Perilous Pranks (Renaissance Faire Mystery) Read online

  Shakespeare shook all over. “She’s following you? You’ve led her right to me.”

  Sure enough, there was Wanda. She was doing her new trick of seeming to dislocate all her body parts at the same time. I felt impervious to her horror as I watched her scare him. Shakespeare went screaming and running toward the castle.

  Wanda laughed. “That was fun. Wait until tonight.”

  “Whatever. I’m going to the field now. Are you coming?”

  We walked through the crowds. Wanda literally walked through them.

  Chase was holding court for vegetable justice with a big crowd of visitors. He didn’t need any residents for the stocks. A pretty young woman, dressed like Robin Hood, was throwing half rotten tomatoes at her boyfriend who kept asking her to stop.

  I saluted Chase as I walked by, smiling at his serious expression under his white wig. He nodded and turned back to the job at hand.

  “You know you’re lucky to be with him,” Wanda said. “He’s one of the most honorable men I’ve even known. Do you know how hard I worked every time you went back to university, trying to find someone who’d get him to cheat on you? He never even noticed. If I’d been younger, I would’ve done it myself. A word of advice?”

  I was angry and miserable already. “Sure. Why not?”

  “Don’t marry him, Jessie. He’s too good. Once you put that ring on his finger, he’s going to stray. Mark my words.”

  I gritted my teeth and started walking faster. I couldn’t find Wanda’s killer soon enough.

  We found Sir Marcus Bishop cleaning his armor in the stable near the Field of Honor. He was indeed a handsome young man with his lean body, brilliant blue eyes, and flowing blond hair.

  He smiled as I approached him and got to his feet. “My lady.” He put one hand across his heart and bowed to me. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”

  “Isn’t he the best?” Wanda sighed. “He’s so handsome and so sweet. I could just eat him up.”

  She ran her fingers through his hair and stood close to him, whispering in his ear. Lucky for Sir Marcus that he didn’t appear to hear or feel her.

  “I don’t know if you’re aware yet that Wanda Le Fey was found dead at her cottage early this morning.” I glanced at his dirty sword. “She was killed with a large blade of some kind.”

  His eyes followed my gaze. “And you think I had something to do with it?” His blue eyes appeared truly wounded that I would suggest such a thing. “I would never have hurt my lady, Wanda.”

  I nodded, trying to avoid watching Wanda’s ghostly flirting with the knight. “I appreciate that. Any idea who might have wanted to hurt her?”

  Two young wenches, whose job it was to get the crowd excited during the joust, approached Sir Marcus. It seemed Wanda wasn’t the only one who wanted the young knight’s favor.

  “Is there anything we can do for you, Sir Marcus?” One of the girls, a buxom blond, giggled.

  Wanda kept rubbing her blue body up against his. He didn’t seem to feel it at all. He put aside his armor and invited both pretty young things to sit on his knees.

  “I am feeling a little hungry and thirsty after the joust. Perhaps you could fetch me some food and drink while I finish cleaning my armor.”

  Both girls kissed him and ran to do his bidding. It appeared to be a normal circumstance for them. I knew it wasn’t unusual for the knights to have groupies. They were very popular in the Village.

  “I’m sorry, Lady Jessie. I have no idea what could’ve happened to Wanda. I shall mourn her passing.”

  I could tell.

  “I know. So many people will.” I tried harder to ignore Wanda’s antics. My stomach was churning, watching her. “Just for the sake of asking, where did you go when you left Wanda’s house last night?”

  His brows rose. “Have you been following me, lady? I have heard rumor that you are marrying the Bailiff. Are you looking for a last fling?”

  Knights also have very large egos. No doubt due to all the attention given to them and the groupies willing to do anything for them. I knew the kind of hero worship that went on.

  Chase had started in the Village as a knight and gained his reputation fighting for the queen’s honor. I’d heard rumors about him, too, after we’d met. I made sure I knew what he was doing, even though we weren’t together for years after that.

  “No, Sir Marcus. I’m not looking for a fling. But I assume you have more than one lady you dance attendance upon. I’m not a stranger as to how knights live.”

  He shrugged and put one leg up on a bale of hay, knee bent as though he was posing for a photo. “Of course. Most knights aren’t exclusive. There are so few of us to go around.”

  “What?” Wanda stopped trying to touch him. “What are you saying, Marcus? You never told me there was someone else. How could you betray me that way?”

  I’d never seen Wanda cry, at least not while she was alive. Big fat tears rolled down her blue cheeks and her lips quivered. I felt sorry for her. Obviously she’d thought the young knight was hers. It was too late now to do anything about it.

  She couldn’t make the knight feel her presence, but she could whip up an errant breeze that moaned through the stable rafters, shaking pigeons from their perches and rattling the windows. Hay flew everywhere in small whirling devils that blew up dust on the knight’s armor.

  “What’s going on?” He spun around as the swirling hay pelted him.

  “Who else were you seeing?” I raised my voice to be heard over the gust of wind.

  “I don’t know.” He slapped at the hay. “A few others.”

  “Last night,” I persisted. “Where did you go after you left Wanda’s cottage last night?”

  “Ginny Stewart at the Lady of the Lake invited me over for a drink.” He was fighting off the hay as it began striking at him like small arrows. “I went over there. Then I went home. What’s happening? Why isn’t the hay hitting you?”

  Chapter Nine

  I curtsied and left him there with Wanda haunting him. Ginny was a likely candidate for an affair with the knight. She’d always flirted with Chase. She wasn’t as obnoxious as Wanda, but she was annoying.

  Walking away from the Field of Honor, Wanda finally joined me again.

  “Ginny Stewart?” she fumed. “Really? He was seeing that cow behind my back. I can’t believe it. I thought he loved me. It never occurred to me that he was cheating. I’ll get him for that.”

  “Is that how you plan to spend your afterlife—tormenting your ex-husband and making Sir Marcus pay for being with other women? Don’t you have something important you should take care of? Shouldn’t this be a spiritual time for you?”

  “Don’t be stupid. I’m dead. Spiritual things are all I have. That, and revenge for anyone who has ever wronged me. We have to go talk to Ginny. I think I need to throw a few pewter mugs at her. I can’t believe Marcus spent time with her. The woman must be sixty years old or better. What was he thinking?”

  “You know how the knights are, Wanda.” I stopped to admire some jewelry being sold out of a handcart on the side of the cobblestone walkway. I hoped that would obscure what would be viewed as me talking to myself. “They go after anyone who shows them any attention. Do you feel any better about those two young girls being with him?”

  “Oddly enough, I do feel a bit better about them. Thinking Marcus left me to go to Ginny makes me feel dirty.” She stared at me. “Do you think he killed me?”

  “Did he have a reason to kill you?”

  “No. I was as good as gold with him, gave him everything he wanted.”

  “Well then, let’s not consider him.”

  “He has a sword,” she whispered. “He could have killed me and taken my enchanted bracelet. Perhaps you should alert the police so they can take a peek at him.”

  “Okay. I’ll call Detective Almond.”

  “And what would you be calling me about?” Detective Almond’s familiar voice—speaking around a roasted turkey leg—said
from behind me.

  I turned around quickly and smiled. “I was just talking to the young knight that Wanda was sleeping with. They were together last night. He said he left her before she was killed, but he does have a sword.”

  He wiped his hands on a napkin. “And you think this man may have killed Wanda? Or is this someone who can get you off the hook?”

  “I’m not on the hook. I know it looks like I had a part in this, but I didn’t.”

  “Who were you talking to just now, Jessie? Guilty conscience?”

  “No. I’m in contact with Wanda. She wants me to help her look for her killer.”

  He laughed and then almost choked on a large piece of turkey he tried to swallow at the same time. “This place can do funny things to people. Have you finally lost it?”

  I raised my head and held my chin high. “I haven’t lost anything. The knight’s name is Sir Marcus Bishop. He was at the Field of Honor. Maybe you should talk to him.”

  “And maybe you should let the police investigate this matter.”

  I started walking away from him. “I would—if you were investigating someone besides me.”

  “Watch your back, Jessie. We might be coming for you.”

  I ignored him and raced back toward the Main Gate. I thought Detective Almond would talk to Marcus. Chase was probably right about him being a good man, although I questioned him being a good detective. At least in the Village, he frequently had Chase do his work for him.

  “Lady Jessie.” The Tornado Twins—Diego and Lorenzo—bowed and swept their red, plumed hats from their heads. The brothers were similar in appearance—both black- haired and dark-eyed, short and thin. They weren’t twins though. That was only their stage act.

  “Twins,” I responded as I patted their pig that was on a gold leash. “It’s a wonderful day at the Faire.”

  “Indeed it is,” Lorenzo agreed. “News of Wanda Le Fey’s death has reached our ears. Forsooth, we are devastated—and intrigued. Did you truly slay the lady?”

  “No. I just dyed her blue.”

  Both men started laughing so hard that their pig squealed and ran away.

  “Go get him,” Diego said to his brother.

  “No. I got him last time,” Lorenzo retorted. “You go get him.”

  Diego looked up and stared directly into Wanda’s scowling blue face. “I would, brother, but there’s a dead woman standing in front of me. I am afraid I have soiled myself.”

  “You can see her?” I asked him.

  “No, he can’t see dead people,” Lorenzo said. “I’ve been telling him that his whole life—no dead people. Excuse us, Lady Jessie. We must catch our pig.”

  Lorenzo ran after the pig to the laughter of the nearby visitors. Diego didn’t follow him right away.

  “Be careful,” he warned. “Wanda looks mad.”

  “He can see me,” Wanda shouted as he ran away.

  “I don’t think he wants to see you,” I told her.

  “I don’t care.” She began following Diego. “I know you can see me,” she yelled at him. “I can see you too. Let’s have drinks.”

  I was starting to get a headache. Being followed by the ghost of a woman you couldn’t stand when she was alive could do that to you. I saw Chase quelling some kind of disturbance at the Fractured Fairy Tales tent and went to see what was happening.

  It seemed that Cinderella was having an issue with Prince Charming regarding their latest breakup. The evil stepfather (this kind of thing is what makes the fairy tales fractured) was egging them on, even offering his short sword to Cinderella.

  Chase grabbed the short sword and put it into his belt. The crowd of visitors cheered and shouted Huzzah! as the tableau ended. The stage emptied with Cinderella and Prince Charming still bickering.

  “There you are.” Chase saw me and put his arm around me. “What happened with Madame Lucinda?”

  I shrugged. “She told me I have to help Wanda find out who killed her and then she might go away.”

  “Not what I was hoping for, but I guess you’ve been trying to figure that out, right?”

  “Yes. I don’t think I’m any closer to knowing who killed Wanda.” I told him about Marcus and Shakespeare. “I gave Detective Almond Marcus’s name. He still thinks I did it.”

  “He’ll figure it out. Have you been over to Stylish Frocks yet? Portia was looking for you. Beth needs you to come over for a fitting.”

  “I don’t think I can do that with Wanda hanging around. She kind of puts a crimp in my life, like she always did.”

  He hugged me. “Is she here now?”

  “No. She wandered off following Diego because he could see her.”

  “Interesting. I wonder why some people can see her and others can’t.”

  “I don’t know. Sir Marcus couldn’t see her. I wish I couldn’t see her.”

  “Well maybe now would be a good time to head down to Stylish Frocks,” he suggested. “I’m headed that way myself. There’s trouble at the Frog Catapult.”

  I shuddered, having worked at the Frog Catapult one year. It was an awful job. Throwing slimy rubber frogs should be banned.

  “Maybe I’ll do that. I’m my way to talk to Ginny Stewart about her and Wanda sharing the same knight.”

  “You know you should leave this to Detective Almond and me. I’ll talk to Ginny. You shouldn’t be involved.”

  “That’s fine, except I’m the one with the evil blue ghost following me around. I need to figure this out.”

  We stopped walking, and Chase studied my face. “This will all be over soon. Don’t forget that whoever killed Wanda might be willing to kill you too. Let me talk to Ginny. Don’t go into that blindly. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I hugged him. “You talk to Ginny and let me know what she says. I’ll go let them stick pins in me again. I’ll be glad when the wedding is over.”

  “Me too. I love you. Be careful until we catch the killer.”

  We split up in front of Sherwood Forest. I went to Stylish Frocks, and Chase headed toward the Frog Catapult.

  Portia was leaning her head on her hand in the costume rental window, as usual. She was Beth Daniels’s assistant and she hated her job. Beth was the head costume designer and seamstress for the Village.

  There was a long line of visitors waiting to rent or return costumes. Most residents got their costumes early in the morning each day. This left the costume shop free to handle the requirements of visitors who wanted to dress as woodcutters, high-born ladies, knights, and other characters.

  “It’s about time,” Portia called out as I waved to her. “Beth has been looking for you. Go around back.”

  In the shop, hidden from visitors, were dozens of seamstresses at buzzing sewing machines. Many times, they worked around the clock to keep up with demand.

  Beth was attending to the details on a beautiful green silk gown for a visitor who was planning to be at the Ren Faire the following week. The work was demanding, but the fees for special orders like this made it worthwhile.

  My wedding gown was on a mannequin dummy. I lifted the dust cloth that covered it. The split-skirt pink gown was simple—high-waisted with a low cut bodice. I would be wearing a white silk chemise beneath it. The gown was trimmed and laced in gold threads. I’d also bought a white corset for the ceremony that was done of handmade lace.

  I’d opted not to wear white. It wasn’t a good color on me. The deep pink was so much nicer. Beth was making a six-foot, matching train for the gown that would be carried by several children who lived in the Village.

  “There you are,” Beth addressed me when she’d finished the green silk gown. She was a very plain-looking woman whose personal style never showed what marvelous creations she made each day. “I was beginning to think you’d lost interest in your gown.”

  “I’ve been a little busy.”

  “So we’ve heard.” Andre Hariot was the Village hat maker who was dating Beth. “You finally got Wanda back for her prank at the Lady of the Lake. I�
��m guessing her death was something you hadn’t planned on.”

  I’d apprenticed with Andre at his hat shop. He was a dapper hat designer in his fifties who’d once been a hat maker to the stars in Hollywood before coming to the Village. He was a small man but he had big style, especially when it came to hats.

  The hat he was wearing that day was bright blue and held three peacock feathers in the wide brim. Of course it matched his outfit and the shoes he wore.

  He’d been accused of murder—once in the Village and once before he’d left Hollywood—exonerated in both cases. I figured he understood my position better than most.

  “I only wanted to dye her blue. Now her ghost is following me, wanting me to find her killer. The only thing worse than Wanda alive, is Wanda dead.”

  Andre and Beth exchanged disbelieving glances.

  “Well.” Beth cleared her throat. “Let’s get this fitting over with. Is Wanda here now?”

  “No. She’s out in the Village looking for people who can see her, people she can scare. Death hasn’t made her any nicer.”

  I stepped behind the beautiful tapestry Beth used as her fitting screen and removed my loose white blouse and blue skirt. Beth came around the back, and with the help of one of her assistants, she lowered the wedding gown over my head.

  “I’m not sure about this inset.” Beth played around with one of the darker pink panels in the skirt. “Why doesn’t Wanda know who killed her?”

  “I don’t know. She says it happened too fast for her to see a face.”

  Andre walked around the tapestry. “I saw a ghost once. It was Errol Flynn. That was a man who liked his hats, on and off screen. I’d been working on a hat for him. He died, and I set it aside. A few months later, I went to my shop, and there he was—trying on the hat. He gave me a quick salute and vanished.”

  “Did he take the hat with him?” I asked.

  “No, but I took that to mean that he approved. He would’ve looked fabulous in it!”

  “What about you, Jessie?” Beth’s hands were on her hips while her assistant measured the hem of my gown. “Do you plan to wear a hat for the wedding, or a veil?”