Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Rare Catch Cozy Mystery

by Liz Turner

  That’s a little irritating to the ears actually, she thought, but she kept this to herself.

  Veronica wasn’t the only one who seemed to notice the discrepancy in the harmony. The clarinet player stopped blowing into his instrument and started speaking to the violinist. She, in turn, lowered the violin and bow, putting her hands on her hips as she listened to the man. Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on her violin, and she spat out a response to the other three before stomping off. The rest looked at each other before following her at a slower pace.

  “What was that all about?” Sakura asked suddenly. Veronica hadn’t noticed she was watching as well. “That didn’t look too friendly.”

  “No it didn’t,” Veronica agreed. “I hope it wasn’t anything serious.”

  “Everything is too serious in life!” A voice called out from beside them. Veronica and Sakura glanced to their left and saw a young woman in a jester’s outfit standing next to them. “No one can take a joke anymore. Am I right, or am I right?”

  The two chefs jumped, taken completely by surprise by the sudden appearance of the young lady. Veronica put her hand to her chest as she tried to catch her breath and get a better look at their new companion. She was a little shorter than Sakura but was much thinner. Her jester’s costume was bright, in opposing squares of yellow and purple. Her hair was covered up by a three-pronged hat with bells at the tips. Veronica could see strong muscles underneath her outfit, showing that this person was small but svelte. Instead of shoes that were curled at the tip, like Veronica expected from a jester, her shoes were small and practical.

  “Don’t scare us like that!” Sakura shouted. “You nearly gave me a heart attack?”

  “Heart attack? Oh my goodness!” the jester announced. She threw her arm up in the air as if she was holding a sword. “Then I shall defend you from the hearts! No one shall harm you while Lady Astrid is around!”

  “Lady Astrid?” Veronica repeated. “You don’t look like nobility.”

  “No, but I am vital to a noble’s lifestyle,” Astrid proclaimed. “Silly nobles. Always having to deal with rebelling peasants, throwing feasts, duels of honor or for a maiden’s hand, and arranging marriages everywhere. It’s exhausting really! Someone’s got to cheer them up!”

  Astrid seemed to pull a trio of balls from somewhere and started juggling. She began with some basic tricks before throwing them under her leg and higher in the air, followed by kicking one with her foot. More people surrounding them noticed the tricks being performed and gathered around to see what was happening. The jester then threw one of the balls into the air and caught it with her nose, balancing it for several seconds before dropping it back to her hands and continuing to juggle. The audience clapped and cheered, and Astrid smiled broadly.

  Sakura couldn’t help but grin as well. “Okay. You win. That was nice.”

  “Yeah, you must have practiced a lot,” Veronica said as the people dispersed again.

  “Since I was a child. I got bored easily.” Astrid continued to juggle two balls in one hand as she whistled. “Still do actually. Anyway, people have arguments. Don’t worry about it. You’ve been looking worried the whole time you’ve been at the Fair.”

  “We haven’t been here for very long,” Veronica commented.

  Astrid chuckled. “I meant at the booth. You’ve been cooped up there so long, you need to stretch your legs. Enjoy yourselves. The Fair only happens once a year!”

  “Point taken,” Veronica agreed. “We’ve already missed a bunch of things because we were working. It’s nice to have a change of pace.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Astrid jumped forward, performing a handstand and staying in that position. “Do you have any plans on where to go?”

  “Not yet,” Veronica replied. “We were just trying to figure that out.”

  “The Archery Contest is about to start in a few minutes,” Astrid grunted as she balanced on a single hand and pointed to the east. “It’s that way. Something exciting always happens there.”

  “That does sound like fun,” Sakura added. “Why don’t we watch that?”

  “Sounds good. Thanks for the suggestion, Lady Astrid.”

  Astrid rolled back to her feet and grinned at them. “Not at all. Enjoy the Fair!”

  The two chefs watched as the jester did a few cartwheels as she headed off to entertain a large family with six children. Thinking how lucky she was to not have to deal with so many young children at once, Sakura glanced at the pamphlet again.

  “According to the Fair’s map, the archery range should be…” Sakura paused. “This way! Let’s go!”

  The range was a little distance from the rest of the Fair, which made perfect sense considering how dangerous wayward arrows could be. That alone could have been the reason the Fair itself was about half a mile away from Meloda’s city limits. A section of the range had been fenced off, with the archers on the inside and the onlookers on the outside. The grass in this area had been cut shorter than the rest, to the point where dirt was much more prominent on the ground.On one side was a line of targets, each at incrementally greater distances. The targets were white on the outer rims, with black, blue, red and yellow circles, and a tiny black dot in the middle to indicate the bull’s-eye. Behind the targets was a wall of hay bales, to stop any arrows from disappearing behind the Fair. On the other end of the range was a line of people, each wearing an archer’s costume of some variety and carrying bows and quivers. Behind the fence were numerous spectators, chatting away as they waited for the competition to begin.

  Veronica and Sakura were lucky. They managed to find empty spots on the line against the fence, allowing them to see everywhere from where the archers waited to the targets.

  There was a familiar face there. Sandra waved as the two chefs joined her. “Hi there. Good to see you again.”

  “Nice to see you too,” Veronica returned. “We didn’t get a chance to properly introduce ourselves. I’m Veronica, and this is Sakura.”

  “I’m Sandra, but you probably heard Shen call me that.”

  “We did. How are you feeling?”

  “Much better. Thanks,” Sandra replied. “That fish did the trick.”

  “You managed to get away from Julia enough to come here?” Sakura asked.

  “Yeah. We’re both watching the Archery Contest, so she had no excuse to keep me working,” she informed them.

  “Is Julia really that bad of a boss?” Sakura questioned.

  “Not really. Shen just exaggerates sometimes.” Sandra pointed towards the group of archers. “Speaking of whom, Shen’s competing. See her there?”

  Veronica glanced towards where she was pointing, and sure enough, the young Chinese woman was standing amongst the rest of the archers. Like the others, she was performing a few practice shots at the closest target and seemed to do very well. Most of her arrows hit near the center of the target, but then again so did some of the arrows shot by the other archers. Shen was biting her lip with each practice shot, and she gripped her bow tightly while she was reloading.

  “Has she ever competed before?” Veronica asked Sandra.

  “In some minor contests, but nothing as big as this,” she answered. “Don’t tell her I said this, but although Shen’s really good, she probably won’t win.”

  “What makes you say that?” Sakura wondered out loud.

  “Natalie Dorota’s competing. She’s the one in red.”

  Being the only one in that color, it was easy enough to spot Natalie in the group. Her long brown hair was tied up in a tight bun, with a few strands left hanging in front of her face. Her costume was similar to Shen’s, although she seemed to wear more padding and armor, giving her more of a warrior’s appearance. People cheered as she practiced with her own bow and arrows, and each one seemed to hit the bull’s-eye perfectly.

  “Wow,” Sakura said with a whistle. “Yeah, she’s good.”

  “She’s won the Fair’s Archery Contest for the last five
years straight,” Sandra described. “Not to mention many others statewide. She’s the best archer around. She’ll win for sure…although I’m still rooting for Shen.”

  Veronica laughed. “Got to support your friend, right?”

  “That’s what I’m here for,” Sandra confirmed. “And there’s nothing Julia could do to keep me from being right here, right now.”

  “Attention, ladies and gentlemen!” A man with a large horn shouted out. “The Meloda Renaissance Fair’s Archery Contest is about to officially begin! All archers who are not participating, please leave the range at this time. Those of you competing may stay. Archers, take your places!”

  “Now the excitement begins!” Sakura declared.

  Chapter 4

  “Would the first archer please step up to the first line,” the announcer instructed.

  Veronica watched as the archer, whose name she didn’t catch, walked to the line facing the closest target. He fired a shot and then moved to the next target a couple yards farther from the starting line than the last. This continued until the archer shot at all five targets, and his score was tallied up. Arrows closer to the bull’s-eye on each target earning more points.

  “Good thing the sun’s not in their eyes,” she commented, gesturing to the sun that was heading west, against the archers’ backs. “I bet this would be much harder if they couldn’t see.”

  “Any kind of shooting contest would be harder if you can’t see,” Sakura agreed. “I bet they scheduled with this in mind.”

  “Next up is Natalie Dorota,” the announcer proclaimed. “Please step up to the first line.”

  Natalie stood with a straight back, moving into place at the first line on the grass before the closest target. She moved stiffly as she took an arrow from the quiver on her back and loaded it in position on her bow. She pulled the couple strands of her hair not in her bun and forced them behind her ears before readjusting the arrow again. She drew back on the bowstring and fired the arrow, hitting the bull’s-eye perfectly. A string of cheers rang through the audience as Natalie was awarded ten points. She smiled and headed for the next target.

  “How does the scoring work?” Veronica inquired of Sandra, who she presumed knew the answer because Shen was competing.

  “You can’t see them very well from here, but there are ten circles on the target,” Sandra explained. “The center circle is worth ten points, and the outermost one is worth one point. There are five targets, for a maximum score of fifty.”

  “What if the arrow hits the line between the circles?” Sakura asked.

  “Then it’s given the higher of the two scores.”

  Natalie finished off the second and third targets, getting scores of ten at each of them. With a current score of thirty, it was looking like she was going to do very well in the contest.

  “Ten bucks says she gets a perfect score,” Veronica heard a man standing behind her say.

  “You’re on,” his friend replied.

  The fourth target came along, and Natalie stepped up to the line. She was closer to Veronica now, and the chef could see the worried expression on her face. There was a gleam of sweat on her forehead, which she carefully wiped with her hand before setting up another arrow. She drew back on the string but took several seconds before she fired it. This time, it didn’t hit the center ring but was a little off.

  “That’s eight points!” the announcer said.

  “Hah!” one of the men behind Veronica yelped. “Not a perfect score! Pay up!”

  “Fine, fine,” the other observer conceded, and Veronica heard the rustle of paper money exchange.

  Natalie moved on to the final target, which happened to be the one farthest away from the standing line. She nocked her last arrow, aimed, steadied the bow with her whole upper body, and fired. It hit even farther from the center ring than the last one, and although there was still a large amount of clapping, there was noticeably less joy in it compared to the other shots.

  “That’s seven points, for a total of forty-five,” said the announcer, and Natalie bit her lip as she left the range.

  “That’s a pretty good score,” Veronica complimented the archer. “You said it was out of fifty?”

  “Yeah, forty-five out of fifty is really good,” Sandra confirmed, but her tone was a little unsure. “But something’s off.”

  “What do you mean?” Sakura asked.

  “Natalie hasn’t gotten a score that low in ages, and never before during this competition,” she explained. “She’s not on top of her game today.”

  “Maybe she’s got something on her mind,” Veronica reasoned. “She might still win. What are the chances of someone getting a better score?”

  “The next competitor is Shen Freberg,” the announcer called. “Please step up to the first line.”

  “Hey, it’s Shen’s turn!” Sakura declared, pointing excitedly to the young Chinese woman as she walked to the spot in front of the first target.

  “Here she comes!” Sandra said.

  Shen did as instructed, swinging her quiver onto her back and walking to where the line of orange had been spray painted onto the grass. She stared at the target for a second before raising her bow and loading an arrow. Veronica could see her visibly shaking as she aimed, and Shen swallowed before releasing the arrow. It missed the center mark by quite a bit.

  “That’s a score of seven,” the announcer said.

  Sakura cringed. “Seven on the closest target? Ouch.”

  “Come on, Shen!!” Sandra called, cupping her hands around her mouth. “You can do it!”

  There were a few more cries of encouragement, and Shen smiled and gave a wave in Sandra’s direction. She must have spotted Veronica and Sakura there as well, as her grin widened at the sight of them.

  Shen moved to the spot in front of the second target. She pulled another arrow from her quiver, nocked it on the bowstring and pulled back. Taking a deep breath and watching the windsock on top of the target, she bit her lip and released the arrow. This time, it hit right and true, straight in the middle of the center ring. The onlookers cheered, with Sandra’s voice being the loudest of them all.

  “That’s a score of ten!” said the announcer, and Shen moved to the next spot.

  The third arrow was the same as the second, giving Shen another perfect score. The fourth one continued the pattern, and by the time she reached the last target, Veronica could see that Shen was feeling much better. She was smiling as she prepared her last arrow, and took several deep breaths to relax.

  “You know, even if she doesn’t win this competition,” Veronica remarked to Sandra. “She’s done really well.”

  “You can say that again,” Sandra agreed. “I’m really proud of her.

  Veronica kept her next comment to herself when Shen fired her arrow at her last target. This one wasn’t perfect, hitting the circle marked for a score of nine, but it was still an excellent shot. Shen stared for a minute before she jumped in the air with joy, hollering the whole time. The audience wasn’t much better, shouting out a mixture of encouragement and confusion. Veronica spotted the men standing behind her sneak off, both mumbling under their breath.

  “Wait, that’s seven, ten, ten, ten, and nine,” Sakura said, adding the numbers together. “That’s forty-six. That’s one point more than Natalie!”

  Needless to say, Sandra was not interested in the other archers in the contest. In fact, not many people seemed interested either. Except for one male archer who managed to get a score of forty-three, no one else came close to reaching a score higher than Shen’s. Everyone was cheering and hollering as Shen was awarded the first place ribbon, while Natalie was given second. Veronica didn’t pay attention to who received third place, as she was distracted by Shen running up to Sandra and giving her a tight hug. Sandra had to dodge the tip of Shen’s bow as she put her head on the younger woman’s shoulder.

  “You did it!” she shouted. “Well done!”

  “You saw the whole thing?” Shen
asked as she pulled away, glancing at Veronica and Sakura. “You all did?”

  “We did!” Sakura answered. “Congrats! That first place!”

  “Sandra said this was your first big competition,” Veronica declared. “Congratulations on your win!”

  “Thanks!” Shen’s face was practically split in half by her smile. “I was so nervous. I thought I was going to throw up!”

  “Lucky for everyone you didn’t,” Sandra said. She ruffled Shen’s hair. “I’m so proud of you!”

  “Forty-six, huh?” A voice called out, and the group turned to see Natalie walking towards them. “That was very good, young lady.”

  “Thank you,” Shen said, her excited tone quieting to a modest one. “You did excellent too. I could’ve sworn you’d win.”

  “That’s because I have the last few years,” Natalie replied. “But everyone has a loss now and again. And I heard this was your first time competing at the Fair, so I just wanted to tell you congrats.”

  Natalie held out her hand. Shen stared at it in shock for a moment before taking it and eagerly shaking her hand. Natalie grinned at her and squeezed her hand.

  “You know this means I’ll be expecting to see you in other competitions, right?” she asked Shen.

  “Of course!” the Chinese woman responded. “Maybe you can give me a few pointers? This was a close call, after all, and I’ve heard about your performance in other contests.”

  Natalie laughed.“Sorry, but you’ll need to figure those out on your own. It wouldn’t be fair to share my secrets.” Shen’s smile dropped a little, but Natalie put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “But I’ve no doubt you’ll do well. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

  “Yeah,” Shen said as Natalie turned to leave. “See you.”

  The four ladies waited for the champion archer to walk out of earshot before speaking again, and it was Sakura who broke the silence.

  “She’s a good sport.”

  “She’s an expert, and probably had her share of losses before.” Shen turned to Veronica. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for Sandra’s food before. We were so rudely interrupted.”