Murderous Matrimony (Renaissance Faire Mystery)

by Lavene, Joyce

  He crept to the bench, surveying the spot before he sat down. “How do you know this, Jessie? Can you see her? Can you communicate with her?”

  I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes. I told him all about my last two terrible weeks with Wanda. “She’s getting much worse.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Chase asked as he came around the corner. “I thought something was wrong with us. I don’t know. Wedding jitters. Cold feet. Change of heart.”

  I got up and threw my arms around him. “Never. I would never change my heart about you. I was worried you might change your mind about me.”

  “You said Wanda was hanging around.” He kissed me. “You didn’t say all those other things were happening that you just told Merlin.”

  “I was embarrassed.” I was glad it was out in the open. “And I didn’t think you believed me.”

  “Yes, yes. Of course he believes you and you two still love each other.” Merlin got to his feet, his pointy hat crooked on his head. “Now what can we do about Wanda?”

  *

  I told Merlin what Madame Lucinda had told me. He stormed away to speak with her, determined to force her to make Wanda leave the Village.

  The security people helped Morris and Lynda clean up the mess. Morris was okay— just a little bruised and battered. He didn’t want to go to the hospital. He also demanded that Chase find some way to get Wanda out of the Village.

  Wanda had made him a true believer.

  Chase and I got large pretzels from a nearby vendor for lunch. We sat on the bench outside Polo’s Pasta and ate them with mustard. It was good to be able to really talk to him about Wanda’s ghost, and my feelings about the wedding.

  “I don’t know what we can do about the wedding,” he admitted. “This is a big deal for the Village. We both love it here and want to stay. If it helps them, it helps us, doesn’t it?”

  “We could elope first,” I suggested. “Then the big wedding would only be another weird event at the Village. I could be Lady Jessie and you could be the Bailiff. I want to start our lives together as Jessie Morton and Chase Manhattan. I hope that makes sense.”

  “Let me see what I can do.” He wiped a smear of mustard from my chin. “I love you. We’ll work something out. And we’ll find a way to take care of Wanda.”

  “I love you too.” I knew there probably wasn’t anything he could do. I knew I was stuck with the big wedding. I was just having a hard time adjusting to it.

  The team of security guards, all dressed as peasants, started coming out of Polo’s Pasta. They were shaking their heads and complaining about cleaning up the mess. Each of them was covered in tomato sauce. They smelled delicious!

  Chase got a call from the castle and frowned. “There are reporters at the gate. Someone took pictures of the stuff flying around in Polo’s. They want to walk through the haunted Village with their cameras and see if anything else happens.”

  “Well, Halloween at the Village is always popular. Maybe real spooks will be good for business too.”

  “For a while.” He put away his radio. “If people get hurt, that will fade very quickly. And if we lose shop owners like Polo’s, it will happen even faster.”

  I walked with him to the Main Gate where he’d have to meet with the reporters. I told him about the bookie that may have been responsible for Dave’s death by crossbow.

  “I suppose it’s possible,” he admitted. “After what I just saw, anything is possible. Jessie, have you tried reasoning with Wanda? I know the two of you didn’t get along while she was alive, but maybe if you explained things to her, it would help.”

  “You mean about the Village closing of she keeps it up? I’ll try. I don’t think she’ll listen. Good luck with the reporters.” I kissed him quickly and we parted ways.

  Merlin was emerging from Madame Lucinda’s purple and gold tent. I could tell by the confused and dazed look on his face that she didn’t have any better answers for him.

  Maybe he’d seen Buttercup!

  “There you are!” Merlin pointed at me with his staff. “I want to talk to you.”

  As he reached me, a group of knights from the Field of Honor thundered by on the cobblestones. Their armor gleamed in the sun, individual colors flashing, swords and lances drawn. Behind them came their squires and lackeys carrying their brightly colored banners, and signs that showed the times of the next joust.

  Merlin grasped my arm and held on to his hat. “You know, I’ve told these riders a dozen times not to ride up so quickly. It scares the bejesus out of me. I’m sure other people are scared too. Not good for business. Not good at all.”

  But as I looked around, visitors were standing on the grass, to one side or the other of their path. They were applauding and laughing. Children loved the riders. Adults were dazzled by their precision artistry.

  “Like Wanda?” I suggested.

  “Exactly.” He scowled back at the fortune teller’s tent. “She was no help at all! I don’t think she knows how to get rid of a ghost. I’ll have to consult my own sources.”

  “Chase doesn’t know how to get rid of a ghost either, but I’ll mention the riders to him,” I promised. “I wanted to talk to you about Dave the Madman’s murder.”

  “Yes?” He started up the path back to his apothecary that was so loved by all the visitors. Horace the moldy moose was waiting, along with his colored vials and bugs.

  “You know Dave was killed, right?”

  “Of course! I know everything that goes on around here.”

  That might have been an exaggeration, but I wasn’t questioning it. “Well, I’ve been looking into it. I think Dave may have been killed because he owed money to a bookie in Myrtle Beach.”

  “Really?” He paused and stroked his beard. “Does the bookie have a name?”

  “John Healy.”

  “Never heard of him.” He used his staff to quicken his pace past Totally Toad Footstools and the Treasure Trove.

  “Apparently, Dave was gambling, and losing heavily.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” He stopped again. “Why are you so interested? Were you having an affair with Dave?”

  “No! Of course not! I’m marrying Chase in two weeks!” I took a deep breath. “I was looking into it because the police are questioning Manny, my assistant. The antique crossbow and bolts Master Simmons donated to the museum are missing too. They may have been the murder weapons.”

  He’d stopped again near the big fountain on the King’s Highway between Our Lady’s Gemstones and Sarah’s Scarves. “Manny? Oh you mean the young Prince.”

  “Not you too!”

  He chuckled. “You have your sights set on him, don’t you?”

  “Merlin!”

  “Lady Jessie, stay out of police business—for once! Pick some flowers for your wedding bouquet. Deal with that pesky blue ghost. There must be other things you can do!”

  I let him walk away that time. There was no use trying to talk to him about it. I could never tell if he really knew much about the Village or he was just crazy anyway. If he did know something useful, it was hard trying to get him to tell anyone else!

  It appeared, for all of my belief that I could make things better, nothing was changing.

  I caught sight of Detective Almond coming toward me, and would have scurried away, but it was too late. He was already flagging me down.

  Now what?

  Chapter Six

  “Jessie Morton,” Detective Almond greeted me. “Just the woman I was searching for. I’m looking for a crossbow, and more information about your assistant. The man has no background at all, did you know that?”

  “Manny?” I answered cautiously. “Why don’t you ask him about his background?”

  “Because as soon as we got him to the station, his lawyer took him away, and now we can’t find him. Any ideas?”

  “Well, I know he had a background check. Adventureland requires it. I couldn’t hire him until they’d finished with it.” Manny got a law
yer—smart! “As far as a crossbow, I can’t help you. If you’re looking for the one that’s missing from the antique weapon museum, you’ll have to talk to someone else.”

  “Have you seen a photo of it or anything? Because right now, I’ve got zip.”

  Chase had probably told him about the missing crossbow and bolts. “You know it can’t be the murder weapon, right? The crossbow is too old, and the bolts that go with it are warped. I don’t think even an expert marksman could hit a person with it.”

  “Who told you that? It wasn’t mentioned in the report on it.”

  “Uh.” Think fast, Jessie! Master Simmons doesn’t want to be involved. “I saw it. It’s valuable because of its age and history, but that’s all.”

  “What about another crossbow?”

  “Sure. They sell them all around the Village. Anyone could own one.”

  “But these bolts were specific to this crossbow, right?”

  “I didn’t see the bolt that killed Dave. Do you have a picture of that?”

  He did, as a matter of fact. He pulled it up on his phone. There was still a spot of Dave’s blood on it. “There you go. Recognize it?”

  It was definitely one of the antique bolts that went with the crossbow Master Simmons had on his wall for many years. “It looks straighter. I think someone must have fixed it so it could be used to kill Dave.”

  Detective Almond’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at children playing on the swan swing, and throwing rubber frogs against the wall at the frog catapult.

  “Why would someone go through so much trouble to use that bolt if they could pick one up with a crossbow anywhere?” he asked.

  I thought about it. “To make it look like someone else killed Dave?”

  “Someone who owned the antique crossbow?”

  “No.” I backed away quickly from that position. Whatever trouble Master Simmons had been in, I didn’t want to be responsible for bringing it back to haunt him again. “I don’t know. Sorry.”

  “All right.” He nodded, and took a deep breath. “This place drives me crazy.”

  “I know.”

  “Well, for now, we need to find those records on your assistant, Jessie.” He showed me a piece of paper Manny had filled out. “There’s no trace of a man named Manawydan Argall. He doesn’t exist. I even checked with the Feds. He has no driver’s license, no social security number. Nothing. Why do you think that is?”

  “Because your computers aren’t working right?” I knew Manny was real. “We have that information. I hired him. Adventureland may seem like a crazy place, but they require personal information and they do a thorough background check. Maybe you’re not looking in the right place.”

  “Okay. Show me the information you have on him, and I’ll take it from there.”

  I wasn’t sure that was legal. Wasn’t he supposed to have a warrant or something?

  Maybe Bart would know! I was going to take a chance on it. I didn’t want to get Detective Almond even more set against Manny.

  “The information is stored at the castle on the computers. I’m sure someone could print up a copy of his employment records for you.” Or Bart could turn down the request.

  “Let’s go.” His eyes watched mine warily. “I don’t know how his lawyer got him out of my hands so quickly, Jessie, but I still want to talk to him. If you know how to arrange a meeting, I suggest you do it right away.”

  “Like you said, he doesn’t have a cell phone. I don’t know how to get in touch with him.”

  “He doesn’t have a vehicle registered to him either.” His voice was starting to sound impatient. “Does he live here in the Village or off site?”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I’ve never noticed.”

  Detective Almond put his hands on his hips. “Are you holding back on me?”

  “No. I’m telling you that I’ve been too busy to check where my assistant was living. You can alert Chase so he and the security people can look for Manny around the Village. Otherwise, I really don’t know what to tell you.”

  “Okay.” He nodded. “Let’s start with the castle. I’ll call Chase on the way. You better hope Manny’s information is in the system.”

  I started to ask why, but thought better of it. Detective Almond wasn’t in a very good mood. Of course, when was he? He always made it clear that he didn’t like being called out here.

  I wondered what had happened that had made him hate the place so much. After all, he was the original bailiff, way before Chase’s, or Roger’s time. At some point, he must have liked it. I would have asked him, but that was a conversation for another time.

  I took advantage of the twenty minutes it took to walk to the castle to tell Detective Almond about the bookie Dave had owed money to. All the while I was scheming about ways I could help Manny out of his situation.

  Clearly the police were short on suspects. Manny not being in the system, admitting that he and Dave had argued, and that he was good with a crossbow, made him an attractive suspect. I hadn’t realized how attractive, or I wouldn’t have sent him with the police so easily.

  “I know John Healy. I’ll check your bookie angle,” Detective Almond promised as we passed Gus at the castle gate. “How did you find out about that?”

  “One of the men working at the museum told me.” I didn’t think Phil would want me to mention him during a police investigation either.

  “One of them, huh? Is there something else I should know, Jessie?”

  “No. Sometimes I forget things. That’s all.” I laughed. “You know how it is with the wedding and all.”

  Gus didn’t challenge us as we entered the castle. The police bring out a certain fearful respect from Village residents. No doubt Gus had some past dealings with them too.

  We walked past the feasting area where there were dozens of shields and tapestries hanging on the wall. None of them were real or valuable. Anything worth money was kept in the main part of the castle where the king and queen lived.

  “Well, well.” Bart rolled to his feet. “You’re here again, Jessie. And Detective Almond. To what do I owe the honor?”

  Detective Almond shook Bart’s massive hand. His much smaller one looked like a doll’s in comparison.

  “Bart. Good to see you. I’m here on official police business. I need the employment records for Jessie’s assistant.”

  “Manawydan Argall,” I supplied.

  “You know, you should have a warrant for that information,” Bart said.

  Yes!

  “But you’re not going to make me get one, are you?” Detective Almond smiled at him, but it was like a sheathed sword. It could come out and cut you at any time.

  Bart looked at me. “I suppose it will be all right. Although, if Manny sues the Village, you might be in some trouble.”

  Oh well.

  “The police think Manny doesn’t exist,” I filled him in.

  “Okay.” Bart shrugged and sat back down in front of the computer. “I’ll look him up.”

  We waited as Bart searched through the employee records. There were a lot of them. It took a while. Then a tiny screen popped up. “Nope. No Manawydan Argall. Sorry.”

  “What? I filed his employment application with Adventureland. It has to be in there. Can you look again?”

  Bart looked again. He even cross referenced. “No. He’s not in here.”

  By that time, Chase was there—probably alerted by one of his security men that the police were in the Village. “What’s going on?”

  Detective Almond explained everything about his search for Manny. “Have you seen him around the Village?”

  “Not since you took him in,” Chase answered. “There has to be personnel information about him in the computer.”

  “Nope. Sorry. He’s just not in there.” Bart shook his head.

  “I had him fill out an application,” I argued. “Adventureland sends me a check for him every two weeks. Doesn’t that mean he has to be in the system?”

 
“Bart, check with corporate,” Chase said. “Something is screwed up. In the meantime, we’ll look around for Manny. That’s about all we can do.”

  Detective Almond’s fleshy face got a tough look on it. I could see something of his younger self in those taut lines.

  “I can do a little more than that. I’m issuing an arrest warrant for Mr. Argall. If any of you see him, call me. Chase, detain him when he shows up. I’ll talk to you later.”

  *

  “I’m sorry, lady,” Bart said after Detective Almond had stormed out of the castle. “If you’d given me a few minutes, I might have been able to come up with something for your friend.”

  “That’s okay,” I told him. “I didn’t expect you to lie about it. I wonder what happened to the information.”

  “Bart’s going to track that down,” Chase said. “Aren’t you?”

  Bart bowed. “I shall endeavor to do the appointed task.”

  “Thanks.” I hugged him. I can’t really get my arms all the way around him, but I can hug most of him.

  “If you find anything, call me first,” Chase told him.

  “Okay.”

  I left the castle with Chase. Gus saluted him as we walked by.

  Sir Reginald, who’d served as a knight on the Field of Honor, wished us a good day for our wedding. He was hurrying into the castle as we were leaving. A large group of visitors were accompanying him. They were all dressed in expensive Renaissance garb.

  He called attention to the fact that we were the couple getting married in the posters. “Lady Jessie and Bailiff Chase Manhattan are exemplary figures here.” Sir Reginald rarely spoke to either of us on a normal day. His stiff collar and snooty nose only allowed him to look at important people in the Village.

  There was no doubt the group with him fit in that category, if they were receiving a personal tour of the castle from Sir Reginald.

  Chase and I hurried away after smiling, bowing, and curtseying.

  “Do you think you might have kept a copy of Manny’s application?” Chase asked as we took the cobblestone walkway that led to the other side of the Village, away from the Main Gate.