Room for Murder - Tim Myers [63]
The view was beautiful, never failing to take his breath away. Alex had been delighted with the suggestion to hold the bachelor party on the observation platform. In fact, he planned to have his own bachelor send-off up there, if it ever came to be, no matter how remote that possibility looked at the time.
Lev was still out of breath by the time Alex joined them at the top, and he was afraid they might have to carry the older man back down after a few drinks.
Mor must have been thinking the same thing. “Are you doing okay, partner?”
“Fine,” he said, panting slightly. “Just need to get my wind back,” he added. After a few moments, Les said, “enough of this foolishness. It’s time for a toast.” He popped the cork off the champagne and poured the bubbling liquid into each of the glasses.
After setting the bottle down, Les lifted his glass and the others joined him. He looked at Mor a second, then said, “To you, Mordecai Pendleton, the best partner, and best friend a man could ask for.”
Alex added, “To Mor, the true best man,” as the three men clinked their glasses together.
Mor, uncomfortable with the raw sincerity of his friends, said, “Drink up before it goes flat.”
Les killed his drink with one pull, then said, “You boys can have the beer, but I’d be proud to keep you company a little while longer. If I’m going to get down those steps on my own, I’d better stop drinking right now. Don’t let that stop you two, though.”
Alex leaned against the lighthouse, his back against the solid wall of the structure. He felt grounded whenever he touched it, as if his body became, for one instant, a part of the lighthouse itself.
Alex asked Mor, “Any nerves about tomorrow?”
“I just wish it were already over. You know how I hate a fuss.”
Les said, “Listen, nobody’s going to be looking at you. This wedding is Emma’s time to shine. The best advice I can give you is to take one step back and let her glow.”
“Why should I take wedding advice from a grizzled old bachelor like you?” Mor asked, teasing his friend with their usual banter.
Les wasn’t having any of it, though, not tonight. “Take it from a man who’s spent his life looking for what you’ve found, my friend. She’s a keeper.” With a wink to Alex, Les added, “If you hadn’t gotten off your duff and asked her to marry you, I might have gone after her myself. She’s a big, handsome woman, just the kind I fancy.”
Mor said, “Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re just going to have to find somebody else. I’m not about to let her go.”
Les patted Alex on the shoulder. “Looks like after tomorrow it’s just the two of us.”
Mor said, “Speak for yourself. Alex has his heart set on Elise.”
Les shook his head. “Just remember me when you’re both happy and married off, will you?”
Alex said, “After my first-date disaster with her? I don’t think you have to worry about me any time soon.”
Mor said, “I’ve got faith in you, buddy.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I can tell how sincere you are by the certainty in your voice.”
“What? No, it’s not that. I just wish ... never mind.”
“Go ahead,” Alex said. “What is it?”
Mor said, “What I would have really liked is for Armstrong to have figured out who killed Toby Sturbridge before the wedding. I’m afraid it’s going to hang over our heads like an ax tomorrow at the ceremony.”
Les said, “Alex and I know you and your bride are innocent, and most of Elkton Falls knows it, too. Don’t fret about things you can’t change.”
Mor smiled gently. “You’re just full of advice tonight, aren’t you?”
Les said, “Pay no attention to me. It’s the alcohol talking. Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I’m turning in early tonight. I want to be fresh as a daisy for the festivities tomorrow.”
Mor asked, “Do you want me to go down the steps with you?”
Les snapped, “I may be more than twice as old as you are, but I’m a long way from feeble. You two finish up your little party here. I’ll be fine.”
Both men leaned over the rail until they saw Les down below. He waved up at them, then got into his truck and drove back toward town.
Alex and Mor looked off into the distance,