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

is the real
thing. How on earth did your brother get his hands on it?”
    “I wish I could ask him,” Alex said.
    “I’m sorry, Alex,” Emma said. “I didn’t mean
anything by it.”
    “Hang on. There’s more,” Alex said as he
pulled out the shower-cap bag and dumped the rest of the coins out
onto the washcloth sitting on the desk.
    Mor whistled softly. “My, oh my.”
    “Don’t get too excited. I have a hunch these
aren’t real. Emma, what do you think?”
    “ Let me look,” Emma said.
She glanced around Alex’s office, found a cellophane wrapped
plastic cup, and removed it from its sleeve.
    Putting her hand into the plastic, Emma
chose a coin from the washcloth cache, held it for a moment, barely
glanced at it, and then put it back in the pile, her expression
ever cryptic. She chose three more coins at random, barely glancing
at them as she did so, and then said, “They’re all fakes. How did
you know?”
    “I’m betting my brother tried
double-crossing the wrong person,” Alex said. “Who knows where the
real coin came from, but he must have had the counterfeits made up
off them. I wonder how many copies he sold before he finally got
caught?”
    Elise touched his shoulder. “Alex, I’m so
sorry.”
    “I just wish I could say that I was
surprised,” Alex said. “Mor, how long to make the dummies?”
    “Alex, I don’t mind doing it, but why not
just use these?”
    “We might need them as evidence,” Alex said.
“I’d feel better if we used coins we make ourselves for bait.”
    “Understood. If I bust my hump, I can have
them ready in about three hours.”
    “It’s that easy?” Elise asked.
    “I didn’t say that, but I’ve done it before,
not with coins, mind you, but the process is the same. I’m going to
do sand castings. They’re quick and dirty, and I can use my tools
to polish them right up. Piece of cake.”
    Alex glanced at his watch. “If you don’t
mind, I’d appreciate it if you’d get right on it.”
    “How about me?” Emma asked. “Do I have a
task as well?”
    Alex knew that Emma was a whiz at
researching things on the Internet. “Dig into this coin’s history,
and the shipwreck you think it came off of. Find out what the
rumors are, if anyone’s claimed to have found it in the past.” He
nearly didn’t add the last bit on his mind, but there was no way he
could let that particular stone go unturned. “Do a search on my
brother, too. See what you can turn up.”
    “Even if it’s bad news?” Emma asked. It was
clear the large woman was uncomfortable with the prospect of
digging up even more dirt on his brother.
    “Make it as thorough as you can,” Alex said.
“We need to know what he’s been up to lately.”
    “Got it,” Emma said.
    “We meet back up here this afternoon, then,”
Alex said.
    “What are you two going to be doing in the
meantime?” Mor asked.
    “Two things,” Alex answered. “First, we’re
going to see what we can uncover about our guests, and second, we
need to come up with a plan on how best to use those coins you’ll
be making for us.”
    Alex opened the door and followed his
friends outside.
    “See you soon,” he said.
    They waved as they got into their car and
drove away. “Where should we begin?” Elise asked.
    “We need to put those counterfeit coins away
in our safe,” Alex said. “Real or not, they might be the evidence
we need to find Tony’s killer.”
     
    Their female guest came down the steps just
after Emma and Mor left the inn. Alex approached her and said, “I’m
sorry, but I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Alex Winston.” He
held out his hand, and she took it hesitantly. Alex felt a band-aid
on her hand in his grip, and he wondered if that was why she hadn’t
been eager to shake hands, or if it was because she’d been the one
who had killed his brother. Alex watched her face, searching for
some kind of reaction, but he didn’t see anything in her eyes to
betray the fact that she’d known