The Corpse at the Carnival

by Grace York

  When the table was cleared, and tea and coffee served, Emily emerged from the kitchen with a hot baking dish. She placed it on the table on a heat mat, and everyone's eyes lit up. It looked and smelled divine.

  "Warm peach and almond dessert cake," Emily announced, a smile from ear to ear. "My grandmother's recipe."

  "Wow," said Addison for the second time that night. "That looks amazing."

  Plates of the dessert were handed around, and everyone declared it to be as delicious as it looked. It was a moist, custardy cake with a distinctive almond flavour, topped with peach slices, raspberries, slivered almonds, and a dusting of icing sugar. Addison cleaned her plate and asked for seconds before Adam had a chance to devour the whole thing.

  As much as she was enjoying the dinner, Addison was itching to talk to Isaac about young Henry Hanley. She finally got her chance at the end of the evening when she walked him to his car.

  "That was the best meal I've had for a long time," Isaac said, rubbing his belly as he opened his car door.

  "Yes, yes," said Addison. "Never mind that. Tell me more about the Hanley boy. How do you know he's not Owen's?"

  "That I can't tell you. But we're certain."

  "Do you know who the father is then?"

  Isaac shook his head. "No, not yet."

  "Any ideas?"

  "No."

  "Do you know anything more?"

  "Not really. Kendall is working on it. She's looking into the whole family. It's tough, with it being Easter. There's not much we can do until she's finished."

  "Okay," said Addison. She stood back as Isaac folded his large frame into the car.

  "Goodnight, Addison," he said with a wave through the open window.

  "Goodnight," she replied. She stood there watching the car as it exited the long driveway and turned left towards the town.

  There might not be much the police could find out about the Hanleys, but that wasn't going to stop Addison. She may have only been in town for a matter of months, but she had her sources.

  She'd start her own research on the Hanleys first thing tomorrow.

  17

  Addison couldn't help it – she shed a quiet tear as Justin and Emily drove off in their hire car the next morning after breakfast.

  "They'll be back at Christmas," said Olivia, putting an arm around her mother and guiding her back inside.

  "I know. But that seems so long from now. I miss them already."

  "Me too," said Olivia. They went through to the kitchen, where Layla was making coffee. "Can we—"

  "Already making you both one," said Layla. "Extra strong."

  "Thanks. Come on Mum, crack a smile for us."

  Addison wiped her face and managed half a smile. She was being silly, she knew. But it had been so nice to finally meet Emily, and discover that she was just as lovely as Justin had said she was. Three days was too short a visit.

  "I'll be fine," she said. "Just need a moment."

  Adam chose that moment to appear in the kitchen. "Morning all," he said, picking up the coffee Layla had just made and loading it with sugar. "What?" he said when he looked up and found the three women staring at him.

  "That was for Mum," said Olivia.

  "Oh. Sorry." He grabbed one of the leftover hot cross buns and took it and the coffee back up to his room.

  "Men," said Layla. Addison burst out laughing.

  When they all finally had their coffee mugs in hand, Olivia went upstairs to do a bit of study and Addison and Layla ventured into the backyard. Addison brought the key to the new studio.

  "It's looking good," said Layla, once they were inside. Jason had completed all the structural work, but there was still some plumbing to be done before they could start moving in the pieces of furniture they'd acquired for the space.

  "Yes, I'm so pleased with it. Do you think it'll make a nice studio to work in?"

  "Oh definitely," said Layla. "I can picture an easel over here by the window, shelves for supplies over here, maybe a chair for contemplation in this corner."

  Addison smiled as her cousin strode about the space deciding where everything should go. It was a modest space, not much more than a shed, really, but still it was great to have an artist to help with the interior design of the place. She bet that between them they could make it into a special area for her future artistic residents to be creative.

  Charlie the dog, who'd been at their feet since they stepped out of the kitchen, raced off out of the studio. Addison followed him outside and the reason for his abrupt exit became clear. Mrs Jones had opened the gate connecting their two backyards, and her dog Bella had raced through.

  "Good morning," said Mrs Jones when she saw Addison. "How's the studio coming along?"

  "Good morning, Mrs Jones," said Addison. "It's looking great. Jason assures me the plumber will be coming this week, though not today of course."

  "No, I don't expect they work on Easter Monday. Not unless it's an emergency."

  "We don't want to pay those kind of rates," said Layla, sticking her head out the door to wave to Mrs Jones. "Addison, I'm going to do a bit of measuring up in here."

  "Do you need any help?"

  "No, I'm fine. Take Mrs Jones inside for one of your hot cross buns before Adam eats them all."

  "Good idea," Addison said with a laugh. Adam was fast eating them out of house and home.

  "Is that son of yours and his fiancée still here?" asked Mrs Jones as they headed inside. "I came to say goodbye."

  "Oh, you just missed them," said Addison. "They wanted to get an early start. The traffic back to Brisbane will be busy today, and they didn't want to miss their flight."

  "That's fair enough I suppose. I'm sorry to have missed them."

  "We'll see them again soon enough at Christmas," said Addison. She found herself trying to hold back tears again at the reminder of Justin and Emily leaving.

  "Oh that will be lovely," said Mrs Jones. "All right then, I won't keep you—"

  "Actually, can I have a quick word?" said Addison. She shook off her melancholy and pointed to the kitchen table.

  "Of course," said Mrs Jones, taking a seat.

  Addison put her empty coffee cup in the sink and got the container of hot cross buns out of the pantry. She put the kettle on, knowing Mrs Jones would have a cup of tea. Mrs Jones never said no to a cup of tea.

  "I was wondering whether you wouldn't mind introducing me to Dot Hanley," said Addison. She put the hot cross buns, a plate, knife, and butter on the table for Mrs Jones to help herself. "You said you knew her, didn't you?"

  "Yes. Dot and I try to catch up each year. She's coming over for afternoon tea today, in fact. You're welcome to pop in and join us." Mrs Jones chose a bun and slathered it with butter.

  "That would be great, thank you." Addison scooped tea into the teapot then poured boiling water from the kettle. Mrs Jones preferred proper tea, rather than a tea bag, and Addison enjoyed the ritual of making it. She placed the pot and a cup and saucer on the table and took a seat.

  "You're not having one?" asked Mrs Jones.

  "I just had a coffee."

  "Right. Why do you want to meet Dot?"

  Addison had to think quick. "Oh, I'm just interested in the lifestyle. Doing some research for a book I might write one day."

  "That sounds nice. I'm sure Dot will be only too happy to tell you all about it."

  "Great," said Addison.

  They chatted away while Mrs Jones drank her tea and finished her bun, then the older woman said goodbye and called to Bella to follow her back through the garden gate.

  When she was alone, Addison pulled her notebook out of a kitchen drawer and sat down to take stock of what she knew about the case so far.

  When she'd met with Isaac and his team on Saturday afternoon, they'd narrowed the suspect list down to eleven people. But Isaac had said last night they'd eliminated two more, the trapeze artists. So that left nine.

  Addison listed them all in her notebook: the magic
ian Paolo and his assistant Gianna; the two clowns, Corey and Luc; four of the Hanleys, Owen, Harriet, Jake, and Hugh; and Bob Carter. She went through each of them in turn.

  Paolo and Gianna had said they were together in their double bunk at the time of the murder. As husband and wife, though, that alibi didn't count for much. They could have committed the murder together, one covering for the other. And with Frankie after Paolo's job as magician and lead act of the show, they had a clear motive. Not to mention Frankie's unwanted advances toward Gianna. The magic duo was definitely high on Addison's list.

  Next were Corey and Luc. They were little more than kids, really. Corey obviously had issues with Frankie, but if Luc and Holly were to be believed he generally ignored Frankie's taunts. It seemed an unlikely motive for murder, unless Frankie had pushed so hard Corey had snapped. But it was an unprovoked attack, so that was unlikely.

  Corey was absolutely hiding something, but that could just be the secret boyfriend Holly thought he had. It might be worth trying to uncover who that was in order to rule Corey out completely. Addison made herself a to-do list on a separate page then put 'find out who Corey is dating' as item number one.

  She couldn't see any real motive for Luc. He seemed like a nice young man, and he'd come to help quickly when the Ferris wheel had broken down. He'd also been only halfway through putting on his clown makeup at the time. Surely he wouldn't have done only half his face, then gone to murder Frankie?

  That brought Addison to the Hanleys. Was it possible that one of the owners of the travelling show had murdered one of their performers? A murder would have to be bad publicity for the show, wouldn't it? Or would it? There's no such thing as bad publicity in show business, so the saying goes.

  The news that Henry Hanley wasn't Owen's son was interesting, but Addison wasn't sure whether it had anything to do with the murder. There were other questions to be asked. Does Owen know the child isn't his? Did Frankie? And of course, who is the boy's father?

  Addison made a second note on her to-do list: find out as much as possible about Henry Hanley's parentage.

  Back to the suspect list. Addison recalled the conversation she'd overheard between Jake Hanley and another man. It seemed one of them had owed the other one money, and needed more time to get it together. She wondered which one Jake was. She was cross with herself for forgetting to mention that conversation to Isaac. She added that to her list of things to do.

  Then there was Hugh, the youngest of the Hanley brothers. Could he have had something to do with Frankie's murder? Holly had said Frankie was causing Hugh some problems. It was all about Frankie wanting Paolo's job, which fell to Hugh as the manager of the stage performance. Frankie had both Morris Hanley and Jake on his side, according to Holly.

  Addison could see how this would put pressure on Hugh, but it was just a workplace issue. Hardly something worth killing over.

  She closed her notebook and leaned back in her chair. She needed to get more of a picture of each of the Hanley brothers. Hopefully this afternoon's meeting with Dot would shine some light on the inner workings of the carnival family.

  18

  "I don't understand why I can't help," Adam whined. They were back in the kitchen, and he was fixing himself what he called a 'pre-lunch snack'. Addison was going to have to increase his board just to cover the amount of food he made his way through.

  "I didn't say you can't help," said Addison. She thought she'd figured out a way to involve him, but it was going to require a bit of manipulation. "I just said I can't tell you certain things that are confidential."

  "Right. But how can I help if I'm being treated like a mushroom?"

  "A mushroom?" Addison was confused.

  "You know… kept in the dark and fed sh—"

  "All right," said Addison, holding up a hand to stop him finishing the sentence. "I get it. But I'm not treating you like a mushroom. I signed a confidentiality agreement, so there are things I can't tell you. But you can still help, if you'll just get over yourself and stop acting like a child for a minute."

  Adam stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, mouth agape. He stood there like that for a good ten seconds, before finally closing his mouth and nodding.

  "Fair enough," he said. "What can I do?"

  "You can accompany me to the carnival today, for a start."

  "Cool." Adam quickly finished making his sandwich and put all the ingredients back in the fridge. Addison stood her ground, arms folded, looking at the mess he'd made, before he took the hint and cleaned away the crumbs.

  "That's better," she said, and smiled to herself. He was learning.

  "Can we go now?"

  "Sure. Let me get my bag. We have to be back before three, as I'm having afternoon tea with Mrs Jones." She didn't add that Dot Hanley would be there, in case he insisted on joining them. Addison wanted to have that meeting on her own.

  "No problem," said Adam, opening the front door for her. "Will we take the car, or walk?"

  It was another beautiful day, and they had plenty of time. "I think we'll walk," said Addison.

  They set off, and Adam soon started asking questions. "What are we looking for today? Is there anything I should specifically keep my eye open for?"

  "Nothing specific," said Addison. "Although I would like to learn more about the Hanley brothers. Owen, Jake, and Hugh. What they do, how well they get along, that sort of thing."

  "I can tell you what they do. Holly already told us, remember?"

  "I remember Hugh is in charge of the stage performance and the performers. What did she say about the other two?"

  Adam kicked a rock out of their path. "Owen is married to Harriet, and she seems to be the one who runs the whole carnival. He's the muscle behind her. Holly said Owen does whatever Harriet tells him to do."

  "That's right. And Jake?"

  "Jake looks after all the rides and the games, and the people who operate them. His wife works on the ticket booth, but I forget her name."

  "Davina," said Addison. "I should be writing all this down."

  "We did, on Friday night. You, me and Olivia sat and brainstormed possible motives for all the staff. I wrote notes on my laptop."

  "Yes, I remember," said Addison. They stopped to wait for a car before crossing the road and continuing to the sports ground where the carnival was set up.

  "Then you went all private investigator on us and joined forces with Wilcox," said Adam.

  "I thought you'd got over that?"

  "I have, sorry. I just… I don't like being left out. I should be used to it, I suppose. It's the story of my life."

  Adam had never spoken much about his past, and Addison had always got the impression he wanted to talk about it but could never find the right words.

  "What story is that?" she asked, seizing the opportunity.

  Adam stopped walking and looked her in the eye. "You really want to know?"

  "I do, Adam. You've been living with me for a couple of months now. You're practically family. But it's okay if you don't want to tell me."

  They resumed their walk, but at a slower pace. "I've never spoken about my past with anyone besides social workers before," he said.

  Addison stayed quiet, sensing the story needed to be told in his own time.

  "My father went to prison when I was a baby. I don't know what he did. Don't want to know. All I've been told is my mother couldn't cope with me, so I went into foster care before I could walk. I've never known my real parents. I've never known any parents, not really. I bounced around a lot in the system. The longest I ever stayed with one family was two years."

  "Oh, Adam," said Addison. She'd had no idea. "I'm so sorry."

  "I don't want pity," he said, and she could hear the defence in his voice. "It's in the past. I'm stronger for it, I reckon."

  "Did you ever think of trying to find your real parents?"

  Adam shook his head. "I don't want to drag it up. I just want to look forward, you know what I mean?"

/>   Addison smiled. "I do." She linked her arm through his. "And I promise you have a home at the beach house for as long as you want."

  "Thanks, Addison. That means a lot to me. I promise I'll work harder on my manners."

  They walked the rest of the way to the carnival in companionable silence. Addison's mind tumbled with thoughts of what Adam must have gone through growing up. To not have known a family must have been so isolating. No wonder the poor boy had lapses when it came to manners and respect of others. He was actually doing great, considering.

  She had a new appreciation for his need to be included, too. Maybe she could talk to Isaac, see if she could get him on the volunteer list. Surely two volunteers were better than one?

  Addison was glad Adam had found her and the beach house. He'd been through too much rejection and abandonment in his life. She made a quiet resolution then and there not to be another person who let him down.

  19

  Addison and Adam spent a few hours at the carnival but didn't learn anything useful. They hadn't even managed to set eyes on any of the Hanleys. Still, they'd had a good time. Addison even went on a few of the smaller rides. Not the Ferris wheel, though. No way were they getting her back on that thing.

  She arrived at Mrs Jones's place promptly at three o'clock and was surprised to see that Dot Hanley was already there with a young boy, who had to be Henry. Addison had made a lemon drizzle cake to contribute to afternoon tea, which Mrs Jones accepted gratefully.

  "Mrs Jones says you're writing a book about carnival life," said Dot after they'd been introduced and tea had been poured. She was a small woman, but strong and sturdy in build. It was obvious she'd had an active life.

  "I'm thinking about writing a book that might include some elements of carnival life, yes," said Addison. She tried to keep it as vague as possible – she had no idea whether she'd actually write any such book in the future, but the possibility was always there. As much as she was trying to get information about the Hanleys specifically in relation to the murder, the lifestyle did sound fascinating and she was keen to find out more.