Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Rare Catch Cozy Mystery

by Liz Turner

  “And how many were relieved to not work with Julia?” Sakura offered.

  Veronica glared at her for the interruption. “My point is, how did Julia get that kind of power?”

  “Maybe something else was going on with Julia’s position of power?” Sakura suggested. “Something that undermined how the committee hierarchy was supposed to work?”

  “That would make sense, though who knows what that was.” Veronica paused. “Actually, never mind. I bet I know exactly what the underlying issue was.”

  “What?”

  “Money.”

  “Isn’t it always money? Lots of people argue over money?”

  “And kill over it, right? That’s what you told me a lot of criminals do.”

  “True,” Sakura confirmed. “Greed’s probably the most common motive behind a murder.”

  “Is that what your book’s villain murdered over?” Veronica joked.

  The young Japanese woman giggled. “You haven’t even read the book, and you’ve figured that out.”

  “That’s because I know the author very well,” she teased. “But let’s get back to the problem at hand. We should talk to Renata Moller next.”

  “According to this really confusing pamphlet,” Sakura said as she pulled the item out of her bag again. “She deals a lot with the stables. We should head that way.”

  “Which way?”

  “That way.”

  The horse stables were much larger, cleaner, and more modern than Veronica expected them to be. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised since modern buildings and horse care was likely much better than it had been during the Renaissance period. On the other side of the Fair, completely opposite the Archery Range, was a large arena covered in light brown dirt. It was fenced off from the rest of the area, and the dirt had been raked and cleaned, betraying the amount of use it received throughout the day. Veronica could see a couple of hoof prints still in the dirt, but they were few and far between.

  Surrounding the arena were the U-shaped horse stables. The building was made of wood, with an elongated roof on top to keep any rain from reaching the entrance to each stable. The entrances themselves had wooden doors that had been split in half, with the bottom halves closed and locked while the top ones were open to allow fresh air inside. There were complete doors on either side of the U shape stable. Both were open so Veronica took a quick peek inside each one. One was full of hay and bags of grain, which were obviously for feeding the horses. The other doorway led to a room full of saddles, bits, blankets, saddlebags, halters and other equipment.

  A couple of horses had their heads sticking out the top half of the doors, and they were all staring at the strangers who just arrived. One was a deep chestnut color, and another was a beautiful Paint with a black patch over her left eye. As the two women passed by their stalls, the horses leaned forward to nudge their soft snouts against their arms. Sakura laughed as a light gray one pushed a little too hard.

  “Hey there, sweetie,” she said, reaching to pet her on the nose. The horse lifted her ears in curiosity. “I’ve always wanted a horse.”

  “I’ve never been around one actually,” Veronica admitted as she walked to the Paint and gave her a few strokes on her nose as well. “I guess that’s what I get for growing up a city girl.”

  “Do you think they’ll still do the horse competitions after the investigation is done?” Sakura asked.

  “Maybe. What competitions are there?”

  Sakura checked the pamphlet again. “The big ones are the horse show. They do tricks, performance, things like that and the joust.”

  “A joust?” Veronica repeated. “I bet it’s not a real joust. People could be badly hurt.”

  “Good point. Maybe it’s scripted,” Sakura deduced. “It would be cool to see a real joust, though.”

  “Only if it takes place literally next door to a hospital,” Veronica jested.

  The two continued their way around the stables, looking for anyone who might know something about Renata. Once they reached the last stable, a person wearing what appeared to be a full suit of medieval armor walked out, closing the lower gate behind them to prevent the Appaloosa horse from leaving. The armor consisted of a metal chest plate, extending down the torso to plated protection on the thighs and upper legs. High-level greaves covered the person’s feet, and long metal gloves covered the hands from fingers to elbows. A closed helmet sat on the knight’s head, with only small slits for breathing and eyeholes for sight. The armor was mostly gray with a few trimmings of gold, although Veronica doubted it was genuine gold.

  The knight turned to them and waved a distinctly modern non-verbal communication.

  “Hello. I swear we’re not trying to trespass or feed the horses,” Veronica joked. The knight moved in a way that appeared to be laughter, although no sound came from the helmet. “We’re actually looking for Renata Moller. We heard she works with the horses. Do you know where she is?”

  The knight paused before reaching for the helmet, slipping it off in a single stroke. Underneath was the head and face of a woman in her late thirties. Her light brown hair was cut very short, barely covering her head down to her ears and making her brown eyes appear larger than normal. Her face was narrow, and her armor covered most of her long neck. She smiled broadly at the two chefs.

  “You’re looking for Renata Moller?” she said with a steady tone. “Well, you found her! What can I do for you?”

  That’s a woman?! Veronica realized before answering. “Sorry! I thought you were a man for a moment!”

  Rather than being insulted, Renata let out a boisterous laugh. “No worries. That happens all the time.”

  “Why are you dressed up like a knight?” Sakura asked. “You look like a guy. Why not wear women’s armor?”

  “This is women’s armor,” Renata explained. “What lots of people don’t realize is that armor was built for function in the medieval ages and that function was obviously for protection. It wasn’t based on gender.”

  Sakura tilted her head. “It wasn’t?”

  “Nope. I mean, granted women didn’t participate in combat very often, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t wear armor on occasion,” Renata described. “And when they did, they wore the same type as men. The stereotypical ‘ladies’ armor’ you see in current media wouldn’t be very practical in combat.”

  “I guess it’s supposed to appeal to a certain audience now,” Veronica reasoned.

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it’s very accurate.” Renata shrugged, making the armor clatter and clang in the process. “People romanticize the medieval ages a lot. But that’s probably not why you’re here. What’s up?”

  Oh, she’s so much nicer than Liana! Veronica thought and shook her head. “Right. Off topic. I’m Veronica Koche, and this is Sakura Yamouchi.”

  Renata shook their hands, and Veronica could tell she was gentle since she didn’t clench their fingers too tightly by her metal gloves.

  “Aren’t you the one working the food booth this year?” she asked. Veronica nodded. “I had your grilled carp. It was really good.”

  “Thank you,” she replied, making a mental note to mark that another person enjoyed that dish. “Sorry, I don’t remember seeing you there.”

  “I was in street clothes at the time,” Renata answered. “So what brings you to the horse-side of the Fair today?”

  “We wanted to ask you about Julia Palmer,” Sakura stated, a little tentatively. “If that’s okay with you?”

  “The Chairwoman?” Renata’s smile dampened a slight bit at the name. “Well, you probably know a little about her, since she hired you too. What would you like to know?”

  “Mostly just your opinion about her,” Veronica said. “How well you worked with her, how well you got along…That sort of thing.”

  Renata let out a sigh and pursed her lips. “I don’t really like talking bad about someone. I try to follow that ‘if you can’t say something nice’ ideal. Let’s just say Ju
lia’s not the easiest person to work with.”

  “We kind of got that impression,” Sakura confessed. “Are you part of the Meloda Renaissance Fair Committee?”

  “I don’t have a seat, but I’ve worked with them for years,” Renata described. “I studied history in school with a specialization in medieval studies. I’m an expert on everything medieval and Renaissance, along with a bit on the Dark Ages, except art.”

  “That’s why you know so much about armor,” Veronica said. “But why not art?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied. “I mean, I can tell you the importance of a certain style or certain artists for certain art pieces, but I’m no judge of how good it actually is. It all looks the same to me.”

  “So what was your job with the committee?” Veronica asked.

  “Mostly I work with trying to make it authentic and accurate,” the historian answered. “Within reason. That authentic sword forge is a bit of an exception. Adam’s had that for years.”

  “But you don’t want it to be too authentic, right?” Sakura commented. “I mean, sure a lot of it is romanticized, but that’s part of the fun. Chivalry, damsels in distress, knights…but who says the damsel has to be a woman, and the knight has to be a man?”

  Renata laughed again. “True enough. I try to help make the Fair a good balance between historical accuracy and romanticism. What good is a Fair if it’s no fun, right?”

  “That’s the whole point, isn’t it?”

  “I guess if I really wanted things to be accurate, we’d have performances depicting all the deaths from The Black Plague,” Renata joked, making the two chefs chuckle. “Anyway, Julia doesn’t have the same line of thought. I’d try to give advice for the events like I did for the last Chair, but Julia listened less and less in the months leading up to today.”

  “That must be frustrating,” Veronica proclaimed.

  “You have no idea,” Renata confessed. “I didn’t go to school for so long just to have someone dismiss it. Most of Julia’s ideas aren’t that great anyway.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “She cares more about how she envisions the Fair, not how people might enjoy it,” she replied. “It goes back to what makes a Fair fun.”

  “Let me guess,” Sakura joked. “Julia focused on things that would minimize costs and maximize profit?”

  “She’s not very discreet about that, is she?” Renata smirked. “Granted I can see why people need to pay for some things, like admission tickets, food, and special events, but sometimes a person just wants to come here and have some fun. Money shouldn’t be the main focus. Guests are here to have a good time. Most of the free events and performances were cut for things people would have to pay for. I really miss the traveling entertainers, for example.”

  “Traveling entertainers?” Veronica asked.

  “Yeah. There used to be Renaissance characters like a knight, a damsel, a jester, a queen, and so forth. They would all just mingle about and entertain the Fair-goers as they walked around,” Renata explained. “Julia cut them from the Fair because they didn’t bring in any money.”

  “But that’s not completely true,” Sakura informed her. “I mean, we haven’t seen a knight or damsel or anything, but we met a jester earlier today.”

  Renata’s face turned back into a smile. “That would be Astrid. She’s performed at the Fair for years. She loves the job and making people laugh.”

  “But why is she here if Julia cut her and her fellow performers out of the Fair?”

  “She says it’s because she loves to entertain people,” Renata answered. “While that’s true, I’m sure she’s also doing it to annoy Julia.”

  “Could Julia get her kicked out?” Veronica asked, suddenly concerned for Astrid’s safety.

  “As long as Astrid isn’t doing anything to disrupt the Fair, I don’t think so.”

  Unless Julia tried to do it anyway, Veronica thought. And unless Astrid decided she’d had enough of Julia telling her what to do.

  “Did Julia have any major problems with other members of the committee, or other employees?” Sakura asked.

  Renata simply shrugged. “She had a lot of problems with lots of people. I couldn’t list everyone.”

  “But she doesn’t seem to be bothering you,” Veronica observed. “You’re still here.

  “I know when to pick my battles,” Renata responded. “Sometimes the best way to win a battle is to just walk away.”

  “Just walk away, huh?” Veronica hummed. Tell that to our potential murderer.

  Chapter 10

  The sun was finally starting to set on the outskirts of Meloda, and everyone still detained at the Fair was gathering around the food booth for dinner. Those who hadn’t eaten earlier were becoming more and more cranky at the concept of not being fed. She had long run out of supplies and wasn’t allowed to bring any more in due to the sequestering. What made it even worse was the number of the Fair-goers with children. Veronica hated the idea of seeing a young boy or girl ask about when they were getting their next meal.

  The only thing she could do was reassure the crowds that food was going to be brought to them. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when the meals started to come.

  “It’s your feeding people thing,” Sakura teased again as they stood in line for food. “That’s why you’re feeling guilty.”

  Veronica smiled sadly. “Did I ever tell you that I volunteered at a food bank when I was a teenager?”

  “No, you never did,” Sakura said, curiosity evident in her tone. “Although I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this.”

  “My high school had a list of extracurricular things the students could do after classes,” Veronica resumed. “A lot of them were sports or club related, but there were a few that were volunteer positions. For example, we could work with seniors or at the Humane Society. I personally liked the idea of working at the food bank. I thought it would let me cook for people.”

  “That wasn’t the case, was it?” Sakura asked.

  “No, but it certainly put my life into perspective,” she said. “But I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

  “I wonder what’s for dinner,” Sakura thought aloud, gladly changing the subject for her friend’s benefit. “I doubt it’ll be as good as anything you’ve cooked.”

  “Or you for that matter,” Veronica said. There was a pause and then she cursed. “I can’t believe I forgot!”

  Sakura watched as Veronica dug through her purse, calling out in relief when she found her cell phone. “What’s wrong?”

  “I just realized, if the Fair’s going to be closed off for a few days and we're stuck here, I’ll need someone to take care of Amber for me,” Veronica explained, referencing her young Golden Retriever, who she had left at home. She sorted through the contacts on her phone until she found the one she wanted, and then she put the device up to her ear and waited for the ringing to finish. “Hello, Aileen! How are you?”

  Sakura didn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but she did recognize the name of Aileen Dolan. Dolan was previously a suspect in a murder case some weeks ago, but that was a story for another day.

  “I’m doing well, thanks. Could I speak with Liam please?” Veronica asked. Liam was Aileen’s oldest son, and one of Amber’s biggest fans. There was another pause. “Hi, Liam! How are you? Good. I know this is last minute, but could you take care of Amber for me for the next few days? Feed her and walk her and such?”

  Sakura chuckled. Did she really need to ask? Veronica and Liam had this arrangement since they met during that case, and except for Sakura, Max and Veronica herself, Liam was the most familiar with the young pup’s needs.

  “You’d have to ask your mom and dad if that would be okay,” Veronica said. Sakura shook her head. She could almost hear Liam’s words, asking if he could bring Amber over to his house instead of going to Veronica’s. “I’m sure Cale would love to see her.”

  Veronica smiled at Sakura when she noti
ced her Executive Sous Chef was watching her. She placed her hand over the mouthpiece of her phone.

  “Liam’s asking his parents if Amber can stay at their place.”

  “Is Liam doing that for his little brother or for himself?” Sakura jested.

  “Both probably.” Veronica returned to her call. “Yes, I’m still here…Okay, no problem then. And you remember where my spare key is?”

  She must have received an affirmative response because Veronica smiled again.

  “Thanks a bunch, Liam. I really appreciate it,” she said. “Okay. Say hi to your parent’s and brother for me. …Okay, bye!”

  With that, she hung up the phone, and Sakura saw her breathe a long sigh of relief.

  “Feel better?” Sakura asked.

  “Much better,” she replied, mentally kicking herself. “I can’t believe I forgot about Amber!”

  “You didn’t forget about her. You thought you’d be home tonight,” her friend reassured her. “And it’s good that Liam is learning this kind of responsibility.”

  “Too bad Amber wasn’t allowed to come to the Fair,” Veronica regretted. “Which is weird. I could have sworn they were allowed in previously.”

  “Yeah, only service dogs allowed this year,” Sakura agreed.

  The two chefs reached the buffet for the meals at last. Since The Rare Catch was a bit too expensive for so many people, the restaurants that were called in to provide food were more of the variety that made lower quality food but in much larger bulk. Veronica looked over the buffet with a frown, a little annoyed by the options. Most of it was simply baked chicken with vegetables, and a small serving of either pasta or rice. It didn’t look disgusting, but it certainly wasn’t on par with what Veronica served at her restaurant.

  “We make better stuff than this, huh?” Sakura commented, practically reading her friend’s mind.

  “Yeah, but it’s either this or we go without dinner tonight. Plus there are so many people here.”

  “I guess beggars can’t be choosers, huh?”

  “Not tonight, nope.”

  The two filled their plates and then left the booth to find an available table. With the huge line of hungry people behind them and not yet served, numerous tables were available. A giant canopy had been propped up during the afternoon, to keep shade over the people as they ate. The weather wasn’t horribly hot, but there was a concern about keeping people dry.