Murderous Matrimony(53)

“And it comes with my best wish of happiness for both of you.” She held our hands in her callused ones. “Have a good life together.”

We all hugged again. Tears were streaming down my face by the time we left her.

“Where are we going to put all the wedding presents?” Chase nodded at the cradle. “This probably isn’t the only big one, and I don’t know where it’s going.”

“We might have to get a storage room. It can be like Aladdin’s treasure cave. We can visit it once in a while.”

He shook his head. “We’re gonna have to think about a bigger place to live, Jessie, even if I have to give up being the Bailiff.”

“Give up being Bailiff?” I couldn’t believe he’d even consider it.

“Roger was the Bailiff, and he opened his own glass shop. Maybe we have a craft that we can do. I could see myself as a craftsman.”

He squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest. His brown braid had swung across one shoulder. He raised his left eyebrow and peered down at me.

I laughed out loud at him. “Let’s just stay with what we know for now, huh? We can deal with that later—if we make it through the wedding.”

He agreed, and knocked at the house next door. “Let’s hope Bob is hanging out here. I think we’ve got enough on our plates without looking for him too.”

But none of the twenty or so madmen had seen Bob since yesterday. He’d left the house in the morning, as usual, to head over to his spot at the Village Green. There was nothing else they could tell us about his disappearance.

We stepped back out into the sunshine—away from the smell of dirty gym socks that seemed to pervade their dwelling. It reminded me too much of a frat house.

“Great,” Chase said. “Now Bob is missing. Anything else?”

“Bailiff! Bailiff!” Lord Maximus called out imperiously. “I believe there’s a dead madman on the Hawk Stage. Would you please remove it? I have a show to put on in less than twenty minutes.”





Chapter Sixteen



Now Bob the Madman was dead too. This was crazy.

It didn’t look like an accident either. Bob was splayed out on the Hawk Stage with an bolt dead center in his chest. There was blood everywhere. Lord Maximus wasn’t putting on any show that day.

It was terrible, but I had to admire the amazing accuracy of the shot. It wasn’t easy hitting a target that small, especially since it was probably moving. From the trajectory, I could tell it wasn’t like the killer was standing near him. This had come from up and over.

Detective Almond was there a few minutes later with appropriate ambulance and police support. At least he didn’t have to make an extra stop since he was already on his way here.

“Anyone recognize this bolt?” He held it up, protected in plastic, after the assistant medical examiner had removed it.

“I recognize it, sad to say.” Grigg had gone AWOL from the Queen’s Revenge and joined us. “It’s one of Master Simmons’s bolts from the antique crossbow that used to hang on his wall at The Feathered Shaft. I’ve looked at it many a’time.”

My heart felt like it was breaking. I recognized the bolt too. It had been straightened again, as had the first one that had killed Dave. The markings from the crossbow on it were the same too.

Master Simmons couldn’t be the killer. I wouldn’t believe it. He was a good man. He wouldn’t have killed Bob or Dave. He just wasn’t made that way. I’d never known a kinder, more generous person.

“Jessie, I would’ve thought you’d be the first one to speak up with your background in archery.” Detective Almond razzed me. “Not that it matters, someone else in the Village knows their stuff and didn’t mind sharing.” He took out his cell phone, and there was a picture of the missing crossbow and bolts. “I received this yesterday.”

I defended Master Simmons. “Why would he kill Bob, or Dave? There’s no motive there.”

“We’ve done a little checking on your Master Archer friend. He has a record for assault and battery with a lethal weapon. Want to guess what kind?” Detective Almond smiled.

“You have the wrong person.” I wrapped my arms across my chest.

“Let me see.” He read from a report. “Edward Simmons. He used to live at 2060 Shell Court in Myrtle Beach. He shot an arrow at a man he was having a disagreement with. The man was wounded and pressed charges. Mr. Simmons paid a fine and did community service.”

“He was fooling around with my wife!” Master Simmons had stalked up while Detective Almond was reading. “He wouldn’t give her up. He deserved worse.”