Carnival Charlatan

by Skeeter Enright

  “Father is away. He wanted to spend time with you. It would not be polite to leave now,” Sam said.

  “You know, Sam, I’m having a very bad day. It’s not a good time for me to meet Daddy. I want you to show me the way back to Chicago. I’ll leave Dad a note, thanking him for accidentally showing up in my life after twenty-three years. A post-script should do for saving me from the hounds his friends had set on me.”

  I don’t think Sam got my sarcasm, because he crinkled his brow and said, “Our father doesn’t read modern English, so I don’t think a note would be useful.”

  “Why don’t you show me the way home? Then, you can stay and give him my regrets.”

  “I couldn’t let you go alone. Father and Mister D told me to stay with you. I could tell someone here we’re going and where we will be.”

  “That will work. Let’s go.”

  He led me to the tingly place on the wall and walked right through. I followed right behind him. I asked, “Is there a spell for the doorways in this place?”

  “No. As long as you can feel where the doorway is, you can walk through.”

  That’s simple enough, I thought. Next time, I won’t be trapped—not that there was going to be a next time. We passed several Fae, each as lovely as the next. Sam didn’t introduce me, which was fine with me. I wanted no part of fairy society. I don’t care who my sperm donor was.

  Sam stopped a blonde male Fae and spoke for a moment in a fluid language, which I assumed was Fairy. The Fae nodded solemnly. Before we walked on, he gave me a penetrating look that sent a frission of energy at me. I stepped behind Sam, who spoke sharply to the fairy. They exchanged short words, and Blondie strode off with his shoulders as square as any drill Sergeant. I didn’t want to know what the conversation was about. I just wanted out of this joint.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  When Detective Madison and the rest of the police left, it was after three o’clock. Craig wandered back to Ariel’s motor home. He gave the crow some water, called his lieutenant, and explained the day’s events.

  “I’ll fill in Bailey and Johnson,” he assured Craig. “If the Chicago Police pick up Parris, I’ll have them interview him on the other murders. So, you can come back now.”

  “Um…well, I’m still on vacation. I’d like to hang out here for a while, just to see how things finish up,” Craig said.

  “You realize you have no official capacity in this case. You’re out of our jurisdiction. I don’t want any problem with local PD,” the lieutenant said.

  “I understand, Sir. I’m in good with the locals. I was able to get them a strong lead. There won’t be any trouble. I’ll be back next week.”

  He realized he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so he wandered onto the midway and got a gyro and a Coke. The lawn chairs around Ariel’s camp table were comfortable. He had nothing to do until Madison called with news. It was frustrating. If Parris had Ariel, he could be killing her right now. He rubbed his face with both hands. How could he have become so attached to the woman after just one night?

  He fed bits of his Gyro to the crow, who watched him intently. His phone was useless for the research he wanted to do. He should go find a computer and see if he could help track down Parris, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave in case she came back.

  The older man he had met earlier walked up. The crow in his cage said, “Hell’o.”

  The man sat down across the table from Craig. “Shouldn’t you be with the police?’ he asked, handing Craig a can of beer.

  “Actually, I’m sort of on vacation. I was poking around on a hunch about a possible suspect when I met Ariel,” Craig said with a sigh.

  “She’s pretty special,” the old man said, looking Craig directly in his eyes.

  “Yeah, I’ve never met anyone I felt so strongly about so quickly. She said we made a psychic connection. I don’t believe in the psychic stuff, but something happened.” Craig couldn’t believe he was spilling his guts to this complete stranger. “I’m really worried about her.”

  The man watched him with narrowed eyes. “You know Airy doesn’t generally take up with strangers. You must be all right. I’ll trust her judgment.” He reached over and shook Craig’s hand. “I’m Milo Dimitri. People call me Mister D. I have word the guy you were asking about grabbed Airy, but she got away. She’ll be back as soon as she can. He brother went to get her.”

  A weight lifted off Craig’s chest. He felt himself grinning. The cop in him re-asserted itself. “She is going to have to be processed for evidence,” Craig said.

  “I can’t imagine she’ll want to do that.” Mister D looked skeptical.

  “If she doesn’t, they will look at her as a suspect in Mister Murphy’s murder.”

  “Well, we can’t let that happen.” He got up abruptly. “You just hang out here. I’ll send Airy as soon as she gets back.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  We left the castle of the King of the Air Fae, also known as Daddy’s house. Situated atop a mountain, it looked more like a traditional castle than the Water Fae’s palace. All sorts of flying creatures circled the parapets. I thought I saw a hippogryph and a group of flying monkeys. Troll guards seemed to be the standard for castles in the Outlands. I sneezed passing the ones at the gate. I definitely had a troll allergy.

  Rounded rocks, which looked suspiciously like trows, lined the road leading down from the castle. I didn’t want to ask. Considering the flying monkeys, I was just glad the road wasn’t made of yellow brick. I’d hate to think my dad bought into clichés.

  My jeans were tight enough, so walking didn’t rub my raw legs. Thank goodness for small favors. I didn’t want to think about taking those jeans off later.

  Giant trees shaded the road. I saw more six-legged flying monkeys scrambling among their boughs. The road leveled out and ran along a meadow. A herd of winged horses grazed on blue-green grass. I wondered when we would see the unicorns. Were all fairy kingdoms typecast? My brain was starting to ramble. I really needed to get back to my world.

  We walked less than a mile when I sensed a way next to the road. Sam turned and stepped through. I followed, and we came out in a narrow alley behind an overflowing garbage bin. The smell was incredible. Rats ignored us as they poked through debris along the walls. “You are sure this is Chicago?” I asked, trying not to breathe.

  “Yes, but it is a long walk to the carnival,” Sam replied. He didn’t seem to be affected by the smell.

  I started out of the alley toward the busiest street. “Sam, do you have any money?”

  “Yes.” He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. I was going to have to teach him to be more careful with money.

  I hailed a cab when we reached the street. The cab didn’t smell significantly better than the alley. I gave our destination. The driver with his dreadlocks and Rasta cap wanted to talk.

  “Do you know the date?” I asked, interrupting his rambling.

  “Why it be Friday the thirteenth, don’t you know. Gateway to the weekend, all sorts of wicked things be happening on this most auspicious night. It be late for going to the carnival. I remember one time…”

  I tuned him out. I’d been gone less than a day, although it seemed to me I was in the Outlands at least two days. I remembered how compared to this world, time in the Outlands speeding up in the summer and slowing in the winter. It must have been Outland summer when Tom, Amanda, and I were there last week, or was it last month? Boy, my head hurt. Even though it seemed I’d slept a lot, I was so tired and sore that I wasn’t up to sorting out the space-time continuum between dimensions right now. I filed the conundrum away under another thing to ask Sam about when life settled down.

  When we reached the carnival, I had the cab pull right up to the arch. It was late, so most of the townies were heading out. I was glad it was dark. I didn’t want to see the place along the fence where Mike died. After paying, I climbed out of the cab with every muscle reminding me I should be laying down. I wanted nothing more t
han a hot shower and some tequila sedative.

  Ace, the gate man, came out of the ticket booth and hugged me. “Thank God you’re all right. We’ve been worried. Nobody knew what happened.” He looked at me expectantly.

  “Ace, honey, it’s been a hell of a day. I need to find Mister D and fill him in. He can give everybody the details. I’m whipped.”

  “I figured you’d want the boss. I called him when I saw you driving up. He should be here in a second.”

  Sam leaned close to me. “Who whipped you, Sister? I will kill them,” he said in a quiet, toneless voice.

  It gave me a shiver. Just when I started thinking of my brother as sweet and naive, he reminded me how dangerous he actually was. “No one whipped me. It means I am very tired,” I said just as quietly.

  He nodded, his face expressionless.

  Mister D, followed by Amanda, Tom, and Janie, came up walking fast. They all hugged me. As much as I appreciated the warmth of their greetings, I didn’t think my aching body was going to survive many more enthusiastic good wishes. Ace went back to the ticket booth. The rest of us moved behind the first row of attractions. I explained everything that had happened to me. Amanda held me when I talked of Mike’s death.

  Mister D put a hand on my shoulder. “You have to talk to the cops, honey.” I started to protest, but he stopped me. “They think you might have killed Mike.”

  “But it was the crazy son-of-a-bitch Parris. He’s been stalking me since Cleveland. Janie saw him.”

  “The local cops don’t know that unless you tell them. Your friend is over by your trailer. He seems like a good sort. I have a feeling he will help you. You should do what he says. This isn’t something Eddie can patch.”

  “My? Oh.” I had completely forgotten about Craig. “He’s with the FBI. He’ll help catch the crazy bastard.”

  Mister D nodded. “Airy, you go deal with what you have to do. The rest of us will spread the story, leaving out the trip to Fairyland, of course. We’ll just say you escaped and wandered until you called Sam to bring you home.”

  “Sam, if they ask, you brought me clothes,” I added.

  I trudged to my motor home. Craig was asleep on one of my folding chairs. His legs were stretched out in front of him. One arm was hanging over the chair, the other on his chest. His head lolled back. Men always looked so endearing asleep.

  Zach said, “Hell’o,” from the back of my other chair.

  Craig startled and sat up, instantly alert. He rose and took my hands. “Ariel, are you all right?”

  “I’ve had better days.” His look of sympathy brought tears to my eyes. I roughly brushed them away. “I hear I’m a suspect in Mike’s murder.”

  “Did you see it?”

  I looked down, trying not to remember. “Yeah, it was the guy you were looking for. He hit me with a stun gun and threw me over the fence. The crazy bastard cut Mike’s throat when he tried to help me.” Stupid tears. I never cried in front of strangers.

  “Don’t worry.” He gently wiped my face with an honest to God, white handkerchief. I didn’t know people actually used them. “They’ll catch the guy. We know what he is driving. He won’t be hard to find. We better get you to the hospital and let the local police forensics team go over you. You’re going to have to tell your story to the police.”

  “Can’t I get a shower first?” I knew the answer before I asked. I wasn’t looking forward to the next few hours.

  “No, honey. I’m sorry,” Craig said. He kissed me on the forehead, and we headed for his car. Despite everything that had happened, I smiled. It had been a long time since a man wanted to take care of me…not that I couldn’t take care of myself. Most men I wouldn’t trust to feed the crow, but Craig was different. Besides, after my last couple of weeks, I was ready for some help.

  On the ride to the hospital, Craig called the detective in charge of Mike’s murder. He met us at the emergency room. Detective Madison took notes as I recounted my story.

  “Why didn’t you call the police?” Madison asked.

  “I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to get home.”

  He seemed to believe me, even before he saw the wound on my back. I ended up needing thirteen stitches.

  The doctor commented, “You sure this was made yesterday?” I nodded. “Ah, with a jagged cut, it’s hard to tell after the first eight hours. I’m going to have to debride the dried tissue, and you’ll need antibiotics. Have you had a recent tetanus shot?” I nodded again. With so many cops around, I wanted to say as little as possible.

  They had a camera and took pictures of my wound as well as the burns on my shoulder where the Taser’s electrodes had shocked me. Madison explained a stun gun is close range, and a Taser is the gun that throws electrodes on wires. See, you can learn all sorts of interesting facts from a horrifying experience.

  The nurse sent Craig and Madison out when she helped me out of my jeans. It was as excruciating as I thought it would be. She was a tiny woman in her fifties with a softly wrinkled face and gray hair swept up in a tight bun. She sucked in a breath when she saw my legs. “Dear, I know this is hard, but were you raped?”

  “I wasn’t raped.” I said, thinking hard.

  “Do you know how this happened to your legs,” she asked.

  “He knocked me out with something on a rag. My legs were like this when I woke,” I told her. I had no way to explain my raw legs. I didn’t want to bring up riding a fairy horse bare-legged. I’m sure if I did, they would have called me a different kind of doctor.

  “Okay,” she said. “Let me get some pictures. Then we will clean this up.” The cleaning and bandaging of my legs hurt worse than the stitches.

  Both Madison and Craig tried to convince me to let them do a rape kit.

  “I know it is a sensitive subject, but something may have happened while you were unconscious,” Madison said in a kindly voice.

  “I’m sure I’d know if I were raped,” I said. “Do you think I could talk with Agent Darren privately?” When we were alone, I explained my concerns to Craig. “A rape kit would show your DNA.” I whispered. I took his hand. “I know you’re in trouble if they find out you slept with me. I don’t want you compromised. If he raped me, it’s not important to the case against him for killing Mike and kidnapping me. Besides, I doubt if he did. He was a real religious nut who knew I was a witch. He wouldn’t soil himself by raping me,” I said.

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. “You should do the kit anyway. If he has some disease, you’ll want to know. Our relationship isn’t important compared to your health. Just say you had sex last night. You don’t have to name your partner. They’ll never know it was me. They’ll only check the DNA against Parris’s after they catch him. I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure, I’ll do it,” I said.

  The nurse was as gentle and clinical as she could be. Even so, the whole rape kit experience was invasive and demeaning, which essentially summed up my day.

  Detective Madison was waiting when I finally came out. “I have a few more questions. We need to get this on tape. Can you come to the station?”

  “Will it take long? I’ve had an awful day.” I gave Craig a look.

  “Do you think you can finish up tomorrow? She’s obviously exhausted,” Craig took my arm and steered me toward the door. “I’ll see that she gets back to the carnival.” My white knight.

  “You know it would be better if we got this over while the incident is fresh in her mind,” Madison countered. He followed us into the emergency room parking lot.

  “Trust me,” I said. “I’m not likely to forget any of this for a long time.” By then, Craig was helping me into his car.

  “I’ll be sure she comes to the station tomorrow. Say around ten?” Craig said, over the top of the car.

  Madison nodded. His frown spoke volumes.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  “Dispatch, this is car 214. We have a location on the blue Dodge Colt Sedan, license New Hampshire
3825 David. The car is empty. Please advise.”

  “This is dispatch. Take no action at this time. Give us your location.”

  Madison had been up all night filling out the murder book on the carnival murder when they called him about finding the car. Fueled by coffee, he drove too fast in the early morning rush hour traffic. He didn’t want the patrol officers to spook his suspect. If the guy was a serial killer, Madison wanted to be the one to collar him. A high profile arrest wouldn’t hurt his chances for making lieutenant.

  The Apple Motel rented rooms by the day and by the week. A check showed this was the third week Reverend Parris had stayed there. Madison flipped open his phone and speed dialed his partner. “Hey, Tim. I need you to add room six of the Apple Hotel to the warrant for the car.” He added the Motel’s street address. “Get here with the Staties as soon as you can. I’d hate to lose this guy.”

  “Jesus, Madison. Don’t you sleep?” Tim replied. “Where do you think I’m going to find a Judge at seven in the morning?”

  “You’re Super Cop. I know you’ll figure something out.” He closed his phone. He ran through the case as he walked back to his car. He hoped Darren wouldn’t horn in on his bust. It was bad enough he needed to call the State Police in on this. It was unavoidable, because the guy’s motel was outside Skokie. The State Police would cover the jurisdictional issues when the suspect came to court.

  The carnival girl’s story seemed credible, even though he needed to fill in some holes in her narrative. His instincts also told him something was going on with her and Darren. Whatever it was, he hoped it didn’t compromise the case. He’d have to question her about Darren as well. He really needed a few more hours in the day.

  Getting into his car, he noticed a tall figure coming into the parking lot from a diner across the street. The mole on the man’s face was obvious even at a distance. Madison opened his phone, as if he were making a call. Shit, he thought. Please go into the room. No such luck. The guy got into his car and drove off. After a few seconds, Madison followed.