"Keep me posted," Alex said to dead air.
The conversation with Elise had done nothing to ease his mind. It seemed like she"d barely thought of him since she"d left. That male voice in the background had to be her fiance, Peter Asheford.
Alex knew he had to stop feeling sorry for himself as he hung up the phone. Her father was going into major surgery. Of course she needed to be there with him. As for Peter Asheford, he had every right to be there as well. No matter how much he wished otherwise, Elise was engaged to another man. But he knew in his heart that she was coming back; Hatteras West had a hold on her.
What Alex had to do was to stop listening to all the tongue wagging in Elkton Falls and get on with his life.
After a sandwich and a gla.s.s of ice-cold milk, Alex decided to walk the grounds to see how badly they"d been trampled by all of the visitors to the fair. The heavy turnout was a real boon for Shantara, but it had been nothing short of a nightmare for him. Alex was beginning to envy Lucius Crane"s wisdom in refusing to hold the fair on his farm.
The first thing that struck Alex as he walked the grounds was the unbelievable amount of litter. His once-pristine land was covered with the debris from the day: discarded wrappers, packages, soda cans, and the other flotsam and jetsam from the wave of people who had pa.s.sed through.
As he started to pick up the first piece of trash, he heard a car horn behind him. Shantara was leading a cavalcade of the worst collection of cars, trucks and vans he"d ever seen in his life.
As she popped out of her station wagon, Shantara said, "Alex, that"s not your job. I"ve got my crew here. Sorry we"re late."
"I just couldn"t stand seeing my land like this."
As the young people filed out of their vehicles, Shantara said, "Don"t worry, Alex, we"ll have this mess cleaned up in no time. You"re in for a treat. These kids are good." She turned to the gathered young men and women. "Okay, let"s jump on this. Get your trash bags from Emily, and drop them off at Byron"s truck when they"re full." As the crew started toward the mess buzzing and laughing, Shantara called out to them, "Remember, recycle everything you can."
They fell on the fairground in a crashing wave, laughing and working as they moved through the gra.s.s like a horde of human vacuum cleaners.
"What are you paying your crew?" he asked.
"Minimum wage and pizza at Mama Ravolini"s as a bonus. They were happy to get the work."
Alex said, "From the look of this crowd, I"d say they"re going to break you with the pizza offer."
Shantara smiled. "Irma Bean"s giving me the pizzas at cost, and the kids only get the bonus if they work both days. I"ll do all right." It was amazing how quickly the teens cleaned up after the fairgoers, though the trampled gra.s.s wouldn"t be as easy to restore.
"Alex, don"t worry about the gra.s.s. I"ve got enough left in the budget to reseed this area," Shantara said, reading his mind.
"I"ve got it covered. I"d been planning to do it myself anyway. So, are you happy with the results of all your hard work?"
"I guess so. Alex, one of the best reasons I came up with this idea was to expose people to the old ways of doing things. It wasn"t just a way to make money. There are skills that are being lost every day, and we"re not doing nearly enough to preserve them."
Alex said, "Easy, girl, it was just a question. You don"t have to convert me."
Shantara frowned. "It"s just so frustrating. I imagined people coming out here to see the demonstrations, to even try their hands at a few of the crafts themselves, and instead they"ve flocked here to see the murder scene! You want to hear something ghoulish? Jefferson Lee"s stuff sold like crazy as soon as everyone found out about the murder. He had a college girl working his booth, and she kept right on selling everything, even after he was dead!"
"Did Jefferson have any family left? I didn"t know him all that well."
"There"s a sister in Hickory; she"ll be coming tomorrow. Callie told me she wasn"t all that surprised when she found out her brother had been killed."
Alex said, "From what I"ve been hearing lately, I can"t say I"m all that surprised, either." Alex shook himself. "Don"t mind me, I"m out of sorts tonight for some reason."
"It"s got to be hard on you, with Elise gone."
Alex exploded. "Why does everyone think she"s gone for good? She"s visiting her parents on a medical emergency! Shantara, I swear to you, she"s coming back to Hatteras West!"
She looked startled by his outburst. "Easy, Alex, I just meant it had to be tough on you running the inn by yourself until she gets back."
He laughed softly. "Sorry, it"s just that everyone I"ve talked to today has made it sound like she"s gone forever. You wouldn"t believe Jenny Harris. She wants us to start dating again."
Shantara said disdainfully, "It doesn"t surprise me in the least. I know you two used to go out, Alex, but you"re better off without her."
"It sounds like you"re a little jealous yourself," he said, smiling.
She laughed just a little too loud and too long for Alex"s ego to take.
He said gruffly, "Okay, you made your point."
"Nothing personal, Alex, but you"re not my type."
"And just what is your type?"
She pretended to think about it a minute, then said, "Let"s see, he"s got to be strong, handsome, rich, don"t forget a good sense of humor-"
Alex cut her off. "You"re not asking for much, are you? And you think you"re going to meet this Prince Charming in Elkton Falls?"
"Where there"s breath, there"s hope," Shantara said with a twinkle in her eye.
A young girl with a long ponytail poking out the back of her baseball cap said, "We"re done here, Shantara. The gang wanted me to ask you if there was any chance we could get an early start on that pizza party."
"Sorry, Emily, you know the deal; no pizza until the end of the fair, and that"s not until tomorrow night."
Emily winked at her and whispered, "I told them that"s what you"d say, but the boys insisted I ask anyway."
"I understand completely."
After the kids poured back into their cars, Alex had to admit the place did look a thousand percent better than it had before they"d arrived.
He only wished the fair was over now, instead of having to go through it all again tomorrow.
Alex patted Shantara"s shoulder gently and asked, "Would you like to come in? I"ve got a bottle of wine and two comfortable chairs just calling our names."
"Don"t tempt me. If I did that, I"d never make it home."
"We had a cancellation, so I"ve got a spare room, if you"re interested. You"re welcome to stay at the inn tonight."
"No offense, Alex, but I need to get away from Hatteras West for a little while."
"Not a problem," he said.
Alex was walking Shantara to her car when there was a frantic wail from the front porch as the door slammed.
"My wife is gone! Somebody"s kidnapped her!" Craig Monroe stood there, outlined in the moonlight, a look of complete and utter despair on his face.
It appeared that the evil visiting Hatteras West was still somewhere lurking on the grounds.
Chapter 10.
Alex ran up onto the porch, with Shantara not far behind. "How do you know she"s been kidnapped, Craig? Did you find a note?"
"No," Craig snapped, "but she told me to meet her in our room an hour ago, and she"s not there."
Shantara said calmly, "Craig, she probably just got held up talking to someone on the grounds. I"m sure she"s around here somewhere."
"You don"t understand. Her insulin is still in the minifridge. She"s got to have it, and it"s something Marilynn"s not about to forget or put off. I"m telling you, the only way she"d miss an injection is if somebody kidnapped her. Call the sheriff, Alex! He needs to get right on this!"
Alex said, "Craig, I know you"re worried, but Armstrong"s not going to do anything based on what you can tell him right now. He"s going to want something a little more concrete. You need to call home and see if your wife"s there. Then check around and see if there"s anywhere else she could be: with friends, family, anybody you can think of. In the meantime, I"ll take a look around the property and see if I can find her."
Shantara chimed in, "I"ll help you, Alex."
Craig nodded abruptly as he rushed back into the inn. "Hurry. We"ve got to find her. She has to have that insulin."
Alex headed for the lighthouse as Shantara said, "Do you think she"s really up there?"
Alex shook his head. "I doubt it, but it"s still the best observation point around. If she"s anywhere nearby, we should have a good chance of spotting her."
Alex"s gaze went to the new construction as he hurried past. He would have to search there more thoroughly if Marilynn didn"t turn up soon, but it was something he"d rather put off. One body found on the site in the last twenty-four hours was more than enough for him. There was a reason besides kidnapping that could keep Marilynn from her insulin.
That was if she was past needing it.
Alex and Shantara climbed the lighthouse steps at a fierce pace, leaving little breath for conversation. As Alex opened the door at the top, they stepped out onto the observation platform and started walking slowly around, intent on finding any sign of Marilynn. The breeze had picked up and was pressing against him like a ghostly hand. Alex usually loved heavy winds at Hatteras West, but as the sky began to darken, all he cared about was finding the potter. The inn looked like a dollhouse from so high above, and the new construction looked like a precocious child had started a building with sticks but had grown bored with the process and had given up. Alex could see parts of Bear Rocks from the railing, but much of the rock formation was hidden by a thick band of trees that separated it from the main buildings.
There was no sign of Marilynn anywhere.
They made the circuit twice around the observation platform when they met again near the door.
"Anything?" Shantara asked.
"Not a thing," Alex admitted. "I couldn"t see most of Bear Rocks, though. There"s a chance she could be there."
"Let"s go look, then."
As they hurried down the stairs to the top landing, Alex paused at the window and said, "I want to see if there"s anything we missed."
They both peered out each of the narrow windows, but they couldn"t see anything that would help.
On the way down, Shantara asked, "Alex, do you honestly think Marilynn Baxter"s been kidnapped? What possible reason could anyone have for grabbing her?"
"I don"t have the slightest clue. To be honest with you, I believe Craig"s overreacting, but I could be wrong. I couldn"t even guess why anyone would kidnap his wife. They don"t have a lot of money, do they?"
"No, they both work real jobs to support their pottery studio. I can"t imagine them having anything anybody else would want."
As Alex started down the steps again, he said, "Well, Craig must think so, or he wouldn"t have immediately a.s.sumed she"d been kidnapped. Unless ..."
"Unless what?" Shantara asked, breathing hard from the climb down.
"Unless he"s afraid the reality of what might have happened to her is worse," Alex said, voicing his earlier fear.
Shantara paused a few steps until she asked her next question. "You don"t honestly think something"s happened to her, do you, Alex?"
"I wish I knew, but I can"t deny it"s a possibility. I"ve got a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something"s wrong."
As they finally reached the bottom, Shantara said, "No offense, but I hope you"re mistaken."
"Believe me, so do I."
Craig met them as they approached the inn. "Did you find her?" he asked breathlessly.
"Not yet. I take it she wasn"t at any of the places you called," Alex said.
"We don"t have that many friends," Craig said brusquely. "n.o.body"s seen her."
Alex looked over at the new construction. "There"s a chance she could be there."
Craig yelled, "Marilynn! Marilynn!"
There was no response.
Craig waited a few moments, then said, "Obviously she"s not there, or she would have answered me."
Alex said, "Craig, why don"t you go work the phones some more. Shantara and I have a few more places to check."
"Forget that. I"m coming with you."
Alex stopped him dead in his tracks. "Listen, we might find something you"re not going to want to see."
The man flushed for a second, then said, "I need to know, Alex. She"s my wife."
As they walked through the growing twilight toward the new construction, Alex kept a constant vigil for anything out of the ordinary.
With real sighs of relief, they found that the construction site was empty. Alex had silently dreaded finding another exhibitor pinned against a post. Could it be that Jefferson Lee"s murder was connected to the disappearance of Marilynn Baxter? Or was Marilynn gone for another, entirely different reason? There were too many unanswered questions buzzing around Alex"s head.
"What"s next?" Craig asked.
"Bear Rocks is the only other place on the property she could be."
"She wouldn"t just stay out there, Alex, not in the dark."
"Wait right here," Alex said as he went into the inn. Evans Graile was still sitting in his chair, a bright glow lighting his face. "Isn"t this awful? A kidnapping! Imagine that!"