Treacherous Toys (18 page)

“Do you know if anyone who was here at that time had any kind of problem with him? Could he or she still be here?”

Roger shifted his heavy load of glass items. “There aren’t a lot of us still here. Me. Livy and Harry. They came in right as Chris and Alice were leaving. I made sure that was a smooth transition. Some of the castle staff were here. A few of the original craft people are still here. Does Chase think the killer is hanging out waiting to be caught?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a theory of mine. Do you know what happened to Alice after she broke up with Chris? Did she stay on?”

“Alice?” He thought about it as we passed the Sherwood Forest entrance. A series of whistles and strange cries accompanied our passage. We both glanced that way, then shrugged and moved on. “I’m not sure. They left the Village together, if I remember correctly. There was a lot going on here at that time. Not to mention that I was in the middle of a life crisis. I’d given up my job with the police. My wife had left me and was suing for sole custody of our son. I had a lot on my plate.”

“And Alice?” I prompted. Sometimes Roger got caught up in his own life’s story to the exclusion of everything else.

“Oh yeah. I don’t know for sure what happened to them after that. I heard they’d gotten divorced. I didn’t see Chris again until he came back here.”

“What about Edgar Gaskin? Have you ever met him before?”

“I haven’t met him at all. I’ve never heard the name. Is he someone here at the Village?”

“He’s the new Father Christmas. He was here before Chris was killed and then stepped right into his job.”

He made a
humphing
sound. “Sounds like someone did some good planning for a change. Bringing in a feature Christmas character looks like a real ticket seller. That means more people and more sales for me. Is he going to be at the feast tonight?”

“Don’t you think that seems a little suspicious? It’s like someone was expecting Chris to fail—or worse.”

“Not really. You have to protect your investment, Jessie. The Village can’t run on
huzzahs
and turkey legs, you know. Adventure Land needs to update their plan for us every couple of years. Things have to run on schedule. You’re a tight ship or you sink.”

He talked on, but all I heard after that last part was
blah-blah-blah
.

I agreed with him—halfheartedly. I knew the Village would cease to exist if it didn’t turn a profit. Taxes had to be paid, and people liked to get their paychecks, no matter how small, at least once in a while.

Roger and I reached the castle, joined by other residents who were setting up shop. Only the food vendors weren’t allowed to sell their wares on this night because it created a conflict with the castle kitchen. But all vendors and characters were commanded to attend. Failing to show up at the King’s Feast each week was grounds for dismissal.

I couldn’t remember anyone ever actually being fired for not coming. Certainly there were some characters who didn’t make it every week. It was probably not enough to bother with for whoever kept track of those things.

So far, I didn’t have much on Edgar, and despite my best effort, I had even less on Alice. It was time to take the investigation to the next level—in this case, searching Edgar’s room at the castle. I’d learned that I wouldn’t get much from him by being friendly or confronting him directly.

Tonight’s festivities, however, would be built around Father Christmas. Or so I’d heard. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to search through his things. Maybe I’d find something incriminating there. My plan, such as it was, was to leave the feast as he was introduced. There was bound to be some showy production to bring him out. I’d go to his room, take a look around, then head back to the feast. I was a very minor character. I felt sure no one would miss me.

The King’s Feast was always a dazzling sight to behold. Every jester, knight, lady, and lord was in his or her finest as hundreds of visitors packed into the Great Hall. Once
there, they would dine on small chickens, bread, vegetables, and dessert, washed down with plenty of ale, soda, or iced tea. The king and queen with all of their court presided over the affair in regal splendor.

For entertainment, the residents of the Village paraded their wares. There were jousts in the arena, displays of bravery, swordsmanship, and other heroic feats. There were also magicians, jugglers, acrobats, and everything one could imagine possible at a Renaissance feast.

It was a lot of work for everyone, but the big event brought in more first-timers who everyone hoped would return for a full day sometime later. With Father Christmas on the menu, it was bound to be even more impressive.

I started back to the Dungeon so I could change clothes. I saw Christine and the kids walking up from the parking lot through the Main Gate as I reached the cobblestones. I waved and waited for them.

This didn’t seem to be the appropriate time to reiterate that Harry didn’t love her and wouldn’t leave Livy. And maybe that wasn’t my job. Maybe Harry would do the right thing.

“Did your meeting go well?” I asked when they got close.

“I don’t know. There’s some holdup in collecting the insurance for Chris’s death.” She sent the children to play while we talked.

There it was—one of her motives, according to the police. Would it be impolite to ask how much of a motivator it was?

“It looks like the police have put some kind of block on me getting the money,” she said. “The insurance company said they won’t pay until they clear the case. I don’t know what to do, Jessie. I don’t have the money to bury him. I
don’t even have the money to cremate him and put him in a jar.”

At that last part, she broke down into huge, gulping sobs. I put my arms around her and tried to comfort her. But what could I say to her? I didn’t have any money either. For her, I’d be willing to ask Chase.

On the other hand, it could be a while before Chris’s body was released by the ME’s office. It probably wouldn’t be until the murder was solved.

“I’m so sorry,” I finally said. “I’ll see what I can do to help. But you won’t need it right away. The police won’t let you do anything with him until they’re done.”

“What do you mean?” She moved away and pushed at the tears streaming down her face.

How could I put it delicately? “The medical examiner does tests, but they have to be sent somewhere else for the results. That can take a while. They won’t release the body until all the tests are back—or they close the case.”

“I see.” She scanned the area for the children. Seeing them, she looked back at me. “This is never going to end, is it? It feels like a nightmare I just can’t wake up from.”

Again, I didn’t know what to say. I hugged her again and asked if she was going to the King’s Feast. It sounded kind of lame, but I needed something normal, at least for me, to hold on to.

“Yes. I believe we are. Edgar sent us a command that we’d better be there. So we will.” She smiled a little. “Father Christmas doesn’t want to be seen without his family, even if we aren’t really his family.”

“It will be a big spectacle tonight. Be prepared.”

“I’ll be as prepared as I can be. I just received a text from Harry. He said our relationship is over. He asked me not to contact him in any way. That has made everything
even worse. At least when I believed he loved me, it all made sense somehow.”

That was fast work.
Leave it to Harry to text someone that they were breaking up. All those feelings of dislike I had for him became even stronger. But at least he’d responded appropriately to my threat and
I
didn’t have to tell Christine.

“I tried to explain earlier. Harry is only in it for himself. Nothing else matters. But I’m sorry anyway.”

“Well, it goes along with the rest of this week, doesn’t it? I guess I’d better round everyone up and get them changed for the feast.”

“Can I give you a hand?”

“No. Thanks anyway. I’ve got this under control—if nothing else. But you’ve been a great help to me, Jessie. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

I saw Detective Almond with two officers in uniform out of the corner of my eye. They were coming through the Main Gate. Chase was with them, already in his feast finery. He had a look on his face that made me quake in dread.

Christine and I turned to face them as they came closer, obviously on their way to speak to one of us.

“Mrs. Christine Christmas,” Detective Almond said in a flat monotone. “We are here to arrest you for the murder of your husband, Christopher Christmas. These officers will read you your rights.”

“W
hy?” I demanded. “What’s changed?”

Detective Almond scowled at me while the officers put handcuffs on Christine.

“They found the murder weapon in her apartment,” Chase whispered, coming close to me and holding my hand. “That’s it. They have everything they need.”

“But what about the kids?” I asked him. “What will happen to them?”

“Social Services is on the way,” Chase explained. “I’m sorry, Jessie. This is the way it works.”

“No!” I said it to him in a whisper, then shouted it at Detective Almond. “No! Don’t take the kids. Let me take care of them, at least for now. We can look for someone else later if this isn’t rectified. Don’t just put them out there. You know they’ll have to split them up. They’ll be miserable.”

“Jessie!” Chase muttered. “There are
eight
kids. You know that, right?”

Detective Almond actually smiled. “How about it, Manhattan? I can leave them with you and Miss Jessie for tonight. Are you up for that?”

Chase didn’t look as certain as I did, but he confidently responded, “Sure. We can handle it.”

I loved him even more for that.

“Thank you, Jessie—Chase,” Christine said. “Bless you both. Merry Beth will help you. Let her take the lead. The kids are used to her telling them what to do.”

“We’ll have to revisit this tomorrow,” Detective Almond promised. “Have a good night, Mom and Dad.” He went away chuckling.

“I’m sorry,” I told Chase when they were gone. “I know this will be hard. But I couldn’t let them go like that. Everyone needs someone who can save them.”

“It’s okay,” he said, putting his arm around me. “I suppose we should look for them.”

I looked up, prepared to search the area around us under the quickly darkening sky. But they were all standing together at the foot of the stairs that led to their apartment in the manor house. They were staring silently, not moving as the police led their mother away.

Chase and I had just started toward them when Jolly seemed to realize what was happening. He gave a loud cry that sounded like it’d been ripped from his soul and ran after his mother.

Chase caught him and talked to him alone for a while. I continued on until I’d reached the rest of the children—then explained what had happened.

“That’s stupid!” Practical, mature Merry Beth let out a stream of language I felt sure her mother wouldn’t have approved of. “My mom would never kill my dad. And she doesn’t even own a gun. Somebody made a mistake.”

“If the police found a gun, someone must’ve planted it on her,” Garland said. “Like on TV. Someone is trying to frame her.”

I agreed with him but didn’t say so. Those poor kids needed protection. They needed some normality. I couldn’t do anything about their mother being arrested, but I could help with that.

“Are you sure this is the right thing to do?” Chase asked thirty minutes later when all of the kids, except Jolly, were dressed in their green elf costumes.

“This is what they know,” I explained. “And everything going on at the feast will distract them, at least for a while. If they were any other group of kids, it would seem weird. But this is part of their lives.”

“A life I hate!” Jolly yelled. “I don’t want to be part of this anymore. It’s stupid and lame. And all of you are stupid for going along with it.” He slammed into his bedroom. The rest of the kids were silent after he left, clearly frightened by their brother’s outburst.

“Well, all right. I guess we all know that Jolly is in a bad mood right now. That’s okay. Everyone has the right to be in a bad mood occasionally. The rest of us are going up to the castle for the feast. I’m sure you’re going to love it.”

Chase volunteered to escort them to the castle while I ran back to the Dungeon to change clothes. I tried not to think about what I’d just volunteered us to do. If I had thought about it, I might have run away screaming. What did either of us know about taking care of kids?

But I managed to block it out as I changed into my bright red gown for the evening. It was pretty but very modest compared to what most women would be wearing. Let’s face it—women bared their chests during the Renaissance. I had always conjectured it was to make up for the rest of
their bodies being heavily covered all the time. They needed something to attract a man.

I’d found out early on in my Ren Faire career that having a neckline that barely covered you made it hard to do anything useful. Sort of like two-inch fingernails. So my gowns were always a little on the modest side—most of the time.