Dark Carnival Murders

by Bob Moats

  Penny expressed her agreement and we said our good-byes and left. We drove out after we agreed on a place to eat, so we went to Arturo’s and had a nice sit down meal. We were back home and I let Willy out to do his business.

  "Hey Mr. R. I thought I heard you guys pull in," Angelo said over the side fence, startling me.

  "Hey Angelo, how’s your day going? Did you accomplish everything you set out to do?"

  "Yep, had a nice visit with some new friends and then I talked to my mother. Is Mrs. R. in the house?"

  "Sure Angelo, go on in, she was in the kitchen last I saw her."

  "Thanks," he said and went to the patio door and called in. I heard Penny yell to come in and he vanished through the opening. Willy had finished his business and I cleaned up after him then we went back in. Angelo and Penny were in the living room sitting on the couch talking. I plopped down next to Penny and listened to their conversation.

  "She said she’d call you as soon as she got in town," Angelo was saying.

  Penny turned to me and said, "Francis is going to be here Tuesday for five days then go back to New York. Gino is coming also, but that’s not for public knowledge. So you and the head of the Traviano mob family can go do men things," she said with a grin.

  "What, target practice? Angelo, is Gino coming out for business or pleasure?" I asked.

  "A little of both, he has business but it won’t take long, then he is going to relax around the pool of the Tropicana."

  I figured it wouldn’t take long to whack someone, then relax. Penny spoke, "Tell Gino he can come and relax around our pool."

  "I’ll tell him but he likes the scenery around the public pools. More bikinis to watch," Angelo said with a sly smile.

  "Now that I can agree on," I said.

  "Don’t agree too hard, I still look good in a bikini."

  I better agree or lose my head, "Yes babe, you still got it."

  We sat relaxing with our beer and TV then Angelo went off to his little home as Penny and I waited for some news from Buck.

  ~~*~~

  Around midnight the carnival had started to close up, Skeeter came to Buck and said that Dark wanted them. Buck and Mac followed Skeeter to the office and they went in. Dark was in a small office in the back of the trailer and welcomed them. Skeeter left and the two men sat before Dark.

  "Glad you agreed to help with my little venture. I’m going by what Piper told me about your background, and I’m trusting your word on Mac. Are either of you against a little criminal activities?"

  "Anything but murder, we’re open for," Buck answered.

  "No nothing like that, I’m in the life business. I have certain clients who need people to work for them and they have special needs for who they are. Many of my clients need women and occasionally young men of certain ages and ethnicities to work for them."

  Buck smiled and said, "Cutting to the chase, we’re talking about human trafficking aren’t we?"

  Dark grinned his evil smirk and said, "Yes, you do understand. Have you ever been involved in this?"

  "I got into a little of it out in New York, I was involved with a company called Rex Erotica. They were grabbing strippers from Detroit."

  Dark perked up and said, "Ah yes, I’ve heard about that, messy business and untimely end for the owners."

  "I was on the fringes between Detroit and New York, transporting the strippers, so I never got caught. Now let’s get to it, what do you want Mac and me to do?"

  "The both of you are very good looking and masculine. I’ve watched and could see you attract a number of very nice looking ladies. All you have to do is get them talking, flirt a little then invite them to an after-hours party that I will be having at the Luxor Hotel. Once you have them there, I have people who will take care of the rest. Simple enough and it will earn you a little extra in your draw pay."

  "Sounds good to me, are you in?" Buck looked to Mac.

  "I’m fine with it," Mac said quietly.

  "Okay you start tomorrow, it’s better to pull them in later, after dark when the best come out, and less time for them to change their minds."

  "Do you need a certain number of bodies?" Buck asked.

  "Well, no more than four good ones. Let’s not make it too difficult. So go get some beauty sleep, tomorrow we start."

  *

  Chapter 9

  It was almost twelve-thirty when my cell phone buzzed, I saw by the caller ID that it was Buck. I answered, "Hey, what’s happening?"

  "Dark is a bastard. He wants Mac and me to lure four women into a party at the Luxor where someone will kidnap them and put them into slavery. I don’t have the details as to where they go, but hopefully tomorrow I’ll have more for you. Tim and his cop buddies came by and asked Mac and me a few questions about the missing boys, they did good to not give us away. Tim said they scoured the whole place and found no one that had any answers."

  "Of course not; they wouldn’t give anything away to the cops. I’ll call Lynn and maybe we can figure out something to keep the women you attract safe from harm. Are you able to take calls again tonight?"

  "Yeah, Mac and I are in his camper, so it’s safe to take calls. I’ll be awake for a while and wait to hear from you."

  "Okay, hang in and I’ll get back to you." I hung up and dialed Lynn, she came on after two rings.

  "What do you have for me?" she said without saying hello.

  "Buck said that he and Mac are to lure four women into a party tomorrow night at the Luxor where they will be kidnapped for transport to who knows where. He’ll try and give me a few more details when he gets them. I have an idea if you can work it out?"

  "Talk to me, I’m always interested in your ideas. It usually saves me from thinking," she said with a laugh.

  "Can you have Deacon see if they have some undercover female officers in vice that could pose as Buck’s guests to this party? Maybe wire them and have your men waiting to follow where ever they take them."

  "I got it, yes that could work. I’ll tell Deacon and have him arrange it. Tell Buck the plan and I’ll arrange for the women to give Buck a signal as to who they are."

  "Get it set up and get back to me. I’ll pass it on to Buck."

  Lynn said she would and we hung up. I called Buck back and told him my idea, he liked it. "I’ll call you again with whatever Lynn can come up with," I said.

  We finished the call and I put my head back on the couch.

  "Hey, you can’t rest, there are children out there missing and you have to find them," Penny said.

  "Babe, if Buck and Mac haven’t found them yet, I don’t think I could tonight. We have a lead now and hopefully it will pan out to finding where they are taking the boys. But it won’t happen until tomorrow, so we need to get some rest now."

  "All right, but don’t get too lazy on this. Now I’m going to bed, you can join me, but for sleep only." She stood and went off to the bedroom, leaving me thinking about the activities of the last couple days. I hated it when my mind wandered and I wanted to sleep. It wasn’t a good combination.

  I stood and let my body fall into place since I had been on the couch for the last five hours. I followed my wife to the bedroom and found her in bed already, asleep. She was fast on her feet and fast in bed.

  I undressed quietly and slid under the new satin sheets we bought. They felt cool and slippery on my weary body, I relaxed. I lay there thinking back to when Buck, Earl and I had gone on a mission to track down the trafficking of strippers from Detroit to New York. Rex Erotica had an office in the north of Detroit and the women they grabbed where chained and held captive until the runners could transport them to the whorehouses of New York where they were forced to prostitute themselves. The office where they were held captive was disgusting and the women were treated badly. We rescued Angelo’s cousin’s girlfriend from the human trafficking machine and shut them down. Unfortunately, I took a bullet on that adventure and almost died, but Penny and the Traviano mob family stood by me as I recovered. S
ay what you will about mob families, they are concerned about their friends.

  It didn’t take long for me to pass out, I was asleep before the sun came up. When it did, my cell phone buzzed and it was Lynn.

  "Just couldn’t wait to wake me," I said as I looked to the digital clock on my bed stand, it read six-thirty.

  "And miss a chance to get you up? I wanted to call an hour ago, but Deacon stopped me. I got some info for you to pass on to Buck," she said.

  I came a little more awake on that note. I rolled over and saw Penny heading to her bathroom and turned my head to see Willy staring at me from where Penny was last sleeping. The dog licked my nose quickly, I pulled back and asked, "Did Deacon find a couple undercover officers to go to Dark’s party?"

  "Oh, yes he did. After it came out why we needed the undercover, we had more than enough volunteers to go to the carnival and get set up. I can send out six female officers to the party if that’s enough?"

  "Buck told me they only needed four, so go with that. We can make it a total cop party; that should scare up a few bad guys."

  "Yes, but we don’t want Dark to know his plan went south, we need to play it cautiously to get the whole picture as to where they are taking the women."

  "Agreed, and I hope it is the same place they are taking the boys. We need to set up a phrase to let Buck know they are the undercover cops."

  "How about, ‘Hi Buck, Jim sent us’?"

  "That’s a bit obvious, how about ‘We’re here to party, Buck’?"

  "I guess that could work, we just need to be sure everyone is on the same page."

  "Buck knows how to keep the page the same. I’ll call him and get his end set up. Are you going to check out the Luxor and see if there’s anyone renting a room for a night?"

  "Already got Warren on it. He’ll find the room and we will have the rooms on either side covered. This is going to be fun."

  "Just don’t shoot up the Luxor, I’d hate to see your people get kicked out for excessive partying. You’re not a rock band you know."

  "Yea, well, we are going to be putting on a rock show tonight so just let Buck in on the plan. I’ll call later with further details," she said then hung up.

  Penny came out of her bathroom and jumped back into bed, snuggling up close. I said, "You had your chance last night, but you were too tired. So snuggle all you want, I’m not in the mood."

  She carefully put her hand where it would start something, "You are evil," I said.

  An hour later we were up and dressed, I was pulling my phone to call Buck. He came on after two rings, "Hey big guy, can you talk?"

  "Yep, we’re still in the camper and just getting ready to go out. What do you have?"

  "Lynn and Deacon have four female undercover cops from Vice who will be approaching you and saying ‘We’re here to party, Buck’. That’s your key to know it’s them, try not to get too many other women involved."

  "Will they be wired?"

  "I didn’t ask and Lynn didn’t say, but I’m sure at least one will. They have to keep track of what’s going on. Lynn said they are going to try and find which room they will be in and have it surrounded by cops on both sides. You’re sure Dark said the Luxor?"

  "That’s what he said. If it suddenly changes I’ll call."

  "I hope it doesn’t change now, there will be too many operations set up. But if it does, let me know."

  "Will do, I have to go to work now, talk later." Buck hung up and I put my phone back in my pocket.

  Penny was in the kitchen with Angelo whipping up a batch of pancakes, I didn’t complain.

  "Angelo, can you do some snooping for me and see what you can come up with on a carnival owned by Jacob Dark, with a CEO named Lucius Cole from Gibsonton, Florida?" I asked.

  "Gibsonton, that’s the carnival city isn’t it?" Angelo asked as he wrote the information on a pad of paper on the kitchen counter.

  "As I understand it is. We don’t have much on Cole yet, Dark is another matter, they don’t have much on him at all."

  "I’ll get what I can. There’s a gang of gypsies I know that are a tight knit mob family, they run shady sideshow games and fleece customers. I’ll check on it with them."

  "Good, thanks. Call me as soon as you get anything." I turned to Penny and said, "I should go call the Walkers and let them know we are still on the case."

  "Just don’t give them too much hope, this may not go like you hope it does," she said licking her syrupy fingers.

  "You’re just a ball of sunshine. Eat your grub and I’ll take care of the Walkers." I left the kitchen and went to my home office and sat. I didn’t really want to make the call, Penny was right, this may go bad.

  *

  Chapter 10

  Jacob Dark entered the high end jewelry store on a hallway corner inside the Boulevard Mall on Maryland Boulevard just north of Flamingo Road. He wasn’t wearing his top hat and was dressed conservatively in a dark suit, so the attractive brunette behind the counter gave the handsome man a broad smile and asked if she could help him.

  "I’m looking for a necklace for my sister in Florida. Something in gold with a good number of diamonds and jade if that’s possible," he spoke smoothly as he leaned closer to the woman over the counter.

  She grinned, "I think I may be able to help with that." She went to another counter followed by Dark as she unlocked the back door of the cabinet, reaching in to retrieve a necklace that fit near to Dark’s specifications. "I hope this is close to what you are looking for?"

  "Ah, yes. This is very nice." He glimpsed at the price tag, "Well, this is certainly not cheap is it?"

  The clerk smiled and said, "All our jewels are real and, yes, expensive. We cater to the Vegas tourists and locals who can afford the luxury of good jewelry. I could find a less expensive necklace for you, if you wish. We have some in the back in a special case with affordable prices."

  "As much as I love my sister, I am not a rich man, please show me the special case then." Dark handed the necklace back to the clerk.

  She locked the piece back in the cabinet and went off. Dark stood looking around the sales floor, there were two others looking at rings, probably wedding rings. He studied the overhead cameras around the room and then mentally noted the layout of the room. Before the sales clerk came back Dark was gone. She was slightly surprised, but figured the man didn’t have that much to spend and probably would end up at Macy’s jewelry department. It wasn’t unusual for a customer to bolt at their prices.

  ~~*~~

  I had arrived in my office building after seeing Penny off to her job, if you could call it a job. Sitting, talking to celebrities and getting a nice paycheck for it all, hardly a job. Now I had a job, I had to work hard to crack cases and face danger at every turn. Saving the city from horrible catastrophes such as dirty bombs and virus attacks, yes, I had a real job. Of course, I let Lynn and Deacon do most of the leg work, I just gave them the directions.

  I liked my job, it paid well when I charged people, but I usually gave into pro bono work, since it helped people to get on with their lives. Even if I didn’t get paid for it. I didn’t care; I had a good deal of money from my book sales which were selling quite well and the few cases that we did charge for helped. Buck’s security guard service made up for the biggest portion of our income; it was actually a small goldmine for what we charged.

  I came in the back door yelling that I had arrived. Lacey was a great receptionist, bookkeeper, secretary and girl Friday, but she was a nervous one. I frequently startled her by my entering the lobby without announcing I was in the building. One day she would either have a heart attack or shoot me. I preferred the heart attack.

  "Well, you do still work here," she said with a grin as I entered the inner lobby and up to the wall of a counter that kept the crazy clients away from her.

  "Have I been away that long?"

  "It seems like you breeze in to scare me and then go off to save the world. Now I’m without a husband because you sent hi
m to join the carnival."

  "He’s doing good, he and Buck are going to kidnap a few women to put into slavery. Mac is working hard."

  Lacey just stared at me, "Is that what he’s going to do? Is he going to be arrested for it? Jessie doesn’t need a criminal father."

  "Don’t worry, he’s going to be safe and the women are going to be undercover police women, so all is good."

  "You are devious," was all she said and went back to her paperwork, I went to my office and sat. I was startled when Earl came flying into my room and plopped down on the client chair.

  "Okay, fill me in, what’s happening?"

  "Good morning to you too, all is well so far on the carnival case. Buck and Mac are expected to lure four women into slavery and we have a sting in place." I explained what had happened since I last saw Earl and he was nodding like a bobble head doll.

  "There’s nothing we can do now but wait and hope the undercover cops will find something. Buck and Mac will need to be on their toes to pull this off. I hope the bad guys aren’t too bright or suspicious to check the women too closely," I said.

  "I’m sure it will go well from what you told me. There will be plenty of back-up, I’m sure Lynn wouldn’t let anyone get hurt," Earl said as he stood. "I’ll be around to help, call me when the plan starts. I love a good black ops covert action." He smiled and went out of the room.

  I just sat back and looked around my office, I needed to redecorate.

  ~~*~~

  Buck was sweating under the hot Vegas sun; he had to wipe the salty drips from his eyes frequently with the damp cloth he kept in a can of cool water sitting by the control panel. Mac was busy running back and forth escorting people to the huge machine. Buck leaned against a pole of the cage where the controls were when he heard a voice to his left.