Following a car in the morning rush hour traffic wasn’t as easy as they made it look on television. He almost lost the guy in the streets leading to the freeway. He wasn’t too concerned. The blue Dodge headed in the general direction of the fairgrounds. “Going back to the scene of the crime, are you? I do love clichés,” Madison muttered. He got out his phone and let his partner in on what was happening.
“Do you think he’s after the carnival girl?” Tim asked. “Or he could be dumping evidence?”
“I doubt he’s getting rid of evidence. He wasn’t at all furtive,” Madison explained. “But going after the girl is a possibility. Why don’t you wait on checking the motel? We’ll pick him up when he comes back. I’ll keep following. Let’s give him a little rope and see if he hangs himself.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Craig cooked me breakfast. He’d slept on the couch last night, saying he didn’t want to leave me alone. Wasn’t he thoughtful. It was like he instinctively knew I was too sore to stand someone else in my bed. The domestic scene, as he dished up my eggs and slightly burnt toast, was so sweet that it made me a bit sad. I had to remind myself he would be going back to his life soon. He was a white picket fence kind of guy. I was a Carney who knew the middle class life wasn’t for me.
The conversation over the meal was mostly about our lives. Instinctively, he seemed to know how little I wanted to talk about the past couple of days. He was telling me a story about his Grandfather Max, when we heard Janie’s raspy shout, “Hey, Rube”.
I grabbed my baseball bat and was out the door without thinking. Craig was on my heels. Zach squawked and jumped in his cage as we dashed past.
“What’s happening?” Craig panted as we ran.
“Something bad. Janie needs help,” I replied.
As we approached Janie’s trailer, I could see her in her bathrobe, standing over a crumpled form on the ground. She was holding a baseball bat at the ready. A dozen others were approaching from all directions. They were all carrying some sort of weapon. Among the approaching crowd was Detective Madison of all people. He had a gun out.
“Pull a knife on me, you son-of-a-bitch,” Janie shouted and kicked the crumpled form in the general vicinity of his gonads.
Mister D, wearing only pajama bottoms, arrived and took the bat from Janie. He moved her back from the writhing form on the ground. He handed her to Freddie the Geek, who was out on the steps of her trailer. Freddie was naked except for saggy grey drawers, which at one time would have been tighty whities. He hadn’t put in his teeth yet—not an appetizing sight this early in the morning.
Detective Madison came up. He kicked the knife away from the man on the ground. When he hauled him up, I shouted, “That’s the guy who killed Mike!”
The Reverend Parris stared at me with his eyes wide. A purple swelling was starting along the side of his face. Janie must have jumped up to hit him so high. Madison spun him around and efficiently applied handcuffs.
The Reverend shrieked, “Witch, I’ll send you to Hell.”
“Not likely, you psycho son-of-a-bitch,” I shouted back.
The crowd of Carnies muttered and shared glances. I realized, even with two cops present, violence was imminent. Madison had the Reverend up against the trailer, frisking him, as he recited the Miranda Rights. I doubt he realized the danger.
Craig whispered to me, “We don’t want more trouble.” He had his hand close to his gun.
I nodded and caught Eddie’s eye and made a quick gesture with my head. His jaw clenched, but he did his job. “All right everybody, the police are here. We can settle down.”
Madison looked around. He realized the people who surrounded him carried an assortment of weapons. He pushed Parris up against the wall and turned to face the crowd.
Eddie continued, “The police can take it from here. They got this bastard dead to rights. He’ll pay for killing Mike and taking Airy.”
All eyes turned to Mister D. He gave a short nod. His brow was so furrowed, you could barely see his eyes. The crowd dispersed as quickly as they’d gathered, egged on by the sound of approaching police sirens.
We waited until the uniformed police arrived. Janie was in rare form and at full volume, describing how she had seen Parris sneaking around her trailer. “When I saw his knife, I jumped up and wacked the fucker upside his head. I should have…” I do believe she was making up some of the colorful epitaphs she was using. Either that, or she had somehow learned how to swear in Arabic.
Craig walked over to assure Madison we would come to the police station later for formal statements. “I’ll also want to know how you happened to show up here this morning,” Craig said to Madison. I didn’t understand why Craig was frowning.
I felt the faint fairy buzz which said Sam was near. He hugged me from behind. “Are you all right, Sister?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” I patted his hand and wiggled out of his embrace. “Sam, this is my friend Craig. He is with the FBI.”
Craig held out his hand. Sam looked at it for a moment and then took it. “I’m pleased to meet you, Sam,” Craig said. “Are you the one who picked up Airy yesterday?”
“Yes,” Sam said. “I brought her clothes. We rode a cab home.” Sam turned to me and asked, “Airy, do you want me to do anything to the man who killed Mike and took you away?” He had an eager gleam in his eye. I hated to think what he meant by his off-hand comment.
“No, Sam. The police will take care of him now. He’ll be in jail. I’m safe. Why don’t you go and see if Mister D needs any help?”
Sam wandered off. On the way back to my trailer, I explained to Craig that Sam was a little slow. Craig walked stiffly with his hands clenched.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. We sat down outside my place.
Zach said, “Hell’o” from his cage. I opened the door so he could walk around. He looked a little less like a pin-cushion, but he still couldn’t fly.
“Madison set you up as bait. He figured Parris would come for you.” Craig slammed his hand on the table. “Totally irresponsible, somebody could have been killed. Madison should be brought up on charges.”
“It’s all right. He caught him. You were here. Parris couldn’t have got to me. No harm, no foul.”
Craig jumped up and started pacing. “He had a knife, Airy. Your friend Janie was lucky. She’s an old lady.”
“I wouldn’t say old lady to Janie’s face. You might find out first-hand how well she swings a bat,” I said.
“In any case, Madison should have picked the guy up as soon as he was seen.” Zach strutted along parallel to Craig, mocking his agitated walk. Craig noticed and grinned. Zach flapped his wings and called, “Caw haw haw haw haw.” Craig flopped into a chair. “I just hate to think he risked you.”
My white knight.
I sent Craig to check on Janie, with the excuse of getting fish food for Frank. I went to check on Myra. I was a little worried. I hadn’t seen her at Janie’s this morning. I found her still in bed in the girl’s bunkhouse. I sat down next to her and brushed the greasy hair off her pale face. “Hey, kiddo. How you feeling?”
“I think there is some dog crap somewhere that feels worse than me.” Her voice was weak and raspy.
“Have you been taking your medicine?”
She nodded. “And I haven’t been drinking.”
“Oh, sweetie. I should be taking better care of you,” I said.
“I guess you’ve been a little busy, what with the kidnapping and all. At least you finally got laid.” She gave me an echo of her sassy smile without lifting her head. “I heard he’s cute, but after years of being picky, I can’t believe you’d do a cop.” She coughed from deep in her lungs. When she leaned over the edge of the bed, I saw a purple lesion on her back.
“You know how love is. It picks you,” I said absently, patting her back. “I’m going to go get Doc. He can look at my stitches and check on you.”
“Yeah, that might be a good idea,” she said, between wracking c
oughs.
Doc took one look at Myra and said “hospital”. Myra didn’t even protest. Craig drove us. I wanted to stay with Myra, but we had to go to the police station. Doc said he would stay. I promised to be back as soon as possible.
“I’m sorry to have dragged you into all this drama,” I told Craig.
“You care about people. I knew that about you. It’s one of the reasons I stayed the other night.” He grinned at me.
“How’d you know that about me?”
“I guess I must be psychic.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“What do you mean, he was accidentally released?” Craig’s voice became deeper when he was angry. “This guy is a violent psychopath implicated in seven murders, maybe more, and you accidentally released him?”
Madison’s mouth was pursed, like he had just sucked a lemon. “The desk sergeant confused him with a person on a twenty-four-hour hold. He was in the wrong cell. It happens.”
“At least tell me you got prints and pictures before you lost him.” Craig’s jaw clenched so tight, I thought he was going to break a tooth.
Both Madison and his partner looked down.
“It was a busy morning. Processing was slow. My partner and I were going through Parris’s car and motel room. He kept diaries that will close a lot of cases. In addition, we have the knife used to kill Michael Murphy and what we think are Miss Land’s clothes. We’ll find him again.” Madison said.
I was ready to start in on them, but Craig was on a roll.
“You going to put Ariel out as bait again? You didn’t think I noticed you were following Parris. Why didn’t you pick him up before you got to the carnival? The old lady could have been killed.” Craig and Madison were chest to chest, both with red faces. Madison’s partner put a hand on Madison’s arm. I just waited. I didn’t think Craig was the type to throw the first punch. Although, I wouldn’t have minded if he had. I felt like punching somebody myself.
“Come on, Phil. Let it go. You can’t deny the whole situation is unfortunate,” the partner said to Madison. “I’m sorry, Miss. We’re running on no sleep. You can be sure we will bring this guy in. He has nowhere to run. Let’s get your interview over, and you can get back to your life.”
“Unless Parris comes to kill me again,” I said.
“Which is highly unlikely,” Madison shot back.
“Yeah, sure. You’ve been so right about everything so far. I feel much better now that you’ve reassured me.” I had to get my two cents in.
My formal interview involved me going over my story several times on film. The two cops were easy reads. I could tell when they were trying to trip me up. I was ready for them when they dropped the bomb.
“And what is your relationship to Agent Darren?” The partner was trying to be offhanded about the question, but his voice dropped, and his head tilted slightly to the left, indicating he was interested in the answer.
Without missing a beat, I said, “He came to the carnival a couple of days ago to see if anybody remembered seeing Parris in Cleveland. After meeting me, he thought I might be a target, because my ancestress was a Salem witch. He had a theory, which obviously was correct, about a man targeting the descendants of witches.
“After the kidnapping, he decided to hang around in case the fellow showed up. A good thing too, considering how you all left me hanging after you spotted him.” That statement shut them up. “Agent Darren has been a lot more help to me than the Skokie Police Department. I wanted to get that little shot in on tape. If that’s all, I have a friend in the hospital I have to see. If you need anything more, you know where to find me.” I gathered up my purse and left the professional sphincters to their machinations.
Chapter Forty
I was going to take a cab, but Craig insisted on driving me to see Myra.
“Parris isn’t going to expect me to go to the hospital,” I said. “You go get your computer fixed and do your cop stuff.”
“Not a chance. I’ll take you to the hospital, then take you back to the carnival.” He rubbed my shoulder. “Don’t think I’m doing this only for you…”
Great, I thought. Now, he is going to say something smarmy and ruin his nice guy image.
“…I’m on vacation. I want to go to the carnival. Eat a corn dog, and win Frank a little goldfish friend.”
So much for my uncanny skill at reading men.
Craig left me at the hospital, with strict instructions not to leave until he came back.
Myra was in intensive care. Amanda was sitting with her. I waved from outside the room. I was afraid to go in, because of all the equipment that was beeping and clicking around the bed. Myra waved weakly. I couldn’t tell her expression behind the oxygen mask.
“Hey, kid. You look better already,” I said from the doorway.
Myra pulled down the mask and croaked, “Liar.”
“You know I can’t come in.” I said to Myra. “I don’t want an important machine to blow up because of my bad mojo. So, put your mask back on.” I blew her a kiss.
She replaced her mask and mimed rubbing away tears with her closed fists.
Amanda came out of the room. Her smile faded as soon as she turned away from the bed. “Let’s get some coffee. Be right back, Myra. Don’t you go anywhere.”
Myra made a rude gesture.
We walked down the hall to the visitor’s room and sat down. Amanda was biting her lip and didn’t seem to know what to do with her hands. “The doctor says she has pneumocystis pneumonia and Sarcosi’s carcinoma, which is a type of cancer.”
“Can they fix it?” I hated hearing cancer.
“Airy, they say the two diseases are a sign she has full blown AIDS. They can probably fix the pneumonia, but basically, it’s all downhill from here.”
The television on the wall gave a flash and blinked off.
Chapter Forty-One
Parris knew God was on his side. His miraculous release from the jail would allow him to finish his holy duty. He knew this aid came directly from the grace of God. Another grace was demonstrated when, even though it was Saturday, the secretary was at the church. “Hello, Carla. I have been in an accident.”
“Oh goodness, Reverend. Are you all right?” Carla Dean’s already high-pitched voice had risen to heights a Diva would envy.
“I wasn’t hurt, but I’m afraid my car is beyond repair. I was wondering if you could ask someone at the church if they could give me a ride.” He hoped the irritating woman wouldn’t offer her services.
“I was just leaving. It would be no bother to pick you up.”
He could imagine her simpering as he gave her his location. Perhaps this was part of God’s punishment for his failure with the carnival witch.
The convenience store sold baseball caps. He found one that had a logo for soft drinks, which he pulled low over his eyes. It was the best disguise he could manage on short notice. He looked in the phone book and found a theatrical supply house where he could obtain a beard, moustache, and toupee later.
The woman arrived promptly. She babbled, barely taking breaths between her inanities, until they reached the dingy beige and green Gateway Motel. “Oh, Reverend. We should have found you a nicer place than this to stay.”
“It was affordable. Would you like to come in for some tea?” He realized while they drove that the carnival witch’s evil divination tainted this woman. She needed cleansing.
“I’d love some tea,” she said.
He held out an arm, so she preceded him into the room. His fist struck her down with one blow. He knew she was weak.
He knelt and prayed for her soul as she fought the noose around her neck. Luckily, she was short enough, and the bar in the closet was high enough that she would hang, with her ankles tied to her wrists.
The motel was still sufficiently empty, so no one noticed the thumping she made. When it was finished, he placed the sigil in her mouth over her protruding tongue. He slid the closet door shut and said, “Amen.”
&n
bsp; Chapter Forty-Two
Back at the carnival, Craig stopped to talk with Janie. She would talk his ear off, so I had some time. I got out my notebook with the instructions for the anti-fairy family charm that Aunt Lila had given me. I lit a candle and gathered the herbs I needed. A glass evil eye charm formed the base. Glass is neither completely liquid nor solid—a unique property that helps with magic. The spell wasn’t that complicated, but it required a lot of personal energy. I reached for the ley-line nearby and fed it into the spell. It was a stretch, but it was still better than lowering my personal energy. I wanted to be ready, considering how my week was going. The tinkle of a tiny glass bell ended the conjuring. I was as safe from the casual ministrations of my Fae family as I could make myself.
I realized that I had better make Craig a charm so that he wouldn’t get zapped entering my place without me. Ten minutes later, I had him fixed up. I supposed I was going to have to tell him more about me, being a witch and all. It wasn’t a conversation I was looking forward to.
My common sense told me he and I had no real future. We were too different. It was just that he was the first man I had met who felt like he fit. I’d never had that before. I wanted to enjoy it as long as possible. I knew it would change once I started talking about the woo woo witch stuff.
I quickly chopped some veggies, chunked some potatoes and chicken to throw in the Crock-Pot for dinner. I was feeling domestic, making a meal for my man. I could take some to Myra, too. I’d plug the pot in when I left, so the element wouldn’t burn out. I had been through three Crock-Pots since this spring. I’d tried putting them in a circle, but the flow of electricity wouldn’t allow the circle to stay intact. I’d had the best luck when I started the pot when I was going to be gone.
I got into my work costume. The bandages on my legs wouldn’t need to be changed until tomorrow. I checked that they didn’t show under my long skirt. I couldn’t wear my scooped back blouse, because the bandage on my back showed. I found another less revealing blouse and headed out. I needed to get busy and make some money. Tear down was in two days. We only had two more weeks work before we shut down for the winter.
Carnival Charlatan Page 20