Reservations for Murder - Tim Myers [6]
Armstrong seemed to take forever to finally make up his mind, but ultimately he nodded his agreement. “Okay, but I’m going to need a few conditions. I want to post one man right here to watch over the scene during the fair. Agreed?”
“Fine by me.” Alex didn’t really want a deputy standing around, but if it would make the sheriff happy to have one of his men on site, it was little enough to deal with.
Armstrong said, “The other thing is, I’ll need a room to interview my suspects in.”
“Sheriff, every room I’ve got is booked right now. There’s not an empty spot in the inn.”
“Then I’m just going to have to—”
Alex cut the sheriff off, knowing what was coming next. “But you can have my office. Will that do?”
“I guess it will have to,” Armstrong said grudgingly. The sheriff knew firsthand how small Alex’s office was.
“Thanks, Sheriff,” Alex said, slapping Armstrong on the back. “You’re doing the right thing.”
“I just hope I don’t regret it later.”
Alex nodded his agreement. He’d never say it out loud, but he found himself hoping for the very same thing.
Shantara and Elise met him at the door before he even had the chance to get inside the inn.
“What did he say?” Shantara asked, the resignation heavy in her voice. “He’s shutting me down, isn’t he?”
“The fair can go on,” Alex reported.
It took a moment for his words to sink in.
Shantara said haltingly, “I can’t believe it. What did you say to him?”
“I just pointed out that if he shut you down, he’d lose most of his suspects. Shantara, it won’t do anybody any good if the fair’s canceled. Armstrong could see that.”
Shantara said, “Alex, I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”
“Just go out there and make it a success.”
“Aren’t you two coming?” Shantara asked as she headed for the door.
“We’ll try to come out later, but we’ve still got an inn to run.”
“And I’ve still got my fair!”
After Shantara was gone, Elise said, “Alex, I don’t know how you did it, but you saved the day.”
“All Armstrong needed was to see things objectively.”
Elise said, “Now that you’ve taken care of that, what are we going to do about this murder?”
“We’re going to let Sheriff Armstrong handle it,” Alex said firmly.
From the look in Elise’s eyes, Alex could see that she didn’t believe him, not for one second.
Chapter 3
Alex tried to clean off the pile of papers on top of his desk before the sheriff started his interviews. He was still working when Armstrong came to the door with Shantara not far behind. Evidently, she was first on the sheriff’s list of suspects, something that surprised Alex.
“Let me just get this out of the way,” he said as he opened the top drawer of his desk and shoved the rest of the bills inside.
Alex was about to leave when Shantara asked, “Alex, is there any way you could stay for this?”
Armstrong said, “Now, Ms. Robinson, this is just a preliminary interview. Having Alex here isn’t going to do you any good; he’s not a lawyer.”
“No, but he’s a friend, and I can use all of those I can get right now.”
Alex said, “Shantara, I don’t know what I can do, but if the sheriff doesn’t mind, I’d be glad to stay. But honestly, maybe you’d better call a lawyer.”
“I don’t need one, not if you’re here with me.”
Put that way, Sheriff Armstrong had little choice but to let Alex stay. They’d worked together often enough in the past, albeit reluctantly at times.
Alex felt strange seeing Sheriff Armstrong sitting behind his desk, Shantara across from him. There was no room for a third chair in the small space, so Alex leaned against the rich, honeyed pine wall.
The sheriff pulled out a small notebook and said, “First of all, where were you last night?”
Shantara looked surprised by the question. “I was home asleep. Where were you?”
Armstrong frowned. “Now, Ms. Robinson, you won’t do yourself any