Treacherous Toys (29 page)

“Is there family?” the lead paramedic asked Chase.

“Just her kids are here. She has a sister in Iowa.”

“Okay. Maybe you’d like to ride in with her in case she regains consciousness. And there’s the paperwork.”

Chase glanced at me. I knew what he meant. But even Jolly wasn’t ready for that responsibility. If Christine’s condition worsened on the way to the hospital, one of them might be there only to watch her die. I shook my head.

“I’ll come along,” Chase said.

The paramedics picked up the gurney, and Chase followed them out of the house. I could picture them getting in the ambulance and leaving the Village. Traffic wasn’t too bad on the roads in Myrtle Beach at this time of year. In the summer, it was hard to move from traffic light to traffic light.

“Are they going to bring Mommy back after they fix her?” Star asked.

“We’ll go get her as soon as she’s better,” I promised, wondering if that would make me a bad person in Chase’s book. I had to say something. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t leave her dangling, not knowing anything, but I also didn’t know what would happen yet. How do you describe beating the odds and surviving a murderous attack to a small child?

Since the food in the house seemed to be in question, I got Bart to help me take all the kids over to Peter’s Pub for supper. It was easy to distract the younger children. They
didn’t really understand what was going on. It was the older ones who worried me. They stared off into the distance, even while a little white terrier did tricks for snacks. They understood how serious the situation was. I hated that for them.

“I don’t know how safe it is for them to spend the night in that apartment,” I worried out loud to Bart. “If the food was poisoned, what else could the killer have done while she was there?”

“We don’t know if Christine was poisoned. Maybe she had some bad peanut butter or something.”

“Maybe,” I whispered. “But there was a threatening note on the refrigerator. I think the same woman who killed Chris is after Christine now. It might’ve been better if she’d stayed in jail. At least she was safe there.”

He shrugged. “Not from what I’ve seen on TV. Those places can be brutal.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I just wasn’t sure what to do with eight kids while we waited to find out about their mother. I didn’t want to force them out of their home right now, but I didn’t know if they’d be safe there.

“The only place I can think of where they could stay the night is at the castle,” I said. “There’s plenty of room there for them. I’ll just have to sneak them in. No one will notice the difference. Then we’ll see what happens in the morning.”

“Let’s tell Rita,” he suggested. “She’ll help. That woman is all heart.”

“So this is where you’ve been hiding.” Daisy Reynolds joined us and ordered a tankard of ale. “Jessie, good to see you. Quit messing with my man, or I’ll have to call you out for a duel at sunrise.”

I laughed—halfheartedly. Any woman who would try
to take Bart away from Daisy would have to be crazy. She was all muscle from working out with her swords, not to mention making them at the forge for special orders. Daisy was tough, but her curly hair, Kewpie-doll face, and big heart were a reminder of her true nature.

“Even I wouldn’t be that stupid,” I said. “But it’s good to see you, too. I hope you’ve been keeping busy.”

She sat beside Bart and nudged him over for more room on the bench. “Running after this big lug,” she said. “I don’t know why I put up with him.”

Bart smiled and kissed her hand. “Because you love me. That’s why I don’t mind when you bring a sword to bed at night.”

She kissed him and slapped his cheek a little. “That’s right.” She looked around at everyone watching the terrier. “What’s going on?”

Bart explained about the kids. “We have a problem. They need a place to stay since their house might be poisoned. Jessie thinks we should sneak them into the castle.”

“I agree with her.” Daisy tipped back her tankard and finished her ale. “That’s what I like best about you, Jessie. You think on your feet. Let’s go. The night’s not getting any younger.”

The eleven of us left the small crowd throwing coins for the terrier and his owner and started walking toward the castle. The fake snow was spewing out across the Village, maybe with a little less ferocity than the blizzard it had been.

“Why the hell are they wasting the snow at night when no one’s here?” Daisy demanded.

“Daisy!” Bart reprimanded. “The children. You can’t swear in front of children.”

“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” Daisy put her hand to her mouth.

“What’s the plan?” Bart asked. “We’re like a small army trying to sneak into the castle. I don’t think it’s going to work.”

I hadn’t really considered how many of us there were. It might be easy to get one or two in without being noticed, but eleven was a lot. Besides, Joy and Star were tired and whiny. Merry Beth kept telling them they could go home soon, but the two little ones didn’t care.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “I’m ready to hear any and every plan on how we can do this. I just can’t think of anywhere else in the Village with the kind of room we need.”

Two pirates jumped out at us, ending our discussion. The
Queen’s Revenge
was tied up at the end of Mirror Lake near the Lady of the Lake Tavern. That meant mischief was afoot.

“We’re here to relieve you of any and all coins, tokens, or other important things you might have.” The first pirate was very young. He looked familiar. Then I realized it was Bucky from vegetable justice. This had to be his initiation.

“Out of my way,” Daisy said. “Do you know who I am? I’ll run you scallywags through if you’re not careful.”

“Look, we need tokens or something,” the second pirate explained. He was new, too, but not as young. “This is a pirate initiation. If we don’t come back with something, King Rafe won’t let us be pirates. And I’m not working at the frog catapult again.”

Having worked the frog catapult, I could sympathize. I started thinking about all the berths on the pirate ship. It would be just like Peter Pan for the kids.

“Belay that, Swordmaster,” I said to Daisy. “I think we
have several things these two new pirates can bring back with them tonight.”

I stared pointedly at the kids, who were thrilled to be held up by pirates.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Daisy agreed with a smile. “I’m sure Rafe will be
glad
to see us. Lead on, young sirs!”

W
e convinced the two new wannabe pirates that Rafe would be very impressed by them bringing people to the ship. They could charge ransom. The other pirates would respect them.

The newbies could finally see how it could work for them, and being hungry and tired of waiting to jump out at stray residents, they agreed.

Daisy and Bart were reluctant to leave me and the kids, but I assured them it would be okay. I could see they wanted some intimate makeup time, not always easy to get around there.

We boarded the
Queen’s Revenge
to a raucous chorus of pirates congratulating their two new mates on bringing back something of value. It was a rite of passage for everyone who wanted to join the group.

The two new pirates basked in it, nodding, smiling, and accepting the accolades. At least until Rafe, the pirate king, came up on deck and took a good look at their booty. At that point, all the hardy well wishes came to an abrupt end.

“What’s this?” Rafe demanded, arms folded across his leather-clad chest. I noticed that the only holiday garb the pirates had agreed to wear were red and green scarves around their heads or necks. Not such a big change since the scarves were usually red anyway.

“We did as you bid us, King Rafe,” Bucky said with a respectful bow and a pretty good hand gesture of respect.

“This is not treasure, my boys.” Rafe made a point of walking around me, looking me over as though I were a horse he was about to purchase. “This is trouble.”

Rafe and I have a long history. We were once lovers on this very pirate ship for a long summer. But that was years ago during my pre-Chase, love-’em-and-leave-’em days. Since then, we’d pranked each other a few times (the last being the portable toilet incident) but mostly didn’t encourage contact. I could understand his hesitancy. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to help out. I figured he just needed to understand the situation.

“We seek asylum on your vessel, Captain Rafe,” I explained.

He puffed up like a peacock and glared at me. “That’s
King
Rafe,” he reminded me. His dark eyes looked at me with contempt. “We don’t grant asylum to nonpirates on the
Queen’s Revenge
. Seek the
bailiff
if you want protection.”

I looked at my eight charges, wishing I hadn’t told Bart and Daisy that I could handle this on my own. I could have used their backup right about now. Certainly Bart just being himself was enough to scare anyone into submission.

But it was already done. I couldn’t let the kids down.

“I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want to be a pirate, right, kids?” I asked them.

I wasn’t sure what their response would be, but apparently they had spent enough time in the Village to know what they should say. They all said “
Arr!
” at the same time.

That seriously broke the tension. All the pirates started laughing and slapping each other on the back. It was still hard for Rafe to take in what was happening on his ship. I
could see the deer-in-the-headlights look on his lean, handsome face.

The two new pirates, Bucky and Stanly, played up how tough they were, spinning an incredible yarn about kidnapping all of us to hold us for ransom. It made the whole affair take on a different aspect. The pirates were victorious and had proven themselves.

Rafe shouted for quiet. He wasn’t through complaining. “I have not sanctioned this action as yet. I have yet to see how this serves us. The Lady Jessie, while a good ransom bet, will be difficult and will not serve
my
needs.” He spit on the deck, which caused all the other pirates to begin spitting, too. Before I knew it, all eight kids had joined in. The two smallest ones had the hardest time trying to do what everyone else was doing. But it further endeared them to the crew.

“That may be true,” I agreed. “And I’ll be glad to leave if you agree to harbor these children. They need you. They’ll be safe here. You can protect them. You might be the only ones in the Village who can.”

Rafe liked that. I knew he would. He’d had a supersized ego ever since Crystal the Pirate Queen left to reconcile with her husband. Rafe needed his pirates to look up to him and not question his authority. Otherwise there might be mutiny—the old-fashioned way, of course—by throwing him off the plank and into Mirror Lake—and a new pirate king.

I saw Grigg lurking in the shadows by the main mast. I knew he’d tried to do exactly that when Crystal had left. It just didn’t work out for him. But he could challenge Rafe again at any time. It was part of the pirate way of life.

I could see Rafe was thinking the same thing. Throwing
the kids off the ship would be unpopular with the crew. He’d risk mutiny if he didn’t pledge to protect them.

Finally he gave in with a loud “
Arr!
” and a raising of his saber. “Let them stay. Let them be pirates.”

The pirates
arred
and
huzzahed
for a while, then they lifted the kids on their shoulders and took them below deck to the living quarters. There would be hammocks for everyone.

I started to follow them, but Rafe put his hand on my shoulder. “You and I have some unfinished business. Come to my quarters. The men will take care of your precious cargo.”

While I’d said I would leave if he wanted me to, I didn’t really mean it. I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on the pirate ship again, but I didn’t want to leave the kids either. I hoped that wasn’t what he wanted to parlay about. Even more, I hoped he didn’t think this was some scheme to get his attention and make him want to make out with me in his quarters.

The captain’s cabin was exactly as I remembered it. It was like a pirate man-cave, with all kinds of souvenirs from battles he’d fought and treasures he’d found. He was one of the only pirates who slept in a bed—an enormous four-poster covered with black velvet.

“Sit down,” he commanded. “Would you like some brandy? I recall you have a fondness for peach brandy.”

“No thanks.” I sat in one of the ladder-back chairs as far away from the bed as I could. “I’ll take some wine if you have it.”

“You’ve gone soft living at the Dungeon with the bailiff,” he remarked as he poured the wine. “So what’s up with the kids?”

I explained the situation. “The killer is still here, Rafe. She’s targeting Christine now. But what if she goes after the kids? They have no other family nearby. Their father is dead, and their mother may be in the hospital for a few days. No one else has enough room for them, or people to protect them. She wouldn’t try and get on the
Queen’s Revenge
.”

“I suppose that makes some sense. I don’t mind helping out. You know I couldn’t just let them stay without making a big deal out of it for the men.”

“I understand and I expected it.”

“I was just kidding about you leaving.” He handed me my wine, sliding his fingers across mine. “I can’t think of anything I’d like better than to have you here again.”

We were officially in treacherous waters. I sipped my wine and tried not to look at the big bed. “Thank you for helping them. I’ll be glad to stay.”

“What about Chase?”

“I’m sure he’d be glad to stay, too.” I smiled at him and let the chips fall where they may.

He looked a little uncertain about that and stopped hovering over me, trying to peer down my bodice. “I don’t think it’s necessary for the bailiff to stay, Jessie. You and the children will be perfectly fine here. We can protect them. Surely you two lovebirds can spend a night apart.”

“Actually, Chase will probably be at the hospital most of the night with Christine. She needs someone there with her.”

He smiled in a lecherous fashion once he knew Chase wasn’t in the Village. It was stupid of me to tell him.