Fatal Fairies (Renaissance Faire Mystery Book 8)

by Joyce Lavene

  “Would you like to come in for a nightcap from your minibar?”

  He smiled at me. “Thanks anyway. I think I should go have a talk with Isabelle. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Chase left. I closed the door to his suite behind me. It seemed as though I’d struck out on both counts. He didn’t want to be Bailiff, and he was going to make up with Isabelle. I just needed to go to sleep and hope things would be better tomorrow.

  “You probably just need a nice glass of warm, mulled wine,” Starshine suggested. “That will fix you right up for a good night in that beautiful bed.”

  “Maybe. I know want to call the kitchen for it at this time of night. I always hated when guests did that when I worked here.”

  “Perhaps you should make that a wish.”

  “Okay.” It seemed stupid, but what the heck? “I wish for some warm, mulled wine.”

  The words were barely out of my mouth when there was a knock at the door. She giggled as I went to answer it. Magic was definitely in the air.

  It was Chase, holding of all things, two mugs of mulled wine.

  “I was thinking about it.” He smiled. “I’d rather have a drink and talk to you than see Isabelle tonight. Is that invitation still open?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dazed, I blinked.

  But I wasn’t at the door welcoming the love of my life into his rooms.

  Instead, I was in his big, beautiful bed. And Chase was sleeping, naked, beside me.

  I jumped up, caught my foot in one of the blankets, and fell on the floor. I was naked too! I tried to make a graceful exit and tripped over my pretty dress from last night.

  Oh my gosh!

  It was either magic or the worst mulled wine ever. I couldn’t remember a thing since seeing Chase with the mugs of wine at the door. I knew it was morning because Carolina sunshine was spilling through the mullioned windows.

  “What did you do?” I whispered to my fairy godmother. “You can’t just magic these things. A dress, sure. Or a situation, maybe. But not this one. He’s going to feel trapped and angry. He’ll think I’m as devious and underhanded as Isabelle. This will never work.”

  “Good morning, Jessie.” Chase was smiling as he stared down at me. “What are you doing down there? Come back to bed.”

  Wait. What?

  Maybe it had worked. Maybe it was okay. After all, I loved him in this life and the other one. Maybe he loved me too. I knew Chase never had random flings with women in the Village. I always thought it was because he knew people trusted him as Bailiff. But maybe it was more— an intrinsic part of his personality.

  “Good morning.” I smiled as tentatively as a new bride on her wedding night. “I-uh-forgot the bed was so high. That first step was a doozy.”

  I pushed myself to laugh and snorted. That sobered me. I reached for my wrinkled gown, pulling it up against my bare body.

  “It’s not even eight,” he said. “We have plenty of time. Shall we order breakfast in bed?”

  After wanting this so badly, it was suddenly moving too fast for me. I ran into the bathroom and closed the door like the hounds of hell were after me.

  Now what?

  “What are you doing, dear?” Starshine appeared, wrinkles between her tiny brows as she stared at me. “You’re going to undo all the good you’ve done. Get back in there and woo that man.”

  “I think the wooing is over.” I paced the warm tile floor. “I didn’t know this would happen. Not like this anyway. What was in that wine?”

  She giggled. “Just a sprinkling of pixie dust.”

  “I thought that made you fly?”

  “Pixie dust can help you do whatever is in your heart, Jessie. If it wouldn’t have been in Chase’s heart to stay with you last night, it wouldn’t have happened.”

  He knocked on the door. “That’s a big bathtub. There’s room for two.”

  Starshine smiled. “I assume you can handle it from here. It’s not your first rodeo with this show pony.” And she vanished.

  “Jessie? Are you okay?” he asked.

  She was right, my addled brain told me. This was Chase. My husband, and hopefully someday, the father of my children. I knew him. He knew me. This was absolutely right.

  I opened the bathroom door and assumed the pose, leaning against the doorframe with my hand on my hip—the provocative pose he’d missed yesterday.

  “I’m fine. Just making sure the water is hot.”

  * * *

  Two hours later, we were dressed and headed into the Village.

  We’d had a wonderful breakfast of strawberries and French toast with mounds of powdered sugar. It was even better looking at Chase while I was eating. I’d conquered the part about him wanting to be with me. Now we just had to solve the murder.

  I was wearing the men’s britches and blousy white shirt again. Portia had even found me a clean pair of boots. The day was before us. Anything was possible.

  “Would you like to get coffee before we head over for the joust?” Chase asked with a big smile on his face.

  “That sounds great. We can talk about whether or not we think Canyon is actually guilty of murder.”

  He put his arm around me. “I really don’t care. The police are off my back about it. I think we should let them do their job.”

  I stopped walking to stare at him. This was Chase, right?

  “But what about the squire saying the armor might belong to another knight? I have a feeling Detective Almond arrested Canyon because of the armor and his description matching what Blueberry saw. That’s not necessarily what happened. We have to finish asking around.”

  “Jessie.” He kissed me and held me tight. “Really. I’m ready to joust, and I need you to be my squire. Besides, I might get jealous with you spending so much time thinking about your ex.”

  “Canyon wasn’t my ex,” I said. “We were only sort of . . . dating. But that doesn’t mean I want to leave him in jail if he isn’t guilty.”

  “I’ll tell you what—let’s hand over all these questions to Roger. I’m sure he’s going to take over again as Bailiff. He’ll know what to do.”

  I agreed, and we walked through throngs of visitors entering the Village through the Main Gate. The scantily clad girls from the King’s Tarts pie shop were giving out more than pie samples, as usual. The minute they saw Chase, they wanted to give him everything.

  I intervened and took his arm to lead him around to where Master Archer Simmons was having his troop of archers shoot flaming arrows into the blue sky. The arrows dropped harmlessly into Mirror Lake but made a fantastic show.

  Roger Trent lived above his shop, The Glass Gryphon. He was an artistic maker of fine glass pieces. He was also a pain in the butt, only mitigated when he’d finally married basket weaver, Mary Shift from Wicked Weaves across the cobblestones from him.

  I’d apprenticed with both of them and had the scars to prove it.

  We found Roger outside his glass shop with a cast on his leg. He was in his fifties, still in good condition, his shaved head as sun-darkened as his face. He was the first Bailiff in the Village, if you didn’t count Detective Almond. Roger fit the bill nicely as a retired police officer who’d always had a passion for glass.

  “What happened, Roger?” Chase asked when he saw his leg.

  “I took a tumble off the climbing rock yesterday. Wouldn’t you know the king would ask me to take over as Bailiff again? I can’t do anything like this. I’m glad I have a good apprentice. Otherwise I’d have to close the shop too.”

  “What about Mary?” I asked without thinking.

  “Mary Shift?” He glanced across the street. “What about her?”

  I realized as he said it that they weren’t together. This was something else messed up because of my wish. “Just wondering about her.” I shrugged, feeling lame and stupid.

  “Anyway.” Roger turned back to Chase. “Not sure what we’re gonna do about a Bailiff for the next six weeks until I get this cast off. It sounds li
ke Canyon is gone. I wouldn’t have pegged him for a killer, even with my experience as a police officer.”

  “Thanks anyway.” I pulled Chase away before we could hear endless repetitive stories of Roger’s glory days on the job.

  “That’s too bad,” Chase said. “I don’t know anyone else who could do it.”

  “You mean besides you?”

  “Jessie—”

  “You’re the man for it. You’ve got experience as a paramedic. You understand the law because you’re an attorney. Maybe they’ll waive the six weeks’ training with the police since this is an emergency. I know Detective Almond doesn’t want to be here every day.”

  “I think we should head for the Field of Honor.” He started walking that way.

  “You’re so much more than a jouster,” I encouraged him. “You could do this, and we could find Apple Blossom’s real killer.”

  “What makes you think Canyon didn’t kill her?”

  “Because I just can’t see him that way, can you? He’s kind of crazy, but I don’t think he’d hurt anyone.”

  “I don’t know. I think he wanted to kill me last night. As for who he really is—I guess you’d be the best judge of that.”

  A group of knight groupies surrounded us to get Chase’s autograph on everything from small swords they’d bought at one of the shops to their arms and dresses. Yes, they were all women.

  I stood off to the side, realizing I was never going to talk Chase into becoming Bailiff. His motive for caring who killed Apple Blossom had vanished with Canyon’s arrest. I didn’t think it was because he didn’t care—it was more the attitude of it not being his job.

  We continued on to the Field of Honor where they were preparing for the first joust of the day. Horses were being exercised and hay spread on the field. Squires were shining their masters’ armor and someone was testing the loudspeaker at the grandstand.

  I got Chase ready for his joust, but I was thinking the whole time about the murder.

  It seemed to me that I had to talk with Canyon and Detective Almond to find out what was really going on. I was pretty sure Canyon hadn’t confessed to killing Apple Blossom. But if he wasn’t responsible, who was? And who in the Village could take over as Bailiff?

  “You’re quiet,” Chase observed as he pulled on his gauntlets. “Still thinking about Canyon?”

  “Only in the sense of wondering if the police have the right man.” I kissed him lightly on the lips.

  “You have to let them work, Jessie. They’ll figure it out.”

  But I was still mulling it over after the joust as Chase was swallowed by fans, men and women, that showered him with flowers for his winning event.

  “Don’t think you can keep him for long.” Isabelle stepped beside me, and we both watched him. “I know what it’s like to want him in your life. There’s no one like Chase. He broke up with me last night. I’m sure you know all about it.”

  “He didn’t mention it,” I said in what I hoped was a kind way. I didn’t want her to think we were talking about her.

  She sighed. “It’s all over the Village. My lady-in-waiting told me. She knew about it this morning before tea.”

  “I’m sorry. I know you care about him.”

  “Just a friendly warning—enjoy him while you can. It won’t last long.”

  I watched her walk away with dozens of male eyes following her. Isabelle wouldn’t have a problem finding another lover. She always had someone on a string.

  Chase was signing autographs again. While it was part of my job to get him undressed, I was too anxious to wait while his fans had finished adoring him. An idea had come to me that I wanted to explore.

  With my determination firmly in place, I strode confidently through the Village where the Three Chocolatiers were doffing their large feathered hats to welcome guests into their chocolate shop. Sometimes they did some swordplay outside to mimic their Three Musketeers theme.

  Bawdy Betty was out singing her fresh bagels song hoping to bring in some visitors, and the smell of barbecue from the Three Pigs Restaurant was wafting down the cobblestones.

  I arrived at Merlin’s Apothecary as a troop of Boy Scouts were admiring his collection of dead animal bones. Merlin was right there with them so he could identify the animals. Eww.

  “May I have a word with you when you’re finished?” I asked with a smile for the scouts.

  “Lady Jessie? What may I do for you this day?” He bowed awkwardly and almost lost his pointy hat.

  The Boy Scouts laughed and took dozens of pictures. They asked just as many questions about why I wasn’t dressed like a girl and how I got so tall.

  “Have you ever played a giant in the Village?” one sweet, apple-cheeked little boy asked.

  “Yes,” I replied. “They had to find me another job because I kept eating Boy Scouts for lunch.”

  That set them back a piece or two. Merlin frowned and apologized before he turned over the tour to his large-breasted assistant who wore her bodices too tight at his behest.

  “What are you trying to do?” He tugged me out of the shop. “Boy Scouts appreciate my collection better than anyone.”

  “I want to get your attention about an important matter,” I said. “We need a new Bailiff since Canyon is in jail.”

  “What about Chase? Weren’t you singing his praises for the job?”

  “Yes. But he’s not in the job market right now.” I took a deep breath. “I want to be the new Bailiff.”

  He laughed until he could tell by the look on my face that I was serious.

  “You’re tall enough, I’ll grant you that. But I think a large man is in order.”

  “We don’t have time to look for a large man who’s interested in the job.” I told him about Roger. “We need someone to take over the dead fairy investigation right now.”

  He stroked his straggly white beard. “I thought the police had arrested Canyon, hence our lack of Bailiff.”

  “True. But he may not be guilty. You don’t want another dead fairy to turn up, do you?”

  “No, but Jessie, the king and queen are never going to allow you to be the Bailiff, even temporarily.”

  “Then you’ll have to convince them, won’t you?” I smiled. We both knew I had the upper hand.

  “Me?” He fluttered his purple robe. “I’m just the Village wizard. Why would they listen to me?”

  “You know why. Don’t act stupid. Find a way to convince them, or I blab your secret.”

  He looked shocked. “You wouldn’t!”

  “I would—unless you convince them to make me Bailiff.”

  He wiped perspiration from his forehead. “All right. But you better not screw it up. There’s one thing you don’t know about this place, and I’d hate to be the one who has to show you the inner workings of the Village.”

  “Are you talking about the old Air Force jails under the Dungeon?”

  “How do you know that?”

  I laughed and sauntered away from him. “Just get it done, wizard.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  I convinced Chase that we should check on Canyon at the police station. I figured he actually had legal credentials and could get us inside for a meeting and some information.

  He wasn’t happy about going but he was very handsome in his black suit and tie. I’d managed to wrangle something a little less Ren Faire-looking from Portia—a long black skirt and a pink top that came close to street wear.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” He was cranky. “It’s only two hours until the next joust, and we haven’t had lunch.”

  I straightened his tie. “We have to find out why the police arrested Canyon. I’m sure it wasn’t just because of how he looks and his armor.”

  “All right. But you’re buying me lunch someplace nice in the outside world.”

  “Deal,” I agreed, though I had no money. “Let’s go.”

  Chase drove to the police station. I offered to do it but he kind of snarled at that idea. He w
as still trying to figure out how I’d known where to find his spare key.

  At the station, the woman at the front desk recognized both of us. She took one look at Chase’s credentials, and walked us back to a small room where she assured us Canyon would be brought to confer with his attorneys.

  “If they question me, I’ll have to admit I’m a patent attorney,” Chase whispered when she was gone.

  “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

  “How can you be so sure, Jessie? How do you know suddenly so many secrets? Are you psychic?”

  “No. Just clever and resourceful.”

  The door opened, admitting Canyon and a jail guard. Once he was gone, Canyon started blubbering. “You have to get me out of here. Just look at me. I’m wearing an orange jumpsuit. Orange has never been my color.”

  “Calm down,” I advised. “Have you seen a public defender yet?”

  “No.” He sniffed. “They still haven’t actually charged me with anything. I might be in here for years before a trial. I’ll be old and none of my clothes will fit.”

  “You won’t be in here for years.” Chase read through his files. “They don’t really have anything on you. It’s all circumstantial. That’s why they haven’t officially charged you. They’re probably hoping you’ll break down and confess.”

  Canyon wiped his nose on his shirt sleeve “I just like living at the Ren Faire and wearing leather. I didn’t kill anyone. I like fairies. They’re fun and playful. And sexy. Sorry, Jessie.”

  Chase looked at me. “All I see in here is the armor and the description of the killer.”

  The door opened again and Detective Almond joined us.

  “It’s you two, huh? Which one of you is Bailiff now?”

  I got to my feet. “The king and queen are appointing me to the post later today.”

  It was hard to say which man in the room was more surprised.

  Detective Almond shrugged. “Okay. Why not?”

  With his acceptance of my position came the ability to ask questions. How many of these meetings had I sat through with Chase as Bailiff?

  “I think you have the wrong man, Detective,” I said. “We know that the armor Canyon was wearing last night wasn’t his.”