Room for Murder - Tim Myers [69]
Grady grabbed one too, then said, “Come on, Tracy, they can manage here.”
Tracy followed, and by the time Alex got back downstairs, Elise was waiting for him with the last two bins of supplies. “It’s going to be a little crowded in the base with all this stuff.”
“Hey, don’t forget, we’ve got the steps to use as seats and shelves. Don’t worry, Elise, we’re going to be fine.”
“I’ll feel better once we get over there and get the front doors bolted shut,” she admitted.
“Let’s go, then,” Alex said as he grabbed the heavier bin. The rain was now mixed with hail, and it stung as it pounded into them. Alex stopped to secure the inn’s doors, then ran after Elise in the muck and mud. The rain had quickly saturated the ground and had left a quagmire behind.
Once they were with the others inside the base of the lighthouse, Alex bolted the main doors. Very little light came in from the window above their heads, and Alex flipped on one of his powerful flashlights. The white walls reflected the beam, and the interior seemed almost cheerful compared to the howling winds outside. Alex leaned against the circular rail at the base and said “Looks like we’re in this for the long haul. Did anybody hear when the storm shitted so far inland?”
Conner said. “We were too wrapped up in this recount to pay much attention. I think it happened pretty fast.”
Grady added, “I should have hit the road four hours ago.” He held a hand to his head and said “What a splitting headache. I think I’ve just gone on the wagon.”
Elise turned on the portable radio and had to raise the volume so they could hear over the roar of the storm outside.
“... edges have just touched town. Hunker down, folks, the electricity went off ten minutes ago, and we’re running off the generator. Stay where you are! If you can’t get to a basement, a doorway’s good, even a cast-iron tub if you’ve got one. The eye’s due to pass over us in about twenty minutes, but don’t go outside because it looks calm. When the back side hits, it’s going to have a real punch to it”
They listened for a while as news of devastation farther south trickled in. Charlotte was miraculously bypassed, but a few towns nearby weren’t nearly so lucky, getting ravaged by the storm. Hickory had been particularly hard hit, with trees and power lines down all over the city.
“It sounds like a train’s out there,” Tracy said, the awe for the power of the storm thick in her voice.
“Look at that,” Conner said, pointing to the window above them. “The rain’s actually falling up. It’s like being in a giant car wash.”
“I don’t need to be here,” Grady said.
“Well, we’re all stuck for now,” Elise said. “So we might as well make the best of it.”
Alex said to Grady, “I thought you’d be more interested in your constituents than just wanting to take off.”
Grady said, “Of course I am, but it’s going to be up to one of these two to rebuild what’s ruined. I’ve served my time here.”
Tracy said, “I wonder if the covered bridge is going to survive this. It would be a shame to lose it after you’all worked so hard to raise money for its restoration.”
Grady shrugged. “We didn’t raise all that much, just a few bucks, really. I’d hate to see it go, too,” he added as he looked down at his shoes.
Without thinking, Alex said, “That’s not true at all. I know for a fact there have been several hefty donations to the project.”
Grady said, “Alex, aren’t you too old to believe in rumors and idle gossip? I’ve got a feeling a lot of folks are bragging about giving to the fund without cracking their checkbooks.”
Conner jumped in. “Oxford told me there was over twenty thousand in the kitty, and that was a good month ago. Is that what you call a few bucks?”
“He was always prone to exaggeration, just like most politicians are,” Grady said. “Is the storm letting up? It’s not raining nearly as hard as it was.”
The mayor started for the handle when Alex stepped in front of him. Everything was starting to come together in his mind, and he didn’t want anyone leaving until he tested his theory. Fighting to be heard over