“You might be right. It’s the only thing we have right now.”
“The missing crossbow seems to be part of this.”
“Except that no one could have used it to kill Dave,” I reminded him. “I know it seems like that theft is involved, but it might only be to throw the murder off on someone else.”
“Someone else like who?” Chase looked up at me. “You have another person in mind?”
“I can’t tell you right now. It’s another person that works with arrows and bows.” I hoped he’d see where I was going with that.
“Oh! I get it. He could be part of this?”
“I don’t think so, but he asked me to keep him out of it.”
“That’s a little suspicious in itself, isn’t it?”
“No. Not coming from him.”
“Jessie—”
“Not him!” He knew how I felt about Master Simmons. I wouldn’t give him away for anything, not even Manny. He’d been like a father to me.
“Well, let’s hope we can keep him out of it.”
I told him that I wanted to talk to Roger Trent about Dave’s gambling problems. “That could help make a case against John Healy.”
He kissed my hand. “You’re right. It’s best to find out as much as we can about Dave.” His radio went off. “What’s up?”
“There are lights on at the Lady of the Lake Tavern,” one of his security people said. “What do you want us to do?”
Chapter Eight
“It’s probably only the new owner,” Chase returned. “Make sure you see some ID.”
After the incident at Polo’s Pasta, the security guards were on edge. They weren’t happy with the idea of going into the old tavern at night, not knowing who was in there.
Chase sighed. “The two of you wait there. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”
I could hear the rain still pounding on the roof of the Pleasant Pheasant. It wasn’t a nice night to go for a walk.
“At least the Village is closed so you can wear rain gear,” I said. “I’d like to go too.”
“Okay. Is that to get away from our new roomie, or to be with me?”
I laughed and kissed him. “A little of both.”
Chase took my hand, his brown eyes intent on my face. “I happen to know a nice little place over that way that’s empty right now. We could stop in for a while after we meet the new owners at the tavern.”
I frowned, trying to think of someplace that was empty over there. The only spot I could think of was—“You mean Wanda’s cottage? Are you crazy?”
He laughed. “I guess that answers my question about whether or not you want to spend time with me. You don’t even want to go into a cottage where a woman was gruesomely murdered.”
“That probably wouldn’t bother me as much as the appearance of the murdered, blue woman who would be joining us. In the mood for a threesome, are we?” I did my best impression of Wanda’s British accent.
“Yeah. Forget that idea. Let’s go.”
Hephaestus shouted out his farewell as we were leaving. We ran out past Hans Von Rupp, the Village blacksmith. He was with Susan Halifax. They called out quick greetings as the four of us dodged the deluge.
Manny was watching TV when we got back to the apartment. He’d already found the yogurt, and Chase’s chocolate power bars. I gave him the bread, and promised we’d try to do better tomorrow.
“Please don’t worry about me,” he said. “I’ll get by. You are kind enough to let me stay here for now. I can take care of myself.”
I changed into a pair of shorts and put on my knee-high rubber boots. Chase didn’t change. We both got out our plastic rain ponchos and cautioned Manny against opening the door for anyone.
“We’ll both be in hot water if Detective Almond finds you here,” Chase said. “Jessie and I have keys. Don’t answer the door.”
Manny bowed respectfully. “I shall obey your commands, Sir Bailiff.”
Chase and I went back out into the night. There were only a few street lights in the Village. They were made to look like Victorian gas lights, although those wouldn’t have been around during the Renaissance. Most of the light came from the windows of the shops and houses—golden light pouring out into the darkness.
It was a case of trying to provide safety for the residents, without losing the ambiance of the surroundings. Maintaining a Renaissance atmosphere in modern times was always a challenge.
There were several stadium lights that could be turned on to clean up after a late event or do repair work as needed. They were only on a few times a year.