The Extinguished Guest (A Lexie Starr Mystery, Book 2) by Jeanne Glidewell Read Free Book Online Page B

her attempts to take care of everyone's needs. With a pleasant lilt in
     my voice I spoke through the parlor door. "Crystal, my dear, it's time for you to
     take a much-deserved break as soon as you get a chance."
    "Yes, ma'am," she replied. "I'm ready for one."
    "I'm sure you are. You've been working hard all morning."
    I continued down the hall. As I passed the library, I looked through the glass doors
     and noticed Harry and Alma Turner sitting side by side in the ornate mahogany loveseat
     that Stone and I had discovered in an antique shop in the nearby town of Weston. They
     were both absorbed in the books resting on their laps, and were so identically positioned,
     they looked like human bookends. I hadn't had a chance to speak with the pair since
     they'd registered, so I decided to spend a few minutes with them now while I had the
     opportunity.
    I was reaching for the doorknob when I sensed, rather than felt, a hand brush across
     my backside. I wasn't positive it had even happened or had been intentional if it
     had, so I didn't know whether or not to be affronted when I saw Cornelius Walker slide
     by me on his way to his own room. I chose to ignore the gesture on the chance the
     tenuous groping had just been a figment. I was tired and stressed out, and my imagination
     might have been working overtime.
    "Let me know if you need help sleeping tonight," he said with a wink as he opened
     the door and quickly disappeared. He was gone from sight before I could respond, which
     was just as well because I'd been rendered speechless by his remark, which I knew
     held a hidden sexual connotation. I shook my head in astonishment. Cornelius reminded
     me of a stealth bomber. I never heard him coming, but he always made a big impression
     on me before he left my sight. I took a long, deep breath and entered the library.
    "Hello there, Ms. Starr," Harry greeted me as I entered the library.
    "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Turner. Please call me Lexie. What are the two of you reading?"
     I asked, making my voice pleasantly cordial.
    "Well, Lexie, I've found this interesting biographical book about one of my all-time
     favorite groups, The Spice Girls," the sixty-something gentleman said, as he turned
     the book toward me to display a photo of Posh Spice, aka Victoria Beckham, singing
     into a microphone. "And Alma's looking through some tome regarding military strategies
     employed in World War Two. Very dry stuff, if you ask me, but Alma's intrigued with
     it for some reason. I guess it's due to her German background. Her family immigrated
     to America when she was very young."
    German background or not, I couldn't imagine either one of them being interested in
     the book each had chosen, but I was continually amazed at the eccentricities of these
     Historical Society people.
    "So, are you two doing okay? Considering what happened this morning and all? I know
     it had to be quite a shock to you. It certainly was to me."
    "We're doing all right. But it was quite an unexpected turn of events, wasn't it?"
     Harry asked.
    "Yes," I agreed. "Very much so."
    "The investigators asked us to be ready to give a statement this afternoon, but neither
     of us heard or saw anything to report to them."
    "Then that's what you should say in your statement."
    "Have they come to any conclusions about who the perpetrator might be?" Harry spoke
     louder as his voice was nearly drowned out by a sound outside the library. We all
     looked up in time to catch a glimpse of Crystal through the glass doors. She was pushing
     a self-propelled vacuum sweeper down the hallway. She carried a feather duster in
     the other hand. I called out to her, and she looked startled. She must have been deep
     in thought. She waved off my offer to help her make up the guests' rooms for the very
     first time in her newly acquired position at the inn.
    "It won't take me long," she said. "And I'll enjoy seeing how the suites are decorated,
     if the rest of the inn is any indication of