Innkeeping with Murder by Tim Myers

10

    Since Alex was already in town, he decided to
pay a visit to Mor or Les’s fix-it shop. He had a few questions for
his old friend. Mor Pendleton was perched on his stool behind a
long wooden workbench. The top was currently covered with the inner
workings of an ancient cash register. The walls of the shop were
filled with shelves, housing everything from a discarded vacuum
cleaner chassis to a dismantled hand pump that Alex recognized as
being the same kind that was used at the inn when he was growing
up. There were magazines everywhere, from Soldier of Fortune to
This Old House. Alex knew Mor’s partner, Les, was a junkie for a
particular form of the printed word, and he subscribed to just
about every magazine he could get his hands on. School-kids doing
fundraisers absolutely loved the crusty old man.
    Mor was so deep in thought, tinkering with
the register’s bulky pieces, that he failed to hear Alex came
in.
    Alex picked up a piece of the register and
said, “Looks like this one’s down for the count.”
    Mor grinned at Alex. “These old printwheels
are the dickens to fix, and to top it off, I can’t get parts
anymore. I’ve been robbing old machines to keep a few of them
running, but there aren’t that many left to vandalize.”
    “Why don’t you tell the owner to give up and
come into the electronic age?”
    Mor’s smile widened. “In the first place,
that would lose us business. In the second place, this particular
register happens to belong to Irma Bean. We swap repair work for
free meals, and Les and I are both too set in our ways to take up
cooking on a full-time basis.”
    Alex nodded absently and laid the part back
down on the workbench. “I hear you found one of my guests at Bear
Rocks today.”
    Mor nodded solemnly. “She was in pretty bad
shape. Have you heard how she’s doing?”
    “I just saw her at the hospital. She doesn’t
look good.” Alex picked up a large bright cog with a few specks of
grease on it and twirled it in his fingers. “When did you take up
hiking?”
    Mor looked down at the printer again and
removed another part. “There’s the problem. I sure hope I can
scrape up another paper-advancing gear. What did you say?”
    Alex laid the cog back down on top of the
workbench and asked, “When did you start hiking?”
    As Mor worked, he explained, “A specialist in
Charlotte told me it would be good for my knees to start walking
some. I didn’t want to go around town, so I figured you wouldn’t
mind if I worked out on your loop trail.”
    Alex said, “It’s always open to you, you know
that. When did you start? I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around
before.”
    Mor turned a slight shade of red. “I saw the
doctor last month, but today was the first chance I had to get out
and exercise. Don’t tell on me, okay?”
    Alex smiled. “Your secret’s safe with me.
Well, I’d better be getting back.”
    He started to leave when Mor called out,
“You’re not done here, fella.”
    “What’s up?”
    Mor’s devilish smile came back. “I hear you
got considerably farther with Miss Danton last night than I ever
managed to. What’s your secret, Alex? I thought you and Sandra were
an item.”
    “She’s out of town and I just wanted some
company last night. My God, can’t I change my underwear in this
town without everybody knowing what color it is?”
    “Buddy, you’re the talk of the town. Every
single man in Elkton Falls has asked that girl out, and you’re the
first one she’s even smiled at. Irma told me all about it when I
picked the register up this morning. When’s Sandra due back in
town?”
    “She’s coming in this afternoon. Elise Danton
is a sweet girl and a pleasure to be around, but I’ve already got a
girlfriend.” Alex turned and had his hand on the door when he heard
Mor choking.
    He turned back in alarm, only to find the
huge fix-it man doubled over in a badly controlled laughing
fit.
    Alex said, “Okay, so maybe I’m a little
touchy,