Murder Checks Inn (Book 3 in the Lighthouse Inn Mysteries) by Tim Myers

it.”
    Mor nodded. The usual jocular tone of their
talks was gone completely, replaced by a heaviness that hung in the
air between them. “Don’t get me wrong, Alex, you know I love Elkton
Falls. But what I’m worried about is, will it be enough?”
    “ I wish I could answer that
for you, Mor, I honestly do. I can tell you this. When I’m faced
with a tough decision, I draw a line down the center of a sheet of
paper, with pluses on one side and minuses on the other, just like
Ben Franklin used to do. Sometimes I know the answer before I even
finish my list. You might want to give it a try. It’s worth a shot,
anyway.”
    “ I guess so.” Mor looked
back inside the small cottage. “Jase was just renting the place,
wasn’t he?”
    “ That’s right. In fact, I
have to move all his stuff out to Hatteras West in five days.
Somebody’s buying the cottage.”
    “ You need a hand? With both
our trucks, we should be able to make it in one trip.”
    Alex nodded. “That would be great.” He
paused a few seconds, then added seriously, “Mor, you need to do
what’s best for you, but if you decide to leave Elkton Falls, the
place just won’t be the same without you. I don’t know what I’d do
around here if you were gone.”
    Mor was about to answer when Sandra pulled
up front in her BMW, parking behind Mor’s truck.
    “ You two both look like you
just lost your best friends in the world.” She glanced at Alex a
second, then said, “Sorry, that wasn’t the best choice of words,
was it?”
    “ Everything’s fine here,
Sandra,” Alex said. “We were just taking a break.”
    She glanced at her watch. “Listen, if you
two are in the middle of something, we don’t have to go out
tonight. Do you want a rain check on dinner, Alex? We can make it
another time.” She paused, then added, “I just had another thought.
Mor, you’re welcome to come along and join us.”
    The handyman stood and said, “No, thanks,
but Alex would love to go; I can hear his stomach grumbling from
here. I’ve got to get back to the shop.”
    Alex said, “Give me a call later, okay?”
    Mor walked down the last porch steps as he
said, “Sure thing. You two enjoy your dinner.”
    After Mor was gone, Alex said, “Just let me
lock up, and I’ll be ready to go.” He searched his pockets for the
keys but couldn’t find them. “I’ll be right back. I think I left
the keys on the kitchen counter.
    Alex found the keys in the bedroom and not
in the kitchen where he’d expected to find them, then picked up the
folder stuffed with papers from Jase’s desk, the collectibles box,
and the book he’d found on Jase’s nightstand. Somehow he felt that
it would help him hold onto his uncle a little longer, going
through the last things in the world Jase had touched.
    Irma Bean met them at the door of Mama
Ravolini’s with a raised eyebrow. “Two for dinner?”
    Alex nodded, and as Irma led them to their
table, she said, “So tell me, Alex, how is that wonderful Elise
Danton you have working for you?”
    “ She’s fine,” he replied,
trying to kill that particular conversation before it got
started.
    Irma wouldn’t let up, though. “I hope you’re
treating her right. My, the way that woman can cook! What an asset
she would be here in my kitchen.”
    Alex tried to hide his smile as he saw
Sandra bite back a reply. Before she could get anything out, Alex
said, “She’s not leaving Hatteras West any time soon, Irma.”
    Irma patted him on the cheek as he sat down.
“Good, that’s where she belongs.” Almost as an afterthought, Irma
added, “You two enjoy your meal.” As she started to walk away, she
turned back to Alex and said, “Be sure to give her my love.”
    Alex agreed to do just that, then looked
quickly at Sandra as Irma disappeared into the kitchen. She said,
“That’s all I need, an Elise Danton commercial.”
    Alex smiled as he said, “I don’t think she
means anything by it.”
    “ Don’t bet on it,