Free Fatal Fairies (Renaissance Faire Mystery Book 8) by Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene Page B

fairy was killed as the Village was closing. That means most visitors were still here. I’m not sure how we’re going to be able to tell if it was a visitor or a resident that killed her.”
    “Do you think it was a resident?”
    “Detective Almond does.” Chase nodded toward him. “Let’s investigate that idea first. We both know most visitors who wear armor during the summer don’t make it through the whole day which probably means the killer is a resident.”
    I glanced around the Village Square located in the center of the King’s Highway. I knew this area so well I could have told anyone what shops were around it.
    There was the Romeo and Juliet Pavilion , where two pretty actors repeated words from the Shakespearian play a hundred times every day. There was Fractured Fairy Tales , which were storytellers with a more random, sometimes ribald, point of view on Cinderella, Snow White, and other well-known tales.
    Close by, within viewing distance of the fountain, was also the well of the Lovely Laundry Ladies who washed their clothes in public and traded insults and sexy innuendoes with visitors. On the other side of the square was the Treasure Trove Shop and Leather and Lace , a shop for more adventurous clothing buyers.
    “Someone in one of those places may have seen what went down here,” Chase said. “It seems more likely to me that it could be the Fairy Tales or Romeo and Juliet since they have no walls.”
    “Let’s start there,” I agreed. “I’ll be a few paces behind you in deferential servitude, of course, Sir Knight.”
    “Of course.” He held his head regally high.  
    We hadn’t gone far toward the Romeo and Juliet Pavilion when Sir Reginald stepped out to face Chase down about what had happened at the joust. He still wore his red and green jousting doublet and dark hose with knee-high boots.
    “I demand an explanation. Why did you let your squire halt the joust this morning?”
    Chase glanced at me, but this was one time I chose to keep quiet. Maybe he could think of a better explanation than that my feet hurt. I surely couldn’t tell Sir Reginald that I was afraid he might have a heart attack.
    “My squire was taken ill, sir,” Chase said. “She didn’t mean to stop the joust, although it would have been called a moment later with the storm anyway.”
    “That’s not good enough, sir!” He was so angry that his hands were trembling.
    I was afraid all over again that he might fall down dead at our feet. He’d recovered in the other Village, but what if this one was different? I knew he couldn’t take the stress.
    “I can’t offer any better explanation.” Chase’s reply was calm as he stared into Sir Reginald’s rapidly reddening face.
    The older jouster pulled out a red leather glove and slapped Chase in the face with it.
    “You may call on my seconds, sir, as to your choice of weapon!”
    “Oh brother,” Chase muttered as Sir Reginald imperiously stalked away.
     

Chapter Nine
     
    I couldn’t believe Sir Reginald had challenged Chase to a duel right after Chase had challenged Canyon. It was crazy.
    Of course the king and queen had the last word on any duels set in the Village. The duels weren’t real, but staging would be required to make them appear so. Hardly anything happened to us personally that couldn’t be used to promote the Village.
     “What are you going to do?” I was glad that my long legs helped me keep up with Chase’s angry pace.
    “Fight Sir Reginald if I have to. I’m hoping Queen Olivia won’t allow it.”
    Even in this Village, Chase was the queen’s favorite. She’d probably put an end to it, even though it was staged.
    He kept walking until we’d reached the Romeo and Juliet Pavilion , which was more like a garden bower decked with roses and lilies. There were two chaise lounges at the center of it for the actors, and chairs around the circle for the visitors.  The roses and lilies were real during the summer—fake in the