Room for Murder - Tim Myers [9]
At that moment, the house phone rang, and as Alex moved to answer his guest’s summons, he wondered what the truth really was surrounding Toby Sturbridge’s untimely demise.
Chapter 3
As Alex hung up the house telephone after a brief conversation with one of their guests, Elise asked, “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, it was Lenora MacLeod in Room 7. She wants to talk to me.”
Elise said, “If you don’t need me, I’m going to go over and finish up next door at Main.”
“I’ll be over as soon as I can to help,” Alex said.
“I’ve got it covered, there’s really not that much left to do. After you take care of Ms. MacLeod, why don’t you go see if you can pry anything else out of Irene?”
“She’s being pretty tightlipped about everything,” Alex said.
Elise smiled slightly. “Come on, Alex, you aren’t trying hard enough. Turn on that Winston charm.”
Alex said, “I would, but I’m saving it all for Saturday night. We’re still on, aren’t we?”
“I won’t back out if you won’t,” Elise said steadily.
Alex pretended to ponder just that, then smiled brightly. “Not a chance.”
As Elise left for the other building, Alex watched her walk away. He was still savoring the warmth of their exchange when Lenora MacLeod walked in, a sketch pad tucked under one arm. Lenora was a striking woman in her late twenties, with long blond hair and hazel eyes, though no one would call her beautiful. There was something about her, though, a bold confidence and assurance, that was almost magnetic.
She said, “Alex? Is this a bad time?”
“No, Ma’am. What can I do for you?”
“When I first arrived, you promised me a personal tour of your lighthouse. I was hoping you could take me to the observation platform and show me the mountains.”
Alex glanced at his watch. He had indeed promised her a guided tour, but this wasn’t the greatest time to leave the front desk.
Lenora caught his expression. “If now is not convenient for you, perhaps we could schedule it for sometime later,” she said, letting her words trail softly away.
“No, now is fine.” He was an innkeeper first and foremost, and this was definitely part of his job. Alex put up a sign that said back in thirty minutes, then led Lenora out the door. Doc Drake still hadn’t arrived on the scene, so Alex still had plenty of time to act as a tour guide to one of his guests.
As they climbed the steel staircase inside the lighthouse, Lenora let her fingers trail along the whitewashed wall inside the tower. “Such fine character it has.”
“I like to think so. It’s been a part of my family for generations.”
“It is a part of you as well, Alex. I can feel it in you both.” Her words were spoken like a declaration.
Alex said, “I can’t deny it. After all, I was born at the bottom of these steps.”
Lenora said, “Would you tell me the story as we climb?”
It was a good thing Alex made it a point to climb the steps on a regular basis. Otherwise he wouldn’t have had the spare breath to talk on their ascent. Lenora must have been in great shape; the climb didn’t seem to faze her at all.
Alex said, “It was on a Halloween night thirty-odd years ago. Hurricane Abby took a freak turn and headed up through Charlotte, then Hickory, and finally straight through Elkton Falls. My mother was nine months pregnant with me, but she refused to evacuate. I don’t doubt Dad realized from the start that getting her to leave was not a battle he could win. Anyway, her water broke about the time the first edge of the storm hit, and he delivered me himself right here.”
“I would think your family would head for a basement, not a tower, in a hurricane.”
Alex said, “Hatteras West is nearly an exact replica of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on the Outer Banks. These lighthouses were built to withstand the punishment of the storms.”
They ascended to the top, and Lenora gasped as she took in the views of the mountains in one direction and the foothills in the other. It was breathtaking at the top, a view Alex could never grow tired of. He only wished there was a fog rolling in for Lenora’s visit. It was truly spectacular watching the bands of