the suspense, one way or the other. “So what is it that’s so urgent, Craig?”
“It’s about Marilynn,” Craig said. His words coming out in a rush, he continued, “We’ve been having problems lately. She was unfaithful. That’s why this happened.”
Was he confessing? “You must have been shattered when you found out.”
Craig started pacing heavily around the room. Alex tried to keep his eyes on the man all the time, but it was like tracking a hummingbird.
Craig said, “You cannot imagine how furious I was. I still am, if you want to know the truth. That’s not the worst part, though. I’ve got to tell somebody this, it’s eating me up inside.”
Alex started edging toward the poker. He only hoped he’d be quick enough to use it to defend himself.
Craig was nearly behind him when he said, “Alex, the worst part of this whole mess was the man she was cheating on me with.” His voice suddenly turned icy cold. “My wife was having an affair with Jefferson Lee.”
So that was Craig’s motive; he was a betrayed husband! Alex was suddenly sure that Craig had him in his sights, but why? Alex hadn’t seen or heard anything. Forget about subtlety, it was time to protect himself.
Alex started to pick up the poker just as Craig said, “Alex, I love Marilynn more than life itself. She felt so guilty cheating on me that she tried to kill herself. The only other possibility is that she couldn’t bear to live anymore when her lover was murdered! Either way, it’s all my fault, every bit of it. If I’d just showed her a little more attention ... Alex, that’s why her last words are so important to me. I have to know, was she thinking of Jefferson Lee when she did this to herself, or was she worried about me?”
The man’s words choked off as he collapsed against Alex’s chair, sobbing uncontrollably. Through the tears, he cried out, “What am I going to do if anything happens to her? She’s my life!”
Alex dropped the poker and patted Craig’s shoulder. “She’s going to make it, you’ve got to have faith.”
“Alex, I swear to you, if she does, I’m a changed man. I won’t ever ignore her again. It nearly ripped my heart out when I found out she’d cheated on me, but this is destroying me.”
There was nothing Alex could say.
After the tears ended, Craig looked spent. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened to me just now.”
“You’re under a lot of stress. Why don’t you go up to your old room and try to take a nap? You need to rest.”
The man obviously felt awkward having Alex witness his breakdown. “No, I’ve got to get back to the hospital. The main reason I came out here was to see if Marilynn said anything at all when you found her.”
“I’m sorry, but she was out of it by the time I got to her. What were you hoping for?”
He nearly whispered his answer. “I was praying she might have said she loved me.” As the tears started flowing again, Craig hurried for the