by Grace York
"I've got an idea," said Addison. She raced back out to the changing room tent and found Corey and Luc. "Put your wigs back on, boys. They need you in there." She quickly explained what was happening and pushed them back into the main tent.
They caught on quickly, like the professionals they were. After a few quick tumbles and slapstick moves to get everyone's attention, Corey explained that there was a small problem with the tent and the man up in the air was going to fix it. But everyone had to help by standing up and wiggling about with their craziest dance moves.
The kids got right into it, and soon enough most of the adults caught on and helped to distract the kids. Within minutes Corey and Luc had the laughing crowd on their feet and dancing their way out of the tent. Addison was relieved when Olivia and Max were out of harm's way.
Isaac had kept his eye on Hugh Hanley the whole time.
"You think he's really going to jump?" Addison asked once the tent had been cleared of the public.
"I don't know," said Isaac. "But that was brilliant. Thank you."
"Don't thank me. Corey and Luc are the stars here." Addison looked up at Hugh. He was holding onto the rope-ladder so tight Addison could see the whites of his knuckles from down on the ground. He didn't look like he wanted to jump.
"What now?" she asked.
"Yes, what now?" asked Holly. "You can't let him hurt himself. Oh my goodness, this is all my fault."
"Stop it, Holly," said Addison with as stern a voice as she could muster. "You can't blame yourself. He's the one who climbed up there. He's the one who killed Frankie."
"What?" Addison turned at the sound of the deep voice. It belonged to Jake. The whole Hanley family had entered the tent and were now staring up at Hugh. Harriet must have gone and got them. Dot's face was a mixture of fear and confusion, while her husband was just annoyed. Owen and Harriet's concern was obvious, their heads swivelled from Hugh to each other and then around the tent, looking for some way to help. Davina's eyes were on Jake.
"There's no time to explain," said Isaac. "Isn't there supposed to be a net or something? To catch the performers if they fall?"
"We only put the net up during the trapeze act," said Jake. "Did you say Hugh killed Frankie?"
"Yes," said Isaac. "Is there any way we can get the net back up?"
"I'm on it," said Owen.
"He's not going to jump," said another voice. Morris Hanley stepped into the middle of the ring. "Get down from there, right now," he yelled up to Hugh.
"No," said Hugh.
"Please, Hugh," said Dot, joining her husband in the ring underneath her youngest son. "What are you doing?"
"I don't belong, Mum. I never have."
"Get down here now," said Morris, his voice louder now. "Do you have any idea how much this is costing me? All those people are going to want their money back…"
"It's all about money to you, isn't it?" said Jake, stepping into the ring to confront his father. "That's what everything comes back to."
"Of course it's about money," said Morris. "How else am I supposed to put food on the table? Clothes on your back? This carnival has supported our family for over seventy years."
Addison felt like she was intruding on a private family matter, but she couldn't tear herself away. She stood rooted to the spot, Holly in her arms with tears streaming down her cheeks. She glanced at Isaac, who was keeping a close watch on Hugh.
"This carnival is tearing our family apart," said Jake. "Do you have any idea what we've all sacrificed for you? For this bloody show to go on?"
"What are you talking about?" said Morris. "What sacrifices? I've given you everything. I've made it possible for you to live a great life."
"It's your life, Dad. Not ours. But we don't have a choice."
"You don't know what's good for you," said Morris.
"Really? Owen having to come back here every year to be reminded that his son isn't his? That's good for him? Hugh stuck in a stupid circus managing temperamental performers when he's smart enough to get any job he wants? That's good for him? And me, having to pretend I don't know my wife is having an affair with a complete asshat of a man because he's this year's favourite son to you. That's good for me? When is one of your actual sons going to be your favourite, Dad? What do we have to do to get you to care about us?"
"I…"
"Save it, Dad. It's too late." Jake looked up to Hugh, still dangling from the top of the ladder. "Come down, mate. I can't let you do this."
"Jake…" said Hugh.
"No. You deserve better." Jake turned to Isaac and held out his arms, fists clenched and wrists together. "I'm the one you want. I killed Frankie."
29
Chaos followed Jake's confession. Everyone talked at once, but Addison watched as Isaac and his team never took their eyes off Hugh.
"Shut up, all of you," said Addison. "You can argue later. We've got to get him down."
Owen was struggling to set the safety net on his own. Addison and Holly raced to help, and finally Morris did too. Dot and Davina stood back out of the way, but they went to separate sides of the ring. Dot may have been aware of Harriet's past indiscretion with Bob, but she'd obviously had no idea about Davina and Frankie.
Isaac hadn't handcuffed Jake, who now climbed the ladder after his brother.
"Don't," said Hugh.
"Mate, you have to come down," said Jake. He stopped halfway up. "I've told them it was me. There's no reason for you to do this. It's over."
"Why did you do that? I'm not like you, Jake. You and Owen. You can handle this life. I'm not good enough."
Jake held onto the rope ladder with one hand. "You're right," he said. "You're not suited to this life. You're better than this. All of this." He ran his free hand through the air, palm up, to illustrate. "You can be anything you want, Hugh. You need to stop letting this place hold you back. You need to stop letting Dad hold you back."
Morris looked up from where he was busy hooking the safety net into place. "I'm not—"
"Shut up, Dad," said Owen. "Let Jake speak for once."
"Why are you up here, Hugh?" Jake asked. "Why are you trying to take the blame for something you didn't do?"
"I… you have more to stick around for than me," said Hugh. "Davina, and the baby… you said you were going to stop gambling, win her back. Make a real go of it. I can't let you throw all that away."
"That's not your choice to make, little brother. I'm the screw-up of this family, not you. I made my own choices. Now I have to face the consequences."
Addison finally managed to get her corner of the safety net hooked in place. She looked up to find the others had done the same and breathed a sigh of relief that the threat of danger had passed. Her mind started working overtime to process what she'd just heard.
It was Jake who killed Frankie?
Now that the net was in place, Isaac called up to the two brothers.
"Any chance you two can get down here so we can sort this mess out?"
Jake looked up to his younger brother. "How about it?"
Hugh nodded, and climbed down after Jake. Once they were both on the ground Dot wrapped her arms around Hugh, while Jake held out his wrists again.
"I killed Frankie Hammond," he said.
Isaac raised his eyebrows at Hugh, who nodded. Isaac signalled to Senior Constable Short, who stepped forward to arrest Jake.
"Hang on a minute," said Morris, grasping Jake's arm. "What are you saying?"
"I said I killed Frankie. He stole my life, Dad."
"But I thought the two of you got on all right?"
Jake stared at his father a moment before answering. "We did at first. But then he turned on me. I know the gambling was my own fault, and I don't blame anyone for the trouble I got into there. But he made it worse. He encouraged me to borrow money, money he knew I couldn't pay back. He even lent me some himself. Then he got close to Davina, and I couldn't do anything about it. He was so sneaky, Dad. He had you fooled."
He turned to his wife
. "Davina too. He didn't even care about you. Or the baby."
Davina placed a hand protectively over her belly. "It's not his," she said.
"I know."
"Then why?"
Jake shrugged. "I don't know. The gambling, you, Dad and the way he was turning on me and Hugh, it all seemed to stem from Frankie. No-one liked him. He was ruining us. I had to do something."
"Why didn't you come to me?" asked Morris.
"I tried, Dad. You wouldn't listen. You wouldn't hear a bad word about him. He was your new prodigy. You would have sacked Paolo and given him top billing if Hugh hadn't stopped you. You even invited him to come to the house this winter. I couldn't stand the thought of that. Of him hanging around Davina all that time. It's bad enough on the road. But out there, with nothing to do…"
Isaac stepped forward. "That's probably enough for now," he said. "Take him back to the station. I'll be there shortly."
Short and Diaz took Jake away, and Davina started to cry. Harriet put an arm around her and led her away. Owen followed.
Dot Hanley broke down at the sight of her son being led away in handcuffs. She collapsed into a ringside seat, and Morris, for the first time Addison had seen, went to comfort her.
That left Addison, Isaac, Holly, and Hugh.
"Why did you tell me you'd killed Frankie?" Holly asked Hugh.
"I didn't," said Hugh. "Well not exactly. I let you believe I did, though. I'm sorry. I guess I just wanted to impress you. I couldn't stand the thought of him hurting you. I went to confront him, but he was already dead."
"He was already dead?" said Isaac. "Did you see Jake kill him?"
Hugh shook his head. "He told me yesterday. He came and told me Davina was pregnant, and he didn't know what to do. I said he needed to clean himself up, stop gambling, and be a good husband and father. He agreed."
"And then you let me believe you'd killed Frankie because you thought it might impress me?" Holly asked. She was angry now, and Addison wouldn't have been surprised if Holly reached out and slapped Hugh across the face.
Hugh shrugged. "It didn't, though. You said you didn't want anything to do with me."
"I said I was thinking of staying here, in Getaway Bay," said Holly. "That's not the same thing."
"It is to me. I can't stay here. I have a commitment to the carnival. To my family."
"Then what the heck were you thinking climbing up there and trying to take the blame for murdering Frankie?"
"I saw the police come in the tent with you and I panicked. I figured you must have told them I did it. Then I realised I could save Jake if I took the blame and…"
"And what?" Holly's tears had long since dried up. Her face was red with anger now. "Jumped? With everything you have to live for? Are you crazy?"
"What do I have to live for? You rejected me, Holly. I love you. I don't want to live without you. And I can't leave the carnival. My family needs me."
Addison looked over to Dot, who had calmed down and was now listening intently with Morris. Addison felt the need to intervene.
"The two of you have anything to add here?" she asked.
Dot stood and came over to her son. "Do you really want to do this job for the rest of your life?" she asked him.
"I don't have a choice. With Jake gone…"
"Of course you have a choice. Your father and I are retiring. We won't be going on the road with Hanley Brothers next year. If it even goes on the road at all."
Morris opened his mouth to speak, but Dot shot him a look that closed his mouth again.
"That's up to Owen and Harry. They can run things on their own if they want to. Or they can retire too. We'll sell. Or we'll just stop. It doesn't matter. This business has already cost us one son. It's not going to cost us any more."
Hugh embraced his mother in a hug, then turned back to Holly.
"So you want to stay in Getaway Bay?"
"Maybe," said Holly.
"Mind if I stay with you?"
She studied him for a moment before her mouth broke into a wide grin.
"Not at all."
30
By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, Hanley Brothers Carnival had left town and the sports fields were almost back to normal. Addison had spent most of the day in her kitchen. After the events of the last two weeks, she was expecting a large turn-out for the Friday barbecue.
"Where do you want these?" said Adam. He'd finished buttering the bread rolls, and held an enormous basket-full in his hands.
"Put a tea towel over the top to keep them fresh and put them on the sideboard in the dining room for now," said Addison. There was no bench space left in the kitchen. "Then you can go and set up outside if you like."
Adam didn't need telling twice. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and took off out the back door.
"How are you two doing?" Addison asked Layla and Olivia. They were busily chopping greens and making a couple of different salads.
"Just about done," said Olivia.
"Me too," said Layla.
"Are you still going to come back and help me on Fridays?" Addison asked. Layla's new art gallery and home were almost ready to move into.
"Try and keep me away," said Layla.
"I'm going to miss having you around."
"Oh, Addison. I'll only be five minutes away. You can come and see me anytime."
"I know. And you can count on me as a regular visitor. But the beach house won't be the same without you."
Olivia put the finishing touches on her coleslaw. "Speaking of the beach house, have you advertised for new boarders yet Mum?"
Addison nodded. "Adam and I worked on that last night. He said he put the ad up this morning."
"No takers yet?"
"Actually, there have been a couple of responses. We'll go through them later. I don't want to rush into anything this time." As much as she wanted to fill the house with artists and writers again, Addison was wary after what had happened earlier in the year.
"That's understandable," said Layla. "Hey, maybe you should have your boyfriend here when you interview potential boarders."
"He's not—"
"Your boyfriend," Olivia and Layla both finished for her.
"Yeah, we know, Mum. But he's got potential, right?"
Addison shook her head. Maybe Olivia going back to university tomorrow wasn't such a bad thing.
She heard the side gate open, and looked out the back window to see Jason and Kendall arrive.
"I'm going out to greet the guests," she said, picking up the cheese platter she'd finished preparing and taking it out to the back garden.
Charlie and Bella circled her feet as she made her way down the steps and onto the grass. "Get out of it, you two," she said, shooing them away. "I'm going to trip over you one of these days."
"Hi, Addison," said Jason. He handed her a bottle of wine and Kendall placed a lovely tray of cut fruit on the table.
"Hello, both of you." Addison noticed Hazel and Martin were already there as well. She greeted them, and Mrs Jones, who was trying to corral Bella. She had no chance once the side gate went again and Juliet and Josie Porter entered.
"Bella! Charlie!"
Both dogs ran and jumped all over Josie. They loved their groomer almost as much as they loved their owners.
Addison chatted with all her guests, as she did every Friday afternoon. She was still not sure how it had happened, but Friday afternoon drinks and dinner at the beach house had become her favourite time of the week. It made Getaway Bay feel like home.
"How's Holly doing?" Addison asked Hazel. After declaring her desire to stick around in the bay, Holly had asked Addison if she knew of any work available. Addison pointed her in Hazel's direction, as business seemed to be booming at the café.
"She's great. A natural. I'm actually thinking of taking a few weeks off soon, once things quieten down for the winter. Holly will be able to manage no problem."
"Are you going to have a holiday?" Addison asked.
<
br /> Hazel exchanged a grin with Martin. "We're thinking of a cruise, actually."
"Perfect! You'll love it."
The gate opened again and the last of the guests arrived. Isaac came in with a giant box of chocolates, which he presented to Addison.
"For the group," he explained. "I didn't know what else to bring."
"Of course," said Addison, not daring to look at Layla and Olivia. She could sense their wicked smirks behind her back. She put the chocolates on the table while Isaac helped himself to a beer.
"So the case is all wrapped up then?" Addison asked.
"Finally, yes." Isaac took a long drink. "Ah, that's better. Long day. There's so much paperwork involved in a murder."
"But you have a confession, right? There won't need to be a trial."
"No, Jake will go straight to sentencing."
Addison sipped the glass of wine someone had handed her. "Do we know any more about why he did it?" she asked.
"I think it had more to do with his father than he's willing to admit."
"How so?"
"Morris was trying to cling on to the glory days of the carnival. He fancied himself as the showman, the one to bring entertainment to the masses. That's the way Frankie carried himself too, from what we can gather. Frankie got Morris's attention, and Jake didn't like it.
"Frankie, of course, revelled in it. He saw an opportunity to have some fun and alienate the three brothers."
Addison didn't understand. "But why would he do that? They were his employers."
"He didn't care about that. Morris was the figurehead. He was the one Frankie attached himself to. To everyone else he was his regular self – a lying, cheating, self-centred pig."
Addison was surprised at such strong words from Isaac.
"We finally got some background information on Frankie," Isaac continued. "This was a pattern with him, playing with people for his own amusement. He never held the same job for more than a year or two. Most companies just fired him…"
"But Jake took it a step further," said Addison.
"Yes. Davina admitted she was… shall we say… involved with Frankie, but she said it was only to make Jake notice her. He noticed, all right. Now her baby will grow up without a father."