The Christmas Fair Killer

by Amy Patricia Meade

  ‘I’m not refuting what you’re saying, but if Briony did murder her sister, then why has she been sitting in a tent behind a shooting gallery the past few days? Why not leave town instead of risk being seen? If Jules, Opal, and I hadn’t seen her, no one, including you, would have known she was even here.’

  ‘I can’t explain it. Criminals do odd things. They also do stupid things.’

  ‘And what about the fireworks?’

  ‘What about them?’

  ‘Briony works at a shooting gallery. Where would she have gotten the money to pay for that many rockets? Bob Woodford certainly doesn’t have it.’

  ‘Genevieve and Briony’s stepfather must have been doing OK financially if he was able to afford acting, dance, and shooting lessons.’

  ‘So Briony uses abusive stepdad’s cash to bump off her sister for leaving her with abusive stepdad?’ Tish challenged.

  ‘Maybe we’re reading too much into the timing of the fireworks,’ Reade suggested.

  ‘Just because it doesn’t fit with your theory doesn’t mean you get to write it off as coincidence.’

  ‘You’re right. You sound like me, but you’re right. Can you come up with anything better, though?’

  ‘At the moment, no. Have you learned anything more about Briony’s past?’

  Reade shook his head. ‘It’s a Sunday, and the last one before Christmas. Everyone’s working with a skeleton crew.’

  ‘Well, I’ll see what I can find out,’ Tish announced as she turned to leave for the shooting gallery.

  ‘Um, Tish,’ Reade called her back. ‘Bonnie Broussard is on her way over. She’s staying in town for the night, but no restaurants are open, so I suggested she come here.’

  ‘Sure. We’ll fix her up with whatever she wants.’

  ‘Thanks, but that’s not why I mentioned it.’

  Tish’s thoughts went to Briony. ‘I’ll see how things go before I say anything.’

  Reade nodded. ‘My phone’s on if you need me. Be careful.’

  ‘I always am,’ she reassured him before setting off across the green and toward the midway.

  She arrived at the shooting gallery, where Bob waved her toward the back tent. There, she found Briony seated in the same spot she’d been that morning; however, now the young woman’s expression was more of weariness than apprehension. ‘I know you’re talking to the police, so I want to say right off the bat that when I arrived here at the fair, I had absolutely no idea Genevieve was here.’

  ‘How can that be? Didn’t you see her on the stage?’ Tish questioned. ‘Or on the theater group advertising?’

  ‘I can’t see the stage from here,’ Briony explained. ‘And I didn’t see the advertisements. I never bothered to look. One fair looks pretty much like another after a while. This is also the last festival of the season, so I was busy thinking about what I was going to do for work over the winter.’

  ‘When did you finally realize Genevieve was here?’

  ‘After she was dead,’ she answered with tears in her eyes. ‘The morning her murder broke on the news, some customers came by the shooting gallery talking about it. They showed me the theater group website on their phones and pointed to her photo. She was older and had a different name, but it was definitely her. I just about screamed, but, naturally, I couldn’t.’

  ‘And you hadn’t seen Genevieve at all prior to the day the news broke?’

  ‘I hadn’t seen her since the morning of the day she ran away. She walked me to school – I was in junior high, she was in high school – gave me a hug, and waved goodbye.’

  Tish heaved a loud sigh.

  Briony reacted to the sound. ‘You don’t believe me.’

  ‘I do believe you, and yet I find it strange that your employer is based out of Savannah, Georgia.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘So, your sister was in Savannah busking in the parks before she moved to Williamsburg to join the theater group.’

  The expression on Briony’s face was one of genuine surprise. ‘I had absolutely no idea. I swear!’

  ‘What were you doing in Savannah?’

  ‘I’d gone there to attend SCAD on a full scholarship. You know, the Savannah College of Art and Design. I’d been there just a year when I started having nightmares and panic attacks. The college health center put me on meds, but they didn’t help much. I made it through both semesters, but I’d reached the point where I couldn’t face being cooped up in a classroom, so I spoke with my advisors. They let me take this year as a gap year, so I could rest and recuperate.’

  ‘So what are you doing working in a shooting gallery?’

  ‘The fresh air and mindless work helps me,’ she stated.

  ‘And what about seeing a medical professional outside the college health center?’

  ‘Hard to do that when you don’t have insurance.’

  ‘But you’re only – what? – nineteen. You’re a student. Aren’t you on your stepfather’s insurance plan?’

  ‘No. He kicked me off years ago.’

  Tish was horrified. ‘Why would he do such a thing?’

  ‘He was ready to move on to a new life, I guess. Things were, um, different after Genevieve left.’

  ‘They must have been extremely difficult for you. It sounds as though you and your sister had been close,’ Tish noted.

  ‘I thought we were, but then she left without a word. She left me alone with …’ Briony took a few moments to compose herself. ‘I’m sorry, I haven’t told anyone other than the SCAD counselors about this.’

  ‘Take your time.’ Tish grabbed a second camp stool and sat across from the young woman.

  ‘After Genevieve left, my stepfather began … “visiting” my room at night. He worked weird hours, so he often came home late. I’d lie in bed and listen for the sound of his car in the driveway and shiver. Many times I wished I could run away like my sister had, but my stepfather had me on lockdown. He hired some housekeeper/nanny-type person to take me to and from school and stay with me. I’d hear him come home and say hello to her. Then he’d come upstairs and knock on my door. Like I had any other choice but to let him in.’

  ‘Did you ever tell anyone what was going on?’

  ‘What, that my stepfather was having sex with his thirteen-year-old stepdaughter? No one would have believed me. Everyone loved my stepfather. “Poor Armand, look how brave he is. Raising two girls who aren’t even his.” Had I told anyone, I’d have been labeled a problem child, just like my sister.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Briony.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I was one of the lucky ones. I only had to endure two years of it. When I turned fifteen, Armand sent me away to boarding school. Guess I was too old for him and no longer his type. He came to visit me maybe twice after I arrived at school, then that was it. He never called or visited again.’

  ‘Not even for graduation?’

  ‘No, I stayed with a friend’s family that summer and then I was off to SCAD. You know, I never even told my friend what happened, because, deep down, I’ve always wondered what I’d done to make my stepfather do what he did. Did I say or do something to make him think that I – that he …?’ She drew a hand to her face and began to sob.

  Tish placed a consoling hand on the girl’s shoulder. ‘You didn’t do anything wrong, Briony. You’re the victim here. Not him.’

  When Briony’s tears subsided, Tish said, ‘Briony, I need to tell you something. Just before your sister ran away, she accused Armand of inappropriately touching her.’

  Briony’s face was a mixture of horror, confusion, and disappointment. ‘No, I–I can’t – why didn’t she tell me? I was her sister. I was her sister!’

  ‘I don’t know why she didn’t tell you. We’ll never know, but perhaps she felt the same way you did. Perhaps she felt that she’d done something to deserve what was happening to her. And maybe she was trying to protect you, too. You still loved your stepfather at that point, didn’t you?’

  The young woman nodded. �
��Genevieve was very protective of me.’

  ‘There you go.’

  ‘How do you know Genevieve accused Armand of touching her? Who did Genevieve tell?’

  ‘Your Aunt Bonnie. Your Aunt Bonnie, in turn, told your stepfather.’

  ‘Is that why my aunt was barred from seeing us?’

  ‘That’s when it started, yes.’

  ‘Do you think that’s why Genevieve ran away? Because of what my stepfather did to her?’

  ‘Only your sister knew the answer to that question, but I’m sure it must have been a factor.’

  ‘God,’ Briony beseeched as she threw her head back and looked heavenward, ‘how I hate him! The things that man has taken from me. I wish—’

  ‘What?’ Tish prompted.

  ‘I wish I knew what I know now when I saw him the other day.’

  ‘You saw your stepfather? I thought you were no longer in contact with him.’

  ‘I wasn’t,’ Briony answered matter-of-factly. ‘I’m not. I saw Armand while we were setting up on Thursday afternoon. I went out by the vendor parking area for a quick smoke and a pickup truck drove past me. The driver didn’t see me, but I saw him, clear as day. He was older and his face was a bit heavier, but it was definitely my stepfather. It was, without a doubt, Armand Grenable.’

  Tish couldn’t believe her ears. ‘Your stepfather is here, at the fair?’

  ‘He was. I don’t know if he still is.’

  ‘Is that why you’ve been disguising yourself with sunglasses and a hood?’

  ‘I didn’t want him to recognize me. I damn near panicked yesterday. I ran after a kid who left his mittens behind at the gallery and the glare from the sun was so bad that I had to remove my sunglasses in order to pick him out of the crowd. Not a fun moment.’

  ‘That’s when I saw you,’ Tish told Briony. ‘That’s when I saw you for the first time.’

  ‘I’m happy it was you and no one else.’

  ‘I am, too. Look, you need to talk to Sheriff Reade about your stepfather. Not only did he break the law years ago but his being here puts a whole different slant on your sister’s murder.’

  ‘I really don’t want to get involved with the police.’ Briony squirmed in her seat.

  ‘I know you don’t, but this is important.’

  ‘You don’t understand. I, um, I don’t want to get into trouble.’

  ‘Trouble? I already told you: you were the victim, Briony,’ Tish insisted.

  ‘It’s not that,’ the young woman explained. ‘When I saw Armand, I waited and watched as he got out of the truck and came to the fairgrounds. I was so angry for what he did to me – the abuse and then boarding school and preventing me from seeing a doctor, I just wanted to make him pay, so I …’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I left an anonymous note on his windshield, telling him I knew about his past and what he’d done to his stepdaughter. I told him if he left ten thousand dollars in cash beneath the bleachers by the football field, I would forget what I knew.’

  ‘You tried to blackmail him,’ Tish paraphrased.

  ‘Yes.’ Briony began to cry again.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘Nothing. I snuck down here and watched the bleachers all night, but no one showed up with the money.’

  ‘Did you happen to get the license plate number of your stepfather’s truck?’

  ‘No, why?’

  ‘It could help us track him down.’

  ‘Do you think I’ll be in trouble?’

  ‘I’m no legal expert, but if you didn’t receive any money as a result of that note, then I doubt the police can do anything to you. Your stepfather would have to file charges against you. As he’s not exactly in a position to do that, then I think you’re safe. Now, I’m going to call Sheriff Reade, fill him in on what you’ve told me, and tell him to come by and get your statement.’

  ‘Oh, no!’ Briony leaped from her seat. ‘I don’t want him here. Bob will be full of questions I really don’t want to answer. I also don’t want him to think I’ve done something wrong. I like working for him.’

  ‘OK,’ Tish capitulated. ‘I’ll call Reade and tell him we’re coming to meet him.’

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Tish escorted a hooded Briony out of the shooting gallery and down the midway, Reade’s officer close at their heels. The performance of Twelfth Night had just ended, sending a wave of audience members spilling on to the fairgrounds and, with the fair soon to close, the adjacent parking areas.

  As the trio drew closer to the food concession area, Briony stopped in her tracks and let out a tiny yelp.

  ‘What is it?’ Tish urged.

  The young woman squeezed her arm with one hand and pointed with the other. ‘It’s him! It’s Armand.’

  Tish’s eyes followed the length of Briony’s arm, hand, and index finger, finally coming to rest upon the figure of Sam Noble, standing at the till, counting out the day’s earnings.

  Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

  The officer looked at Tish, his face a question. ‘Ma’am?’

  ‘Get Sheriff Reade here.’

  The officer was about to dial his phone when the sheriff, who had been watching the trio from Tish’s booth, appeared on the scene. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘That’s my stepfather,’ Briony informed Reade while frantically gesticulating at Sam Noble and trying to obscure her face. ‘I don’t want him to see me. You need to get me out of here.’

  A confused Reade glanced between Briony and Tish. ‘Slow down, Ms Savernake. You’re saying Sam Noble is Armand Grenable?’

  ‘If the man at that cash register is Sam Noble, then yes. He abused my sister and me. I want you to arrest him. I want you him to make him pay.’

  Tish wrapped a comforting arm around Briony as the young woman burst into tears. ‘That might not be the only reason to arrest him, Clemson.’

  ‘What?’ a shocked Reade questioned. ‘What do you—?’

  Before the sheriff could finish his question, he was interrupted by the arrival of Bonnie Broussard. ‘Thanks, Sheriff, for that supper. And thanks to Tish, too.’

  Sheriff Reade gestured to the caterer. ‘This is Tish.’

  ‘Nice to meet you, Tish. That was the best stew I’ve ever had.’ The woman’s smile faded away as her gaze settled on the figure nestled in the crook of Tish’s arm. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know y’all were here on official police …’

  Briony blinked back her tears and looked up at the blonde woman. ‘Aunt Bonnie?’

  Bonnie Broussard drew her hands to her open mouth. ‘Briony? Is that you?’

  Briony nodded.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re here in front of me. I thought you were gone from me forever.’

  ‘Not gone. Just a little lost.’

  As Bonnie’s body convulsed into sobs, the two women embraced.

  ‘I want you to know I never abandoned you,’ Bonnie wept into Briony’s shoulder. ‘Not a day’s gone by that I haven’t prayed to God to let me see you again. I even spoke to your mama and asked her to help guide you girls back to me. I just wish it had been sooner.’

  ‘Me, too.’ Briony sniffed.

  Bonnie stood back, took Briony’s hands in hers, and examined her niece. ‘Oh, my stars! You’ve grown into such a beautiful young woman. Your mama would be proud. Heaven knows my heart’s nearly burstin’. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.’

  ‘There’s nothing to forgive. I know about the court order. Your hands were tied.’

  ‘No, don’t you see? This is all my fault. All of it. If only I’d believed Genevieve when she came to me and told me your stepdaddy had been touching her. If only I’d listened and done somethin’, there never would have been a court order.’ Bonnie’s eyes grew wide. ‘Briony, your stepdaddy never did anything to hurt you, did he?’

  The young woman remained silent and stared down at the ground.

  At the response, Bonnie released a guttural
cry. ‘Lord, no. What have I done?’

  ‘Ms Broussard, you have no reason to feel guilty. You’re as much a victim here as your nieces. Abusers isolate their victims from family and friends and do their best to discredit them so that people won’t believe their accusations. That’s exactly what Grenable did to you. I’m willing to wager that most of those tall tales Genevieve told, you only learned about when speaking to her stepfather.’

  Bonnie’s eyes narrowed as if searching her memory. ‘Come to think of it, you’re right. I did get those stories second-hand.’

  ‘Armand’s not going to manipulate and hurt us any longer,’ Briony declared. ‘Sheriff Reade is going to bring him to justice.’

  ‘No, I’m going to bring him in for questioning,’ Reade clarified. ‘That’s after I get your statement and after you decide to press charges. But first, I need to get you to the mobile headquarters.’

  Reade gestured to his officer to escort Briony to the police trailer parked on the campgrounds, but the young woman wouldn’t move. ‘No, I want to see you take him in. I want to see him squirm.’

  Bonnie Broussard jumped into the fray. ‘Briony, are you sayin’ Armand is here in this town?’

  ‘More than that. He’s right here at the fair.’ She pointed toward Sam Noble’s food tent.

  Bonnie charged toward the tent like an avenging fury. ‘You pervert! You pedophile! You piece of scum! You raped my nieces! You’re gonna burn in hell!’

  Reade and his officer corralled the woman before she could get too close to the Hobson Glen Bar and Grill proprietor, but her screams had garnered his attention.

  ‘Clem,’ Sam addressed the sheriff as he approached. ‘Is there some problem here?’

  ‘You bet there’s a problem,’ Bonnie shouted as the officer restrained her.

  ‘You mean you don’t recognize this woman?’ Tish challenged.

  ‘Course not. Why would I?’

  ‘Nor do you recognize this young woman?’ Tish motioned toward Briony, who had partially hidden herself behind Reade.

  At the sight of Briony, Sam’s face blanched. Still he denied knowing her. ‘No, never seen either of them before in my life.’