If he thought the carriage was prepared only the week before the event, then he’d think he still had time to move the body. Still an odd place to keep the skeleton of someone you’d murdered. Sure, burying the body was out of the question. The ground was far too hard. A typical NP burial really meant internment into one of the many mausoleums. Cremation was another option. So hiding or destroying the body was the only choice.
Then there was the fact that the superintendent spent all his free time caring for his mother, so because of her, he had a nonexistent social life.
Which brought up the next question. Who on earth could he have killed?
I groaned. All this speculation was just confusing me more. Could it be the superintendent? Yes. But at this point, it could just as well be anybody.
Truth was, we really didn’t know anything yet. Once the skeleton was identified, I hoped we’d have a direction to go in. And maybe the half idea would become a full one that made more sense.
I dropped the plate of scones off in my apartment, half expecting to see Sin and Birdie in there. They weren’t, so I went over and knocked on Sin’s door.
He answered almost instantly, moving aside so I could come in. “Hey. How’d your dad take the news about the skeleton?”
“About as well as could be expected. Better, maybe. Probably because he’s pretty distracted with wedding stuff.”
Sin made a face. “I hate to think we’re interrupting the running of the kingdom.”
“Our wedding has become part of running the kingdom. That’s just how royal events of this scale go.” I sat down on his couch.
“If you say so.”
“I do.” I gave him a wink, then turned to Sugar, his sweet little white cat, who was curled up on the farthest cushion. I gave her a little scratch. Spider hadn’t been around when I’d been in my apartment, meaning he was probably sleeping in the closet. That was one of his favorite hideouts. Sugar was wearing her translation collar that interpreted her vocalizations as words. “How’s your day going, Sugar?”
She rolled over and showed me her tummy. “More scratches. More.”
I laughed. Sugar didn’t have quite the vocabulary that Spider did, but it was improving. “Yes, ma’am.” I looked at Sin. “How’d Birdie like the tour? There’s no way you showed her the entire palace. You weren’t gone long enough.”
“Not even close to half. But after all that food, and the excitement of today, and traveling, she decided she’d rather have a nap, then see the palace at a time when she was awake enough to remember it.”
“Yeah, today’s already been pretty busy for her.” The idea of a nap made me yawn.
Sin laughed. “Maybe you should go lie down too. Do we have plans for tonight?”
“I figured we’d take Birdie into town if she wants to go, but otherwise, no. Don’t forget, we start wedding planning bright and early tomorrow morning.”
He held his hands up and backed away. “I have class in the morning. Another Royal Daily Life class. So that planning session is all you and Birdie.”
I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. “Men.”
He smiled wistfully. “Who knew not being a royal would pay off so handsomely?”
“Let me know if you still feel that way after a couple of hours of that class.”
“You know, it’s actually been pretty interesting so far. And digging into your family tree has shown me just what kind of crazy to expect from you and at what age to expect it.”
I snorted. “I see you’ve found out about Great-Great-Great-Aunt Lynette?”
“Was she the one who cavorted naked on the tundra?”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “We don’t talk about that.”
He came over and leaned down, planting a long kiss on my mouth. “First of all, I’m down for naked cavorting if you are. Secondly, I don’t care how crazy you get, I’m always going to be nuts about you.”
I put my arms around his neck. “We can be nuts together, then.”
He leaned in to kiss me again, but a knock at the door interrupted the moment. He kissed me anyway, but it was quick. “I’ll get it.”
He went to the door while I scratched Sugar some more. It was a footman. “Pardon me, Consort Sinclair. Do you know where Princess Jayne is? I have a note for her.”
“She’s here. I’ll give it to her.”
“Thank you, sir.” He handed the envelope to Sin, then took his leave.
Sin came back and sat beside me on the couch. “Recognize the handwriting?”
He held the envelope so I could see my name scrawled on the front. “Vaguely familiar, but then again, not really. Open it.”
“It’s for you.”
“So?”
He slid his nail under the seal and took out the note inside. “It’s from the constable.”
I leaned my head back and stared at the ceiling while still lazily scratching Sugar’s fluffy belly. “Read it?”
“Princess, just wanted you to know Dr. Charming has determined that the skeleton is female. No luck with the missing-persons files yet. Larsen.”
I picked my head up. “Huh. I wasn’t expecting it to be female. Well, I don’t know what I was expecting. I need to tell Ezreal. He’s searching through palace records to see if he can find a missing person too.”
“Well, it eliminates half the population.”
I nodded. “I’ll run down to his office and tell him.”
“You want me to go with you?”
“Absolutely.” It would be a great opportunity to tell him about my almost idea. “Although I really don’t want to go at all. I’d rather just snooze on the couch.”
Sin gave me a look. “You don’t have to solve this, you know.”
“I know, but I asked Ezreal to help, and I feel like not telling him would make him do double the work. If he knows he only has to look for a missing woman, that would be easier, right?”
“Yeah, it would be. Okay, let’s go.”
We headed out, and on the way I explained the weird partial thought that had come to me about the hangar tours and not yet digging into the reason for why they were canceled. Then I explained my ideas about the superintendent and why it wouldn’t make sense for him to be the killer. If there was a killer. “It’s really crazy, right?”
“I don’t know if I’d say really crazy. Slightly crazy. But life with you has taught me that crazy in all its forms is possible.”
“Well, I’m putting it all on the back burner until we know who this woman is. Then we can reassess.”
Sin put his arm around me. “It’s cool you brought up the canceled hangar tours to your dad, first of all. But is it weird that he didn’t know about it? He’s the king. Doesn’t all of that kind of stuff eventually make it onto his desk?”
“Yes and no. I mean, the superintendent of schools is like the king of the school system. It’s not like he’d have to ask permission to do something like that. But my dad did say the guy is kind of strange. Keeps to himself and not much on social skills, but like I said before, he’s also taking care of his very sick mother, so you have to give him some leeway there.”
Sin nodded. “Yeah, that has to be hard. What’s she got?”
“Grater’s lung disease. It’s something that I thought only miners got. It’s from inhaling the exceptionally cold air in the crystal mines. Winter elves can handle cold, but the mines are so much colder than the regular air, it can sometimes make them sick.”
He made a face. “Then why not heat the air in the mines?”
“That was tried. Raising the temperature enough to make a difference caused the crystal to crack and shatter.”
He grimaced. “That’s too bad.”
“It is, but now the miners wear regulators that heat the air before they inhale it. Grater’s is pretty rare these days.”
“Good to know. How would she have gotten it anyway? And what does the disease do?”
“No idea how. And it diminishes the lung capacity. I imagine she�
��s on oxygen and isn’t very mobile. Anything that raises the blood pressure or causes the lungs to work harder just makes breathing worse.”
“Wow.” He raked a hand through his hair. “That’s a terrible way to live. No wonder he’s not much for socializing. He’s got his hands full caring for her, and I’m sure he wants to spend time with her. Whatever time she has left.”
“Agreed.” Then I thought about that. “Except for the caring part. As superintendent, he could certainly afford full-time medical care for her. In-home, I mean. But then, maybe he’s got that, and he just can’t bring himself to leave her for long, because like you said, he wants to spend whatever time she has left with her. Who knows?”
“Right.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “I bet Mamie would know more.”
“Oh, you’re right. She would.” Mamie knew everything about everyone. And if she didn’t, she could find it out. She was the North Pole’s version of Birdie. And my uncle Kris’s secretary. “We need to talk to her. And we should really introduce her and Birdie, since they’re so alike.”
“Tomorrow after breakfast?” Then he sighed. “But you’ll have to go alone. I’ll be in class.”
“I can do it. I’m sure Birdie will want to say hi to my uncle anyway and see the toy factory. Maybe even see some of the town. You know, that will eat up a big chunk of the day. I’m not sure how much wedding stuff we’ll get done.”
“A few days of playing tourist with her isn’t going to hurt. You can ease into the wedding planning.” He smiled. “So long as you do get started on it.”
“We will, I promise. Birdie won’t let me postpone much longer. And I’m very aware that weddings, royal or otherwise, don’t happen overnight. The people involved need time to prepare everything. Even if it is their main project. We’re only a few months away now.”
We reached Ezreal’s door.
Sin turned to me. “It will all get done. No one wants to let you down, and there is plenty of time left for everything to be accomplished. You’ll see.”
“I know you’re right. I just can’t help but worry.”
He kissed my forehead. “I don’t want you to worry. I want you to enjoy our wedding day. It’s the only one we get, after all.”
I nodded and reminded myself to breathe. “Again, you’re right. It’ll all get done. And I want us both to enjoy it.”
Never in the history of royal weddings had there been one that was anything but a beautiful, perfect day. There was no reason to think ours would be any different.
Except for the dead woman in the carriage.
Because that was very different. And definitely not perfect.
That evening, we took Birdie to Sweetie’s, a mom-and-pop diner that did everything right. In the last couple of months, it had become one of Sin’s favorite spots. A good substitute for Mummy’s, he always said.
We’d called ahead to let them know we were coming, like we always did, mostly as a courtesy to them and so we could get the back-corner booth. It was the most private and the least likely to attract a crowd.
For the most part, Sin and I were left alone, but the closer the wedding got, the more excitement built up. People were charged up about it, and many of them wanted to wish us well. The love and support were amazing, but it was tiring too.
And we didn’t want to create issues for the restaurant.
I sat between Birdie and Sinclair, and our server, the same one we usually had, Jake, brought us glasses of water and menus.
He gave us a little bow. “Welcome to Sweetie’s, Princess, Consort, and guest.”
“Thank you,” Sinclair said for all of us.
Jake smiled. He was an older man and had worked at Sweetie’s all of his adult life. It was a good gig. I knew that from one of the palace chefs who had worked here in high school. She always talked about her experience here with glowing remarks. “I’ll give you a few minutes to look over the menu, but we do have two specials tonight. Prime rib and honey bourbon-glazed salmon.”
“That sounds good,” Birdie said.
I nodded. “It’s all good. Thanks, Jake.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” He left us to peruse the menu.
“Seriously, though,” Birdie said. “What should I get?”
“You can’t go wrong with any of it,” Sin said. “The shrimp and lobster pot pie is one of my favorites. The stuffed pork chops are delicious too.”
I closed my menu. “So is the butternut squash ravioli, which is what I’m getting, along with a cup of corn chowder.”
Birdie groaned. “You’re not making this any easier for me.”
Sin laughed. “I promise there are no bad choices.”
She looked up from her menu. “What are you getting?”
He tapped his finger on the menu. “Something a little different. BBQ bacon burger with cheddar cheese, sweet potato fries and jalapeño coleslaw.”
“My mouth is watering.” She shook her head. “I hadn’t even considered a burger until now. Thanks for nothing.”
His grin widened. “The palace kitchen makes a decent burger, but it doesn’t compare to what you get here. Just throwing that out there.”
Jake came back with a piping-hot dish and set it in the center of the table, then passed out small plates to each of us. “Compliments of the kitchen. Lasagna-stuffed mushrooms. Word of warning, they are very hot.”
Birdie leaned in. “I’d say so. The cheese is still bubbling. They smell so good, though.”
Jake nodded. “They are. I tried one earlier. Have you decided on what you’d like to eat, or should I give you a few more minutes?”
I answered him. “I don’t think Birdie is ready.”
She glanced at Jake. “It all looks too good, and I can’t decide. What would you suggest for a first-timer?”
“That is a tough one, but…” He pointed to something on her menu. “The Sweetie’s sampler is a good choice. One mini shrimp and lobster pot pie, a slice of our famous meat loaf, half of a ham-and-cheese risotto stuffed pepper and two sides. I’d suggest our bacon horseradish mashed potatoes and minted baby peas, but that’s just me.”
She closed her menu. “Done.” She looked at Sin and me. “You might have to roll me back to the palace, though.”
Jake took her menu. “We’re happy to box up any leftovers. Just in case you want to save room for the seven-layer tundra cake.”
Birdie bit her bottom lip. “I shouldn’t ask this, but I’m going to anyway. What’s a tundra cake?”
“Our version of black forest. Seven layers of chocolate cake alternating with chocolate mousse, vanilla buttercream, and cherry jam, all covered with dark chocolate ganache.”
A little moan came out of her. “I definitely need that.” Then she waved a hand at us. “You two go before I add anything else to my order.”
Sin and I gave Jake our orders, and as he left to put them in, a little girl approached the table. She couldn’t have been more than five or six, her pale blue hair in braids, and she held a piece of paper very close to her jumper.
She did a deep, wobbly curtsy that was about the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
“Hi there,” I said.
She rose and looked me in the eyes, as solemn as could be. “Good evening, Princess Jayne.”
“Good evening. What’s your name?”
“Matilda. I like you a lot.”
“That’s very kind of you. I like you a lot. Your hair is very pretty.”
She grinned, revealing a missing tooth. “Thank you. My mom says you have a cat. I have a cat too. His name is Mr. Boots, because his feet are all white.”
“Mr. Boots sounds very handsome. My cat is all black, and his name is Spider. He came with that name. Consort Sinclair has a cat too. Her name is Sugar, and she’s all white.”
Matilda’s smile somehow got bigger. “I love cats.”
“Me too. Are you having dinner here with your family tonight?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Birdie put a
hand to her cheek. “The cuteness is too much.”
I nodded in agreement. “What can I do for you this evening, Matilda?”
She suddenly went shy. “I drew you a picture.”
“You did? Is that the piece of paper you’re carrying?”
She nodded.
“Can I see it?”
She nodded again and put the paper on the table, turning it around as she did.
Her crayon drawing was of a wedding cake. It was covered in snowflakes and swirls and all kinds of embellishments and completely extravagant. On top of the cake was a crown. My snowflake tiara, actually. I loved it.
“Wow, that is the best-looking cake I’ve ever seen. Did you design this yourself?”
“Yes, Your Grace.” She was still smiling, but was now also swaying back and forth slightly, hands clasped in front of her.
“Are you going to be a baker when you grow up?”
“Yes, just like my mom and dad. But I want to make cakes. They make cookies.”
A woman came up behind her. “Matty, why don’t you let the princess enjoy her dinner now, honey?” She smiled at me, bobbing down slightly. “I’m sorry if she’s taken up too much of your time.”
“Not at all. Matilda and I were just discussing the design she came up with for my wedding cake. It’s the best I’ve seen. I’ll be taking it with me to the bakery when we go for cake tasting.”
Matilda’s eyes went wide. “You will?”
“You better believe it.” I looked at Sin. “What do you think?”
He appraised it with a serious eye. “It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a cake. I say yes.”
Matilda started clapping. Her mother looked like she might fall over.
“Thank you so much for this, Matilda,” I said. “You have your mom contact the palace steward tomorrow and give him all your details so we can credit you properly, okay?”
Her nod made her braids wiggle. “Yes, Your Grace. Thank you.”
Her mother swallowed. “Your Highness, are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
Her expression stayed on utter surprise for a moment more, then changed into shocked disbelief. “That is…so kind of you. Thank you.”
Miss Frost Says I Do: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 7) Page 5
