Room for Murder - Tim Myers [37]
His face was ashen at the news. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. What happened?”
Paul held his camera up. ‘They trashed my film.”
Mr. Rush said, “I’m truly sorry. May I replace it for you?”
“You can’t replace the pictures I took,” the newlywed said angrily.
Mr. Rush replied, “I don’t know what else I can do.”
Alex said, “I hate to do this, but—”
Mr. Rush cut him off. “Please don’t throw us out. We haven’t had a vacation in three years. I’ll keep a better eye on them. I promise.”
The desperation in the man’s voice was overwhelming.
Alex said, “Okay, but I’ve got to warn you, one more incident and I’m going to have to—”
Rush cut him off again. “I understand. Thanks.” He turned to Jones and said, “I really am very sorry.”
Alex turned to the newlywed and said, “I’d be happy to buy you another roll of film myself.”
The man just grunted as he stomped back into his room, slamming the door in Alex’s face.
Alex took his master key and went back to the laundry room, relieved that nothing worse had happened.
Chapter 11
Mrs. Nesbitt came back from her walk and found Alex in the laundry room.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked as she held aloft the note he’d left her.
“Yes, Ma’am. I don’t know how to tell you this, but somebody took my key and used it to get into your room while you were out.”
She went white. “Why is this happening, Alex?”
He said, “I wish I knew. Let’s go upstairs and see if anything’s been disturbed.”
After a quick inspection, Mrs. Nesbitt said, “Nothing’s out of place. I can’t imagine what I could have that anyone else would be interested in.”
Alex said, “I don’t know what to say. I was careless with my key. Tell you what. I’ll be glad to find you other accommodations in Hickory and refund your bill if you’d like.”
Mrs. Nesbitt said, “Don’t be so melodramatic, Alex, no harm was done here. I’m perfectly content to stay in this room. It has a warm presence that I find somehow comforting.”
Alex neglected to mention the fact that a woman had started her descent into suicide in that room, and that another previous tenant had been killed at the top of the lighthouse. If she found comfort there, more power to her. It was one of Alex’s favorite rooms as well, despite its troubled history.
Mrs. Nesbitt said, “Don’t give it another thought, Alex. I’m sure I’ll be quite safe now.”
“If you need me any time, call me,” Alex said, feeling more concerned about the incident than he cared to admit.
“Posh and tish, I’ll be fine.”
Regardless of what she said, Alex promised himself to make every effort to ensure the woman’s safety while she was staying with him at Hatteras West.
Elise came back to the inn an hour later. From the expression on her face, things had not gone well with Emma.
Alex asked, “Was it as bad as all that?”
Elise said, “Believe me, you don’t want to know. I’ve always thought of Emma as a rock, but this thing has really gotten to her. And Mor still won’t talk to her.”
“I figured as much. He can be as stubborn as an old goat when he puts his mind to it.”
Elise said, “Alex, you’ve got to talk to him. Emma’s tearing herself up with remorse for what she did.”
“I tried, remember? He wasn’t interested in anything I had to say. The only thing that’s going to help Mor is time. He just needs to get over the fact that Emma thought he was capable of murder.”
Elise said, “That’s not it at all. She was just trying to protect him.”
“I know that and you know that, but to Mor, it looks like a real slap in the face. If Emma still needs you, I can manage around here.”
Elise shook her head. “After she got all those tears out of her system, she was exhausted. I put her to bed, and I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t sleep through the night. How are things?”
Alex said, “We’ve got triplet boys upstairs in Number 5, and they’ve already managed to destroy the film out of the newlyweds’ camera. What in the world made them think it was okay to go into another guest’s room?” Alex paused, then added, “That’s not all.” He hated to confess the new break-in to her. “Somebody was snooping around in Mrs.