by Abbey, S. C.
Harvey gapped like a fish out of water for a couple of seconds when the spotlight targeted him with the ringmaster pointing blatantly at him. The crowd released a pent up cheer and applause of elatedness and relief, mostly the latter. Katie shared his look with her mouth opened as she stared at him. The whole tent was waiting for him to respond. He had no choice. Harvey stood from the chair he was seated and started advancing up the stage, the crowd’s cheers increased in volume. Deacon reached out to shake his hand as he settle at the side of the ringmaster, where he shielded Harvey from the tiger. Harvey mentally shook his head.
“Thank you! Thank you, professor! Keep your fingers to yourself, my friend! And don’t look into its eyes for too long, he might take it as a challenge!” winked the ringmaster. Harvey was starting to not like that look very much. “Now if you would please stand here, stay calm, relax. And now, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, let the show begin!”
Deacon took off his satin top hat and dark raisin tailcoat, tossing them to an assistant standing below the stage. He rolled up his sleeves and turned to catch a leather whip and huge metal hoop that his assistant had cast back at him. He released the bundled whip as it fell to the ground, swirled it in the air and struck the ground with it, releasing a loud cracking sound. The tiger began to circle Harvey.
“Here! I will need you to hold this by your side like this.” Deacon commanded as he tossed the metal hoop to Harvey. “Yes, a little higher! Shoulder height! Perfect!”
Harvey held the metal hoop to his left with his arm outstretched, he did not like this at all. “Ladies and gentlemen, an applause for our star performer please! Here boy, to me!” Deacon said as he called out to the tiger. The tiger strolled to his side and sat obediently. He whipped the ground once more, and the tiger stood and advanced toward Harvey. “Jump and back boy! Go!”
The tiger pounced into action and ran toward Harvey, it took a sharp turn toward the hoop as it leaped gracefully through the middle, not touching it in the process. It took a U-turn and came back to its master, settling at the exact same spot as before. The crowded encouraged the act with its gracious cheers and applause.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” said Deacon. “Professor, you’re enjoying it, aren’t you! I can see it in your face! Now if you would please, hold out the hoop on the other side! Perfect! Go boy!”
Deacon repeated the action with the whip and the tiger pounced into a similar gait as before, clearing the metal hoop with ease as it strolled back lazily. The crowd could not get enough of it. “Now, the last leap, let’s try something exciting shall we? How tall are you, professor? 6 foot? Will you please hold the metal hoop above your head? Yes, like that. I reckon that would be above 8 foot to clear. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right boy?” Deacon targeted the rhetorical question at the tiger. “There’s only one way to find out! Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please give it up for our stars!”
The crowd cheered. Harvey sighed inwardly. Why did people always enjoy watching other people suffer? He closed his eyes momentarily as he steeled his heart for the possibility of a 600 pound giant cat landing on him. Perhaps that was what Deacon had planned all along. Perhaps Deacon knew he was here for him and wanted to get rid of Harvey before he could cast his suspicions upon him. It would be the perfect way to murder someone – signal pet tiger to pounce on irritable inconvenience and brushed it off as an accident – it all made sense. Why would he choose him as a volunteer otherwise? Why did Deacon even need a volunteer in the first place, any circus performer would suffice. And that tattoo, haven’t I seen it somewhere before?
The sound of the cracking whip brought Harvey back to the present. The only things he could see was a 600 pound tiger charging toward him and the evil smirk on Deacon Novak’s face.
Chapter 46
HARVEY HELD ON tightly to the metal hoop that was above his head and stood tall. If it was his last minutes on this beautiful blue planet called Earth, he made sure he didn’t want to die looking like a coward. The adrenalin coursing through his veins gave him strength. Orange, which happened to be the name of the tiger as Deacon had mentioned while Harvey was in a daze, leaped into the sky in an elegant orange arc above Harvey’s head and landed behind the professor on its paws. The beauty of God’s creation was admired by the audience as they held their breath along with Harvey. An angel’s passing marked the end of the act.
“Give it up for Orange! And Professor Nolan! Thank you!” cried Deacon with his arms outstretched as he gave a short bow at the crowd. The applause shook the stage. “Professor! Thank you for your assistance! You can leave the hoop there.”
Harvey couldn’t wait to get back to his seat. The anticipation of the humble plastic chair was heightened by his desire to get as far away from the tiger as possible. He took his place beside Katie, still in a stupor.
Katie looked up from her smartphone with a frown. “Well done, Harvey. That wasn’t so bad was it?”
Harvey shook his bewildered look away. “I thought I was going to die.”
Katie gave him a confused look. “Not today, I guess. Not while this remains unsolved.”
“Sorry?”
“Look.” Katie said as she tilted her screen toward Harvey. “These are the statistics I got my analyst to dig for the past 2 years. We have enough reason to believe that there was a steady increase in number of female deaths occurring each month, linked to drug trafficking, most likely due to drug mule accidents. But for the past 6 months, the incidents have dropped to a total count of four, that’s less than one a month.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Don’t get me wrong, of course it is. But these statistics doesn’t make sense at all.”
“We will find out soon enough.” Harvey said. “I think I’ve found another piece of the puzzle.”
Katie glance intently at Harvey. “What is it?”
“Just now on the stage, when Deacon rolled up his sleeves, I spotted 2 tattoos, one on each forearm. The one on right was that of a serpent devouring its own tail, an Ouroboros, in an unbroken circle. The other was a tattoo of an American bald eagle, with its wings folded against its breast, its head tilted at an angle.”
“Have you seen them before?”
“The first tattoo, no. But the second one, I’m afraid I’ve seen it twice before, come to think of it.”
“Two times? It never caught your eye?”
“I didn’t put much thought into it, until I did. The first time I saw it was on the back of the Captain’s hand, on the yacht.”
“No shit.” The woman beside Katie hissed at her for using an expletive in front of her young boy. “Sorry–”
“And the second was when I was peeking through the rear windscreen of the Cooper, looking at the man who tried to run us off the road. His hands were gripping his steering wheel, I could see the same tattoo very clearly.”
“Why didn’t you mention it!?” Katie’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I couldn’t recall where I had seen it until I saw it again on the forearm of Deacon Novak.” Harvey replied. “I’m certain the Captain just tried to kill us on the highway.”
“But how did he know we were there?”
“Haven’t figured that out. All I know is Deacon and the Captain is in cahoots. Which means we are probably sitting on the largest drug haul that is making its way to the streets of New York City unless we do something about it.”
“I’ve got to contact the DEA!”
“Where’s Gillian by the way?” Harvey looked around him, suddenly noticing.
“She went to the washroom.”
Harvey’s brows tightened with a frown. He took a minute to collect his thoughts. “Katie, don’t you find something off about Gillian Lee?”
“I do, actually.” Katie said. Her frown stayed on her beautiful pixie face. “I been wanting to talk to you about it.”
“Did she mention anything about her sister’s choice of career?”
“Samantha? Yeah, she sa
id she was a preschool teacher,” added Katie.
“And her father?” asked Harvey.
“Dodged when I asked her, something’s definitely not right about him.”
Harvey did not seem surprised. He knew what he had to do. He took out the cellphone that the masked man had left him and turned on the screen. He jumped slightly at the return of his other companion.
“Hey guys. Did I miss anything?”
Chapter 47
“SIR, WE HAVE been to his house, his foster father’s house, his neighbor’s house – we still haven’t got a clue where Harvey Nolan is–” Special Agent Darrow said, as he cruised along the quiet street and peeked into the narrow alley as he passed it, as if he was expecting to find who he was looking for there. “–maybe we should call it a day.”
Detective Garrett Frost ignored the bothersome whining of his subordinate as he continued to read the case files in the opened brown folder he was holding on to. He knew he had probably missed some specific details, he was certain. Why else was everything not falling in place?
Agent Darrow sped up a little as he passed the quiet street and entered a slightly busier road, they had been driving around for hours while the other agents were ransacking Harvey’s apartment, and he had no idea he was supposed to go right now. He settled on following the red car in front of him for no particular reason.
“Maybe Harvey’s no longer in the state of New York.” Agent Darrow speculated. “Or maybe he skipped the country! That sounds about right.”
“Darrow, if you are not planning to say anything intelligent, now would be the perfect time to not say anything at all.” Said Detective Frost.
“But sir, we’ve hit the wall. The bread crumps trail has broken. I have been driving aimlessly around in circles for the past 30 minutes.” Darrow said. “It isn’t as if we would bump into him walking by the street anytime soon. That only happens in movies.”
Frost hated to admit it, but he knew Darrow was right. He was just too stubborn to admit that they had not progress a single step beyond where they had started since he had found out about Harvey’s escape. The night sky was a deep shade of navy, just one shade shy of being black. It was clear save for the moon illuminating the sky with her cratered glowing surface.
“Let’s call it a day.” Said Frost, letting out a deep breath. “Head back to the station.”
“Aye aye, sir.” Replied Darrow as his spirits began to lift.
Ding ding–
Detective Frost shifted his sitting position so that he could reach for his cellphone in his back pocket. He wondered who was it, he hardly gets any text messages. He tapped on the message sent from the unfamiliar number and read the text.
“Hold it, Darrow!” said Frost. “Turn back right now! To Buccleuch Park, New Jersey! I just got a text from Nolan!”
“What?!” Darrow cried. “What is he doing there?!”
“We are about to find out.” Frost barked. “Now, step on it! We’ve got no time to lose!”
Chapter 48
“WHERE THE HELL is Kaul?” shouted Deacon Novak as he threw his gloves on his dressing table by the back of the Big Top. His pet monkey shrieked at the recognition of his temper flaring and escaped his company wisely. “Shouldn’t he be back by now?!”
The scarred face man handed his master glass of brandy as he had always as usual after the end of a performance. Deacon always liked to wind down with the strong amber liquid after expending his showmanship for the night. He poured an extra full glass this time when he had learned about the professor’s attendance. Deacon finished the pour in one gulp.
“Sir, he didn’t come back.” Tom replied in his usual rough voice. He held out the decanter to offer his employer a second helping. “It isn’t like him to disappear. Something must have happened to him.”
“He better have a good explanation why Harvey Nolan is sitting in the audience today!” hissed Deacon as he put down the glass on the table with a loud bang. “He said he would take care of him!”
Tom did not reply his master, he chose to look down at the ground as he did not know what to say. He prayed for Kaul to quickly return and rectify his mistake to appease the enraged ringmaster for his own sake. A memory of a certain incompetent ex-subordinate of Deacon’s surfaced in his thoughts but he quickly buried it. No point reminiscing the dead.
“Tom, take Orange back to his cage.” Deacon said in a slightly softer but firm voice. “I want him there.”
“Right away.”
Deacon took a sip from the brandy glass, this time savoring it a little slower. He wondered how things had escalated to where they were. The money was good, not to kid anyone, but who inspires to be a drug trafficker, given a choice? The burden he had inherited from his family was not making enough to make ends meet. He had a whole company of mouths to feed, some have been with his family business for generations. And what about the children he had adopted? He had always loved the innocence they had brought to his life which he never had a chance to experience when he was a child himself. His father never treated him like his own, his body still carried the scars which formed when his father thought it was a good idea to use the cracking whip as a tool of punishment. He was just another circus animal in his eyes – to be disciplined, to be trained, to be subdued into concede.
The old gypsy woman entered the changing room just as Tom was about to leave.
“Mdm.”
She waved him along his way and glanced upon Deacon. “Perhaps you should have seen to it yourself if you wanted to make sure.”
Deacon’s hard gaze rose to meet the old woman. “Mother. I would not have risked that. Besides, Kaul has never failed me.”
“Has he not?” rebutted the old lady.
“Before Harvey Nolan appeared, that is.”
“And now, you must face the music, alone.” Said the old fortune teller. “I’ve looked into his cards, Deac’n. Tough nut to crack, this one.”
“You know I do not believe in the metaphysical arts you dabble with.”
“Believe it or not, it doesn’t change the fates. If you do not end him, he will end you.”
Deacon considered the advice of his mother. Despite the lack in faith when it came to the art of fortune-telling, his mother has never pointed him in the wrong direction.
“I will deal with him personally. He will regret appearing today when I’m done with him.”
Chapter 49
HARVEY STOMPED OUT of the Big Top through the tunnel they had entered before, Katie and Gillian trailed behind his back. The cold looking muscular men and the ticketing peddling children were nowhere to be seen. The crowd on the circus grounds were clearly thinner as compared to before the show as most of the people are still in the main tent watching the performance. Harvey continued to plod through the sandy dirt.
“Harvey, slow down!” Gillian commented. “Where are you going?”
“Keep up!” Harvey replied without turning back. “I have an idea.”
He nipped passed the briskly patronized game and food stalls toward the end of the path and turned left when he spotted the shabby patched tent with the worn out wooden hand-painted sign of the gypsy fortune teller. An additional white placard was attached to it in front that read ‘Closed Today’. They reached the campfire after a few more minutes of advancing where he had seen the group of children playing before. Much to his expectation, they were running around the embers doing exactly what they were previously. The two sizeable cages which held the huge American black bears were empty – their tenants out of sight. They must be part of the show which was still going on. A young blonde boy, roughly the age of 6 or 7 stopped to look at the intruders. Harvey bent down and held his right hand forward.
“Hello there, my name is Harvey.” Harvey introduced himself. “I have a parcel for Mr. Deacon Novak, would you be able to point me to the direction of his current location please?”
The young boy stared at the three adults as if they were Martians and had extra heads on their
shoulders for a good one minute. He must have decided that they normal human beings before he replied.
“Dea’s at the show. Won’t be out soon. I can carry it for him.” Said the boy as he stretched out both hands.
“Sorry mate, I’m afraid it’s too large for you to handle it yourself big man.” Harvey smiled warmly. “Perhaps you could point us to his living quarters? We will just drop it off by his door, save the whole lot of us some trouble.”
The boy looked as though he did not believe a single word that came out of Harvey’s mouth as he eyed him distrustfully. Or maybe, he was just thinking about going back to his ball game.
“Behind the bear cages, the large khaki tent. The one with the small little red and white flag by the left side of it.” The young boy said. “Don’t enter it. Dea doesn’t like it.”
“Your assistance is greatly appreciated.” Said Harvey as he shook the boy’s hand and stood up from his squatting position.
Harvey turned toward the empty bear cages and strolled along the circumference of it. The bear cages were in need of a good clean up, the smell was unbearable.
“Harvey, are you planning to do what I think you are?” asked Katie as she hurried up to walk along the left side of Harvey.
“Do you have a better idea?” asked Harvey with one eyebrow raised.
Katie shook her head. “The show ends in 15 minutes, we’d better hurry then.”
They spotted the khaki tent with the red and white flag dancing in the wind as described by the blonde boy as Harvey looked at it intently.