Perilous Pranks (Renaissance Faire Mystery) Read Free Page B

apothecary.
    The visitors applauded and smiled. This was one reason why the people who lived here were ‘on’ the whole time the Main Gate was open.
    “You are very welcome, lovely lady.” He bowed, keeping one hand on his hat.
    I left the apothecary, headed for the castle to see if Shakespeare had run for sanctuary there.
    Ginny Stewart, the owner of the Lady of the Lake Tavern, was standing beside the Hanging Tree, watching the police outside Wanda’s cottage. She was a tough, older woman with ragged white hair—the epitome of what anyone would think of as a female tavern owner from the Renaissance.
    She always wore the same, slightly dirty green dress as her costume, her enormous bosom barely contained in it. “What’s going on over there?” she asked in her rasping voice.
    “Wanda is dead. Murdered,” I informed her.
    “Oh.” She turned away. “A lot of fuss about a trifle then.”
    Ginny and I weren’t particularly friends either. I wasn’t surprised by her attitude, though it was cold. I couldn’t think who she was friends with in the Village either, besides the men.
    One of Chase’s security guards saw me. Detective Almond had arrived and was requesting my presence. My time to find possible alternatives to me being the killer was up.
    I knew there was nothing else I could do. I followed the security guard. There was an ambulance, a coroner’s car, and a police vehicle in front of Wanda’s cottage. It wouldn’t be long before everyone knew what had happened.
    It was always so odd to see vehicles here, especially emergency vehicles. It felt like poking a stick in the wheel of normal Village life. You could almost forget the real world was out there, until something like this happened.
    Detective Don Almond was a chubby, middle-aged man who always seemed in need of a haircut, and he wore his pants too tight. His heavy chin rested above a dirty collar and a shirt front always stained with whatever his last meal had been.
    When he saw me, he bowed slightly. “Look who’s here. Welcome, my lady. Have you come to answer for your crimes?”
     

Chapter Four
     
    Detective Almond and I have had our moments—not many of them good. He seemed to love Chase like a son and equally disliked me.
    So I knew what he saw when he appraised me in that brief moment: thirty-something, ex-associate history professor, six-foot, blue eyes, and straight brown hair.
    A little on the weird side, maybe.
    “Jessie isn’t responsible for what happened to Wanda.” Chase stepped in to defend me like the chivalrous knight he was.
    “Except that she had a long-term disagreement with Miss Le Fey, which had led to several confrontations that I know of—not the least of which was dyeing the dead woman blue. How could I possibly not think that Jessie was responsible for this murder?”
    That hadn’t gone so well. Chase glanced at me. He hadn’t given up.
    Before he could have another go at telling Detective Almond that I was innocent, I stood up for myself. “Yes, it’s true. I put the blue dye in the showerhead to get back at her for gluing my skirt to a chair in the tavern. But she was expecting it. That doesn’t mean I killed her. She was dead when I found her.”
    “Another point not in your favor.” Detective Almond’s smile was smug. “I’m guessing that was your handprint on the shower glass too.”
    “I know.” I produced my mug. “Someone also put Wanda’s bracelet at the museum to set me up. I locked the door before I left, so you can go over the scene in case the real killer left some clues.”
    I explained about the white spot on Wanda’s arm where the bracelet had been—in case he hadn’t noticed.
    He took the mug from me, glanced in it, and then handed it off to an officer. “I really appreciate your help, Jessie. Maybe we should start with where you were at around six a.m. this morning.”
    “She was with me,” Chase volunteered. “We were together all night.”
    “Since you’re the constable