Murderous Matrimony(14)
“I don’t think it will be like that.” I defended my museum. “We’ll have something for everyone.”
“And what’s your first exhibit? Tapestry weaving! That’s right! Every man’s dream.”
I was starting to get a little hot. I reminded myself that I wasn’t here to argue with Phil. We’d never argued before. There was no reason for it now. Time would tell.
“I stopped by to take a look at the crossbow and bolts that Master Simmons donated to the museum. Would that be okay?”
“It would,” he agreed. “If something hadn’t happened to them the day after they were installed.” He pointed to a blank space on the wall. There was a page of information about crossbows next to where the crossbow should have been.
“Were they stolen?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Chase and his men have looked everywhere for them. They would be worth a fortune to the right collector.”
I glanced around. “What about the workmen?”
“It happened at night when the workers were gone and the Village was closed. The doors weren’t locked yet—I didn’t expect a thief. Adventureland is giving me a hard time about it now too! They weren’t covered by insurance because the exhibit wasn’t open.”
I thought it was odd that the theft had happened right before Dave’s death. “Did you contact the police?”
“I let Chase take care of that stuff. As it is, we’ll be lucky to make our grand opening deadline. Master Simmons doesn’t have another crossbow like that one to donate. We’re gonna have to purchase one. It won’t be cheap, unless we go with a new one.”
“I see.”
“What are you looking for, Jessie?”
“We think Dave was killed with a bolt. Maybe not from that crossbow. The police are still working on it.”
“Poor old Dave.” He shook his head. “He was a good guy. Bad poker player, but a good sport. I’ll miss him.”
“You didn’t hear or see anything unusual last night, did you?”
“I wasn’t here after the gates closed. My sister had a new baby. My wife and I went to see her at the hospital.”
“That’s great! Congratulations, Phil!”
“Thanks.”
“There’s something else.” He glanced round. “I probably shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, Jessie, but I know Dave owed some money to a bookie in town. He loved gambling on just about everything, you know. And he lost all the time.”
“A bookie. Do you know who it is?”
“His name is John Healy. He runs most of the gambling that goes on in Myrtle Beach. I owed him money once. I didn’t pay off on time, and he trashed my car. He said I’d be next. I managed to pay him off, and I stopped gambling.”
“Did Dave owe Healey a lot of money?”
“He owed everybody money. He owed Healy more money than he could pay off in the next ten years. Dave was scared too. There just wasn’t anything he could do about it.”
“Thanks. Maybe I can do something with this. The police thought my assistant, Manny, could be guilty.”
“That lump?” Phil laughed. “I don’t think so! Dave could have beaten him off with his pots and pans that he loved to bang around.”
I didn’t think of Manny that way, but he was welcome to his opinion.
“Good luck trying to figure out what happened to Dave.” Phil watched the workmen around us. “Be careful, Jessie. Healy is dangerous. You don’t want to mess around with him.”
I promised that I would be careful, and left the museum.
It was hard to believe a bookie would follow Dave into the Village and kill him here. But then what did I know about the thousands of strangers who visited each day? Any of them could have been killers, blackmailers, and bookies. Anything was possible.
It was clear that whoever had killed Dave was familiar with the Ren Faire, and had chosen his weapon well. I wondered how much Dave had owed Healy.
Chase was waiting at the foot of the stairs. “The queen said she saw you going in here. I thought I’d pick you up for lunch.”
My heart melted at his beautiful smile. I couldn’t stay mad at him. “What a nice surprise!”
“Is Polo’s Pasta okay with you? I have to go over and talk to him anyway. I thought it could save me a few steps.”
“That’s fine. What’s up over there?”
We started walking across the Village Green where musicians were playing, and children were throwing coins into the Good Luck Fountain. Smells of onions frying, and corn roasting were filling the warm, humid air—the scents of lunch from around the world at the Renaissance Faire.