East Pender Boxed Set: Cozy Mystery Series Bundle of Books 1-14

by Leona Fox

  “I was told by multiple sources that Aurora was close friends with Ivan and they spent a great deal of time together.”

  It had been noticeable how Ivan disappeared just as they were set to question everyone.

  “Alright, we'll get him first thing in the morning,” Andy said, and rose from the table, but Ellen reached out a hand and asked him to stay.

  “I feel like we should get him in now. I know we're all tired but the circus is going to be here for only a few days. If we don't work quickly they're just going to move on.”

  “They can try, but they'll stay here for as long as I say,” Andy said.

  “Are you really going to try stopping them?” Ellen said, and Andy harrumphed.

  “All I'm saying is that a girl died tonight and right now there are people there with information. The longer we leave it the harder it's going to be.”

  Andy sighed and looked at Iris. “I'll make the call to get someone to bring him in,” Iris said.

  Chapter 5

  It wasn't long before Ivan arrived at the station with a look of betrayal in his eyes. It was evident he had been crying, again an act that ran contrary to his demeanor, but then again Ellen was a firm believer in never judging anyone by their appearance. He still was wearing his circus clothes but he seemed different than before. He was shaken by what had happened and it took a long time to calm him down. They got him some water, which he gulped down greedily, and then the three of them sat opposite him.

  “Why did you bring me in and not any of the others?” he asked.

  “We have spoken to a lot of people and a few of them said you and Aurora were close friends. We're just trying to get a better handle on the situation so we can piece together what happened,” Andy said.

  “And this could not wait until morning?” Ivan said, his voice rising from the pit of his stomach.

  “There's also the matter of you leaving the crime scene after we said we'd be questioning people. That's quite suspicious behavior, but all we want is your help. Don't you think Aurora would want you to help us?” Ellen said, and this seemed to get through to the great man.

  “I apologize for any rudeness. It is a...difficult time at the moment, and I much rather would be mourning.”

  “So it's true the two of you were friends?” Iris asked.

  Ivan tilted his head and looked at her with his dark eyes. His lips curled into a smile, revealing blunt, yellowed teeth. Somehow a smile didn't seem a natural fit for his face.

  “Yes, we are...were good friends. I am sure these people also told you I was in love with her,” he said.

  “Were you?” Ellen asked.

  Ivan licked his lips. “She was the most wonderful girl I had ever met. I would have liked to have been more than friends, but she never saw me in that way. Not many people have seen me in that way, you know. I am more at home with my animals than I am people. But I never would hurt her. I only...I only wanted her to be happy,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion as he spoke.

  “It can be a painful thing, loving someone when they don't love you back. I think maybe it got to be too much for you to handle. Maybe the frustration just ate you up inside and you thought that if you couldn't have her then nobody else could?” Andy said, leaning forward. Ivan sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair, laughing sadly.

  “Whoever would do such a thing does not know love. I never would have hurt her. I only wanted her to be happy. When I saw her fall I wanted so badly to stop it, to rush out there and catch her but I was not fast enough. For all the skills we have none of us could save her,” he said, choking out the words as his huge body began shaking and tears rolled down his cheeks.

  Ellen glanced at the other two and they let him wallow in sadness for a moment. The tiredness was taking hold of all of them, and seeing this big man collapse into a wreck of tears was a powerful sight. It almost took hold of Ellen, too, and she felt the pain well up inside of her, but she took a deep breath and managed to control it. After a few moments she cleared her throat and stretched out her hand, resting it along the hard, mottled skin of Ivan's.

  “I know this is very difficult for you and you have all our sympathy but you know as well as I do that if this murder doesn't get solved the circus isn't going to be able to perform, and I don't think any of us want that. Please try telling us anything you can about who would want Aurora dead. So far everyone has blamed everyone else and we have no idea where to start.”

  Ivan sniffed and smiled weakly, bringing his arm up to wipe his nose. He looked lost and forlorn, and Ellen realized in that moment that he truly did love her. She wondered about the pain he must have endured to see her every day, to be so close to her, and never have his feelings returned. For some people that would have been a reason to kill, but when she looked at Ivan she knew he did not have it in him to kill her. It was not only her own instinct she trusted, but that of the animals, even her own Scampy. They could see into a person's soul and the connection Ivan had with them was proof in her eyes that he was a decent man. She just hoped he realized it was in Aurora's, and the circus', best interest that he talk to them.

  The decision weighed heavily on his mind for it was a tough thing to break from the silence of a community. Ellen herself knew how powerful a community could be, for she had seen it in action many times in East Pender. Thankfully, Ivan's love of Aurora was an even more powerful force. He collected himself and linked his hands together as he spoke in a low tone.

  “I loved Aurora and she loved me, too, in her own way, but it was more as a brother. She told me many secrets that she told no one else.”

  “Secrets?” Andy said, all of their ears perking up. Ivan smiled at this.

  “Yes, secrets, secrets that I promised her I never would tell anyone, but I suppose those promises don't matter now. I suppose you know that a lot of people dream about running away with the circus. Aurora wanted to run away from the circus.”

  “Why would she do that? She was the star, the main event,” Ellen asked.

  “It is not always so easy being the star as people would like to think. Sometimes all she wanted was to leave and have a normal life, mostly because of the, how would you say...fractured relationship with her father.”

  “Her father, who is that?” Andy asked.

  “You do not know? Nobody told you?” Ivan said, a look of utter surprise on his face. He was met by blank looks. “It is Mr. Mysterio, the ringmaster.”

  That revelation made a lot of sense to Ellen. Now she realized why he had been so distraught at seeing Aurora's lifeless body.

  “It must have been so awful for him, not only did he lose the star of his show but his daughter as well,” she said softly.

  “His only daughter,” Ivan corrected.

  “In what way was their relationship fractured? Did they argue a lot? Did it ever get violent?” Andy said, pressing ahead for the truth.

  Ivan shook his head emphatically. “They argued a lot and sometimes it got very loud but it never got physical. You would have to understand that it has been the two of them for a long time.”

  “What happened to her mother?” Ellen asked.

  “She used to be with the circus. She was Mr. Mysterio's assistant, but she was a friend to us all. They were training Aurora when she was little to be part of the act but her mother was not happy always being the assistant. They tried to keep it from Aurora but the two of them were not happy and many of us noticed that tensions were strained, even in the show. That is the one rule of the circus, you never take your personal feelings into the show. Anyway, over time we all saw that they were falling apart and I think even Aurora knew it as well. Then, one day, her mother was gone. Didn't say goodbye to us or anything. She just disappeared in the wind. Mr. Mysterio was devastated and he tried to do his act but in his face you could tell that it was too painful. Everything reminded him of her, and he did love her, but he loved the circus a little bit more.”

  “So how did Aurora become an acrobat then, if she
was raised to be a magician?”

  “Mr. Mysterio did not perform again after that. Aurora tried to get him to do so but he refused outright and he would not even teach her any tricks. When she was young he used to play with her backstage and display some tricks that he would not do in the show, just fun little things, but even that stopped. When she left she took a part of him with her, and he never got it back. That was when he took over being ringmaster and the running of the circus. But he never got on stage as a magician again. It is a sad thing because he was the best I ever had seen. He did things that you never would never believe, and even after you found out how it was done, it still amazed you.”

  “But what about Aurora? Why was their relationship so bad?” Andy asked.

  “He always wanted Aurora to love the circus as much as he did, so when he stopped performing he had her learn from everyone else. Eventually, she showed a talent for acrobatics, so that is what she learned. But she was not her father and I think he pressed her too much. Always more training, more and more, and it never would stop. She always would complain to me about it. But it was all she ever knew, and her mother became a vague memory.

  That is, until she got older and started asking questions. She always would want to see the places we had visited but Mr. Mysterio was afraid of history repeating itself. So he would keep her in the circus. Of course, this only made her more frustrated, made even worse by the fact that he never would speak to her about her mother. It must have been so hard for him because Aurora was the exact image of her mother, and he must have seen her whenever he looked into Aurora's eyes. So she tried to fight him and get a break from the circus, but he kept saying she was the star attraction and there was no time for a break, and that she had to be dedicated.

  This only made her want to leave more. He was so afraid that history would repeat itself and that she would never come back. Losing his wife almost broke him. I do not want to know what this is going to do. I tried to tell Aurora that this was the best place for her, but she wanted to rebel against her father and see the world. I cannot blame her for that. But if you ask me, ‘Did Mr. Mysterio have a hand in her death?’ I can tell you right now the answer is no. There is no way he could have harmed a hair on her head.”

  Andy glanced at Ellen and the two of them shared a silent sigh because this questioning still was getting them nowhere. Ellen blinked and yawned, the tiredness beginning to take a hold of her. She wondered if she had made a mistake in prolonging the investigation when she should have been resting so she had a clear head for tomorrow.

  “So who could have harmed her, Ivan? There must have been someone else who had feelings for her, one way or the other? You've all traveled around a lot and you don't spend that much time with people without making a few enemies along the way,” she asked.

  She knew there had to be something else, something that nobody else had been telling them. She had to get to the heart of the matter if she was going to solve this case and save the circus from having a bad reputation.

  “I did not like it, but I know she was involved with one of the brothers.”

  “What brothers? The trapeze artists?”

  Ivan nodded.

  “When you say involved you mean...”

  Ivan nodded again, this time trying to stop himself from grimacing.

  “Which one? Was it serious?”

  “That is all I know. I did not want to know anything else. It was too hard for me. She wanted to talk to me about it but she knew how I felt and she had enough respect to keep that part of herself private. But if one of them hurt her,” he said, and his skin reddened as angry blood rushed through his body, and his hands clenched.

  It was perhaps not the best thing to say when sitting in front of police officers but Ivan was unable to prevent the raw emotion from surging through his body. Finally, they had their lead. They thanked Ivan, figuring that that was enough for the night but they told him they may be in touch soon. He walked out of the station looking haggard, with much on his mind, and he was not the only one.

  “I am looking forward to getting some rest,” Andy said as he stretched and yawned. Iris and Ellen echoed the sentiment.

  “I'll go and file these away before I go,” Iris said, taking the reports of the night into her arms, but Andy stopped her.

  “Iris, those can wait until the morning. Go home and get some rest. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy few days,” he said, and Iris gladly nodded.

  Ellen and Andy went home together talking about everything they had learned from that night. Things were still too vague for them to have a strong idea of who committed the murder but at least they had some information to go on.

  “I think tomorrow we are going to have to have a conversation with Mr. Mysterio,” Andy said.

  “I believe you are right, but let's go gentle with him. If what Ivan said was true, then he's going to be a wreck. Could you imagine losing your daughter like that?” Ellen said, but Andy didn't say anything in response. The two of them crawled into bed and fell asleep.

  From their window the peak of the big top could be seen, poking into the night sky as though trying to tear it apart. And around it all were the glittering stars, which sparkled and brought back memories of Aurora's outfit. Somewhere up there she was watching down on them, Ellen thought, and her last thought before she went to sleep was a promise to Aurora that she would bring the killer to justice.

  Chapter 6

  There was a much different mood the following day as a somber air seemed to be hanging around the town. Ellen and Andy were up at the crack of dawn to get a quick start on the day, and it was fortunate the two of them were used to getting by on little sleep. The grabbed some cereal before getting dressed and heading off to the circus. Before they left Andy talked to Ellen and told her that, although he understood her love of the circus, there was a chance it wouldn't be able to get back on its feet again, at least not in East Pender. The show the previous night could have been the last one for a while.

  Ellen sighed sadly, for in her heart she knew it was true, and although she wanted to solve the case quickly she couldn't risk compromising the investigation by being reckless and not doing things properly. After reassuring Andy that the most important thing to her was finding Aurora's killer, the two of them left the house and made their way to the park.

  The people of the circus were used to getting up early and a few of them were milling about, but it was a far different atmosphere than what it had been at the show the previous day. Barely anyone was talking to each other and there was a palpable tension in the air. They didn't look too kindly on Ellen and Andy either, not that it deterred them one bit.

  “Did the guys find anything at the scene of the crime?” Ellen asked.

  “No, there was just too much happening and too many people. But presumably the knife they used is going to be around here somewhere and, hopefully, it'll have some fingerprints on it, but I'm not banking on that. I have a feeling this Mr. Mysterio is going to have something useful to say, though.” They made their way to his trailer, which was the longest one, and sat in the middle of the semi-circle that ringed the big top.

  Andy looked around for Bonzo the clown but he was nowhere to be seen. Andy couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to that clown, and made it a point to seek him out later. Ellen kept Scampy close by as she didn't want to risk him running off given the number of people walking about. Yet he was straining against the leash and wanted desperately to go exploring.

  Mr. Mysterio’s trailer was much longer than the others and shared the color scheme of the rest of the circus. Pictures of the performers adorned the side, a vast array of people, and Ellen was stung with sadness as she saw Aurora's face writ large on the side of the trailer. Andy rapped his knuckles against the door, and repeated the gesture after there was no response. He placed his ear against the door and heard a voice inside.

  “We don't have time for this,” he said, then announced himself as he flung open the do
or and entered the trailer.

  When they walked in they saw why it was so long. It was not only a place for Mr. Mysterio to sleep, it was also the office as well. The walls were adorned with posters of the Red State Circus over the years. As Ellen looked at them she saw some familiar faces over the years, but there was much that had changed as well. The small kitchen had dirty dishes in the sink, while a small door led to a dark bedroom.

  On the other side was the office. They saw Mr. Mysterio sitting hunched over, talking on the phone. His skin was sallow and he didn't look as though he had slept at all. The telephone was glued to his ear and he didn't seem to notice Andy and Ellen as they stood in the doorway. His eyes were focused on various documents strewn around in front of him on the desk. There were filing cabinets on either side and it was so cramped he looked as though he was trapped.

  They were surprised to hear him talking about profits after his daughter had just died. He was speaking angrily and hurriedly on the phone, and from what they could hear it seemed as though he was trying to get a replacement act. This struck Ellen as a particularly cold thing to do mere hours after his daughter had died. She wondered how many he had called, how many hours he had spent trying to salvage something so the circus could continue. From his expression he wasn't having any luck, and as he set the phone down he held his head in his hands and sighed loudly. Ellen and Andy glanced at each other, unsure if he was completely blind to them. Finally, Andy cleared his throat and walked forward, standing at the desk, towering over the old magician.

  Mr. Mysterio looked up with his black eyes. “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “I'm investigating the murder-”

  “I know who you are,” he snapped, “and I'm sure you've heard it before but we don't need you snooping around. Just leave us alone and let us sort out the matter ourselves.”