Read Online Ring for Murder (Lighthouse Inn Finale) by Tim Myers - Free Book Online Page A

weight again. “If they
aren’t, the weight is matched pretty closely. What was Tony doing
with these?”
    “Any thoughts?”
    “I have a hunch they were part of some kind
of scam,” Alex said. “I hate to speak ill of the dead, but it’s not
going to help us find Tony’s killer if we don’t accept the fact
that my brother was a bit of a lowlife.”
    “He fell on some hard times, that’s all,”
Elise said.
    Alex knew that she was just trying to help,
but it wouldn’t work. He knew his brother for what the man had
really become. If he accepted that, even used his knowledge of Tony
to his advantage, it might just help him find his brother’s
killer.
     
    “There you are. We thought you might have
bugged out on us already,” Mor said as Alex and Elise walked back
into the lobby of the Dual Keepers Quarters. They’d done there best
to straighten the room back up before they’d left, even taking
fresh soap and tissues from the maid’s closet down the hall. When
they left the scene of the crime, it was as much like it had been
when they’d first searched it as they could manage. Alex had closed
a paperclip in the lower part of the door so that if it were
opened, he’d see it on the floor. It wouldn’t keep anyone out, but
it should tell him if someone had broken in.
    Alex shook his head. “No, but things have
changed. We’re not going in search of our suspects.”
    “Why not?” Emma asked. “I thought you wanted
to solve your brother’s murder.”
    “I do, but we got lucky. Our suspects found
us instead.”
    Mor whistled softly. “Are you telling me
that they had the nerve to come back here, after what happened?
They have to know that they’ll be suspects in Tony’s murder. It had
to be something pretty compelling to get them here.”
    Alex looked around just to be sure they were
alone. He still wasn’t satisfied, though. “Let’s go into my office
for a second.”
    Mor and Emma looked puzzled by the request,
but they followed it nonetheless.
    Once the door was safely closed behind them,
Alex unwrapped the bar of soap housing the first coin he’d found
and handed it to Mor. “Be careful. There may be fingerprints.”
    “Gotcha,” Mor said. He studied the coin,
still encased in the soap, and then handed it to Emma as he said,
“I’m guessing you found this in the room were Tony was
murdered.”
    “We did,” Elise replied.
    “Is it real?” Mor asked.
    Emma said, “Unless I miss my guess, it
appears to be off the Santa Angela shipwreck. Most folks believe it
was lost off the Florida Keys, but no one’s been able to find
it.”
    “Until now,” Mor said.
    Alex knew that Emma was an amateur
gemologist and generalized treasure hunter. Until he learned
otherwise, he was going to go with her theory. “So, do you think
it’s legitimate?”
    “ I can’t say for sure
without running some tests. It would help if I could study the back
of it so I could get a closer look at what’s there.”
    “Hang on a second,” Alex said as he had a
sudden thought. “Mor, how are you at counterfeiting?”
    Mor got it instantly, a quickness that Alex
cherished about his friend. “How close does it have to be to pass
as legit?”
    “As close as you can manage,” Alex said.
    Mor thought about it, and then after a few
moments, he said, “I’ll need the real coin for the casting. I think
lead will do nicely, with some gold paint to make it look real.
Sorry if I mess up the fingerprints on it, but there’s really no
way around it.”
    “You can use it,” Elise said. “It’s got to
be clean.”
    “I’d hope so,” Mor said.
    “Of fingerprints,” she added.
    “Alex?” Mor asked.
    “Go ahead.”
    Mor took out his pocketknife, selected a
blade, and then pried the coin of the soap. “This will do just
fine,” he said as he hoisted the coin in his hand.
    Emma reached out. “Let me see that.”
    He did as he was told, and after a moment,
Emma said, “Don’t hold me to it, but I’m guessing this