“Where’s the big fire?” the fire chief demanded in his gruff, smoky voice. “I know you all didn’t drag us out of bed at this hour for a campfire.”
He looked at me, Rafe, Crystal, Grigg, and Bart as though he were daring us to admit it was a prank. I was about to launch into my story about Chase when Roger joined us near the main gate with Mary at his side.
“What the hell is going on?” he demanded. “Has someone lost their mind? Why is the fire department here?”
Grigg was closest to him. He muttered, “So the police would come.”
“What?” Roger glared at him. “Who thought of that stupid idea?”
He glanced at me and I waved, borrowing Bart’s cute little-finger motion.
“Chase is missing.” Grigg shrugged. “We think something happened to him.”
“Something like what?” Roger leaned heavily on his cane.
By this time, Mary had come to stand beside me. “Okay, Jessie. What’s going on?”
I explained everything I knew. “I really think Chase is in danger. The police just blew me off with this forty-eight-hour scenario. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Basically you’re saying this was a false alarm purposefully phoned in to get us out here,” the chief summed up. “Do you realize there’s a penalty for false alarms? You could all go to jail.”
Grigg responded (in typical police officer fashion), “Actually you’d need to know exactly who called in that false alarm to press charges, Chief. You’re not going to get that information here.”
I could’ve kissed him for sticking up for me. Worrying about going to jail was the least of my concerns. We were all just standing around while Chase was somewhere maybe in pain or scared.
“Now you listen here, young man,” the chief began, shaking his finger at Grigg until I was afraid it might fall off. “I can lock up the whole kit and caboodle of you. I don’t need to know one person in particular.”
“There are about five hundred people who live and work here,” Roger chimed in. “I think it might be difficult to lock us all up.”
The chief gave him a sour-grapes face and did the I-wash-my-hands-of-you wave, then briskly walked toward his men.
“What’s so important that you’re willing to take a chance on the fire department not showing up the next time you have a real emergency?” one of Myrtle Beach’s finest asked. “Is that you in there, Grigg? I’d heard you’d gone native.”
“Yeah. It’s me, Blackman.” Grigg shook the other man’s hand. “As long as you’re out here, maybe you could take a look at a situation we have.”
Blackman’s partner nodded, and the two men fell in step with what had become a huge group of Villagers heading back to the dungeon. Grigg filled him in while we walked. “You know, we aren’t detectives,” Blackman said. “But if it looks like something suspicious, we can get those other guys out here.”
Grigg smiled. “That’s what I was counting on.”
Everyone but Grigg and the two police officers stayed outside the dungeon while they looked around inside. I paced the ground with frantic strides. It was nearly three thirty A.M. Chase had been gone for too long. I felt as if I wasn’t doing anything to help him even though the police were finally here. Who was to say he was still alive? If that really was his blood on the wall . . . I couldn’t finish the thought.
“It’s gonna be okay, Jessie.” Mary put her thin arms around me and squeezed tight. “Chase is a tough boy. He won’t go without a fight.”
Grigg and the officers finally came back outside. Blackman glanced around at the group. “I definitely think something is wrong here. Where’s the girlfriend?”
I stepped forward. “My name is Jessie Morton.”
“Ms. Morton, maybe we should have a talk in the cruiser.” Blackman nodded at me, and his partner moved in closer.
My temper got the better of me. “That’s it? We got you out here so you could question me? We’re going to sit in your nice little police car while someone might be doing something terrible to Chase?”
“I think it would be better if you come along quietly.” Blackman put away his radio. “We don’t want any trouble.”
I didn’t want any trouble either. It just seemed to find me. Without really thinking about what I was doing, I slid the sword from the scabbard. I heard a general indrawn breath from the gathered villagers. Bart was beside me. I jumped behind him and acted as though I might use the sword on him. A ludicrous sight, I’m sure, but the police seemed to buy it.
“We’re not going to any police car.” I laid down the law. “We’re going to call in more police, maybe a few dogs, and organize the Village to go out and look for Chase.”
“That’s a very good idea,” Bart said. “I wish I would’ve thought of it.”
“We can talk about all of that,” Blackman said, “as soon as you let that man go.”
Bart glanced around the group. “What man?”
I nudged him and showed him the sword. “You’re my hostage.”
He smiled. “I’ve never been a hostage before. Sweet!”
“That’s enough!” Roger interrupted our moment. “I was with the police for many years and so was Grigg. We’ll vouch for Jessie. She didn’t have anything to do with this. And she’s right. Everyone needs to look for Chase. The Village is a big place, but with some help, we can figure out what happened before it’s too late.”
I could tell Blackman didn’t like that idea. He wanted to arrest me right then and there. But he looked at the crowd again and backed off. “All right. But she has to give us that sword.”
I pushed the tip of it into the dirt and the whole sword bent, then flexed back into shape. “Welcome to Renaissance Village. Nothing is what it seems here, gentlemen. Shall we get started looking for Chase?”
Blackman actually did call in a few more police officers. The Great Hall at the castle became the staging area for the biggest manhunt in Village history. The police went out in pairs with their radios and advised everyone else to do the same.
I handed out every two-way radio I could find, then told each pair of searchers to take at least one cell phone with them. Harry and Livy actually took part in the exercise. Dressed in street clothes, they took a cell phone and prepared to search the castle. Two fools also went on castle patrol. Princess Isabel was unable to participate because she had a headache.
“We’ve made maps of each part of the Village.” Rafe showed each group the part they were expected to search as Bart stoked up the computer and printer to make more copies. “Roughly, we’re dividing into pirate space at this end, animal space at the far end, craft space and eating space in between. Robin, obviously you and the Merry Men will search Sherwood. Can you let the Sheriff of Nottingham go long enough for him to help out?”
Robin considered the question, hand to chin. “Of course. Anything to help the bailiff.”
“Now we’ll have Craft Guild search all craft shops. Food Guild search all food shops. And so on. Everybody report in every ten minutes, even if you don’t find anything,” Rafe told them. “We don’t want to have to worry about anyone else.”
“But why is this end pirate space?” Adora asked him. “There are as many mystical creatures and shopkeepers down here as there are pirates.”
“Lighten up, Adora,” Crystal said. “Let’s focus. Chase could be in serious trouble. Who cares who has which end?”
No more was said about the division of the Village. With the efficiency of a well-oiled machine, the teams went out, one after the other, into the predawn to search for Chase.
Bart finished printing out the last of the maps, handing one to Rafe and Grigg. “Are we going out to look for Chase, too?”
Roger answered, “I think it might be better if this group stays here. We might need a small force to be able to go out quickly in case of an emergency.”
“Has anyone seen Lonnie?” I looked around, half expecting him to appear suddenly. He had a habit of doing that. “I can’t believe he didn’t come out to look for Chase.”
“I didn’t see him,” Grigg said. “But he’s kind of small. Maybe we just overlooked him.”
No one could disagree; with all the other residents crammed into the Great Hall, one or two could easily have been overlooked. Roger looked at maps of the Village while Rafe and Grigg plotted strategy. I wasn’t sure when my quest had been taken over by the pirates, but I didn’t care as long as Chase came back safe.
About five A.M., Crystal went back to the
Queen’s Revenge
to feed her baby, promising to return when she was done. I had already paced the entire sawdust floor in the hall. I’m not much of a waiter.
“I’m going to get some coffee,” Bart said. “Anyone else want some?”
“I could use some, too.” Rafe yawned. “I’ll walk over to the bakery with you. Jessie, you want to come?”
“No, thanks. I’ll wait here, but I’ll take the biggest mocha they have. Triple shot.”
“It won’t bring him back any faster if you drive yourself nuts with it,” Roger said without looking up from his map.
“I don’t care.” I smiled at Rafe and Bart. “Thanks, guys.”
Rafe shrugged and the two of them walked outside. Grigg continued looking at the map with Roger. I sat down at the computer where Bart had been. I started scrolling through the list of past and present employees that Adventure Land had sent him. Maybe if we’d kept going with that project, Chase would be safe now.
I knew a lot of the names on the list. Joe Worlsey. I remembered him well. He was the Black Knight for a summer. He kept breaking his lances when he lost. They finally had to fire him. Too bad, too. He was a very good-looking guy.
David Murphy. Oh yeah. He was King Arthur for a summer. I thought he looked a little too old. Apparently I was right because he had a heart attack when he forgot the code for taking the sword out of the stone.
Jeff Porter. Chase’s assistant who’d disappeared in August. He was in the column of looked-for-employment-elsewhere rather than fired-by-Adventure-Land. His sister, Jennifer, might find that interesting. It wouldn’t necessarily help her find him, but maybe some word was better than none.
I continued scrolling through the names, hundreds of them through the last ten years since the Village opened. Chase’s name was in there as full-time. He had a permanent character now so that was listed as well. Most people changed characters from time to time.
My name was in there, too. Still employed, part-time. I was followed by Tony, of course, who was full-time but not a permanent character (as evidenced by his Devil persona).
“That’s odd,” I muttered to myself. “Lonnie Murdock was listed as fired by the company in late August. Maybe it’s not the same Lonnie.”
But when I searched the employment records, there was the same little rat face. It even showed him working at Sir Latte’s, which was where he’d been until coming to work for Chase. “Maybe it’s nothing, Roger, but did you know Adventure Land had fired Lonnie?”
“Who?” Roger sounded annoyed.
“Isn’t that the little guy who hangs out with Chase?” Grigg asked.
“Yeah. He’s been working for Chase since I got here this month. But it says here he was fired in August. Actually around the same time Jeff disappeared.”
“Who?”
Roger asked again.
“Jeff.” Grigg nodded. “Medium height, brown hair. Always smelled like vegetables. He was working here over the summer when I started.”
“That’s right,” I agreed. “Jeff’s sister was here looking for him. I met her in the Honey and Herb Shoppe right after you were attached. She said he never came home.”
Roger frowned. “Does that have anything at all to do with what’s happened to Chase?”
“It could, I suppose.” Really, I had no idea.
“I don’t see how.” Grigg smiled at me in a sympathetic way. “That little guy didn’t take on Chase. I just can’t see that happening.”
“What about the big-gun theory?” I reminded him. “Maybe Lonnie had a gun.”
“Even if it were possible,” Roger said, “what reason could Lonnie have to kidnap Chase?”
“I don’t know.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a minute. “But no one saw Lonnie when we were sending people out. Maybe I’ll just go over and check on him.”
Roger glanced at Grigg, who said, “Why don’t you do that, Jessie. Take a cell phone or radio with you. Report back in every ten like everyone else.”
I took out my cell phone (I’d given my radio away). “All right. At least it’ll give me something to do.” I could tell that’s all they were trying to do.
I passed Rafe and Bart on the way out of the Great Hall and took my mocha from them.
“Where are you going?” Rafe asked. “Has something happened?”
“No. Probably not. I’m going to see if I can find Lonnie.” I explained the situation. He kind of grunted and kept walking.
“I’d like to come with you,” Bart said. “I’m tired of sitting around.”
“Great. I wouldn’t mind having the company.” I’d feel a lot safer with Death beside me.
The sun was starting to creep up over the east side of the beach. The sky was lightening and the birds were singing. It looked as though it was going to be a nice day, at least weatherwise.
“How could Lonnie do anything to Chase?” Bart asked as we walked toward the housing area behind the tree swing; Lonnie’s employee file indicated he had lived there for the past two years.
“I don’t know. Maybe he couldn’t. It just seems odd, doesn’t it? I mean, he said Adventure Land wanted him to be Chase’s assistant. Jeff seems to have disappeared so there was an opening. Now Chase has disappeared, too.”
Bart shook his head. “I don’t know. I think if it was me, I’d just squish him.”
“Even if he had a gun?”
“Especially if he had a gun. I don’t like guns.”
I recognized the older building Lonnie was living in. I’d stayed there one summer with a few other girls. It was big by resident standards. Much of the housing in the Village is more closetlike, which is why Adventure Land had felt comfortable shoving five of us into this one. Lonnie had been lucky to get it all to himself.