by Cindy Bell
As Joyce walked towards the door, she noticed that the house was small, with a well-manicured garden. It appeared that Detective Crackle liked tending to his garden.
When she knocked on the door her heart skipped a beat.
Detective Crackle opened the door and smiled.
“Joyce, thanks for coming over.” He held the door open for her. “I just thought it would be easier to share information if we were face to face, and I’m already in my slippers.” He pointed at the fuzzy slippers on his feet. “Not a fan of putting regular shoes back on once I’m in my slippers.”
Detective Crackle tended to be very serious, and the idea that he had a few hidden quirks put her at ease.
“I have coffee ready in the kitchen.” Detective Crackle led her through the house to the kitchen. Joyce noticed that the furniture was sparse, with just a couch, a recliner and a coffee table. It felt cozy.
As they walked, Joyce shared with him the information that Brenda had conveyed to her. “I think it’s pretty significant, because this means that Joey’s shoes are about the same size as the shoeprint that was found near the ladder to access the ropes. We assumed it had to be one of the clowns because the shoeprint was so large, but now that we know that Joey was training to be a clown, we have another suspect to consider.” She settled in a chair at the kitchen table. “And, it means that Rowan had access to Slappy and Joey’s shoes. Maybe he slipped them on to disguise his involvement.”
“Maybe, that explains a few things.” Detective Crackle set a cup of coffee down in front of her, then joined her at the table. “Sure, Joey could have just been in his own shoes. Or Rowan could have worn Joey’s shoes. But there is one piece of potential evidence that it doesn’t explain.”
“What piece of evidence?” Joyce blew across the top of the coffee to cool it.
“The hair we found on the rope right near where the nuts were tampered with.” Detective Crackle stared straight into her eyes. “I know you won’t keep this from Brenda. So, if you tell her you have to make her promise not to tell anyone else. Understand?”
“Yes. Brenda is trustworthy.” Joyce frowned. “Why is it such a big secret?”
“I’m sure she is trustworthy, but her husband is a reporter, and in my experience a reporter has a hard time keeping secrets.” Detective Crackle picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. Once he set it back down, he continued. “It’s a secret because it’s evidence the media doesn’t know about. It’s evidence the killer doesn’t know we have. If we reveal that we have it, then the killer will find ways to explain it. As of now, the hair is in the lab being processed. But we know two things. It is not real, and it is bright red.”
“Like Slappy’s wig.” Joyce sighed.
“Exactly.” Detective Crackle shrugged. “I agree with you, Joyce, he does seem like a nice guy. But nice guys commit murder, too.”
“What about the letter you found?” Joyce took a sip of her coffee. “Any progress on that?”
“Some. We found face paint on it. Which makes me think that it was written by one of the clowns. Although at times apparently the trapeze artists wear face paint as well. As of now we’re trying to match it to the face paint we found in Slappy’s trailer, but it will take some time.”
“Any chance of finding DNA in it?” Joyce raised an eyebrow.
“Unfortunately, no. But the letter itself is pretty significant. It basically warns Rocco to leave the circus, and that if he doesn’t, he’ll be in danger.” Detective Crackle shrugged. “I think that makes whoever wrote this letter the most likely suspect.”
“It may. But anyone can write a letter, it doesn’t make them a killer.” Joyce ran her fingertip along the rim of the coffee cup. “The problem is, we see Slappy as having a strong motive. But Sal had quite a good motive, too.”
“He did, but he was about to use the same rope and bar that was tampered with.” Detective Crackle took a sip of his coffee.
“At least, he made it look that way.” Joyce sat back in her chair. “Looking back on it now, I wonder if he was more interested in putting on a show to prove his innocence. He almost fell off the platform and Rocco saved him at the last second. But maybe it was an act, I can’t imagine that trapeze artists just fall off platforms.”
“I agree. It was probably just an act. But maybe he was nervous because he knew what was about to happen, maybe that’s why he almost fell?” Detective Crackle sighed. “It’s hard to know for sure. But so far we haven’t found anything of significance in Sal’s trailer.”
“Maybe not, but I do know that he was angry that Rocco had the starring role. Apparently, Cecilia is in charge of that decision. My guess is she picked Rocco because of his experience and she liked him so much. She has nothing but good things to say about him.” Joyce finished the last of her coffee. “Thanks for this, Arthur.”
“You’re quite welcome. It isn’t often that I get to share a cup of coffee while discussing a case.” Detective Crackle smiled.
“My husband and I used to do this quite a bit.” The admission slipped past before Joyce could think it through. Immediately she felt a rush of grief mixed with guilt. How could she enjoy something like this with someone new?
“I’m sure that you miss him.” Detective Crackle placed his hand over hers.
“I do.” Joyce took a deep breath, then stood up. “We’ll be back at the circus tomorrow. Please let me know if you find out anything new.”
“I will share what I can.” Detective Crackle stood up from the table as well. “Let me walk you out.”
“No, it’s all right. I can find my way.” Joyce clutched her purse as she headed for the door. Now that she knew more about the letter, and about the red hair that was found, logic told her to be more suspicious of Slappy. Everything seemed to fall perfectly into place to make him the killer. Red hair on the rope, a threatening letter with face paint on it, a large shoeprint near the area where one can access the ladder for the ropes. Not to mention his own daughter’s belief that he might have done it. As she settled in her car, it crossed her mind that Paisley had very red hair. Detective Crackle said the hair wasn’t real. Was Paisley’s hair real, or could she be wearing a wig, too?
Chapter 13
Brenda woke up the next day with a heavy pressure on her chest. When she opened her eyes, she expected to see Sophie curled up on top of her. Instead, there was only the blanket. She realized the heaviness she felt was on the inside. Was it dread? She looked over at her sleeping husband and thought about what she and Joyce had discussed the evening before. There was a good chance that Slappy was a murderer. How would Charlie react if she told him that? Luckily, she didn’t have to wake him, or Sophie. Saturday meant they could sleep in.
Today would have been the first full day of the circus. But as of the night before, the circus still didn’t plan to put on the show. She was grateful they got to see a special performance. Now that she knew that Slappy might really be the murderer she wanted this solved even more.
Brenda slipped out of bed. She didn’t want to wake Charlie. After she dressed, she peeked in Sophie’s room. She smiled at the sight of her sound asleep. She’d been so worn out from all of the excitement the day before that she was asleep before Brenda even got home. Since Charlie had a last-minute deadline, he was in his office until well after she went to sleep. She hoped that they would both be able to sleep in. Brenda grabbed an apple as she headed out the door. She wondered what she would see when she arrived at the circus. The truck was scheduled to be there over the weekend, but what would be the point if there was no circus?
When Brenda arrived at the fairground, she found Joyce had just pulled in ahead of her. As Joyce stepped out of her car, she looked up towards the sky.
Brenda looked in the same direction as she stepped out of her car. Her eyes widened at what she saw.
“Wow, what is happening here?” Joyce stared at the big tent as the top of it began to collapse.
“Cecilia?” Brenda waved to her as the w
oman hurried past. “What’s happening? Why is the tent coming down?”
“We’re preparing to leave.” Cecilia paused, but she glanced over her shoulder to keep an eye on the tent.
“Leave?” Joyce furrowed an eyebrow. “For good?”
“Yes. We’re moving on to the next town. I’m hoping that news hasn’t traveled too far.” Cecilia wrung her hands as she took a deep breath. “I know it may seem horrible to you, with Rocco’s death not far behind us. But everyone in this circus depends on the income it generates. If we don’t start making some money, a lot of people are going to suffer. Rocco’s spirit will always be with us.” She took another breath as her chin began to tremble. “I can’t even imagine putting on a show without him, but he wouldn’t want everyone to lose everything either. He was such a generous man.”
“Generous?” Joyce crossed her arms. “Wasn’t he a fence, Cecilia? That doesn’t seem very generous.”
“Sometimes, when you live this lifestyle, the lines between right and wrong can get a little blurred. I don’t think he really saw what he did as a crime. He gave most of the money to those working here that needed it. Like Joey while he was training, and countless others that didn’t make enough to fulfill their needs.” Cecilia hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice. “He even helped me with a few things.”
“That does sound very generous. But you knew the money was coming from criminal activity? You were okay with that?” Joyce narrowed her eyes.
“I wouldn’t say okay with it.” Cecilia shrugged. “His interaction with criminals did put us all at risk to some degree. There are times that they show up looking for him. But most of the time they just want to see what he has to sell. It’s never really dangerous.”
“What about this time? The two men that came looking for him?” Brenda moved in front of Cecilia before the woman could step away from her. “Weren’t you afraid of them?”
“Isn’t that why you called Joey over?” Joyce pursed her lips as she waited for an answer.
“Look, I’m not going to take any chances. Joey’s size can be so intimidating that all he has to do is look at someone and they will turn tail and run. It’s not something I like to ask him to do, but he does a good job of it.” Cecilia shook her head. “Maybe Rocco got himself tangled up in more than he expected this time. I don’t know for sure. But those two men were a lot more persistent than others have been. But to be honest, that’s not really my business at this point. From now on I have to think of my people. They can’t live without earning an income for very long. Running a circus is a lot like running a small city. All of that responsibility falls on my shoulders.”
“Like the responsibility of picking who starred in the aerial show?” Joyce nodded slowly. “That’s up to you, too, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” Cecilia smiled. “It’s one of my favorite acts. I must admit that I showed a bit of favoritism when I chose Rocco to be the star of this show. It was really Sal’s turn. But since it was my first time running the show completely on my own, I wanted to put forth the person I thought was best.” She winced as she looked down at her feet. “It haunts me that I made that choice now. Maybe it would have made no difference, maybe whoever tampered with the bar did so just to sabotage the show, and not attack Rocco personally. But I can’t help but wonder.” She sighed. “At this point we may never know.”
“It will be hard for the police to continue their investigation once you move on. Couldn’t you consider staying a little longer?” Joyce asked.
“No, I’m sorry.” Cecilia shook her head firmly. “It’s time to move forward. We can’t wait any longer.” She turned on her heel and walked away.
“I bet she could, if she wanted to.” Joyce turned to look at Brenda.
“Are you okay, Joyce?” Brenda frowned as she stared at her.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just wondering who Cecilia is trying so hard to protect.”
“You think that Cecilia is trying to protect someone?” Brenda raised an eyebrow. “I hadn’t even considered that.”
“Why else would she be so eager to move on? She claims it’s for financial reasons, but I doubt that one more day would make a difference. I think it’s far more likely that she’s concerned about Detective Crackle getting too close to the truth.” Joyce looked in the direction that Cecilia walked off in. “She is very protective of the crew and performers. Maybe she is worried that Slappy will be arrested.”
“Yes, maybe she is.” Brenda placed her hands on her hips. “The question is how do we stop her from moving on so that the investigation can continue, and the murder is solved?”
“I’m not sure, but we have to think of something.” Joyce began to pace back and forth. “Clearly, we’re not opening the truck today.”
“No, in fact, we’d better get it out of here before they have everything cleared out.” Brenda started to walk towards it.
“Brenda, wait.” Joyce caught up to her. “Maybe we can figure out who Cecilia is trying to protect and even possibly find the killer.”
“How?” Brenda turned to face her. A gust of wind whipped through the tent that was still half standing. The sharp sound caused her to turn in its direction. She saw Cecilia and Sal near the edge of the tent. “Joyce, can you make out what they’re saying?”
“Maybe if I get a little bit closer.” Joyce inched her way in the direction of Cecilia and Sal. She didn’t want to risk getting too close and alerting them to her presence. But she guessed from the way that Cecilia swung her hands through the air that they were having quite an argument. Sal was shouting very loudly, but he was quite far away and Joyce’s hearing wasn’t the best. Once Joyce was in a better position, she could see Sal’s lips well enough to read them and hear some of what he was saying. However, Cecilia was talking much softer.
“You’re being ridiculous.” Sal stomped one foot against the ground. “You have everyone stressed out and upset. There is no reason to rush this.”
Cecilia moved closer to him, which angled her back towards Joyce. She couldn’t make out anything the woman said. Brenda slowly crept up and stood beside Joyce.
“You won’t give anyone an explanation. Not all of us are ready to leave. How can you expect us to perform without Rocco?” Sal shook his head in response to something that Cecilia said. “No, this is never what I wanted. Yes, I deserved to be the star of the show, but not at the cost of Rocco’s life. It’s crazy that you would say that to me.”
“Wow,” Joyce whispered as she leaned close to Brenda. “She must have told him that he should be happy he’s the star now. That’s pretty cold.”
“I think that we need to stay at least a day, if not two.” Sal thrust a finger in Cecilia’s direction. “You’ve let the power go to your head. This circus has always been a democracy, everyone gets a vote, you don’t get to change the rules just because you’re in charge.”
Cecilia took a step back from him and turned enough that Joyce could see her lips as her voice rose.
“This is the way it is now, Sal. Either you accept that, or you can find somewhere else to work.” She stalked off towards a group of trailers in the distance.
Sal stared after her but didn’t make a move to follow her. Finally, he turned, and stormed off in the other direction.
“Wow.” Brenda spoke in a whisper. “It sure seems like those two are on opposite sides of the coin.”
“Interesting that Sal is so eager to stay. I would think with him being a suspect, he’d be pressuring her to move the circus on.” Joyce tapped her fingertip against her chin. “Cecilia seems absolutely determined that they have to leave. So, what does she know that we don’t?”
“Maybe she knows that there is enough evidence against Slappy to make a significant case?” Brenda shook her head as she started towards the truck. “Whatever she knows, she’s certainly not going to tell us.”
“No.” Joyce grabbed Brenda’s hand before she could get too far. “She’s not going to tell us. But there are other ways
for us to find out.”
“What are you saying?” Brenda turned back to face her.
“The truth is that once the circus moves on, all evidence that could be found is going to move on with it or be destroyed. Anything the police might have missed. Anything the killer might have left behind. It’s possible that Rocco’s death will never be solved.” Joyce picked at the cuff of her sleeve as she began to formulate a plan. “I always knew this was a possibility, but facing it isn’t easy. I watched him fall, Brenda. I didn’t know it was murder then, but I wanted to save him. Now, it’s about finding out who did this to him.”
“I understand.” Brenda nodded. “I’m not ready to give up. Whatever you have in mind, we can do together.”
“Whatever we do, it has to be fast. They will be gone by tomorrow.” Joyce glanced back at the tent which had reached its lowest level.
“Can’t Detective Crackle stop them?” Brenda frowned. She dug in her purse for her phone. “If we call him and let him know what’s going on, I’m sure he can find a way to stop them.”
“No.” Joyce shrugged. “You can try if you want to, but if Detective Crackle could stop this, he would already have. He must not have enough proof to stop them, or the suspects at the very least, from moving on. We’re on our own with this, Brenda.” She looked back at her friend as Brenda lowered her hand from her ear. “If we want to find the truth, we’re going to have to take a pretty big risk. If you don’t want to do it, I understand.”
“A risk? What kind of risk?” Brenda stared at her, her eyes wide, and her lips parted.
“Like I said, you don’t have to help me.” Joyce felt a rush of determination overcome her. “But I’m going to find out what Cecilia is hiding. I’m going to break into her trailer. If she’s trying to protect someone, I’m betting she has evidence hidden there, or at the very least some hint as to who she is protecting.”