Ring for Murder (Lighthouse Inn Finale) Read Online Free PDF

I have
a prayer of paying either amount.”
    Sandra paused for a moment, and then said,
“Take my advice. Don’t give him a dime, Alex.”
    “Why not?” he asked.
    “I think he’s bluffing, but even if he’s
not, I’ll represent you in this. We can show that Tony took your
share of the inheritance, and you signed that document in good
faith. I think we have a case, even if Jase did drop the ball. Try
not to worry about it, okay?”
    “I don’t see how, but thanks, Sandra.”
    “I’ll see you tomorrow at the wedding,” she
said, and then hung up.
    Elise had been listening to his side of the
conversation, and Alex had held the phone off from his ear far
enough for her to pick up most of what Sandra had said.
    “That’s a relief, isn’t it?” Elise said.
    “I guess,” Alex admitted. “Don’t think this
is going to go away, though. I know my brother. He’ll try his best
to break us with a lawsuit. This is going to cost me a
fortune.”
    “You’re wrong, there,” Elise said
softly.
    Alex asked, “What, you think Sandra is going
to do this for free?”
    “No, but we’ll pay for it together. I have
some money I’ve been saving that I wanted to surprise you with. I
was going to buy us a new boiler, but this is more important.”
    “Elise, I can’t take your money,” Alex said,
almost reflexively.
    “Listen, and listen good, Alex Winston. As
of tomorrow night, there is no more ‘mine’ and ‘yours’. It’s all
ours, the good and the bad. Do you understand me?”
    “I do,” he said.
    She laughed. “Good. Keep repeating that, and
when the preacher asks you tomorrow, remember your line.”
    He kissed her, and after a few moments,
Elise said, “Thanks for the good night kiss.”
    “Thank you for being here,” Alex said.
    Sandra and Elise didn’t seem nearly as
worried about the situation as Alex was, but then they hadn’t grown
up at Hatteras West. He wasn’t at all surprised that his brother
had tried to cheat him.
    And that by itself was a sad thing
indeed.
     
    Alex woke up just past
one am , and it took
him a second to realize that the sound of the front door of the inn
slamming hadn’t been a part of some kind of dream. He was so
attuned to the sounds of the inn, the whispers and moans of the
building, that he could tell whenever something was not as it
should be. Throwing on a robe, he walked out into the lobby,
turning lights on along the way.
    Nothing looked out of place as he searched
the space, but as Alex walked to the door, he felt his heart
drop.
    It hadn’t been a dream. It was unlocked.
    Had he forgotten to lock it last night,
given all that had happened? Alex thought his routines were so
ingrained that he could have done them in his sleep, but
apparently, the news Tony had dropped on him the night before had
thrown him off his game.
    There was another option, though. What if
someone staying upstairs had left abruptly in the middle of the
night? His thoughts immediately went to Tony.
    “Alex, what is it?”
    “Sorry if that woke you,” he told Elise.
    “Then that wasn’t you slamming the door a
minute ago?” she asked.
    “No, I heard it, too, so I decided to come
out and investigate.” He looked back up the stairs. “Should we wake
everyone up and do a head count?”
    Elise shook her head. “We could check the
hallway, but I don’t want to wake my folks up unless there’s a good
reason.”
    “Agreed,” Alex said.
    He started up the steps to their guest
rooms, glad that the Main Keeper’s Quarters was empty. At least
anything that happened would be contained in this building. Having
two separate structures that housed their guests was a pain at
times, but he hadn’t laid out the inn, his ancestors had, so he had
to live with it.
    Everything looked normal upstairs. At least
that was something.
    “Maybe it just was the wind,” Elise
said.
    “Blowing through the lobby outside? Someone
slammed that door, Elise.”
    He lingered at his brother’s door,
hesitating