Reservations for Murder - Tim Myers [50]
Alex hated himself for thinking it, but he had to wonder if Craig’s outburst had been spontaneous and sincere, or if he’d been trying to throw Alex off his trail. If that were the case, though, why would he admit that his wife was having an affair with the murder victim? It could only hurt him, giving him a motive where none was known before. Unless he was leaking the information to Alex before he knew the police would find out, painting himself as a wronged man instead of a cold-blooded killer.
Alex was still twisting the possibilities over in his mind when the phone rang.
It was Elise.
“Hi, stranger,” he said. “Any news?”
“Dad’s complaining about the hospital bed and the food. It’s the best sign we’ve had yet.”
“I’m, glad,” Alex said absently.
“Alex, is there something wrong?”
He sighed. “You just caught me at a bad time. There’s a lot going on here.”
“What’s been happening?” she asked.
At that moment, Dave Jeffries came in. He saw Alex was on the phone, then tapped his watch.
“Listen, Elise, could I call you right back? Someone just came in I really need to talk to.”
He could hear her stifle a yawn. “I’m going straight to bed, Alex. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good-night.”
“ Bye,” he replied.
As he was hanging up, the deputy said, “Sorry to interrupt, Alex, but I’m on the clock. I got your message. What’s up?”
“I just found out something the sheriff should know. Marilynn Baxter was having an affair with Jefferson Lee.”
Dave clouded up. “Alex, tell me exactly what you did at Lee’s shop. You didn’t take any letters with you, did you?”
“What are you talking about? I told you I didn’t touch a thing.”
Dave pressed him. “So how did you find out about the affair?”
“Craig Monroe just told me. I thought you should know he had a motive. Why are you so edgy all of a sudden?” Alex asked.
“That was my special assignment. After you left, I started digging around in the shop, and I found a secret cubby with letters from Marilynn to Jefferson Lee. They were pretty steamy. I figured one of them must have fallen out, and you were holding out on me. Sorry I jumped down your throat.”
“So, do you think the killer was looking for those letters, or did Jefferson Lee have something else going on?”
“I truly don’t know, Alex. Right now, I’m wondering if Craig didn’t tell you first to take some of the sting out of us finding those letters. How was he when you talked to him?’
After a pause, Alex said, “He seemed genuinely upset about Marilynn’s attempted suicide, but I couldn’t say whether he killed Jefferson Lee or not.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll nail him if he did.” Dave looked at his watch. “Well, I can’t hang around here all night. I’ve got to get back to Lee’s shop and finish up. If you uncover anything else, call the sheriff. If you can’t find him, call me, and I’ll tell him myself.”
‘Thanks, Dave.”
“Hey, we serve and protect, remember? Talk to you later, Alex.”
After the deputy was gone, Alex dead-bolted the
inn’s front door. It was rare that he could do it, since Alex couldn’t lock his guests out, but he was glad for once that he was alone at Hatteras West.
Just in case, though, he dead-bolted the door to his room, too.
Chapter 19
Alex felt a little silly the next morning unbolting all the locks. What did he think, Jefferson Lee’s killer would come for him in the middle of the night? In the fresh light of a new day, Alex knew that the killer would have no reason to come after him. He was the first to admit that his unofficial investigation into the murder had produced very few results.
Alex was just going for his morning walk to the mailbox when Jenny Harris pulled up in her pickup truck. It wasn’t all that unusual to find a woman who preferred trucks in the South. Jenny had more reason than most to have one; it was most likely the only way she could haul her heavy maple loom around wherever she went.
She rolled down the window as Alex approached. “Out for your morning constitutional?”
“Just getting the mail. What brings you back to Hatteras West?”
“I think something may have