Fatal Fairies (Renaissance Faire Mystery Book 8) (17 page)

“Thank you.” I couldn’t resist—I was so happy to see him. I ignored that we were strangers and put my arms around him as far as I could reach. “You should talk to Daisy. The two of you will be perfect together. And lose the suit. You aren’t office material. I love you, Bart.”

To say that he looked shocked was as big an understatement as the man himself. He was so stiff and formal in his suit that I thought he might break in half. I knew I couldn’t make all the people here the same as they were where I’d come from. But some things could be made right. This was one of them.

“I don’t know what your game is, Bailiff, but I wish you a good day.”

Merlin shrugged and went back in the office quickly. Bart squeezed back into the room and slammed the door behind him. I could hear him and Merlin arguing. There was no doubt who the winner would be. Maybe it would be good for the two of them to lock horns. It might make them both better.

Chase went with me to the Great Hall where the King’s Feast was held every Sunday night.

“What made you do something like that?” he asked.

“I just couldn’t stand to see him that way. He needs Daisy to help him loosen up.”

“Jessie, is there something . . . unusual going on that I should know about?”

“No.” I kissed him quickly as a parade of squires began streaming into the Great Hall. “I’m just a little different now. I can’t explain it. It’s going to be okay. Just trust me.”

We took a seat in the area where the king and queen usually sat when they attended the feast. The squires made a line that snaked out the door.

“How many squires are there at the castle?” I asked.

“Dozens. Everyone wants a squire when they stay here. They have to keep extra on staff. It’s part of the whole experience.”

“Okay. I guess we’ll talk to all of them. One of them has to know who sent Jordan to throw away that armor. That’s all we have to figure out, right?”

Chapter Eighteen

There were so many squires that they all started to look the same after an hour of interviewing them. It was hard to imagine they could ever need so many, but I knew they didn’t have them hanging around for nothing.

The problem was that there was no central clearing house for them—not even a guild like so many of the other groups had. There was a Craft Guild for the craftsmen, an Entertainment Guild—even the pirates had their own guild. Not so the squires. Apparently the Knaves, Varlets, and Madmen’s Guild thought the squires felt like they were better than them and had refused them admittance to their guild. At least that’s what Chase and I heard from a few squires.

The squires didn’t really work together, but they knew each other.

Several of the squires we talked to had spoken with Jordan, but because he was new to the Village, they didn’t know much about him. Only a dozen or so were actually full-time squires for specific individuals. The rest worked where they were needed.

Basically, none of them had any idea who Jordan was talking about when he said he’d thrown away someone’s armor.

“I feel like a horse ran over me,” I said to Chase after we’d spoken to the last squire in line. “How can none of them know anything? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I think that’s why it’s hard for the police to catch the bad guys. Everyone has different ideas and they don’t see things the same.”

We stood in the Great Hall. It was empty—hard not to appreciate how vast it was with the seating around the arena which hosted jousts, fools, jugglers, camels and horses.

“Let’s eat something,” Chase said. “I’m starving. I’m sorry this isn’t going the way you thought it would. It’s exactly my worst nightmare about being Bailiff.”

“What?” I asked as we walked out of the hall. “That you couldn’t catch the bad guys?”

Chase was very aware of what he was doing and wanted to be good at it. I knew that about him. He didn’t like starting anything he wasn’t sure he could finish.

“No.” He put his arm around me as we walked out of the castle. “That it would take up all my time. I couldn’t find someone to take my place at the
Field of Honor
every day, Jessie. Who’d want to do this job 24/7?”

I wasn’t expecting that. It was hard to imagine my Chase saying something like that. Maybe this one was too different to ever be Bailiff.

It was cool and dark outside. He didn’t like to eat at the castle all the time, so we were headed to the
Lady of the Lake Tavern
a short walk away. The stars were out in dazzling array. The Village was empty except for residents. We heard the sound of laughter and someone practicing their guitar.

The
Lady of the Lake
never sold leftovers from the day like so many of the other restaurants. Most charged half price, some even gave away their leftovers to residents. They knew we didn’t make much money, and their hearts were in the Village.

Not so
Lady of the Lake
and a few others like
Polo’s Pasta
who either closed when the Main Gate closed or stayed open to charge high prices to the residents.

It was a small crowd at the tavern after hours. People sat in the high-backed, wood booths and talked quietly together. There were no pirate raids as there were during the day for visitors, yet there were several pirates eating, still wearing their costumes.

“Take a seat where you like,” Ginny Stewart said without bothering to look up. She owned the tavern. She was a crusty, white-haired, older woman who always wore a slutty green dress which showed her enormous bosom to best effect.

“Thanks, Ginny,” Chase said as we walked by her.

That caught her attention.

“Chase! My boy. Where were you at the last joust today? I wasn’t the only one disappointed not to find you there.”

“I had some things I had to take care of.” He hugged her, and she clung to him.

Ginny spared a glance for me. “What’s this? Where’s Isabelle?”

“We broke up,” he briefly explained as we sat in a booth. “This is Lady Jessie. She’s the new Bailiff. What’s good tonight?”

“A lady Bailiff, eh? If I’d known they were looking for such a thing, I would’ve put in for it myself. I’d have the steak and kidney pie, if I were you. That’s always good.”

Her hands were all over Chase as they spoke. That’s the way Ginny had always been in my Village too—until she’d died. This was another case, like Wanda and Isabelle, where this woman wasn’t alive anymore. It was difficult to look at her, knowing she could be dead soon if this Village followed my own.

I wasn’t a fan of steak and kidney pie, so I just had a salad and some bread. I liked the coarse grain bread Ginny’s people made here. It was like a meal in itself.

Two tough-looking pirates got up from their seats and stood beside ours after Ginny had left to get our orders. I didn’t recognize them from my time on the
Queen’s Revenge
. I thought they might not be in my Village at all.

“So yer the new law in town.” The pirate’s gold teeth glinted in the lantern light.

“That’s right.” I wasn’t afraid of pirates, not even ones I’d never met. Mostly they were a lot of bluster.

“And who’s this?” The second pirate glared at Chase with one eye covered by a black patch with a skull on it. “Is this your pretty lady, Bailiff?”

I got to my feet. “What’s your problem? I think you need to go back to your ship before I have to lock you up in the Dungeon.”

“We’re both so scared we’re shaking,” the first pirate said.

Chase stood up too, much taller and broader than the pirates. “Maybe you had too much to drink and you didn’t understand what the Bailiff said. Go away before you get hurt.”

The two pirates glanced at him and slunk away. That made me angry.

“I really need a sword or something. People aren’t going to respect me without a weapon.”

We sat again in time for Ginny to bring food.

Chase waited until she was gone. “You’ll get a reputation after a while. People might not be afraid of you, but they’ll respect you.”

“Especially when you’re with me?”

He covered my hand with his on the table. “It won’t be like that—unless you’re going to give up being Bailiff when Canyon gets back.”

“You mean
if
he gets back. Right now, we don’t have anything to prove he didn’t kill the fairy or Jordan.”

“But he didn’t kill the squire,” Chase argued. “I think that’s what we should concentrate on. The two were killed in a similar way, right? But we know Canyon was in jail and couldn’t kill Jordan.”

“But if we can find out who killed Jordan, we might have Apple Blossom’s killer too.”

“That’s right.” He put a large spoonful of steak and kidney pie in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “What’s next? Since we haven’t been able to figure out who told Jordan to throw away that armor, where do we go?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. Wasn’t this enough? Chase and I had a relationship again. We were trying to find the killer together. Why wasn’t this over? How much more did it take?

“We’ll think of something,” he encouraged. “You’re going to be the best Bailiff ever.”

“Thanks.” That wasn’t my goal, but I had to settle for it since I couldn’t tell him the truth.

We finished eating, almost in peace and quiet, except for Ginny continuing to butt into our conversation. She constantly felt the need to squeeze Chase’s arm and put her hand on his back and shoulder.

Dinner was finally over. The tavern was nearly empty. Chase paid for the meal, and we walked out.

“Doesn’t that bother you?” I asked him when I was sure Ginny wasn’t listening. “She kept touching you. It’s as bad as Gus pinching butts.”

He smiled as he slipped an arm around me. “Jealous?”

“Annoyed.”

“It doesn’t bother me. She’s a good-hearted woman. She means well.”

Yeah. Yeah.

By this time, the guitar player had stopped for the night. I could still hear the elephants bellowing and the camels and horses snorting. The people sounds had mostly vanished as the night had cooled and residents went inside. The wind came from the Atlantic with a strong scent of fish and salt. I could still smell sunblock from visitors who had been there that day.

We didn’t talk much as we wandered back to the castle, enjoying each other’s company. Most of the castle lights had been turned off for the night leaving pockets of darkness that pooled around us.

The attack came swiftly. Chase groaned and dropped to his knees as someone hit him in the head with something hard. I couldn’t tell what it was or who was doing it.

Another person grabbed me and twisted my arms behind me. I struggled, but the person was large and strong—Apple Blossom’s killer?

“We don’t want no lady Bailiff,” a raspy voice said near my ear. “Take care of the camels and the kids who get lost. Let the police take care of the rest.”

“Why? Because you killed Apple Blossom and the squire to hide your crime?”

“I’m warning you. Leave it alone.”

“No.” I knocked my head into his face as I’d frequently had to do to get away from my brother when we were kids. The satisfying
oof
sound came from behind me, and my attacker stepped back.

The two men ran away, vanishing into the darkness. I went to Chase. He was okay, just stunned. My arms felt like they’d nearly been twisted out of their sockets.

“They got away?” Chase asked as I helped him to his feet.

“They did. But one of them is going to have a big bruise on his face tomorrow. I’m pretty sure it was those two pirates from inside.”

“They won’t be so tough when I see them in the daylight tomorrow.”

“Let’s get back to the castle. We need to make sure he didn’t crack your head open.”

“I’m fine. Just feel kind of stupid. I guess I’m good with a pretend sword and lance, but not in a real fight.”

“He came up and hit you in the back of the head,” I reminded him. “I couldn’t believe how loud that thump was. You’re lucky you’re not unconscious.”

He wasn’t happy with that assessment and asked Gus if he’d seen anyone unusual hanging around. Gus hadn’t seen much of anything since he’d been kissing one of the maids from the castle. We thanked him and went inside to our room.

Another surprise waited for us there. The room had been completely tossed. Someone had gone through what little personal possessions were there, and had stolen Chase’s laptop. We called castle security—three men who were more like the Stooges than security guards. They took our statements and left with a promise to return in the morning after they had ‘assessed the situation’.

But in the morning, Bart was at our door instead. He was wearing a black suit with a purple tie. It still didn’t look right.

“I don’t like murder and mayhem in my Village,” he said. “What are the two of you doing to cause so much trouble?”

“Looking for the person who killed two people in the Village?” I suggested sarcastically. “Remember when we talked about this yesterday, and you kicked us out of your office?”

He didn’t wait to be invited into the room. He came in and leaned against the wall. “I heard you were robbed last night.”

 “And assaulted.” Chase gave him a brief rundown of what had happened between the castle and the tavern.

Bart sighed heavily. “I don’t like to get involved in these situations, but you leave me no choice. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how much Adventure Land dislikes this kind of thing.”

“We weren’t crazy about it either,” Chase growled. “What are you going to do to make it different?”

“I have my own way of dealing with unfortunate situations like this. You two go about your normal business, and I’ll take care of it.”

I felt like we were talking to an oversized Mafia Don. All he was missing was a cigarette and an Italian meal.

“My normal business is finding out who killed these people,” I told him. “I’m the Bailiff.”

Bart nodded his massive head. “I understand. But I’d like you to simply look after the routine Village events. Am I clear?”

“Sure.”

“Don’t look at me.” Chase picked up his duffel bag. “I’m headed toward the next joust. Let me know if you need anything.”