Treacherous Toys

by Joyce

  “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.”

  Sixteen

  “Why?” 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.

  I kind of fluffed up my short hair a little and slipped my feet into half boots that almost matched the gown. That was going to have to do. I didn’t want to leave Chase alone too long with all that responsibility.

  And I was still considering how I could get into Edgar’s room without him knowing.

  I joined the rest of the latecomers on their way to the castle. The Main Gate was open. Security and barricades would keep the visitors from going out into the rest of the Village. They were sent on a path that edged along Mirror Lake. It gave the pirates a chance to show off and let the visitors see some of the Village without venturing down the dark cobblestones.

  “You are looking particularly lovely tonight, Lady Jessie.”

  I barely recognized the voice and was surprised to see the young knight I’d met, Dennis Greene, walking beside me. He’d cleaned up well—young, tall, and handsome in his bits of shining armor. The only knights who wore full armor to the feast would be jousting. Dennis was too new for that.

  “Hello. It’s good to see you.” I was surprised and embarrassed. I’d totally forgotten I was supposed to have met him after closing.

  He laughed. “You forgot about me, didn’t you? I checked up on you. You were incognito at the field. Were you spying on someone—or looking for a secret lover?”

  Obviously this wasn’t the conversation I’d wanted to have with him. Yes, he reminded me of Chase when I’d first met him, in some ways. But that was a long time ago. I wasn’t that same kitchen wench either.

  “Neither. I was looking for the horse that went missing when the knight rode it out of the Village yesterday. He almost skewered me and my friend. I wanted to know who he was.”

  “Why didn’t you say so?” He took my hand and drew it on his arm between us as we walked. “I happen to know exactly who that was. I saw him bring the horse and armor back last night.”

  “Who was it?” I decided to leave my hand on his forearm, at least until I had an answer. “Do you know his name?”

  “I don’t know his name, my lady. I’ve seen him since standing at the fence watching us practice. I don’t believe he works here, but he appears to like the idea of doing so.”

  Rats! “Would you know him, good sir, if you were to see him again?”

  “Of course. And I would be happy to point him out if you would consider supping with me one night. I believe even
the moonlight would pale compared to your beauty.”

  The visitors around us were eating up our conversation, savoring every morsel like coffee and cinnamon rolls. But I was used to this. Visitors always enjoyed hearing costumed residents speak in romantic prose. Three older ladies were giggling and encouraging Dennis as we reached the castle gate.

  “Give her a little kiss to break the ice, sonny.” One of them nudged him with her elbow.

  “I do not know this young man well enough to allow him to be so bold.” I glared at him in what I hoped was a significant manner.

  “My lady is shy.” He smiled at me warmly before he lifted my hand and planted a kiss on it. “I would woo her in such a manner as she finds comfortable.”

  “My lady is with me, young sir.” Chase stepped out of the shadows created by the torches near the entrance. “My gratitude to you for seeing her safely to the castle.”

  Of course all the ladies started giggling again. Dennis gave Chase a formal bow of deep respect but didn’t say anything else. He walked in before us to the Great Hall.

  “I’m up here with the kids you volunteered us to take care of and you’re flirting with that—other kid,” Chase whispered as we walked in together.

  He rarely got angry, but I realized this was one of those times.

  “I’m sorry. He had information for me about the rogue knight that came after me and Christine. I still think that incident could be important to the case. And where are the kids?”

  “A few of the PR ladies from Adventure Land took them so they could get ready for their entrance with Father Christmas,” he explained. “I hope you’re ready for this. There’s a big sleigh that’s going to drop down from the ceiling. The kids and Edgar will throw out candy, and flower petals will rain down from the ceiling.”

  “Flower petals? In winter?”

  “It was supposed to be glitter, but they nixed that idea—they didn’t want to take the visitors out of the Renaissance theme.”

  “I can see that. Hothouses but no tiny metal flakes. They could have used kernels of corn or maybe seeds from fruits or vegetables.”

  He pulled me into a shadowed corner of the entryway as visitors streamed in. “Seriously? You’re flirting with that kid-knight wannabe on the way up here and you want to think about what kind of natural foods they could drop from the ceiling?”

  “That’s what you were talking about. I thought we were having a conversation about the sleigh event.”

  “That’s not what I really want to talk about. I just didn’t want to get into it where everyone was listening and taking notes.”

  “You never get jealous,” I reminded him, poking my finger into his chest. “Why are you so insecure all of a sudden? You know no one can hold a candle to you.”

  “Except that you won’t stay here with me.”

  “This isn’t the time for that argument, Chase. I have something I have to do.”

  “Such as?” He circled me in his arms, my back to the fake stone wall. “What’s so important, Jessie?”

  I couldn’t tell him that I planned to visit Edgar’s room. In his present state of mind, he’d think I was hooking up with Edgar, too. Ugh! But whether I was going there to be with Edgar or to search through his belongings wouldn’t matter. Chase would go ballistic. It wouldn’t help my case after that stupid flirty conversation with Dennis on the way in.

  “You’re right.” I hoped to disarm him, throw him off the scent. “It’s not more important than you. Nothing is. And I won’t ever forget how you backed me on keeping the kids. I love you, Chase.” I put my arms around his neck and kissed him until I was seeing stars.

  “I believe you,” he said quietly when I’d pulled away. “I’m sorry I was jealous. I was wrong to let that kid bother me.”

  “Thanks. Shall we go? Are you sitting with the king and queen tonight?”

  “Yes. How about you?”

  “Probably not.”

  “You’re a member of the royal court now, Jessie. You have a right to be there.”

  And be watched constantly, making it impossible for me to sneak away. “I don’t know. Normally I would’ve sat with Chris and Christine, being their apprentice. At least I won’t be in the sleigh. That would be awful.”

  I bantered. I flattered. I sweet-talked, as my grandma used to call it. I didn’t want Chase to get suspicious.

  We parted at the landing that separates the royal family, their friends, and servants from the visitors seated on the top floor above the arena. Already I could see the knights below in the sawdust with their magnificent horses, getting ready for the show.

  “I’ll see you later,” Chase whispered with a kiss.

  “Love you,” I answered and wasted no time making my way to the long line of Village residents with no particular place to sit during the event.

  It didn’t matter. I felt reasonably sure the sleigh full of kids and Father Christmas would be the first event. That meant I wouldn’t be at the table for long. I could slip in and out of the Great Hall without anyone noticing.

  Fortunately, I was near one of the serving doors. The kitchen wenches brought out the big platters of food through here. It would be easy to get to Edgar’s room from the kitchen since I knew my way around the castle. My time on the computer wasn’t wasted. I knew which room he was staying in.

  I waited long enough for the holiday music to begin playing. Lord Dunstable, master of ceremonies, was talking about Christmas during the time of the Renaissance. I knew Father Christmas was about to make his entrance.

  I shifted my bulky skirt, got up, and headed for the door.

  “You’re going to miss everything if you leave now,” Sam Da Vinci whispered, garbed in his gold and purple finery. “I helped design the sleigh, you know.”

  “That’s great.” I smiled encouragingly. “But I have to go—lady’s room, you know.”

  I swung the door open to the kitchen and walked right into Chase.

  “Where are you going?” He put his hands on my forearms to steady me. His tone told me I’d overdone it. I’d made him suspicious.

  “The bathroom. I thought this might be the fastest way around.”

  “Where are you really going? You know the castle well enough to know the bathrooms are the other way. What do you have in mind, Jessie?”

  “You’re not going to like it.” I sighed, knowing I was caught. I could either admit that I was going to search Edgar’s room or tell him that I was going to meet Dennis. Out of the two, I thought the truth was the better option.

  I explained my plan to take a look through Edgar’s stuff. “There might be something incriminating that would give him away.”

  I could hear the sounds of the event getting started. Queen Olivia and King Harold were welcoming the visitors. If I didn’t go soon, Edgar’s part in the festivities would be over.

  “You can’t just go around searching people’s rooms, Jessie,” Chase said. “Nothing you find would be admissible in court. That wouldn’t help Christine or the police.”

  “But it might make Edgar confess, if it’s the right thing.”

  “How are you going to get in without being seen? There are castle staff everywhere.”

  “There could be an emergency,” I suggested, still not sure where Chase was on this.

  “There could be,” he agreed. “I think Edgar will join the royal court when his part is over. But I’m not sure. We’d better get moving.”

  “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”

  “Maybe.” He smiled and took my hand. “But feel free to say it anytime. You know how insecure I am.”

  Seventeen

  I felt bad walking out right as the kids were about to have their big moment. On the other hand, bringing their mother home from jail would be the best Christmas present I could give them. Finding the real killer would also bring them closure.

  I wasn’t sure what kind of emergency we could come up with on such short notice. As usual, I had an idea that seemed like it wo
uld work but no real plan to implement it. Lucky for me, Chase could be cleverly devious when he wanted to be. And he was one step ahead of me.

  Although the entire kitchen staff was involved in the King’s Feast, the household staff wasn’t really part of it. We went to Edgar’s suite of rooms and asked the first staff member we saw to help us with his room. It was simple for Chase to tell a chambermaid that Edgar had requested clean sheets for his bed. The bailiff was like the king and queen—no one questioned him.

  While we waited for the chambermaid to return, we heard shouts of “Huzzah!” coming from the Great Hall.

  “I hope the kids will be all right,” I worried out loud.

  “They’ll be fine,” he assured me. “You should’ve seen everyone with them. They all know about their parents. I’m sure the royal family will take great care of them.”

  “Why doesn’t that reassure me?”

  The one thing we didn’t count on was Esmeralda. Instead of the chambermaid, Esmeralda arrived with the clean sheets. Anger flashed from her dark eyes as she faced us down at Edgar’s door.

  “We just changed these sheets this morning,” she raged. “I don’t know who he thinks he is, but we can’t do this two or three times every day.”

  Chase smiled, after she’d turned her back to open the door. He’d come up with an idea that fit right in with what was already going on in the castle. It’s great when a plan comes together.

  We followed her into the room. Esmeralda glared at us. “What? Edgar needs someone to watch while we change the sheets? Come on, Chase. Do I tell you how to do vegetable justice?”

  “No. But you’re welcome to,” he said. “Really, I was just wondering if you have any other problems in the castle. I thought this might be a good time to ask. I’m working on the annual security report for Adventure Land.”

  “And Jessie’s here because she’s always with you.” She smiled. “Smart girl. Never take a man for granted, especially one who looks like you.”

  I didn’t want to get into that. Obviously, Chase knew how to get information without seeming to ask for it. Besides, this seemed like a good time for me to slip away and look around.