Room for Murder - Tim Myers [56]
Alex and Elise waited a few minutes at the window, then watched the two of them hurrying out to their car in the parking lot, trailing errant articles of clothing along the way.
Elise said, “Oh, Alex, we shouldn’t have.”
He shrugged. “Now if they write about hauntings at the Murder Inn, they can draw from their own experiences.”
As he started down the scuttle, she said, “What do we do now?”
“You go back to bed. I’ve got to get a piece of cardboard and patch that window until I can fix it in the morning.”
He’d half hoped Elise would offer to help, but she stifled a yawn and said, “See you in few hours then.”
He was at the door when Mrs. Nesbitt came out of her room. “Alex Winston, what in the world is going on around here?”
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “We had a little trouble, but it’s all been taken care of now. I thought you were a heavy sleeper.”
“I am, but that ruckus could have wakened the dead.” She looked at the room where the reporters had been staying. “Were they the cause of it?”
“Indirectly. Don’t worry, they just checked out.”
She nodded her approval. “Good riddance. You want to know something? They weren’t lighthouse fans at all.”
“It takes all kinds,” Alex said.
After Mrs. Nesbitt retired, Alex swept up the broken glass inside the Joneses’ room, relishing how much fun it had been doing something active to deal with that particular problem.
Patching the hole, he regretted not being able to do anything more constructive to help Emma, Mor, and Tracy with their problems.
There were some things a good haunting just couldn’t fix.
“I wonder if this rain is going to keep people from voting,” Alex asked as he looked out the front windows of the inn the next morning. It was pouring outside, a steady rain that had started at dawn and seemed to intensify with each passing hour.
Elise said, “What I’m wondering about is which candidate it will hurt the most.”
Alex leaned against the desk. “I’ve got a feeling every vote’s going to count in this election. I’m going to go myself right after lunch.”
“I’d like to go with you, if you don’t mind.”
Alex smiled. “I didn’t realize you’d registered here. I’d love to have you go with me. That’s why we have signs for the desk. We should have the rooms finished by then, now that things are slowing down.”
Elise said, “Don’t worry, Alex, business will pick back up.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t have run the Jones twosome off. Any publicity would be better than what we’re getting now.”
“Think about it. Do you really want the inn full of the kind of people who read The Tattle Tale?”
He smiled. “I’ve got a feeling the nightly hauntings would get a little old after a while.”
“So let’s be happy with the guests we have. I need some time off later after we vote. Emma and I have a few last- minute arrangements to make for the wedding.”
“What do you need besides a minister and a marriage license?”
She shook her head. “You’re kidding, right? Irma
Bean’s doing the reception: she’s even taking care of the wedding cake. We’ve got the Mountain Express performing at the reception, you should approve of them since they play a lot of bluegrass, and Shantara’s helping us line up our wait staff. This is going to be some celebration.”
Alex said. “It would be even better if we knew for sure what really happened to Toby Sturbridge. I’m pretty sure Sheriff Armstrong isn’t too optimistic about finding the killer now, though he won’t admit it. I think he’s losing interest since he’s been trying to figure out who killed Oxford Hitchcock. A local victim’s bound to get priority over a stranger nobody around Elkton Falls is going to miss.”
“As long as he gives up on the idea that Mor or Emma had anything to do with her ex-husband’s death, I don’t care. The thought of that man even being on the grounds still gives me the shivers.”
Alex said, “I hate the fact he terrorized Emma as much as you do, but he still didn’t deserve what he got.”
Elise was about to say something else when Lenora walked in.
Elise said, “I’ll talk to you later. I’ve got to get started on those rooms.”
After she was gone,