Innkeeping with Murder (15 page)

Alex yelled, “Finster, get out before I kick
your fat ugly butt all the way back to the town limits.”

Finster hurried to his Cherokee and drove off
in a spray of gravel. Alex turned to find several of the
firefighters cheering heartily. A chorus of “Yeah, Alex” and “Way
to tell that old windbag” accompanied him as he joined their ranks.
Somehow the confrontation had left Alex feeling dirty. He hated
losing his temper.

The fire chief cut Alex out of the crowd and
pulled him toward the back of the remains of the building. The
firefighters took it as a cue to go back to work patrolling the
area immediately surrounding the burned building.

Chief Weston was a small, wiry man who looked
like an elf in a Christmas parade. Alex had personally seen the man
lift timbers that would have stymied Mor Pendleton.

The chief looked coolly into Alex’s eyes.
“You just made yourself one mouthy enemy there.”

Alex grunted. “He’s had it coming for a long
time. Finster just picked the wrong man to go after today.”

Chief Weston nodded once. “I couldn’t agree
with you more. Still and all, you’d better watch your step around
that fellow.”

“I don’t think I’ll have any more trouble
from him, Chief, but thanks for the advice.” Alex kicked at some of
the rubble at his feet. “Mor tells me you think this is arson.”

The little man nodded in agreement. “They
didn’t try to hide it too hard, either. We found a gas can
overturned by the back part of the house.”

“So whoever set the blaze couldn’t be seen
from the lighthouse.”

The chief said, “That’s about right. I hear
you’re having your share of troubles over here.”

Alex offered a weak smile. “That’s putting it
mildly. Did one of my guests call the alarm in? I want to thank
them myself.”

A puzzled expression crossed the fire chief’s
face. “That’s kind of curious. Mor Pendleton telephoned to say he
was out here and for everyone to come quick. From what I hear
around town, he’d been spending, quite a bit of his free time at
the inn.” The fire chief scratched his chin. “You should be glad he
saw the flare-up in time. Otherwise you could have lost everything
but the lighthouse.”

Weston’s wife ran the town’s only
pet-grooming salon, so it didn’t surprise Alex that the man had the
latest word on everyone’s behavior, in or out of the Elkton Falls
city limits. It usually tickled him that the chief was a far worse
gossip than his own wife was, but this time it left him cold. Was
Mor after Elise, or did he have another, hidden reason for being
out at Hatteras West on the morning of a working day? Could Mor
have set the fire himself? Surely the man was clever enough to make
the job look amateurish, thereby diverting suspicion away from
himself. Or maybe he got angry when he found Alex and Elise were
gone, so he decided to get a little instant revenge. Blast it all,
that didn’t sound like the man Alex had grown up with, but
infatuation did strange things to people sometimes.

Weston interrupted his thoughts. “You’d
better call Smiley O’Reilly and get him out here.” Smiley was the
town’s oldest insurance agent, and most of the folks had policies
with him. Alex had kept paying the premiums after his father’s
death, but he had no idea what the actual policy was worth.

Alex agreed and headed toward the remaining
part of the inn. He was almost to the front porch when Chief Weston
called out his name. As Alex turned, he saw Smiley’s old Chevy
pickup drive up. It was possibly the only running truck in the
county in even worse condition than Alex’s own transportation. The
vehicles had been a running joke between the two men for a long
time.

Smiley popped out of the truck, awfully spry
for a man just over eighty years old, though he only admitted to
being seventy-eight.

Smiley glanced at the smoldering remnants,
shook his head sadly and said, “Heard about the blaze. Figured I
might save you a call.” The man invariably dropped the first word
or two of every sentence he spoke, and Alex quickly found himself
slipping easily into the pattern whenever the two of them
talked.

“Good of you to come, Smiley.”

The old man grinned through a set of perfect
dentures. “Saw Finster. Mad as a wet hornet.”

Alex laughed, consciously fighting the urge
to continue Smiley’s speech pattern. “He’s been after me to sell
the place for a while now. I must admit, I probably should have
taken him up on it.”

Smiley looked grim for the first time Alex
could remember.

Alex asked, “Is there something wrong?”

“About your policy. Should have been more.
Doesn’t amount to much.”

Alex felt his blood run cold. He had
suspected the premiums were ridiculously low, but truthfully, he
had barely managed to pay them as it was.

“Go ahead and give me the bad news. I’m in
shock now anyway.”

Smiley looked down at the dirt. “Twenty
thousand worth of coverage.”

“For the entire building? You’ve got to be
kidding. The wood alone was worth more than that as salvage.”

Smiley looked even more miserable. “Don’t
understand. Twenty thousand maximum. Buildings, furnishings, whole
blamed property, lighthouse and all.”

Alex couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“What? How could that be possible?”

Smiley started squirming. “My fault. Should
have got you to carry more. Knew you probably couldn’t afford it.
Didn’t ask.”

Alex’s head began to throb. Twenty thousand
dollars. Just a portion of the land he owned, even undeveloped, was
worth that. Finster’s offer was starting to look awfully good, and
for a moment Alex regretted his abrupt behavior. No. No matter how
bad things got, he wasn’t about to do business with a rat like Sam
Finster.

Alex said, “It’s not your fault, Smiley. You
were right, I couldn’t have afforded any more insurance than I
carried.”

Smiley had a small expression of relief on
his face. “Get the money to you soon. Shouldn’t have to wait.”

“Don’t worry about it, old friend.”

Alex walked Smiley back to his truck and
leaned in through the driver’s side window. “Do you think this
jalopy will make it back into town, or should I follow you in case
you don’t make it?”

Smiley shook his head slightly, the grin
slowly returning to his face. “Wouldn’t suggest it. Just have to
run you back out here when yours died. See you.”

Alex watched as Smiley drove off. Several of
the firefighters were starting to leave, and Alex took a few
moments to thank them for their help. He noticed Mor hanging
around.

Alex said, “I heard you were the one to call
in the fire. Thanks. What were you doing out here in the middle of
the morning, anyway?”

Mor managed to look the slightest bit
sheepish, while being defensive at the same time. “I came over to
ask Elise out again. I wasted a trip, didn’t I? That must have been
her fiance in the Porsche. Man, I know I can’t compete with that.”
The handyman glanced at his watch and said, “I’d better get back to
the shop before Les has to actually do a little work himself.”

As Mor joined some of the other firefighters
in a truck that was pulling out, Alex glanced back at the remaining
building. He saw a flurry of curtains on the top floor of what was
left of his inn. Those rooms were open and unoccupied, and Alex
wondered who could be watching him.

He was just heading for the door to
investigate when

Chief Weston approached him. Alex noticed
that he was the last firefighter to leave the site. “Well, I
believe we got it all.”

Alex shook the little man’s hand. “Thanks for
everything, Chief.”

Before leaving, Weston offered one last piece
of advice. “I’d watch my step if I were you. Someone’s got it in
for Hatteras West. I just hope they don’t finish the job they
started today.”

Chapter 15

Alex was surprised to realize that he was
hungry, despite the loss he’d just suffered. He decided to slap a
sandwich together, grab a Coke from the fridge and go eat on Bear
Rocks. He needed some time alone away from the burned wreckage to
pull himself together.

He’d forgotten all about his plans for lunch
with Sandra until he saw her car coming up the road.

When she got out, she said, “What happened to
our lunch date?”

“I forgot all about it.” Was it possible she
didn’t even notice that one of his buildings was gone?

“I heard about the fire. I’m sorry, Alex. Why
don’t we go get something to eat and we can talk about what you
should do next.”

“There’s nothing to discuss. I just need some
time alone, Sandra.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Time alone, or alone
with your new maid?”

“She’s off with her fiancé, Sandra.”

The smug look on her face was too much for
Alex. He added, “Not that it matters. I don’t know how to say this,
but I don’t think we should see each other anymore. You and I want
different things out of life.”

Sandra stared intently at him. “You don’t
mean that, Alex, you’re just distraught over the fire.” She smiled
lightly, then said, “Everything will look better tomorrow,” as she
started to get back into her car.

“I’m not going to change my mind, Sandra. I’m
sorry. It’s over.”

Sandra realized suddenly that he was quite
serious. She snapped, “Do you think if you’re suddenly free your
little maid will drop her fiancé for you, Alex? It’s not going to
happen.”

“Good-bye, Sandra,” Alex said.

She started to say something, changed her
mind then pulled furiously out of the parking lot.

Finally, Alex was alone.

He was surprised to find that the only thing
he felt was relief. Breaking up with Sandra had been a long time
coming, and he tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do
with Elise.

He was only partially successful.

Eating alone was not to be, though. Joel
Grandy spotted Alex leaving the inn and asked if he could join him.
Reluctantly, Alex agreed. The two men walked out to the granite
rocks in silence. Alex could still smell smoke in the air.

Grandy said, “That was really some fire
today. With all that wood in the walls and ceilings, it was bound
to happen sooner or later.”

Grandy’s words brought Alex out of his own
thoughts, and he didn’t care for the implications of the man’s
comments. “The fire chief said it was arson. Nobody can prevent
that, Mr. Grandy.”

Grandy tried to calm Alex with his words.
“Say, get your feathers back down, boy, I didn’t mean anything by
it. The reason I’ve tagged along out here is that I’ve been
thinking about something I’ve been wanting to discuss with you, but
it’s been tough getting you off by yourself.”

Alex, not caring to pursue the conversation,
climbed up and perched in the lap of one of the boulders. Someone
in his family had called it Mamma Bear Rock a long time ago, and
sitting in the cradle of the stone, he could see why. The warm sun
felt good on his face.

Alex took out his sandwich. “Sorry I can’t
offer you much more than half of this.”

Grandy waved it away. “I had a big breakfast
at Buck’s in town. You go ahead and eat. We can talk after you’re
done.”

Grandy watched Alex finish his sandwich
before speaking again. “I’ve grown kind of fond of this place, the
lighthouse and all, and I was wondering if you’d consider selling
it to me.”

Alex looked at Joel Grandy with new interest.
“You wouldn’t happen to be represented by a real estate agent in
town named Finster, would you?”

Grandy snorted. “I don’t have an agent, Alex.
I’m asking you man to man. What would you take for the place?”

Alex shook his head. “It’s not for sale.” He
made sure the tone in his voice was as uninviting as he could make
it.

Joel Grandy leaned back against an upright
rock and said, “I’ve been wheeling and dealing a long time, Alex,
and one thing I’ve learned is that everything on this globe is for
sale if the price and the conditions are right. What would you say
to two hundred grand?”

Alex didn’t have any idea if Joel Grandy was
just talking big, or if he actually had the funds to back up his
offer. It didn’t matter to Alex either way. “I’d say someone else
offered me two hundred and fifty thousand dollars this
morning.”

Instead of putting Grandy off, Alex’s words
elicited a laugh from the man that sounded like a donkey with a
doughnut stuck in his throat. “Okay, then. How about an even three
hundred thousand? I admit I was low-balling you, Alex. I hope you
don’t mind my saying it, but you’re craftier than you look.”

Alex studied the man in silence, not trusting
himself to speak.

Grandy spoke for him. “Oh, I get it. You
don’t think I could raise that kind of money, do you? Let me show
you something about not judging a book by its cover.” Grandy pulled
a statement out of his pocket from a stockbrokerage house that
showed his share value as of the first of the month.

“I had this sent down just in case you needed
convincing.”

Alex saw that Grandy’s offer would barely put
a dent in even one of the man’s holdings.

“Why would you want an old lighthouse and
some granite rocks?”

Grandy grinned at him. “I could tell you it’s
the lighthouse itself that draws me, but that’s only part of it I
like these rocks, to be honest with you. They touch something in me
I thought was long dead. I came out here in the fog last night, and
I swear to you they seemed to come alive and dance in the mist. It
took my breath away. There are other reasons that I’ll tell you
straight out are none of your business, but I will say that my
grandkids would love that tower of yours over there. Can you
imagine a better fort than that?”

Alex smiled. “Yes, I rescued my fair share of
maidens there in my mind. Seriously, though, why buy the place? You
could rent the inn for a month at a time and have Hatteras West all
to yourself.”