by Grace York
Addison shooed her children, Adam, and Charlie out into the yard to wipe down the chairs and get things ready out there, while she and Layla continued preparing the food. Cooking was one of Addison's greatest enjoyments, and she loved trying new recipes. Tonight, they were having a whole fish baked on the barbecue, plus she'd found a recipe for barbecued garlic and herb mushrooms she wanted to try. She set about preparing the ingredients, and before long there was a familiar tap on the kitchen window.
"Hello Mrs Jones," said Addison as her elderly neighbour came through the back door. Mrs Jones was seventy-five years old and wasn't shy about telling anyone, but Addison thought she could easily be ten years younger.
"Hello, my dears," said Mrs Jones as she climbed onto her favourite kitchen stool. "How was the carnival?"
Addison and Layla exchanged a glance, then Addison once again told the story of the knife thrower with a knife in his back. She was glad Mrs Jones had been sitting down; the poor woman was holding onto the bench with both hands by the time Addison was finished.
"Wow. Poor Dot," she said, accepting the drink Layla had prepared for her. Mrs Jones was partial to a shandy on a hot day. Today wasn't particularly hot, but Layla had obviously decided Mrs Jones would need a drink after hearing of Getaway Bay's third murder this year.
"Who's Dot?" Addison asked.
"Morris's wife," said Mrs Jones, taking a sip of her shandy. "Ooh, that's nice, dear. You went heavier on the beer than the lemonade, didn't you?"
"I thought you could handle it a little stronger today," said Layla with a smile.
"You thought right." Mrs Jones turned back to Addison. "Morris and Dot Hanley are the second generation of Hanley's to run that carnival," she explained. "It was Morris's father and uncle who started it, but that was back when I was a youngster."
"They've been coming here that long?" asked Addison.
"Oh, no. They've only been coming here for twenty years or so. But I got the story from Dot a few years back. We got chatting one night in the pub. She's a lovely woman. Oh, the stories she has about life on the road." Mrs Jones smiled and sipped her drink.
"Anyway, when the two original Hanley brothers retired, Morris was the only one of their children interested in taking over. I think one of his cousins helped out from time to time, but it was really all left to Morris. He and Dot built it up from a couple of sideshow games and rides into the grand show it is today."
"And they've got three sons, right?" asked Layla.
"That's right. Let me see now, what are their names?" Mrs Jones stared out the window as she tried to remember. Addison followed her gaze and saw the kids laughing and chatting out in the garden; Charlie and Mrs Jones's dog Bella running and playing next to them.
"Owen, that's the eldest. He's married to Harriet, although they all call her Harry."
"I met her today," said Addison. "She insisted I get checked out by the paramedics after being stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel."
"Yes, that sounds like Harry. Dot says Harry runs the show these days. Morris has practically retired, and Dot herself looks after the bookings and such, but most everything else is down to Harry. Well, Harry and Owen, technically, but it's mostly Harry."
"She did seem very efficient," said Addison.
"Dot absolutely adores her," said Mrs Jones. "Much more than her other daughter-in-law. Now, what's that one's name?"
There was more staring out the window, and Addison had half a mind to grab her phone and Google Hanley Brothers Carnival, but Mrs Jones finally got all the characters straight.
"Davina, that's it. She's married to the second son, Jake. I don't think carnival life suits Davina at all, but Jake loves it."
"I suppose it takes a certain kind of person," said Layla. "They're on the road all the time, aren't they?"
"For eight months of the year," said Mrs Jones. "They have a property outside of Brisbane. Dot told me they all go there for the winter. They each have a house on the property. Well, except for the youngest son, Hugh. He's not married yet, so he stays in the main house with Morris and Dot. But the other two each have their own house."
"Still, eight months a year is a long time to be living out of a caravan," said Layla.
"It would be all they've ever known," said Addison.
"The Hanley's sure. But not the wives. I can understand them getting sick of such a life."
"They knew what they were getting into when they married them," said Mrs Jones.
Addison couldn't disagree with that. Personally, she could think of nothing worse than travelling for eight months of every year. It'd be hard work, too. All those rides to set up and take down, long hours standing in the sun, staff to manage. It couldn't be easy recruiting and maintaining staff with such a lifestyle.
"Do you know anything about the knife thrower?" Addison asked Mrs Jones. "Frankie, they said his name was."
"No, not really. I know Morris found him last year sometime, because he was here with them last Easter. He was new then. I haven't caught up with Dot yet this year. I've been meaning to get down there and see her, but time gets away. I'll try and catch up with her tomorrow."
Addison finished preparing her mushrooms for the barbecue and was about to take them out to Adam when the doorbell rang. Most of the regular Friday guests went straight through the side fence to the back garden, so Addison wondered who this could be.
She answered the door and was surprised and delighted to see Holly from the carnival. Her delight quickly turned to concern when the young woman burst into tears and collapsed into Addison's arms.
6
"Holly! Whatever's the matter?" Addison led the poor girl inside and settled her on the sofa. She sat next to her, plucking tissues from a nearby box and holding them at the ready. When Holly had worked her way through half a dozen tissues, the tears started to dry up.
"I'm so sorry, Addison. I shouldn't have come here like this."
"Nonsense. What can I do to help?"
Holly blew her nose and gathered herself. "It's just awful," she began. "The carnival used to be such a wonderful place to work. But after this afternoon… I don't know if I can go back there."
"It's been quite a shock for you," said Addison. "Why don't you spend the evening here with us, and forget about it for a few hours."
"Thank you. Olivia invited me, actually. We had a chat while you were up in the Ferris wheel with that detective. She's lovely, your daughter."
Addison couldn't help but smile. "She is, isn't she? I'm glad she invited you. Let's get outside and get the barbecue started, and you can forget all about what happened this afternoon."
They stood, but Holly hesitated. "I'm not sure I can forget about it," she said. "The police think one of the staff is a murderer. It's all going around and around in my head. I can't stop thinking about it."
"Well in that case, maybe you need to talk it through. You've come to the right place for that. My next-door neighbour has just been telling us all about the history of the carnival, and all the Hanleys."
"They're lovely people to work for. I'm so upset this has happened to them. What's it going to do to the carnival? Will it be able to continue?"
"I think it's far too early to be worrying about that. I tell you what, let's go outside, get ourselves a nice glass of wine, and you can tell us about some of your friends at the carnival. Try and get this nasty business out of your head."
Holly nodded. "I think that's a good idea."
"Right. As soon as you've had enough, though, you just give me a nod and I'll change the subject."
"Like a secret signal?" Holly asked.
"A secret signal. Yes, exactly." Addison smiled. Holly must be in her mid-twenties, but she had such an innocent face she reminded Addison of a child.
They went into the kitchen, where Layla had taken the fish out of the fridge ready to take outside. Addison had stuffed it with her special recipe and wrapped it in foil before they went to the carnival that morning.
"Hello,"
said Layla. "I don't think we've met."
Addison introduced the two of them, and Holly helped carry trays of food out into the back garden. Mrs Jones was already in her favourite chair in the corner, Bella on her lap. Hazel and her husband Martin had arrived, as well as Juliet and Josie Porter. They must have come through the side gate while Addison was consoling Holly.
Josie was fussing over Charlie. "He's almost ready for another haircut, Addison," she said after everyone had been introduced to Holly. Josie ran the local dog grooming salon, and had cleaned Charlie up after he'd spent a few weeks running wild. He'd been in quite a state when he'd first turned up on Addison's doorstep three months ago.
"Yes, I'll get Olivia to bring him in next week if you've got time."
"I'll make time for this little one," said Josie, giving Charlie another cuddle. Addison was glad Josie and her twin sister Juliet didn't dress identically, she'd never be able to tell them apart. Besides their appearance, the twins shared a love of animals. Juliet was the local vet, and Josie's salon was located directly behind the vet practice. As an only child, Addison sometimes envied them their close bond.
"So what's all this about you being witness to another murder, Addison?" asked Martin.
"Well, I wasn't exactly a witness," said Addison. She explained yet again the circumstances of being up in the Ferris wheel, this time adding Isaac's suspicions that the Ferris wheel breakdown was a diversion.
"That explains why he was questioning Nabil for so long," said Holly.
"Is Nabil the only operator of the Ferris wheel?" Justin asked.
"He's the main one. All of the guys who work that part of the carnival have their regular rides," Holly explained. "But they all know how to operate others as well. There are at least three people trained to operate each ride, so they can give each other breaks, or cover when someone's sick, that sort of thing. Harry makes sure everything runs smoothly."
"She certainly seems to know what she's doing," said Addison. "Mrs Jones was telling us Harriet practically runs the show, yet she wasn't born into it. She's married to the eldest of the three sons, is that right?"
"Yes," said Holly. "Harry's married to Owen. Old Mr Hanley – Morris, but everyone calls him Mr Hanley – is supposed to be retired, and Owen is supposed to be in charge. But everyone knows it's really Harry who runs things. She's the one everyone turns to when something goes wrong."
"What does Owen do then?" asked Justin.
"Whatever Harry tells him to do," said Holly with a giggle. "He's the muscle, Harry is the brains. It works quite well."
"That's the impression I've always got from Dot," said Mrs Jones.
"What about the other two brothers?" Olivia asked.
Addison handed Holly a glass of white wine, and Holly took a sip. "Ooh, that's lovely," she said. "Thank you." She turned back to Olivia. "Jake is the middle son, he's married to Davina. He's like a carbon copy of his father. Jake looks after all the rides and games, and their operators. Davina operates the ticket booth, but she's got a couple of girls working for her, so she doesn't really do much."
"Dot tells me she's not fond of the lifestyle," said Mrs Jones.
Holly shrugged. "I don't know her very well, to be honest. She spends most of her time in her trailer. They get a whole caravan to themselves, the family members."
"And the youngest son?" Olivia prompted.
"Hugh."
Addison noticed Holly's eyes light up when she said his name. Mrs Jones had said Hugh was the single one, hadn't she?
"Yes, Hugh," said Olivia. "What does he do?"
"He recently took over the performance side of things from his dad. Looking after all the acts that go on stage every night. I'm not sure it's going too well, though."
"What makes you say that?" asked Addison.
Holly paused, looking around the circle. She had a captive audience, and Addison thought for a minute she might clam up. But she seemed to revel in the attention.
"I suppose it doesn't matter too much now," she said. "Frankie was causing Hugh some trouble. Remember I told you this afternoon about Frankie wanting to be a magician?"
Addison nodded.
"Well he had Mr Hanley on his side. Jake, too, I reckon. It was getting harder and harder for Hugh to keep things as they were. Poor Hugh. He's always struggled, being the youngest son."
"Never quite lived up to his father's expectations, has he?" said Mrs Jones.
Holly sighed. "He's not as macho as the other two," she said. "He's got different strengths. He's the one who built the carnival's website, you know. And all the social media. He's the reason the carnival attracts such a big crowd wherever it goes. He puts the word out before they even get there. He's got patrons waiting for us to arrive at every town."
"That's quite a big deal," said Addison. "Surely that has to win his father's approval?"
"You'd think so," said Holly. "But Mr Hanley can't see it. He doesn't understand computers, or the Internet. He has no idea how much Hugh does. I reckon we wouldn't have half the crowds we do if it wasn't for Hugh."
Addison was starting to develop a picture of what life was like inside Hanley Brothers Carnival. She'd always known travelling carnivals to be family affairs, but it was interesting to get a glimpse inside one like this.
Morris Hanley was obviously the patriarch, retired but still in charge, at least in his own mind. He would have been proud to have three sons carry on the tradition of the carnival, two of whom at least were hardened, labour-intensive carnival folk like himself. It was a shame he couldn't see the contributions of his third son, who it seemed was more than pulling his weight in the business. She wondered whether Dot knew how important Hugh was to the success of the carnival these days.
"I'd better fire up the barbecue if we're going to eat before dark," said Adam. Addison realised he'd been quiet all this time, which was very unlike Adam. He was usually the first person asking questions when the topic of conversation was this interesting.
Then she noticed how he blushed whenever he looked at Holly.
7
As Adam cooked the food, Holly went on to describe some of her friends at the carnival. She explained what a nice person Gianna was, how she was always ready with a cup of tea and a chat whenever Holly was feeling homesick.
She described the fun she always had hanging around after each night's performance with Corey and Luc, the two clowns, and Nabil and some of the other ride operators. Corey and Luc loved what they did, and they always came back to the staff camp laughing and joking. They told Holly how much the kids in the crowd had laughed at their antics, and they'd always recreate some of it for her and the rest of the staff. It was a great way to unwind after the long days operating rides or selling hot dogs and fairy floss.
Corey and Luc particularly enjoyed entertaining Henry, who Addison learned was Harry and Owen's four-year-old son.
"I don't remember seeing a young boy with Harry at all," said Addison.
"No, he spends most of the day with his grandmother," said Holly. "Dot is devoted to Henry. She's even applied to home school him next year."
"I suppose that makes sense, if the family is on the road eight months of the year," said Hazel. "It's a big commitment, though. I wouldn't like to have done it with our two."
Hazel and Martin's kids were teenagers, Tyson and Lani. They sometimes came to Addison's barbecues, but being sixteen and fourteen years old respectively they preferred to stay home and play on their devices. Hazel made no secret of the fact she enjoyed the break from them. "I love them, don't get me wrong," she'd say every week. "But I need time away from teenage grumpiness."
The conversation eventually moved away from the carnival and its colourful characters, and onto the more routine lives of Getaway Bay's inhabitants. The baked fish was a resounding success, as were the stuffed mushrooms for those who preferred to remain vegetarian on Good Friday. Everyone seemed to have a great time as usual, and Addison especially enjoyed having Justin, Emily, and Olivia ther
e to join in.
Once the guests had left, Justin, Emily, and Layla all headed for bed. Olivia helped her mother clean up in the kitchen while Adam tidied up outside.
"So what do you think?" Olivia asked as she piled dishes into the dishwasher.
"About what?" said Addison.
"The murder, of course. A knife thrower stabbed in the back at a travelling carnival. It's pretty sensational. Who do you think did it?"
'My money's on the magician," said Adam. Addison hadn't heard him come inside.
"Why?" asked Olivia.
"Holly said Frankie wanted the magician's job. Looked like he had a couple of bosses onside and was going to get it, too. That's motive. Plus, the magician's wife found the body. They could be in on it together."
Addison considered the theory. She couldn't fault Adam's logic. "Definitely a possibility," she said.
"What about the youngest son, Hugh?" said Olivia. "Holly said he didn't get on with the victim either."
"Yeah, but what did he stand to gain or lose from Frankie's death? He wouldn't have to deal with him as an employee anymore, but I can't see anything else. Not really much of a motive."
"Yeah, fair enough," said Olivia. "Anyone want a cup of tea?"
"Yes please," said Addison, as she finished washing the larger pans and things that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher.
Olivia put the kettle on and got two mugs out of the cupboard. "Adam, you want anything?"
"No thanks," he said. "I'm going to get my laptop." He took off up the stairs, leaving Addison and Olivia alone in the kitchen.
"It's nice to have Justin and Emily here," she said, putting tea bags in the mugs and pouring the boiling water in. "I miss him."
"I miss him too," said Addison. "But he's doing really well in Melbourne. And Emily is just lovely."
"I told you you'd like her. She's perfect for him."
"Yes, you were right." Olivia had visited Justin and Emily in Melbourne late last year, while Addison was still in the process of buying the beach house. She'd come home with lovely stories of a long weekend spent with her brother and his girlfriend. Justin had proposed to Emily just before Christmas, and Olivia was delighted she'd said yes.
