Treacherous Toys (5 page)

But they weren’t too far away. They’d been waiting outside the workshop for their sister.

I wasn’t sure how much to tell them. I knew the news would be all over the Village in a short time. But I didn’t want to take something away from what their mother would say. Still, they had the right to know where she was and what had happened, even if it was only the basics.

“Something has happened to your father,” I said as we
stood together outside the manor houses. “Your mother is trying to find out what she should do. She’ll be back soon. You’ll be with Chase and me until she gets back.”

“Something like what?” Garland asked quietly. “Is he sick?”

“He’s probably been fooling around again,” Jolly answered. “This is what it’s usually like when that happens. We don’t see him for a while, then he and Mom make up. We all go away somewhere else again.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Merry Beth said. “We shouldn’t judge until we know.”

The next boy down in age, Nick, shrugged and walked away from the group. The four youngest sisters, Joy and Star (obviously twins about six or seven) and Faith and Holly (three and four, maybe?) stood together holding hands.

“The Main Gate is closing early because of what happened so they can get the body out,” Chase said. “Why don’t we go down to the other end of the Village. They’ll be feeding the camels and elephants soon. You could help if you like.”

Even Jolly was excited by that idea. I smiled at Chase as we left word with the police officer standing guard over the crime scene. Christine would know where the kids were when she got back. We took a walk down the cobblestones.

Chase would make an incredible father, I decided, though I wasn’t sure if he would ever want the job. His own family was a little dysfunctional, like mine. I certainly never thought much about having my own children.

Tom, Tom the Piper’s Son was in the middle of practicing stealing a piglet close to the manor house. A Village madman was counting up his take after having spent the day begging for spare change from the crowd while beating his pot with a large wooden spoon. Two ladies, dressed
in the height of Renaissance fashion, went by with only a spare glance for Chase.

Their expressions had changed when they saw that he was with his large family and wife.

Life in the Village went on. By nightfall, everyone would know that Chris Christmas had been found dead in his workshop. No doubt it would put a pall on festivities, even though he was just a visiting resident.

“Who do you think killed him?” I asked Chase quietly as we passed the Dutchman’s Stage where a knight and a pie maker were rehearsing a comedy routine for the next day.

“I don’t know. I hope we find out quickly.”

“I found this.” I showed him the piece of green felt I’d found in my earring. “I think my attacker, aka Chris’s killer, left it there when he or she hit me.”

He looked at it. “You should give that to Detective Almond when we go see him tomorrow. It could be important.”

We paused to let the kids marvel at a sword swallower practicing his routine near the tree swing, and I explained my theory about everyone in the Village wearing green felt.

“That may be true,” he quietly agreed. “But he can have it analyzed and might be able to find out exactly where it came from. This is a murder investigation, Jessie. You can’t hold anything back.”

Like I said, too serious. And becoming too much like Detective Almond.

Once we arrived at the elephant and camel ride enclosure, the kids ran off to have fun with the animals, forgetting all about us.

Tom Grigg, the undercover police officer turned pirate, found us there. “I heard about Santa,” he said, playing with his saber. “What happened?”

“Father Christmas,” I corrected. “And he was shot.”

“Once in the back of the neck, I think,” Chase added. “He was dead when I got there. But the killer may have run past Jessie in the workshop. He knocked her down.”

Grigg turned interested eyes toward me. “You didn’t see anything?”

“Nothing.” I didn’t tell him about the green felt. I tried hard not to stare at his new mustache and failed. “Have you heard anything else?”

He shrugged his shoulders beneath the tattered red shirt he wore. “Only that San—Father Christmas liked the ladies. He goosed a few of the serving wenches at the tavern last night. His wife came and dragged him home by the ear about midnight.”

I supposed that was what I had sensed between him and Christine earlier in the day. It totally destroyed my lovely vision of their happy family life. Eight kids with Christine and he was still fooling around. There should be some way to tell when men were like that—a big black spot on their forehead or something. They shouldn’t be allowed to be charming and nice.

“You might remember something,” Grigg said to me, “after the shock wears off. It happens to victims. Let’s just hope the killer doesn’t think so, too. He might come after you.”

“What makes you think it was a man?” I asked.

“Angry husband, maybe. Jealous boyfriend. Who knows?”

“Same thing for angry wife, jealous girlfriend,” I said. But as I said it, I hoped that wouldn’t be the case, at least about the angry wife. I hated to think about the kids losing their mother, too.

I saw Christine walking across the King’s Highway toward us and cautioned Grigg to keep his mouth shut. He nodded and walked away.

She’d been crying, of course. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face pale. As soon as the kids saw her, their enchantment with the animals was over. They’d all been putting on a good face for us. Now they broke down and ran to her in tears, wanting to know what had happened.

“Thank you for taking care of them,” she said to me and Chase. “We need some time to talk. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We watched them leave, sliding our arms around each other for comfort.

“Well, I think that’s it for tonight,” Chase said. “Let’s catch some dinner and go to bed. You need some rest so you can be up and running after those kids tomorrow.

“Thanks. All of that sounds fine. Maybe better than fine. What a day.”

But I tossed and turned restlessly all night in bed thinking about Chris. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Chris again, lying beside me on the floor. I scoured my memory, trying to make out the person who’d smacked me down as they’d made their escape. There was nothing.

I hoped the killer didn’t think I knew who he or she was. But it was incentive for me to begin thinking about who it
could
be. Who would want to kill Chris?

It was a long night, not the pleasant one I’d planned for my first night back with Chase. I must’ve finally gone to sleep toward dawn because it was daylight when I woke.

Chase was smiling at me, holding a plastic tray with a red rose, a cinnamon roll from the Monastery Bakery, and a hot mocha latte.

“It’s about time.” He barely waited for me to sit up. “I’ve already done my rounds, helped catch a runaway camel, and assisted Galileo in setting up his new telescope. I didn’t think you were
ever
going to wake up.”

It was a lot to take in—especially before coffee. But my
head didn’t hurt anymore and even a little sleep was better than none.

“Any news about what happened to Chris?” My mind was still focused on that subject. “Did they find anything that might help?”

“I haven’t heard from Detective Almond, if that’s what you mean. As far as the Village is concerned—Adventure Land hired a new Father Christmas last night.” He grimaced. “I know. But the show must go on. It was a single-day record for us on ticket sales. That’s a big draw.”

“How is that possible so fast? And what about Christine?” I nervously nibbled on the cinnamon roll. “Tell me they didn’t just kick her to the side of the cobblestones with her eight kids.”

“She and the kids are all going to help with the pictures and making toys. The new Father Christmas is only for show. He doesn’t make toys. I think he might be a male model. Older variety, like those kinds on commercials for Viagra.”

I didn’t really care about Adventure Land’s decision to hire a new Father Christmas. I was sure they would replace all of us as needed. But keeping Christine and the kids was awesome. “That’s wonderful! I was afraid they’d be gone.”

“Probably not. Adventure Land paid them a lot of money up front to be here. It’s part of their contract. They have to stay. It’s not going to be easy for them.”

“Maybe. But at least they have somewhere to go until they can decide what else to do. Thanks.” I kissed him and handed him the tray so I could get out of bed.

“Where are you going?” He ate a piece of my leftover cinnamon roll.

I grabbed the coffee and the rose. “To help make toys. That’s what I came for.”

“Maybe you should take it easy today. We could talk about you staying here.”

“I’m just going to jump in the shower and get right over there,” I explained. “I’m sure Christine could really use my help. We can talk later. Maybe at lunch.”

I hurried into the shower, glad there was plenty of hot water. Sometimes when Chase and I showered together, the water heater ran dry. Not that it mattered in that case. And cold water could be really good if it was hot outside.

But I didn’t want to talk about moving here or anything else having to do with my other life as a history professor. I’d had enough trauma in the last twenty-four hours, with Father Christmas dying before I could even make a single toy. It looked as though I would get another chance, though, since Christine was also a toy maker. I wanted to concentrate on that.

When I got out of the shower, Chase was gone. He’d left a little note on my costume, which he must have procured from Portia at the costume shop. He really was a wonderful person to go through that ordeal for me.

Love you. See you later.

It made me smile. Chase always made me smile. I couldn’t imagine facing life without him. While I was teaching, time dragged and I was miserable. I spent hours just thinking about being here with him. He’d said he loved me. I was crazy about him.

I thought about him as I dressed in my red, green, and white gown with a ruffled petticoat under it. There were even matching slippers. I looked at myself in the mirror and twirled around a couple of times. Life was good. I was happy just the way things were between me and Chase.

I answered the quick knock at the door, wondering if
Chase had forgotten something. Instead it was my twin brother, Tony.

“Hi, sis!” He smiled and hugged me. “How long have you been here?”

“Since yesterday.” I was happy to see him. We’re almost exactly the same height. Both of us have brown hair. He’s got my mother’s brown eyes, and I’ve got my father’s blue ones. “How have you been?”

He looked away, playing with Chase’s sword collection that was mounted on the wall. “I have a little problem, Jessie.”

“How much?”

“Not much. Maybe a couple hundred would get me through. You know I’m good for it. Since I started working on all the computers around the Village, I’ve been solid.”

“What happened?”

“I needed a car. There was this hot little fairy—”

“There always is. Was she too good to ride the bus?”

“Sort of. We broke up when I wrecked the car.”

He smiled, like always. I shook my head and sighed. He was just like our father—a man I could barely remember since he and my mother were killed right after they got divorced. The one thing I could remember was my mother crying because he was always on the hunt for some new woman and he could never hold a job.

Just like Father Christmas, I supposed.

I prided myself on being more like my mother. She’d been responsible, hardworking, hadn’t let daydreams keep her from putting food on the table.

I’d spent my whole adult life getting Tony out of scrapes, loaning him money, and finding answers to his problems.

I knew that was why I was reluctant to stay in the Village with Chase. In the few years we’d been together, Chase
had never exhibited the awful traits of Morton family males. He might not ever. But I couldn’t trust that life with him would flow smoothly. If he let me down, I wanted to be able to bounce back. I needed to be able to take care of myself, just like Christine.

“I’m sorry,” I told Tony. “I don’t have any extra money. I lost my job, my apartment, and I think the roadside mechanic who got my car going duct-taped it together. I don’t have anything right now.”

He looked amazed. “No nest egg? Jessie, you always have a nest egg for something or other.”

“Not this time. I’m sorry. I have to go to work.”

“But they’ll take the car if I don’t pay for it, even if it is wrecked. I don’t need much. I can pay you back by Christmas.”

By this time, we were walking down the short flight of stairs from the apartment and out of the make-believe Dungeon where the plastic prisoners bemoaned their fate behind prison bars.

“I don’t have any money, Tony. You might have to get a part-time job outside the Village.”

“What about Chase? He has money, right? Couldn’t you borrow some from him?”

“I probably could. But I’m not going to. Grow up. Figure out your own answers for a change.”

He stared at me as though I were speaking another language. I supposed I was for him. The language of
not happening
. It wasn’t something he recognized.

“Okay. I understand.” He stared off into the distance past the Village Square and the King’s Highway. “Where are you working anyhow?”

I told him about Father Christmas, his wife and children. “I should still be able to learn how to make toys. If
not, I guess I’ll be wiping down tables at one of the pubs. I can’t afford to turn anything down right now.”

“That’s interesting,” he said. “I just heard yesterday that some of the older residents knew that Santa guy. They said he’d worked here before.”

“Which older residents?” I asked. Tony was always a great source of gossip, if not much else.

“You know, the really old ones—Merlin, Roger Trent—the old ones.”

“Thanks.” Maybe that would give me a place to start anyway. The Village had been open a lot longer than I’d been coming there. I recalled that moment between Chris and Livy when I thought something weird was happening between them. Maybe they knew each other. “I’m sorry about your car,” I said sympathetically before we parted. “You know I’d help if I could. I’m just in bad shape myself right now, Tony.”