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Shantara I’d dig around a
little,” Alex explained.
    “Why is she so concerned about Jefferson
Lee’s murder?”
    “She feels responsible,” Alex said as he
opened the drawer.
    There were a few of the standard room
postcards with The Hatteras West Inn on them, the beacon shining
out into the Foothills night. Alex was about to shut the drawer
when he noticed that one of the postcards had writing on it.
    He carefully pulled the card out of the
drawer by its edges and read the note printed in block letters
nearly pressed through the paper: “MEET ME AT NEW BUILDING SITE
TONIGHT. URGENT.”
    With a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of
his stomach, Alex realized that he was probably holding the lure
that had been used to lead Jefferson Lee to his death.
    “Alex, you shouldn’t have touched that; it’s
evidence,” Elise said.
    “I was careful, I picked it up by its edges.
Elise, you always put fresh postcards in the rooms, don’t you?”
    “Every day, without fail. That card was meant
for Jefferson Lee. Alex, you know you can’t keep it. It’s
evidence.”
    Alex started to slip it back into the drawer,
then decided to leave it out in the open, just to be certain
Armstrong would see it. “I’m not about to take it. I’m not sure it
will do anybody any good; block lettering is almost impossible to
trace. Anybody could have gotten the postcard; the inn’s full of
them. I’ve even got a ton of them in the lobby and in town for
people to take.”
    “At least we know the murder was
premeditated,” Elise said softly.
    Alex answered, “I’m not sure Armstrong’s
going to see it that way. To him, this could mean anything. It
could have been about a lover’s rendezvous or even an appointment
for a business meeting.”
    Elise shook her head. “I don’t think so, and
you don’t, either. Why would somebody print in block letters if
their intent was innocent?”
    “Hey, I agree with you. I think the killer
wrote it, too.” He studied the card another moment, then said, “You
know, I’d really like a copy of this. Do you think I’d be risking
too much taking it downstairs and making a photocopy?”
    “Alex, I wouldn’t try it,” Elise said
gravely.
    “It might come in handy,” he said stubbornly,
pulling out his handkerchief and picking the card up carefully by
the edges. “I’ll have it back here before anyone knows it was ever
gone.”
    Elise looked doubtful, but Alex was
determined not to let the clue, or at least a copy of it, get away
from him.
    As they hurried down the stairs to the
office, Craig Monroe, one of the potters, met them halfway up.
    Monroe said, “We need some old towels if
you’ve got them. Somebody’s walked off with some of ours, if you
can believe it.”
    Alex hid the postcard behind his back as
Elise said, “Why don’t you come with me to the storage closet, and
I’ll see what we’ve got.”
    As Elise slipped past Alex, their eyes met
for an instant. The warning in her glance was clear.
    Alex carefully closed the door to his office
and made three copies of the note, blowing one up to twice its
normal size, just in case there was something he’d missed. The
first copy he made was skewed, with part of the “URGENT” cut off,
and Alex chucked it into the trash can after adjusting the card
properly on the copier glass.
    He had a horrible time finally getting the
card off the glass of the copier without smudging any fingerprints
that might be there, but it finally lifted off.
    Alex’s foot was on the top stair when he
noticed that the door to Jefferson Lee’s room was standing ajar. He
knew he’d locked it carefully behind him a few minutes before.
    It looked like Alex wasn’t the only one
conducting an investigation.

Chapter 6

    Alex nearly dropped the postcard when he saw
Sheriff Armstrong standing at Jefferson Lee’s writing desk, Elise a
step behind him.
    He tried to slip the card back onto the
dresser when Armstrong swung around.
    “What the devil’s going on