by Grace York
Isaac stood and crossed his office in two long strides to where a whiteboard rested against a wall. He turned it around, and Addison smiled. It was covered in photographs and written notes and looked just like the ones she saw in her favourite crime shows on television. She was going to like being a detective's assistant.
9
Addison listened intently as Isaac explained the results of their investigation so far. Frankie Hammond had indeed been stabbed in the back with one of his own knives. The frustrating part of the case was that any one of dozens of people could have done it.
Frankie was a man of routine. He woke around ten am, lounged around for the rest of the morning drinking coffee and annoying the other performers, before talking one of the younger, newer staff members into making his lunch for him. They usually woke up to him once they'd been around for a while, but the high staff turnover of a travelling carnival meant there was always someone new who was eager to please one of the performers.
After lunch Frankie would practice throwing his knives for a couple of hours, although lately he'd taken to practicing magic tricks instead. Then he'd take a nap in the afternoon before getting ready for the nightly performance.
"He was taking his afternoon nap when he was killed," Isaac finished.
"And because it was part of his regular routine, everyone knew that's where he'd be," Addison surmised.
"Correct. Coupled with your information of a person in a red shirt going in and out of his trailer within the time frame of the murder, and the fact that an outsider in that area of the camp would have stood out, I believe the killer was part of the carnival. But that only narrows it down to thirty-seven people. Thirty-eight if you count Bob Carter."
"What's Bob got to do with it?" Addison asked. She knew Bob was the local responsible for bringing the carnival to town but didn't understand why he'd be a suspect as well.
"Bob was at the carnival at the time of the murder. And because he's so heavily involved with it all, the Hanley's gave him a staff shirt. He's been wearing it all week."
"Right. Okay, so we have thirty-eight possible suspects. Can we narrow that down at all?"
"Yes. Short and Diaz have managed to rule out twenty staff members who were manning their positions during the window of time in which Frankie could have been murdered."
"So that still leaves eighteen possible suspects. How long is that window?" Addison asked.
"Not long at all. Less than half an hour. The blood was still running when Short got to the body. The forensic pathologist who attended the scene said he could only have died within half an hour of the body's discovery at the most. It was possibly less."
"Which fits with your idea that the Ferris wheel breakdown was a diversion."
"Yes." Isaac pointed to a picture on the whiteboard. Addison recognised the face as belonging to the young man who'd been in charge of the Ferris wheel yesterday. "This is Nabil. He's not a suspect in the murder because he was manning the ride the whole time. But he could be an accomplice, if he rigged the wheel to fail at a certain time."
"You questioned him yesterday," Addison noted.
"That's right. He was adamant he had no idea why the Ferris wheel had stopped. He said there was no-one hanging around the mechanics of the ride when it happened. He had to call one of the Hanleys to fix it. That's why you were up there for so long."
"So even though none of us were hurt, it was enough of a diversion to cause many of the staff to come over."
Isaac nodded. "Harriet Hanley – Harry – told me that rides do break down from time to time. When it happens it's standard procedure for any off-duty staff to come and lend a hand, whether it be to help fix the problem or deal with the patrons. But she said there's no urgency about it. Someone sends word back to the staff camp, and anyone who's not doing anything comes to help."
"So, whoever killed Frankie knew this would be the case," said Addison, thinking it through. "You think they somehow rigged the Ferris wheel to stop at the time of day Frankie usually took his nap. Then when word came into the camp to go and help, they snuck into Frankie's bunk, stabbed him with one of his own knives while he slept, then snuck back out and joined the crowd at the Ferris wheel."
"That's the way I would have done it," said Isaac.
Addison let that all sink in. "Do you have a coffee machine here?" she asked. In her hurry to get to the station this morning she'd declined when Hazel had offered her usual caffeine fix.
Isaac shook his head. "We can't even afford staff. I usually suffer with instant, or go across to Hazel's."
"I'll be right back," said Addison, digging her purse out of her handbag.
As she crossed the road, everything Isaac had said so far ran through her mind. The theory of the diversion made sense. Hopefully Short and Diaz would be able to find out more about the Ferris wheel today, so they could determine whether it had indeed been sabotaged.
If that was the case, they were looking at premeditated murder. Knifing Frankie in the back while he slept isn't something a person does in anger, or in the heat of the moment. It's a planned attack.
Business in the café had picked up by the time Addison arrived, and she had to wait to be served. Her stomach growled, and she realised it was lunch time already. She'd told the kids she'd be home after dropping the baking at the café and the soup to Isaac. That was hours ago. She checked her mobile phone, but there were no messages. Justin had said something about going to the beach, so hopefully they were making their own fun. She sent off a quick text to let them know she'd be home later.
"What's brought you back?" Hazel asked when Addison reached the front of the queue.
"Oh, hi again. Um, I just got chatting with Isaac and lost track of time," said Addison before realising how that sounded. She shouldn't be keeping the detective busy when he had a murder to solve.
Fortunately, Hazel was too busy to pick up on anything. "You want your usual coffee?"
"Yes please. Actually, make it two. And a couple of chicken salad sandwiches."
That raised Hazel's eyebrows.
"I'll just drop one off to Isaac before I go home," Addison added. Hazel smiled, and Addison realised she'd have to explain herself to her friend later. For now, though, there were too many customers for Hazel to start asking questions.
Coffees and sandwiches in hand, Addison returned to the police station to find Isaac sitting at his desk staring at the white board. He didn't stir when the bell over the door jangled. She had to call out to him to come let her through to his office.
"Sorry," he said, lifting the divider again. "I was miles away."
"Did you make any progress?" Addison asked, placing a coffee and sandwich on his desk for him. She started to unwrap her own sandwich.
"Sort of. I've been looking at the eighteen remaining possibilities. All of them were wearing a red shirt and blue pants and were close enough – or could have been close enough – to Frankie's bunk at the time of the murder."
"Eighteen is still a lot. Any way to narrow it down further?"
"I'm hoping Short and Diaz will be able to do that after their second round of questioning today. They should be back soon. In the meantime, I thought we could look at motive."
"Good idea," said Addison. She took a sip of the coffee. It was nice and strong, just the way she liked it. "I was thinking just now – this was premeditated, wasn't it?"
Isaac nodded. "Thanks for this," he said, holding up his coffee as if he were saying cheers. "Yes, there aren't many spur-of-the-moment back stabbings while the victim is asleep. We're looking at a planned murder."
"So who would want to kill the knife thrower at a travelling carnival?" Addison asked.
"Well that's the thing. According to pretty much all our interviews about this particular knife thrower, the answer is – just about everyone."
10
Addison tucked into her sandwich as Isaac ran through the suspect list. He started with the magician and his assistant.
"Paolo and
Gianna," he said, pointing to their pictures on the white board. "Apparently the victim, Frankie Hammond, wanted Paolo's job."
"That's what Holly said," Addison agreed.
"Holly?"
"She works at the carnival. On one of the food trucks."
Addison took another bite of her sandwich while Isaac checked his notebook. "Ah, yes. Holly Rodriguez. She's been ruled out – was serving fairy floss with another girl at the time of the murder, at least two hundred metres away from the staff camp."
Addison finished her mouthful. "That's good. I can't see Holly having anything to do with it."
"So, she spoke to you about the victim?" Isaac asked.
"Yes." Addison explained how she'd met Holly through Hazel at the cafe, and that she'd joined them for the barbecue last night. She tried to remember everything Holly had said, wishing she'd thought to write it all down. Then she remembered Adam had written it all down on his laptop. She made a mental note to check with him later to see if she'd missed anything.
"Did you interview Paolo and Gianna?" Addison asked.
"I did. They say they were in their own trailer and didn't hear anything until someone came asking for help at the Ferris wheel. Gianna knocked on Frankie's door as they walked past his bunk to get him to come and help too, and the door swung open. She saw the knife in his back and started screaming."
"That's right, she was the one who found the body."
"Yes. Unfortunately, she and Paolo are each other's alibi's, which doesn't rule them out if they acted together."
"Holly also said that Frankie had made advances toward Gianna, even though she was married to Paolo. Did she mention that?"
Isaac checked his notebook again. "Yes, she did. It was common knowledge throughout the camp. It seems Frankie wasn't bothered who he upset."
"It's going to be hard to narrow down a motive if everyone had a reason to dislike the man," said Addison.
Isaac nodded, his mouth full of chicken salad sandwich.
"Who else is on the list?" asked Addison.
"Well there's Nabil, the Ferris wheel operator. He could have sabotaged the ride while an accomplice killed Frankie."
"What motive would he have?"
"By all accounts Frankie was a bully, and Nabil was one of his targets. Nabil is quite soft-spoken, doesn't fit the usual mould of carnival worker. Frankie gave him a hard time."
"Did he know enough to sabotage the ride?" Addison asks. "I mean, if he did, he would have known how to get it going again. But you said he had to call one of the Hanleys to fix it."
"That's right," said Isaac. "But that could have been a stalling tactic. Why stop the ride at all if you were going to get it started again straight away? He – or whoever did it – would have wanted it stopped long enough to draw as many of the staff as possible away from the camp."
Addison sipped her coffee. "So either Nabil sabotaged the ride and said he couldn't fix it so it would cause enough of a diversion for his accomplice to murder Frankie, or Nabil didn't do it, someone else sabotaged the ride, and Nabil really didn't know how to fix it."
"Correct."
"So, who else knew how to sabotage the Ferris wheel?"
"I asked Harriet. Hang on." Isaac flipped through his notebook. "Yes, here it is. She said there were two mechanics, plus Morris, all three of the Hanley brothers, and Harry herself who would know how to do it."
"Well that narrows it down," said Addison.
"Not really." Isaac closed his notebook and threw it on the desk. "Harry said after looking at it, she can't be sure the Ferris wheel was tampered with at all. She says it was a belt that broke, and that could have happened with or without human intervention. Once it's snapped, it's impossible to tell."
Addison shook her head. "So we're back to the eighteen suspects, then."
"That's right. Forensics have taken the belt away to examine, so they might be able to tell us more, but not quickly."
They sat in silence for a while, finishing their lunch. Addison realised just how complicated this murder was going to be to solve. Eighteen suspects, an unpopular victim, very little evidence, and not enough resources. She felt for Isaac and his team.
The front door to the station opened, and Addison looked up to see Short and Diaz enter. They let themselves through the barrier and came over to Isaac's office.
"How did you go?" asked Isaac.
Short's gaze went from Isaac to Addison and back again.
"She's helping," said Isaac. He pointed to Addison's completed volunteer forms and fingerprints, still sitting on his desk.
"Cool," said Diaz.
Short remained silent.
"It's fine, Kendall," said Isaac. "We need the help. If head office isn't prepared to give us any more uniforms, we have to find our own way. And besides, they suggested we get a volunteer in. I'm just doing what they asked."
"Volunteers aren't supposed—"
Isaac held up a hand to cut her off. "We'll talk about it later. But I'm not breaking any rules, don't worry."
Kendall Short took a moment to process this, and Addison waited. She admired the young officer. Short was a rule follower; she reminded Addison of a younger version of herself. As Addison had grown older, she'd realised how to stick to her own moral code of following the rules while making those same rules work in her favour. Kendall was still rigid in her beliefs, though, and Addison admired that.
"I won't do anything to get any of you in trouble," said Addison.
Short cast one final look at her boss, before nodding.
"We managed to rule out another seven," she said. Diaz went to the whiteboard and crossed off seven names. "So that leaves us with eleven suspects who all either were or could have been in the vicinity of Frankie's trailer at the time of the murder."
Addison read through the names left on the whiteboard: the magician Paolo and his assistant and wife Gianna; Corey and Luc, the two clowns; two trapeze artists she didn't know; Owen Hanley; Jake Hanley; Hugh Hanley; Harriet Hanley; and Bob Carter. She was surprised to see Bob's name still there.
"I didn't see Bob at the carnival yesterday," she said. "I would have thought he'd be at the pub on a Friday afternoon."
"He says he'd had a meeting with Harriet and Dot," said Short, "and he was just leaving when the Ferris wheel broke down. So he was in the staff area with a red shirt on at the time of the murder."
"Fair enough," said Isaac. "That keeps him on the list. You've interviewed them all?"
"We have," said Short.
"Right." Isaac pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose. "Let's go through them."
Short and Diaz took turns describing their interviews with each of the suspects, adding their suspicions or 'gut feelings' to the discussion. Addison stayed quiet and listened, taking it all in. She had an idea that the two officers were holding back in her presence, but there wasn't anything she could do about that. It would take time to earn their trust, particularly Kendall Short.
Paolo and Gianna had been together in their own trailer at the time of the murder so, as Isaac had said, they were each other's alibi. They both had motive, in that Frankie was after Paolo's job, and he'd been making unwanted advances towards Gianna. That put them high on the suspect list.
Corey, the first of the clowns, was openly gay. Frankie was homophobic, according to Corey and other witnesses. Frankie tried to bully Corey, but Corey wouldn't stand for it. Good for him, Addison thought.
The other clown, Luc, had no real motive either. Frankie was derisive when it came to their jobs, saying clowns were the lowest form of entertainment at the carnival. But most of the staff agreed that Corey and Luc largely ignored Frankie anyway. When the entertainers and some of the staff got together after the shows each night to unwind Frankie only joined them briefly. He usually managed to upset someone, then went off to his own bunk laughing at his own callousness. Most of the staff were well used to ignoring him.
The trapeze artists were both alone at the time of the murder, and in
their own bunks. They, too, had been the subject of Frankie's jokes from time to time. They didn't like the man, and hoped he'd move on from the carnival soon, but insisted they had no reason to want him dead.
Bob Carter had been in the area, as Short had already said. He'd been meeting with Harriet and Dot in Harriet's trailer, apparently discussing the arrangements for bringing the carnival back next year. It was a formality, as both Bob and Harry had explained. The Hanley Brothers Carnival had been coming to Getaway Bay for twenty years, and none of them saw any reason not to continue the relationship.
Which left the three Hanley brothers themselves – Owen, Jake, and Hugh. Could one of them be responsible for murdering their knife thrower?
11
Addison listened as Short and Diaz described their interviews with the three Hanley brothers. All were alone and in or near the staff camp at the time of the murder. All had insisted they were innocent, of course, and none of them had offered up any sort of motive for why they would want to be rid of their knife thrower.
Well they wouldn't, would they?
Addison checked her watch. She really should be getting back to the beach house.
"What are your next steps?" she asked Isaac.
"We'll see what we can find out on each of these suspects," he said. "People are always hiding something. Someone will show up with a motive."
"Anything I can do to help?" Addison asked. She stood and gathered her things.
"Keep your eyes and ears open around town," he said. "Maybe see if you can get anything more out of Holly."
"Will do. Has the carnival re-opened?"
"Yes," said Short. "The forensics team finished up last night, so we let them re-open today."
"Okay. That's good for the town, at least." Addison made her way to the front of the station. Isaac followed, letting her out through the barrier.
"Don't forget you signed a confidentiality agreement," he said, opening the front door for her.
