Ring for Murder (Lighthouse Inn Finale) by Tim Myers Page A

the room where Tony
had been killed. Ten minutes later, Jackson came out with the bag,
the knife put away. Alex was about to jump out when he realized
that didn’t mean anything. Not only was he unarmed, but it still
didn’t prove that Jackson was a murderer. He could have met up with
Tony there to discuss their business arrangement before the murder.
Instead of leaving, Alex kept his vigil, and in less than five
minutes, it was rewarded. The hallway door opened again, and this
time Monique came through. Alex watched her, and to his surprise,
he saw her going into the room next door, not the place where Tony
was killed. What was she doing? And then he thought he knew.
    Two minutes later she came out with a towel
under her arm, and that’s when Alex stepped out of the closet.
    “I’ve been waiting for you,” he said as he
switched on a light. Enough had come through the windows before
from the moon to give the space some illumination, but the fresh
and direct light hurt his eyes. Alex was sorry that Jackson had
gotten away. He would have liked to ask the man a few questions,
but that was too bad.
    “What are you doing here?” he asked
Monique.
    Before she had a chance to answer, Jackson
came back, with Mor right on his heels.
    “I thought you could use a little backup,”
Mor said.
    “I didn’t do anything wrong,” Jackson
said.
    “He’s got a knife,” Alex said.
    “I’ve got it,” Mor said with a smile.
    “Let me go,” Jackson said, a look of hate in
his eyes.
    Mor put a hand on his shoulder and clamped
down. As tough as Jackson was, Alex knew that it had to have hurt.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
    “Actually, she’s the one you need to watch,”
Alex said as he pointed at Monique.
     
     

Chapter 10
     
     
    “But he’s the one who took the coins,”
Monique said in protest as Mor grabbed her as well. “I distracted
you all so he could sneak in here and steal them. He was supposed
to split them with me, but he was taking off. That’s why I came
over here to see what was going on.”
    Alex shook his head. “Don’t you ever get
tired of lying, Monique?”
    “He killed Tony,” she screamed. Mor’s grip
tightened on Monique’s shoulder, and she stopped talking, at least
for the moment.
    “He might be a thief, but he didn’t kill my
brother,” Alex said. “The coins weren’t what were important here.
You didn’t care that Jackson took the coins. Well, maybe you cared,
but it wasn’t your top priority. Getting this was.”
    Alex reached down and picked up the tightly
wrapped towel at his feet. As he opened it, the missing bathmat
tumbled out onto the floor. “You got scratched during the argument
with Tony, didn’t you? Were you afraid your blood was on it,
too?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”
Monique said as she tried to cover one hand with another.
    Alex continued. “I already saw your
band-aid. Sure, we all thought the coins were the driving motive,
but honestly, both of you had the opportunity and the motivation to
steal from Tony. But only one of you had a reason to kill him.” He
turned to Jackson. “I’m not sure if the police can even arrest you
with the evidence we’ve uncovered. After all, the fake coins Tony
had and the ones we made up are all worthless.”
    Jackson looked surprised, and a little
relieved, but then Mor added, “Don’t forget about the real
coin.”
    Jackson laughed, a cold and hard sound.
“According to you people, I never had it. If had to guess, I’m
willing to bet that it’s in a safe somewhere around the inn,
probably in your office.”
    It was clear to Alex that Jackson knew all
about his safe, and what it held, including the piece of paper he
and Mor had found, which Alex had brought along with him, just in
case he needed it. The last thing Alex wanted was for Jackson and
his boss to ever come back to the Hatteras West Inn. He took the
paper from his pocket, and then handed it to Jackson.
    “What do you get out of