Room for Murder - Tim Myers [24]
“Morning,” he said as he offered her the paper. “How’d you sleep?”
“I tossed and turned all night,” she said.
“Yeah, I’m pretty excited, too,” Alex admitted.
“About that man’s death? Alex, that’s not like you.”
Alex said, “I’m talking about our date. It’s tonight, remember?”
Elise said, “Of course I do.” She finished the breakfast setup without another word about it. He wanted to say something else to her, but before he had a chance, Corki and Jan came down, followed by Denise and Greg, a couple who were rockhounds on their way to Hiddenite, and on their heels came Paul and Sheila, the battling newlyweds. The lobby of the inn was buzzing with conversation, but nothing substantial was spoken between Alex and Elise.
The housekeeper finally said, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go ahead and get an early start on Dual.”
“That’s fine, I can take care of things here.” He took a deep breath, then added, “Listen, if you don’t want to go out tonight, that’s okay with me.”
Elise’s lips were pressed together in a thin white line. “No, tonight will be fine.”
Alex laughed in spite of himself. “It will be a lot better than fine, I can promise you that.”
Elise smiled softly. “Of course it will. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye,” he said as she hurried away. Elise had something on her mind, and Alex thought for a moment he should go ahead and cancel their date. But he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. They had both waited too long for this, and he doubted he could stand another delay.
As Alex waited for the guests to finish their breakfasts so he could clean up, he took a chance and dialed Doc Drake at his office. Madge, the doctor’s nurse who also happened to be his wife, answered the phone.
“Hi, Madge. Any chance I can steal a minute from your husband?”
Madge said with a snort, “You’re welcome to try your luck talking to him. I’m surely not having any luck.”
Drake came on the phone, and Alex asked, “Trouble in paradise?”
The doctor said, “You don’t even want to know. Madge has been after me to take a vacation, but I don’t know how we can get away.”
“Hey, you still owe her a honeymoon,” Alex said. “We’ll manage to limp along without you somehow.”
Drake spoke to his wife and said, “Alex thinks you’re being unreasonable, too.”
He could hear Madge’s laughter through the line. “I know better than that. He’s backing me up, isn’t he?”
Drake admitted, “Yes, but what does he know? He’s still a bachelor.”
Alex said, “Much as I’d like to be your couples therapist, I was wondering if you’ve had any luck with Toby Sturbridge.”
“Well, at this point, all I can say for sure is that I’m pretty certain he’s still dead.”
“No clues at all?”
Drake said, “I’m out of my league on this one. I’ve got a special coroner coming from Raleigh, but he won’t be here for three days.”
“Three days? What’s the delay?”
Drake mumbled something into the phone Alex couldn’t hear.
“Repeat that, Doc, I missed it.”
Drake took a deep breath, then said loudly, “He’s on vacation in Hawaii.”
Madge’s whoop of laughter in the background was more than the doctor could take. “I’ve got to go, Alex. I’ll let you know when I find something else out.”
Without an official cause of death, the sheriff would probably back off from the case until he had a definite idea about what had really happened to Toby Sturbridge. Besides, he had his hands full with Oxford Hitchcock’s murder. Alex admired Doc Drake as much for his abilities as for knowing his limitations. A thorough job was important, and if they had to wait, then there was no escaping it.
Alex had just finished cleaning the newlyweds’ room when he heard someone call him from the hallway. As he stepped out with his cart, he saw Tracy Shook standing in front of the main desk.
“I’m over here,” he called out, emptying the trash can topped off with