Treacherous Toys

by Joyce

  It was a long fifteen minutes. I was scared I might not be able to last the whole cycle without losing feeling in my arms and legs. Just when I thought I couldn’t hold on any longer, the machine turned off. I slumped down on it, hoping I was doing the right thing.

  I held the blower in place through two more cycles before I noticed lights coming on far below at the pirate ship. Then, they must have stood out on the deck through two more cycles before they felt certain something was wrong—pirates can be a little slow.

  On the next cycle, the accent lights situated across the castle walls came on. Hope bloomed in my frozen limbs. It seemed someone had noticed there was a problem.

  Then nothing happened. I was sure it was time for another cycle of snow. But the snowmaker stayed ominously quiet. Had they turned it off rather than deal with the problem at night?

  I was ready to give up. I didn’t know what else to do. I was all out of clever ideas for one night. I just wanted to go home and be with Chase.

  Then I heard a strange sound, a squeaky hinge noise like the sound of a rarely used door being opened.

  “I don’t know why this can’t wait until morning,” an angry male voice said. “I don’t think it’s safe for us to be out here. There’s fake snow all over. We could slip and fall.”

  I was never so happy to hear an angry Village maintenance man’s voice.

  “This whole snow idea is stupid anyway,” a second voice said.

  I laughed and cried at the same time. “I could use some help out here.”

  My voice stalled out on me, and sounded more like a croak than actual words.

  “What’s that?” the first man asked.

  “I think it came from whatever that is on the unit.” He shone a flashlight beam on me. “No wonder it’s not working right. Is that some kind of big bird on it?”

  I cleared my throat and tried again. “It’s me, Jessie. Can you help me down?”

  “Chase’s girlfriend?” the first man asked. “Jessie Morton? Is that you?”

  “What the hell are you doing up here anyway?” the second man asked. “Chase will have our hides if you don’t get inside right away.”

  I was too relieved to respond.

  Getting to the real parapet, where the small door was located, about twenty feet to the side and another ten feet down, took some maneuvering and rope. The two men used the brackets attached to the roof that I hadn’t been able to see. They tied the rope around me then helped me reach that wonderful warm room. I dropped on the floor and didn’t bother getting up.

  “Call 911,” the first worker said in a scared voice. “Jessie, can you hear me?”

  “No. Don’t call anyone,” I rasped. “We can’t do anything like that—not right now. She’ll get away. She knows that I know. She knows who I am.”

  “She’s delirious,” one of them said.

  “I guess her weight must’ve tipped the snowmaker so the snow blew down on the pirate ship.”

  “It wasn’t my weight,” I explained. “It was the only way I could think of to let you know I was up there.”

  “That was smart,” the second worker said as he coiled up the rope that had saved my life. “But you don’t look so good. I think you should go to the hospital.”

  “I will later.” I sat up slowly. Everything hurt at the same time. But I was afraid the Lady in Black would get away unless I acted as soon as I could. She probably thought I was dead—which was good. She’d feel safe carrying on as usual.

  I was in a suite of rooms on the second floor, which was rarely used. Still, everything was immaculate, not a dust bunny to be seen. Too bad housecleaning didn’t make it to the old tower room. It was amazing to me that I had lived at the castle without ever realizing that area existed. Part of me couldn’t wait to find out if Chase knew about it.

  The other part said thanks but no thanks to an offer from one of the maintenance men who asked if I wanted to call Chase and let him know what had happened. I told him it was because Christine needed him at the hospital and I didn’t want him to worry. But the real truth was I wanted to finish this, and I didn’t want him to run back here and try to coddle me.

  Although God knew I needed some coddling. The idea of having him put his arms around me and tell me it was okay, that I was safe, was almost irresistible.

  But I resisted.

  Lucky for me visitors often leave a few clothes behind when they check out. Housekeeping rarely gets rid of them, just shoves them back in the closet. It’s come in handy more than once to have some spare clothes available for those times when someone arrives without a suitcase.

  I found a shirt and some trousers, both left there by some nameless man, who knew how long ago. I could make them work with an ugly tie for a belt and by rolling up the blue-striped shirtsleeves.

  It could’ve been worse—it could’ve been a troll costume from last Halloween.

  The maintenance men finally shrugged and gave up trying to convince me that I needed medical attention. Now that the snowmaker was throwing the icy crystals across the Village again, they gathered up their rope and other tools and left me in the suite.

  I was glad they were gone. I didn’t have to pretend to be capable of anything besides falling on the floor and crying. I looked at myself in the full-length mirror and was frightened by what I saw. No wonder they’d wanted me to go to the hospital.

  I was covered in blood from my head to my feet. My clothes were torn and soaked in it. My feet looked like they’d been skinned.

  But I had to find her, the Lady in Black. She might feel safe tonight, but tomorrow she’d be looking for a way out of the Village. She might already be packing and plotting where she’d go.

  At least that was the theory that got me moving. I had to push myself as hard to get into the warm shower as I had to reach the snowmaker. I groaned and suffered through the first few minutes. Each drop of water was like a knife pricking my skin.

  Eventually, the pain subsided as the water began to wash the blood down the drain. I examined my arm—it looked as though the bullet had gone in one side and out the back. Through and through, they called it on one of my favorite cop shows. I couldn’t be sure, of course, but it was going to have to wait for a more thorough examination. I found a first aid kit and got to work on it.

  The shower gave me a little surge of energy that got me through the grim job of bandaging my wounds. I found some socks for my feet that made them feel better. I also drank one of the mini bottles of whiskey from the liquor cabinet. That made me feel a lot better. I ate a couple of the chocolate pillow mints, which jump-started a second energy surge.

  I tidied up the room as best I could, then crept into the dark hall and down the stairs.

  I suppose I could’ve gone after Gus. He had a key to the delivery door. But I knew he wasn’t the Lady in Black. It could’ve been one of Chris’s girlfriends, but I was staking my reputation on either Esmeralda or Rita.

  Something about the way Esmeralda had acted the last time we’d spoken sent me to her room first. No one ever locks their doors in the castle, so it was easy to get inside.

  There was no sign of her, which seemed odd. Maybe she’d been called downstairs for a laundry emergency, but that seemed unlikely. She had staff on duty at night to handle late-night royal housekeeping needs when they occurred.

  I wasn’t sure what I would have said if she’d been in her suite. I guess I would’ve made something up. But that was not the case, which made me even more suspicious.

  She had a nice suite—bedroom, sitting room, and even a little kitchen. Most of the staff who lived in the castle had only a bedroom. But she’d worked here forever.

  I looked through every room, but there was no sign of the black dress. That could mean she was still on the prowl—if she actually was Alice Christmas—maybe even looking for the kids. I was still doing okay from the whiskey and the chocolate, so I walked a little faster toward the basement stairs where Harold had fallen.

  It was abou
t three A.M. No one was around. Everything was quiet. Even the most humble kitchen and laundry servants had gone to bed, with buzzers to wake them if they were needed. It was only me—and the Lady in Black.

  I hated that she had a gun and I didn’t. I borrowed a fake sword from a suit of armor against the wall. It wasn’t a good sword like Chase’s—it didn’t even have a real edge—but it would have to do. Considering that she thought I was dead, I might be able to sneak up on her. I could at least hit her in the head with the heavy hilt.

  I crept quietly down the stairs, pausing at each stair to make sure I still didn’t hear anything. I’d left the light off so she wouldn’t see me coming if she was down here. All I had in my favor was the element of surprise. I hoped it would be enough.

  The laundry area was dark, darker than the stairs where some light was still coming from the dim sconces in the hall above. It wouldn’t do to have a castle visitor fall and get hurt.

  There was laundry everywhere, from sheets to underwear. Esmeralda and her crew were responsible for making everyone from royalty on down look presentable. The room smelled of detergent and bleach.

  I walked through the whole area, pushing some of the laundry out of the way until I could see the floor. I was wasting my time. She wasn’t here.

  I tried to think where else she could be. After the snow incident, there was probably too much excitement on the Queen’s Revenge for her to attempt to board. If she had it in mind to hurt Chris’s children, she’d probably wait until later when things settled down.

  She would’ve been in her room packing if she were trying to escape. I hoped all that time I’d spent trying to get off the roof hadn’t given her an opportunity to get away. If that was the case, I’d be sorry I didn’t let the maintenance men call 911. Maybe they could’ve caught her. I was fresh out of ideas and my chocolate–alcohol high was wearing off, leaving me exhausted and in pain.

  A groan came from a big pile of laundry near the dryers. I had to hear it again to know exactly where to look. I flipped on the lights and started going through the laundry.

  As I got closer to the concrete floor, I noticed blood on the sheets and towels that I moved. The groaning became louder, more insistent. This was someone else injured and in pain. Maybe I’d been wrong about Esmeralda. Maybe she was a victim in this, too.

  I finally reached her. It looked like she’d been shot in the side, but it was hard to tell—there was so much blood. I was amazed she was still alive.

  Esmeralda grabbed my hand when I touched her. She opened her eyes and tried to smile at me. “Jessie. You were right. Alice never forgave Chris. I think she influenced Olivia to invite Chris here. She wanted to kill him.”

  “How? How did she influence her? Where is she?”

  “I don’t know. We argued. She told me she tried to kill Chris’s wife. I couldn’t believe that was my little sister, Ally, talking. I couldn’t believe she could hurt anyone.”

  I knew it was hard for her to talk. But I had to find Alice before she hurt anyone else. “Where did she go, Esmeralda? Where is your sister?”

  She coughed and held a hand to her side. “She’s with Livy. You have to stop her, Jessie.”

  She passed out again. I wasn’t sure what to do. I had to find Alice, but I still wasn’t sure who Alice was. At the same time, Esmeralda needed help. I needed to do both things. For the hundredth time that night, I wished my cell phone was working.

  There was an intercom that ran from the laundry to the kitchen. I wasn’t sure if it went anywhere else, but I thought I might get lucky. I pushed the button to talk. A sleepy voice answered, telling me it was too early for breakfast.

  “Is that you, Rita?” I asked. “I need your help. Esmeralda has been shot. She’s in the laundry room. Call someone.”

  “Jessie? Is that you? Is this a prank? If it is—”

  “Just do it. I have to go. Help her.”

  I knew Rita would at least take a look. She could handle it from there. I limped up the basement stairs, clutching my fake sword, and headed for the queen’s chambers.

  Twenty-eight

  Alice was with Livy. I wished I could get in touch with Chase. Did she mean to harm Livy or was there something else going on?

  Clearly Alice was one of Livy’s ladies-in-waiting. Who else (besides a man) would be with Livy at three in the morning?

  I could hardly believe it. Both Lady Jane and Lady Barbara had been at the castle for at least the last ten years. How could Alice stand it all that time? It was easier to imagine her coming in as a new hire than living here for so long, plotting her revenge.

  Of course, maybe it was a crime of convenience. Chris and Alice split up. She came back to the Village but didn’t tell anyone who she was. She’d only been there a short time to begin with. So many people had come and gone over the years. Only Esmeralda knew. She lived here as Livy’s companion, and when she had the chance to have Chris hired as Father Christmas, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

  My aching arm and other painful body parts had little sympathy for her plan. I understood about holding on to anger, but she’d hurt other people besides her ex-husband. She was going down. I hoped.

  There was still the matter of her gun. She’d clearly lost her mind if she was willing to shoot her own sister. She knew she couldn’t go back from that. Esmeralda wouldn’t allow it to go on. At least I hoped she wouldn’t. Family could be strange. She’d obviously harbored Alice even after she’d shot Chris.

  So why would Alice go back to Livy? Why not head out of the castle as soon as she could?

  Livy’s chamber door was open when I got there. I clutched my fake sword closer. I pushed the door open all the way and looked around. The sitting room was empty—not surprising since it was still the middle of the night for most people.

  I didn’t want to cause any undue alarm. Maybe Alice would give herself up without a fight. Maybe she’d realize that she’d gone too far.

  The queen’s bedroom door was ajar as well. I carefully pushed it open all the way. A dim light was on at the side table. Lady Jane sat near the window in one of the tapestry chairs. She was in her nightgown, her long brown hair spilling down her shoulders. When she looked at me, I saw the fear in her eyes and I knew it wasn’t over.

  “So you found me.” I recognized that voice now. The Black Widow. “Good. Let’s have a party. Shut the door.”

  I closed the door. Barbara stood with the gun she’d used to shoot me and Esmeralda trained on Livy’s head. Livy sat in the opposite tapestry chair near the fireplace. She was very quiet, silent tears streaming down her face.

  The element of surprise wasn’t on my side after all. I’d given Alice/Barbara another target.

  “Take a seat, Jessie,” Barbara instructed. “You don’t give up easily, do you? I was expecting they’d find you dead on the cobblestones in the morning. You must have nine lives.”

  I sat on the edge of the bed facing the three ladies. “You know there’s no way out of this for you, Alice. I just had Rita call the police for Esmeralda. How could you shoot your own sister?”

  She waved the gun around, not so intent on holding it against Livy’s temple now that we were all locked in the room. “She’s always thought she could tell me what to do. She never understood how much I hated Chris. ‘Get over him,’ she always told me. ‘Get on with your life.’ Well you know what? I can do exactly that now. I got rid of Chris and his stupid wife. I’m only sorry it has to end before I wiped his progeny off the map.”

  “So now what?” I asked, still holding the fake sword at my side. She obviously hadn’t seen it when I walked in. The room might have been too shadowed for her to notice it.

  “Now I get rid of the three of you and get out of the Village.” She shrugged her shoulders, still wearing the black gown. “I think that’s doable.”

  “I’m pregnant,” Livy begged in a voice I had never heard her use before. She sounded sane and rational for once. There was no royal we—no ego. “Pleas
e don’t hurt my baby. You can leave right now and no one will catch you. Jane and I won’t say a word. Jessie won’t either.”

  Alice laughed. “You must be kidding. I’ve been with you almost since you began as queen. You’re a selfish, arrogant fool, Olivia. You’d do anything to make things better for yourself. You’ll never convince me that you care about that poor baby you’re carrying except as a way to raise stock prices for Adventure Land shareholders—you and Harold being two of the biggest.”

  “You’re wrong.” Livy pushed herself to her feet. It wasn’t easy. But she stood with her head held high, facing the woman threatening her life. “This baby means more to me than anything I’ve ever done. You don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

  Alice looked a little surprised. It would’ve been hard to ignore Livy’s sincerity. Then she tossed the gun around again, making Jane wince and close her eyes.

  “I don’t care. What’s done is done. I’m not giving up my life for you, any of you. I’ve waited a long time to get on with my life. I can finally do that. I’m free from Chris.”

  I hadn’t noticed until that moment that Livy had grabbed the fireplace poker from beside her as she’d struggled to her feet. She held it draped in her huge nightgown, resting her body against the tapestry chair.

  Alice faced me, the gun steady again in her hand. “I think the second time might be the charm, huh, Jessie? I don’t know how you survived when you fell off the roof, but I’m sure you won’t have that kind of luck this time.”

  Okay. I admit it. I was even more scared than I had been on the roof. There was no way she was only going to wound me this time. The gun was pointed at my head. She was obviously crazy, but her aim looked pretty solid to me.