by Trudi Jaye
Watching Maddy laughing down at something Alfie said to her, Garth knew in that instant nothing to do with this woman would be simple or easy.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Where did you find out? Is it confirmed?” Viktor’s voice was hard, and Garth winced. He knew Viktor’s views on Simon, and this wasn’t going to make it better.
Rilla nodded, her eyes darkening as she looked around her living room. “As soon as I read about it, I rang Greg at the local sheriff’s office and he confirmed it for me. Lucietta has definitely escaped.”
“You know what that means, right?” Viktor said. They were all there: Rilla, Alfie, Viktor, Missy, Tami, Blago, and Davos. Garth sat at the back of the room, watching their faces, trying to determine the mood of the group.
Jack and Frankie had left for Vegas as soon as the Nine had confirmed the Winter Spectacular was going ahead. They’d been sending back money for the last week.
Rilla stood and started to pace. “Of course I know what that means! He’s making a play for Simon… and us.”
“So what are we going to do about it?” Viktor crossed his arms.
From where he sat in the padded armchair, Garth watched Rilla carefully. She was acting strange, even given the latest revelation. He could feel her emotions leaking into air around them. Something was very wrong.
“Rilla, what is it?” he asked quietly.
She flicked her gaze to him, and for the first time, he had a clear view of the panic in her eyes. She took a breath and then released it slowly. “I can’t find them. They’ve disappeared.”
“Who?” Garth thought at first she was still talking about Lucietta. But then he realized. “Jack and Frankie?”
She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t know where they are. Last time I spoke to Jack was a couple days ago, and he said they were fine, but Frankie wanted to up the stakes to make sure they got enough money. I think…” She stopped and rubbed her hand over her eyes. “I think something’s gone wrong.”
Tami stood and gave her a huge hug, enveloping Rilla in her tall frame. Garth heard a sob as Rilla let out the fear and anxiety she’d obviously been keeping locked down.
“I’m sure they’re fine, Rilla. We’d know if anything happened to them,” said Viktor.
He was right. The Carnival would have gone into shock if one of their new Ringmasters had been killed, and Frankie was their barometer, so integral to the Carnival that at the very least, the skill would have attached itself to the next in line. They’d all know.
Blago glared at Viktor, though, and Garth saw that Rilla had started crying even harder.
“Where was the last place you had contact from? Perhaps we can ask someone down that way to check it out for us,” said Garth.
“Frankie was the one with all the contacts. We don’t know too many people without him.” Rilla stepped back from Tami and wiped her eyes.
Garth took a breath, thinking carefully. “So what are our other options?” he said.
Blago glanced at Rilla and then stood up as well. “I’m going down there to find my boy. Rilla, you tell me the last place they stayed, and I’ll find them.”
Garth shook his head. “Blago, you’re only weeks out from a serious heart attack. You can’t go traipsing around Las Vegas, searching for Jack and Frankie. What if you find them and they are in trouble? What will you do against potential threats?”
“Now, son, that’s harsh. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Rilla shook her head. “Jack would never forgive me if I let you go to Vegas on your own. I’ll go instead.”
Viktor rolled his eyes. “The pair of you are just as bad as each other. What are you going to do, Rilla, when you come up against a bunch of thugs with guns? Do you even know how to fire a gun?”
“Of course I do,” said Rilla indignantly. “Don’t you remember that rifle shooting act Dad and I did a while back?”
“It’s one thing to shoot in the circus ring. It’s another to take a shot in real life.”
“So if you don’t think I should go, or Blago, what’s your plan?”
“Henry can go. He’s big, strong, and he’s good with a knife.”
“He’s also integral to the winter show. If he doesn’t get that new engine sorted in time, we’re screwed.”
Garth’s eyes flicked up from studying the pattern on the chair. “What new engine?”
Rilla flicked one hand. “We need an engine that doesn’t heat up and melt through the ice, and Henry’s been working on it. He says he’ll get it done, but he won’t if he has to go to Vegas.”
Blago started to pace along the edge of the room. Garth watched the face of the older Carnival man. He looked healthy, and being part of the Carnival again had certainly improved his health.
“What if you both go? Share the load?” he suggested quietly. “You’d have to be fast. Get in and out.”
Blago stopped pacing and turned to stare at Garth. Voices raised in the room, mostly objecting to the suggestion. But Blago smiled and looked at Rilla. She grinned back. In that moment, the emotions in the room clanged together and made a pure note of connection. Garth smiled. It was decided.
***
“Here, Dad. Try one of these. You love aniseed balls.” Garth held out the sweets to his father. It had only been a couple days since Rilla and Blago had left, but he’d been feeling such a sense of foreboding that he needed something to distract himself. Visiting his father seemed as good as anything.
Milton scrunched up his face. “I don’t like it. It tastes terrible. I like barley sugars.” He threw the small glass bowl filled with aniseed balls at the wall and watched as the glass shattered all over the floor.
Garth leaped up from his chair, trying not to let his hurt rise to the surface. His father had guzzled back aniseed balls like they were going out of fashion his whole life. And now suddenly he didn’t like them.
This man in front of him was a stranger. A grumpy, angry stranger who didn’t like him very much. And to be honest, when he caught Milton on days like this, Garth wasn’t sure he liked his father very much either.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Pallaso. I’ll clean it up,” said one of the orderlies, rushing over.
Garth nodded at the man, sinking back into his seat, relieved that he wasn’t going to have to crawl on the ground, picking up glass. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t bring any barley sugar for you. I’ll bring some next time.”
“Who did you say you were again?” said Milton, his tone petulant.
It was like dealing with a child. A particularly annoying, naughty child. Garth sighed. “I’m Garth, your son.”
Milton shook his head, his eyes sparking with anger. “I’m not old enough to have a son. Stop lying to me.” He pushed at Garth with surprisingly strong hands. “Go away. I don’t want you here anymore.”
Garth stood back up, out of his father’s reach. Emotion swirled around Milton like a black cloud, confused but fierce. His own feelings of hurt and betrayal pushed to the surface, and Garth had to squash them back down. He didn’t need to put his father over the edge.
“Garth!” Maddy’s voice called out behind him, and he released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
He turned to see her striding toward him, her white coat flapping around her legs.
“I’m glad you’re here. I was hoping to see you.” She glanced over at Milton and smiled. “Hi, Milton, how are you today?”
Milton smiled back up at Maddy, sweet as pie. “I’m very well, Maddy. And how are you?”
“I’m very well. It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”
Garth clenched his hand. His father could be polite to a stranger and throw out his own son. When had it all gone so wrong?
“Garth? Are you okay?”
Garth blinked and focused again on his surroundings to find both Maddy and his father looking at him expectantly. He shook his head. “I’m fine. Sorry, did you ask me something?”
“I just asked if yo
u could be excused for a minute? I need to ask you something.”
He glanced at his father, who looked up at him innocently, without a flicker of his previous petulance.
“Sure, no problem. I’ll be right back, Dad.”
“Don’t hurry back on my account,” said Milton. The anxious edge of emotion was still in the air.
He ground his teeth and then followed Maddy out into the hallway and into a small office that had obviously only just been allocated to her. Boxes were stacked around the room and files piled high on the desk.
She turned to face him. “I just wanted to thank you for showing me around last week.” Her eyes were focused so sharply on him that Garth had trouble keeping his head out of the deep sea of their color.
“No worries,” he managed.
“I wanted to do something for you. Something in return.”
Garth shook his head. “You don’t have to do anything. What you’re doing for Simon is more than enough. More than I could ever do.”
He looked down at the small item she held out to him in her palm. He held his breath for a moment, unable to breathe and admire her handiwork at the same time. It was exquisite. A small elephant made from the most delicate grey paper patterned with fine silver lines. It was folded so perfectly it seemed the elephant might lift its trunk and blow a welcoming note at any moment.
“It’s beautiful,” he said.
Maddy blushed, shifting uncomfortably where she stood. “It’s nothing really. But it’s something I can do, to say thanks.”
“It’s amazing. I don’t know how to tell you how amazing this is.” Garth held out his hand, and Maddy placed the small paper elephant into his palm. It felt lighter than air, ephemeral, and not really of this world.
Garth loved it.
Some of the emotions that had been swirling around in his stomach lifted away with this little gesture of thanks. Suddenly, he could deal with his father’s increasing levels of memory loss and surliness. He could be the stranger who forced his visits on his father, to make sure he was being treated well and he was still okay. He could deal with the problems at the Carnival and his worry about Simon, and Hugo coming to snatch him back.
He smiled down at the elephant nestled in his palm. The more Garth looked at it, the more he became convinced he could see a faint glow of light around the animal, like Maddy had somehow infused her own energy or emotion into the small folded creature. He’d never seen anything like it.
There was more to Maddy than he’d ever thought possible.
“Do you want to come to the Carnival tonight?” he blurted before thinking about it. “There will be dress rehearsals to watch. It’s mainly so the Nine can critique them and work out how to theme the whole show, but it should be good.”
Her eyes widened, and she nodded without saying a word. Her green irises flickered in the dim light of her office.
“I have to go now. But I’ll see you later? I’ll let you in.” Garth didn’t know why he was so excited. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction to the partial show they’d put on tonight.
Again, she just nodded, her eyes never leaving his.
Garth smiled, the grin splitting his face, and then turned and left.
He could deal with his father, with anything.
***
Missy folded and flipped over their heads, the trapeze flying in its arc, providing a symmetrical backdrop for her delicate dance. Metallic silver lines dropped from the sides of the trapeze, and her suit glittered with silver sequins. It was executed perfectly.
But something wasn’t right. Garth could feel it and so could the others. Viktor squirmed in his seat to his left, and Alfie scratched his hand through his hair.
“What is it? Why isn’t it working?” he asked in a whisper to Viktor.
Maddy glanced at him, surprise etched on her face. “She’s amazing. Nothing’s the matter!”
Garth shook his head. “It’s not working.”
Viktor shrugged. “Should be working.” His face confirmed it wasn’t.
“We’re being too obvious. Silver tassels and sequins, what a crock. We’re going to have to do better than that if we’re going to encourage people to come to our Winter Spectacular.” Garth berated himself silently. He should have thought of this earlier. They all should have. And now they were going to have to make decisions and change the acts without their Ringmasters’ approval.
There was even a slight chance that their current Ringmasters would never know what changes they’d made. Garth felt a shiver of fear run down his spine at the thought. They’d only just calmed down again after Hugo Blue’s attack, and this new worry about their Ringmasters wasn’t something he’d been expecting. Rilla and Blago had left earlier in the day, and even though Rilla texted to say they were fine about two hours before and promised to keep in regular contact, he’d begun to feel more and more on edge. He had a terrible feeling that something was going to go wrong and he didn’t know why.
And now this.
He frowned up at Missy as she kept going, oblivious to the discussion happening below her.
“What’s less obvious? The opposite? Sunshine and light?” Viktor was squinting up at Missy, a matching frown on his face.
Garth shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe?”
“We could do that pretty easily. We have the gear for sunshine.”
It didn’t feel right, and Garth pursed his lips, trying to figure out what the problem was. “It’s winter, right? Ice is all around. So sunshine doesn’t feel right either. But we don’t want to go with the usual. Boring old icicles and snow. We need something different. To turn it upside down.”
“You’re just being difficult, Garth. You’re imaginin’ trouble ‘cause you’re worried about Rilla.” Alfie spoke up from behind him.
Garth stopped for a moment, wondering if Alfie had a point. Then he shook his head. “I’m not, Alf. This is serious. We need to use everything at our disposal to make sure this show is amazing. Right now, we’re just the same as any other circus on the tour schedule. We need to make this worthy of the Jolly-Knight Carnival.” Garth spoke urgently, the words pulled from deep inside. He felt the vibration around him and knew the Carnival was speaking through him in some way he never quite understood. He shivered and rubbed at his goose bumps.
It was unsettling to feel this bond to something that was a sum of everyone combined rather than an individual presence. It felt both bigger than anything he could understand and more microscopic than seemed possible.
“What about night time? Under the moonlight?” Maddy’s words emerged into the silence. The others had been silently watching Garth, aware that his words were a directive from the Carnival. Maddy was the only one oblivious to the undercurrents around them.
He thought about what she’d said. “It could work,” he said slowly.
Maddy put a hand on his arm, her excitement building. “You could have a glowing light shining down on center stage the whole time, like a full moon. It would be romantic. Then if you need total darkness at certain times, you could make it seem like clouds were going past. To add drama…” Maddy trailed off, glancing around at their faces. “I’m sorry. You hate it. I shouldn’t have spoken. I just thought…” Her face flamed red, and she looked back up at Missy, who was finishing her performance.
“It’s a pretty good idea, Garth,” said Viktor. “She’s a natural.”
Garth nodded. He had to agree. Already, a wild range of possibilities flickered through his head. “That’s a fantastic idea, Maddy,” he said, waiting until she turned her gaze back to him. “Thank you. You might just have saved our show.”
She smiled. “Really? I mean, I can picture it clearly in my head. It would be beautiful. But you don’t have to say you like it just to be nice.”
“It’s going to be amazing. And all your idea.” A warm glow settled over him as he looked at Maddy, and he had to look away to avoid giving away his thoughts.
***
“Thanks for
inviting me tonight, Garth. It was a privilege.” Maddy strolled beside Garth as he locked up the behind-the-scenes rooms of the auditorium. Watching his back, she could almost see the muscles flexing as he moved with his usual grace.
“I’m glad you were here. It was a really great idea, Maddy. We were heading in the wrong direction, and I think you saved us.” He was facing away from her, pulling at the large curtains that began to cascade across the door.
The warmth spread just a little farther. “It just came into my head. No effort required.” But she smiled, pleased at his comments. She grazed her hand along a deep-red silk dress that swung gently from a coat hanger, feeling the smooth material slip through her fingers. Beside the dress was a feathered mask in a matching deep burgundy. The urge to put it on was too strong, so she slipped the elastic from the hook and carefully placed the mask over her face.
When Garth turned to face her, she was posing with a silly pout, the mask hiding the top half of her face.
He stopped for a moment and then took a step closer, his dark eyes never leaving her face.
Maddy held her breath. She hadn’t intended to change the mood, but suddenly he was focused on her and energy crackled around the room. “Do you like it?” she whispered.
He nodded. “It’s very exotic.”
Her gaze flicked sideways, and she saw a feather boa tucked gently to one side of the dress. She reached out and pulled it into her hands. Feeling suddenly fearless, she wrapped it around her neck, giving Garth a small smile.
He didn’t smile back, just kept coming toward her, one step at a time. Her heart moved up into her throat, fluttering faster and faster. She knew exactly what was going through his head, and she was glad. She had wanted this almost since they’d first met.