Murderous Matrimony(24)

“Thank you.”

He turned his head and kissed me fiercely on the mouth. “But we have to find some way to get around Wanda’s ghost and our possible sorcerer for some private time, right?”

“Indeed.”

We went back into the apartment. Manny was pacing the floor. He stopped and stared at us like a caged animal.

“Well?”

“We’re going to let you stay here with us for now,” I told him. “We’ll try to figure this out. I can’t promise how long Chase can keep this a secret, Manny.”

“Thank you.” He hugged me first and then Chase. “Thank you both so much. You don’t know what this means to me. You will be amply rewarded for your trust. I swear it.”

“It’s almost six-thirty.” Chase looked at the clock on the wall. It had been a gift from the queen for his service three years ago. “If we’re going to eat at free or reduced prices, we’d better get a move on.”

“There should be plenty since everyone went home early. It’s still raining. Let’s just eat at the Pleasant Pheasant.”

The Pleasant Pheasant was right across the cobblestones from us. Once Manny was settled in, we dashed back out through the rain, and joined dozens of other residents already eating hot stew and spicy chili. One of the violinists from the Stage Caravan was playing, and the mood was festive, despite the rain.

Hephaestus set down two big tankards of ale on the table. “Good evening to you Sir Bailiff, Lady Jessie. We’ve plenty of bread, chili, and stew. There’s a serve-yourself table set. Eat what you like.”

Hephaestus was a tall, broad, heavily-bearded man who’d taken to wearing a hat since his hair had started disappearing. Tonight he wore a red felt cap with a green feather in it.

He was always friendly to residents, and was the head of the Food Guild in the Village. It was a position of great honor since it denoted trust from his fellow foodies. He spoke for them when there was a problem.

There were twelve guilds in the Village. They voted on what their people needed, and negotiated contracts with Adventureland.

There was the Craft Guild, represented by Hans Von Rupp, the blacksmith. They were always feuding with the Artist Guild that Sam DaVinci headed. The Weapons Guild was represented by Master Archer Simmons, and the Magic Creatures Guild was represented by Merlin.

Robin Hood was top man of the Forest Guild, primarily made up of his Merry Men and Women. The Entertainer’s Guild was currently headed by Little Bo Peep—although there was some talk of Mother Goose taking it over. The harp player at the Merry Mynstrel Stage, Susan Halifax, was head of the Musician’s Guild.

Shopkeepers didn’t belong to guilds. They were above that kind of things since they paid rent to the Village. Chase and I weren’t guild members. We spoke for ourselves, when anyone would listen.

The crowd was a mixed bag, filled with shopkeepers and guild members. Chase and I skirted around some couples who were still wearing their colorful belly-dancer’s costumes from Stage Caravan. We filled bowls with the hearty, flavorful stew.

I put a couple of pieces of bread in my skirt pocket. There was no way to take chili or stew back for Manny. There was some yogurt in the mini fridge at the apartment. That would have to do for tonight. Anything else might look suspicious. Tomorrow, we’d have to think of something different.

“So, where do we start looking for our killer?” Chase asked when we were seated again. “There’s a rush on this now, Jessie. You-know-who can’t stay with us forever.”

I didn’t blame him for not mentioning Manny’s name. The pub was crowded. Anyone could hear us talking. The Village was a hotbed of fast moving gossip. If we weren’t careful, Detective Almond would be waiting for us when we got back to the Dungeon.

“I think we should work the bookie angle.” I sipped my ale. “That’s our best lead.”

“And what did you say his name was?” Chase pulled out a pencil and paper from his side pouch. “He might’ve been hired in the last few days. They’ve been ramping up new hires more than usual for the wedding. Maybe there’s some kind of glitch in the computer system that caused Manny’s name to be lost. A glitch like that could let us hire someone like this bookie too.”

He looked so cute—kind of like Detective Almond—with his pencil and paper. Only Chase was a million times cuter and sexier. It almost took my breath away thinking that we would be married soon.

“The workman said his name was John Healy. I guess we could have Bart look him up, though he probably wouldn’t use his real name.”

Chase leaned across the table close to me. “I think it’s unlikely a bookie would come and work here to kill a man who owes him money. If he’d kind of randomly stopped in, and killed him, that could make sense. I don’t see it the other way. It would be too much work to accomplish the goal.”