Big Top Treachery

by CeeCee James

  I swung my legs and drummed my heels against the box. There was something that bothered me about Holly. Up until now, all I’d heard about Holly were traits that made her seem like a lovely lady. She played with Sally’s boy, she was talented, and everyone adored her at Concello circus. But how good of a person could she be when she was cheating on her husband with his friend?

  It seemed hideous that Bernie had been killed with her sword. So malicious, really. Someone was sending a message. Why were people so ready to think the ghost of Holly was the one who delivered it?

  I knew that circus folks were a suspicious lot, but I didn’t believe it. Especially in light of my rainbow being torn down. Someone was targeting me, and I didn’t think it was Holly.

  I really had to figure out who killed Bernie, especially since someone had zeroed in on me. I tried to remember everything I could about the musician. He seemed like an affable fellow. Very serious about playing the calliope. In fact, I remember him sweating during his practice sessions, which really showed dedication since he’d been playing the instrument for so long.

  I know now that he had a gambling problem. He had a lot of friends. Even Kenny had said, poor Bernie.

  One of my biggest questions was about how the ruby just showed up outside the costume tent out of the blue? And why would Bernie keep the newspaper article about the pawn shop from all those years ago?

  The line for Santa was getting longer as more families joined. In fact, I was a little uncomfortable as they trailed by my hiding spot. I decided to head toward the stable. That made me think of Sam, and how the dog had been with Kenny. Hadn’t he just gotten out of jail? Was it really his dog or did he adopt it as a stray?

  So many questions.

  But the biggest one, at least for now, was who had been in my cabin? Was I getting too close to the killer and they thought they’d better scare me off?

  I was just outside the stable when I noticed something. A scent in the air. Every hair on my body prickled as I tried to identify it.

  Old Spice.

  A hand reached out and grabbed me just as I spun around to check if someone was behind me. The man’s sneering face was scarred with pock-marks. Blackheads covered his nose.

  “There’s little Miss Troublemaker. Amazing someone as small as you could have such a very big mouth.”

  I stood stunned, staring up at him. Adrenaline jolted through me, and I jerked my arm. “Let go of me!”

  “Not so fast. Come here. I’ve got someone who wants to talk to you.” He gripped my arm harder and dragged me around the side of the tent. I planted my feet, which did little to stop him. Instead, it caused me to leave two plowed trails behind me.

  Where was he taking me? My heart sped up when I realized we were heading for the parking area. If he got me into a car, I’d never get away.

  I sucked in a deep breath to scream when his hand clamped over my mouth. He gave me a sharp poke in my side.

  “I don’t think so,” he hissed in my ear. “You’re coming with me nice and quiet-like or I’m going to do a little exploring with my knife.”

  My throat squeezed tight, and I didn’t think I could have even let out a squeak after that. I tightened my stomach and tip-toed, trying to dance away from the pointy-end of his weapon.

  “That’s right. You be a good girl and walk nice.” He removed his hand, but not the knife.

  “Who are you?” I asked. I cut my gaze to the left, scared even to make a strong head movement.

  “Take it easy there, princess,” he murmured, his hand nudging me at my ribs.

  I tried to take bigger steps to keep ahead of him. Fear gripped me as I realized there was no one around. Everyone was preparing for the big show or was waiting for Santa or at the game booths.

  Up ahead was the large entrance gate. Sweat gathered on my upper lip despite the cold. I searched for Granny Matilda. She had to be there. She was always there. My eyes stung, I was staring so hard.

  Then I saw her! She was at her booth, studying a paper on her desk. Look up! My internal voice screamed. See me!

  But the words froze in my throat. Not just out of fear from the knife, but from the realization that there was nothing she could do. How could an old lady stop this hulking man? He’d just push her out of the way. She might even get hurt trying to help me.

  As we passed through the gate, she never even looked up. My pulse hammered in my ears even as the letdown brought tears to my eyes. I was alone, like I’d always been alone. I had to depend on myself.

  A colossal mud puddle covered half the road. He marched me straight through it. Cold water splashed up over my shoes, soaking my pants. The sensation ushered in a weird calmness and clarity. All right then. No time for panic. I had to figure a way out of this.

  I had no choice.

  There was a van up ahead with windows that were darkly tinted and menacing. He steered me over in that direction. Water squelched out of my shoes.

  “Did you get your tootsies wet?” He laughed, ugly and deep. His laugh started flaring my panic again, like a racehorse out of the gate. Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I searched wildly around the parking lot for someone—anyone—not caring if he saw.

  “Ain’t nobody coming, sweetheart,” he murmured, his hot breath in my ear.

  I couldn’t believe it. He was right.

  “I’ve never had fun with a little person before,” he said as we reached the door.

  I had tears in my eyes. This guy was nearly twice the size of me. What was I going to do?

  Chapter 19

  Life felt like it was spinning a million miles a second. I tried to get control of myself again. Take a deep breath. Don’t get in your head. You don’t know what’s going to happen.

  Maybe I could stall him. Quick! Tell him someone’s coming! Don’t hum. Say it like you believe it! “You should just let me go. I’m meeting someone. They’re going to be here any minute.”

  “You must think I’m dumber than a bag of hammers.”

  Where had I heard that saying before? On the phone with the pawn broker. His boss had said that!

  Ask him a question. “Why did you hate Bernie?” I cringed a moment after the question came out. Why didn’t I ask him something less? Nerves made me blurt out the first thing on my mind.

  I didn’t think he was going to answer me. Then he roughly jerked me around so I was facing him.

  “He was owed that for a long time. He turned us in to the Feds years ago.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Because he blamed us for his girlfriend’s death. But he knew she couldn’t get his stuff out of pawn. He’d used it to pay off his poker debt.”

  “How do you know it was him who turned you in?”

  “I didn’t know for sure until this last game. He showed up drunker than a skunk. Kept losing game after game and started getting mad. Blasted his mouth off in mid-game. Probably never remembered doing it, but I heard. Oh, yes, I heard.”

  “Why would you come for me?” I asked.

  “Because you were getting a tad bit too snoopy. Once you found out that Bernie had been to our place, it was only a matter of time that you’d realize he’d gone into debt again. I can’t risk you blabbing. My dad had to give up ownership of the business the last time the Feds came sniffing around. We don’t have anyone to give it to now. Better just to tie up the loose ends.” He grinned. Any second he was going to reach for the van door handle.

  Say anything! My internal voice screamed. “Why did you drop the ruby?”

  “Ruby? What ruby?”

  The question seemed to startle him. I would have been surprised at his response except I was watching him like a hawk. For a second, his hand left me to wrench open the door. I flung my elbow back like a rocket and caught him right between his legs.

  The grunt he let out was a cross between a train whistle and a roar of pain. His hand that had been holding the knife jerked back as he reached down to cup himself.

  I didn’t
look to see what damage I’d done. I just ran. I never looked back. My feet slapped against the ground as blistering fast as I could go.

  I could hear him screaming nasty names after me. The anger in his voice spurred me even faster. Confusion hit me. Where do I go? Aisle after aisle of parked cars boxed me in. Hurry! Find someplace to hide!

  Arms pumping, I darted beside a big SUV. My body vibrated from my heart hammering in my chest. I gasped, struggling to breathe.

  To listen.

  I couldn’t hear past my pulse beating like it was competing to be in a rock-in-roll video. Was he coming after me? Frustrated at not being able to hear, I dropped to my hands and knees and stared under the vehicle. I shifted, looking in every direction.

  Nothing.

  I was breathing like a locomotive, and I did my best to stifle the sounds. My gaze continued to dart around.

  Did he give up?

  I lay there, the ground cold and prickly against my skin, wondering what to do. In the distance, I heard a car start up and, with a sound like the gas pedaled was being stomped, it drove away.

  Was that him? Was he gone now? Had he really taken off?

  Just then I was jerked backward. The neckline of my shirt cut into my throat as I was hauled up. Hands gripped me like shackles. I screamed and tried to twist away.

  The man had me like a fish on the end of the line. He laughed, his sunken cheeks crinkling back in an evil smile. “I’ve got you now!”

  He reached for my neck, and I beat at his face. My blows were ineffective and seemed to humor him even more. His hand closed on my soft throat. I felt the bite of his fingernails as his hand dug in.

  I couldn’t breath. Blackness tunneled around me. I squirmed and thrashed. But everything was getting. Very. Sleepy.

  Out of no where a dark blur flew by. It landed on the man’s back and slid down.

  It was the German Shepherd. The dog’s teeth sank firmly into the man’s arm attached to my throat. It yanked and the man’s hand left my neck.

  Sam.

  Stars came to my eyes as I sucked in oxygen. The man screamed as the Shepherd left his arm and bit into his thigh.

  I need to move. I need to get out of here. My brain screamed at me to move, but my body argued that it wanted to rest and sleep. Feeling unattached, as though I were watching a commercial, I saw the man stumbled backward. The dog’s grip was solid in the man’s thigh muscle. Sam shook his head violently, and my attacker fell over.

  MOVE! Finally, my muscles responded to my internal shrieking. I got up and ran.

  This time, I wasn’t trying to hide. I screamed as loudly as I could. “Help! Help!”

  It wasn’t loud, more raspy-like, as though I’d just finished drinking a cup of syrup. But I caught the attention of a group of teenage boys who were walking toward the admission tent. I saw them run toward me, shouting as they came.

  “Hey, lady! Are you okay?”

  Panting, I pointed down to the van, where the man screamed as Sam continued to attack him. “Police. Take him down,” I panted. “Please, don’t let him escape.”

  The boys looked up at the man and ran like a human block. They hit the pocked-man like a hammer hitting an anvil. The man didn’t have a chance.

  Still, I was worried the dog would get hurt. “Sam!” I screamed. “Here, boy!”

  Once the dog felt the man was contained, he trotted over to me, tail wagging happily. I could see one of the boys was on his phone, and heard him say, “We just stopped an assault. Send the police.”

  I sank to the ground, tears running freely. The dog bounded over. He sniffed my face and then licked my cheek. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sobbed.

  “Thank you. Thank you,” I cried. I couldn’t thank him enough. The dog had saved me. “Beautiful boy, thank you.”

  Chapter 20

  Sally walked toward me with a flannel blanket. I wasn’t alone but immersed in the circle of a large crowd of people who were mostly rubbernecking at the sight of the police arresting the man who’d attacked me. She wove her way through the crowd until she was next to me, and then gently wrapped the blanket around my shoulders. Her arm stayed with it as she drew me into a tight hug.

  “It’s okay, Trixie. You’re okay,” she murmured.

  I was grateful for the blanket because I hadn’t stopped shivering since the boys had taken down the man. The police had responded quickly to the 911 phone call, showing up just a few minutes later.

  In front of me now was the police officer who I’d first met when I’d discovered Bernie. He had the same sour expression on his face with his lips turned down into a frown.

  He’d been questioning me for a while and didn’t seem in any rush to stop. “So I guess you knew more than you said the first time I saw you, hmm?” he asked. “Maybe if you would have shared it then, this could have all been avoided.”

  I shook my head vehemently, as anxiety at not being believed balled in my chest. “No! I swear! I—”

  It was here that Sally interrupted me. “You can’t accuse her of that, sir. This is a good girl. She didn’t have any information about Bernie’s death before now.”

  “So, I’m just supposed to believe that everything fell in your lap and you happened to stumble upon the killer while picking daisies?” The officer’s sarcasm could not be more obvious.

  “Yeah. I guess I did,” I answered simply. A little pride bloomed in place of the anxiety. “Not too bad for circus riffraff, huh?” I threw the insult he’d used earlier in conversation back at him.

  He raised an eyebrow and gave me a curious stare. Then, he nodded, seeming to acknowledge my point. “All right, that was fair. I shouldn’t have called you that. Can you tell me again how you managed to grab this guy’s attention?”

  Another rack of tremors ran through my body. I wiped my nose on the corner of the blanket. It was cold outside, but the shivering wasn’t caused by the temperature. I think my body was reacting to the aftermath of getting so scared.

  “Oh, honey,” Sally said, rubbing my arms. “You’re all right. You’re safe now.” And then she added to the officer. “You be gentle with her. She’s been through a lot tonight.”

  “I’m okay,” I reassured her, thankful for backup. I wasn’t too sure about the truth of my assessment, but I sure wasn’t going to admit to any weakness right now. Not in front of this guy.

  “I’m not sure how he found me,” I addressed the officer. “But I do know who he is.”

  “And, who’s that?” the cop asked. He lowered his eyebrows in an irritatingly patronizing look of concern.

  “He’s the owner at the Bullseye pawn shop. I think if you search, you’ll discover that Bernie’s been there recently.”

  “Really? And how do you know that?”

  “I recognized the attacker’s voice. When I was on the phone with the clerk at the pawnshop, I overheard him saying that the guy was dumber than a bag of hammers. He said it again when he had me trapped.”

  The cop pushed back his hat. “Now, why were you calling a pawn shop? That seems like a little odd in the timing. You trying to look suspicious?”

  “No!” I jerked the blanket tighter around me. “I was trying to track down the sword. You know, the one Bernie was killed with.” I couldn’t help dishing the sarcasm back.

  “So, you heard him say the same thing. What else did you find out?” he asked.

  “I found out that the pawn shop had no record of it. But I did learn that there was gambling there.”

  “You mean years ago,” he said. I was astonished that he knew that off the top of his head.

  “No, I mean now,” I said. “The guy at the shop said he’d seen Bernie at the latest game. And that Bernie had some stuff there that was about to be sold if Bernie didn’t come get it out of pawn.” I pointed to the guy who attacked me who was now being roughly pushed into the back seat of a police car. “And that guy said Bernie had been drunk and let it slip that he was the one who alerted the Feds about the gambling all those
years ago.”

  “And why would Bernie narc on them?” The officer asked.

  “Good job, Trixie,” Sally said, rubbing my arm, briskly. “I’m so proud of you.”

  I flashed her a smile and continued. “Bernie was angry because he felt like the pawn shop was responsible for his girlfriend’s death, because they wouldn’t let her get her sword back. The sword hadn’t been pawned, but used instead to pay the debt that Bernie had owed when he’d lost his bet. He never told Holly the truth, so when she went down there she fully expected to be able to get her treasured sword back.”

  “Huh,” the officer said.

  “When they found out Bernie was the rat, they used that same sword to kill him. They might have lured him to the parking lot with something to do with the watch he’d just pawned. It was retribution.”

  The officer didn’t answer. Instead, he studied me with an expression as though he were measuring me. I was used to it. Being small, people often underestimated me.

  His partner called over to him, “Hey, you done over there?”

  “Yeah,” he answered. “We’re done here.” He touched the brim of his hat. “Good job. Take care of yourself. There won’t always be people around to help,” he warned.

  “It wasn’t people who rescued me,” I said. “It was a dog.”

  Chapter 21

  It was hours later, and the crowds had all left. The Ringmaster had come by and listened to my story as he stared off into the horizon. Then, he’d cooly nodded and told me to take the next day off.

  I was back in my cabin, still wrapped in the flannel blanket. Sally pressed a mug of hot tea into my hands. Fragrant cinnamon-scented steam swirled around my face as I took a sip.

  Seated across from me on Sally’s bunk was both Jerry and Kenny. Sam, my sweet rescuer, lay at my feet.