by Cindy Bell
“Joyce.” She tipped her head towards Brenda. “And this is my friend, Brenda.”
“Joyce and Brenda. Nice to meet you.” Sal’s lips curved into a small smile. “Can I have my donuts now?”
“Sure.” Joyce handed him the bag as Brenda walked over to the register to ring up the sale.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Sal. I know that you worked very closely with Rocco.” Joyce stepped closer to the window. “I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you.”
“It’s a risk that we all take when we climb up to those platforms.” Sal handed Brenda a few dollars as he took the box of donuts from her. “We’re all always living on the edge.”
“But today, it was a bigger risk than ever, wasn’t it?” Joyce looked into his eyes. “I saw Rocco pull you into the center of the platform.”
“Yes, he did.” Sal narrowed his eyes. “Too bad I couldn’t do the same for him.”
“I’m sure it’s possible for accidents to happen.” Brenda nodded as she accepted his payment. “But to have someone sabotage the swing, that’s just horrible.”
“It is.” Sal cleared his throat. “I don’t know how anyone could do anything so vicious. But he did die doing what he loved.” He shrugged. “I think most of us face death every time we step off the platform. We face it and accept that it might be our last swing. When I land on the other side after a performance, I always feel as if I’ve been given another chance at life. It’s addictive to feel that way.”
“I imagine it would be.” Brenda nodded slowly as she swept her gaze over Sal. “I’m glad to hear that there’s going to be an event honoring him tomorrow.”
“Me too. It will be difficult, though.” Sal lowered his eyes and took a quick breath. “But it’s what Rocco would have wanted. He insisted that we never be distracted by personal things. The show had to go on, no matter what might be happening in our lives. Since the circus can’t open, it will be good for everyone to participate in something, to give our minds and hearts some closure.” He stepped away from the truck, then paused. “I hope to see you both there.”
“We will be.” Brenda smiled, then watched as he walked away. “What a nice, young man.”
“He sure seems to be, doesn’t he?” Joyce raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Brenda. “I find it hard to believe that he’s so calm after such an awful thing.”
“Well, like he said, they’re accustomed to the danger, to the risk. Perhaps there is some level of detachment there.” Brenda shrugged and turned back towards the remainder of the donuts. As she boxed them up, she explained to Joyce about the show the next day and that she had agreed to open Donuts on the Move presuming it was okay with her.
“Of course.” Joyce nodded with a smile. “It sounds like it will be a special show.”
“I guess I’d better start packing up. I don’t think we’re going to have many more customers today.”
“Good idea.” Joyce sighed as she turned to the register. “I’ll start shutting this down. I only opened up the truck again because I was trying to get my mind off what happened this morning.”
“Joyce?” Brenda looked over at her. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s just—” Joyce shook her head, then frowned. “It’s probably nothing.”
“I bet it’s something. Tell me. I’m listening.” Brenda began to box up the leftover donuts.
“I heard Rocco and Sal fighting, remember? Sal wanted to take Rocco’s place so badly. Now, he’s going to be at the show to honor Rocco. Something about it all just seems a little off to me.” Joyce popped open the register and began to count the money inside.
“You really think Sal was the one to tamper with the bar? He would certainly know how to do it, and how to make sure that it would be Rocco that suffered the fall.” Brenda closed the box.
“Exactly.” Joyce piled some of the cash into a bank deposit bag, then closed the register. “He seems nice enough, but I just can’t shake an eerie feeling I get around him, like he’s hiding something behind that nice demeanor.”
“I see what you’re saying.” Brenda nodded, then stretched her arms above her head. “I can tell you this much, there’s no shortage of suspects in Rocco’s murder. It’s strange how so many people saw the murder, but no one is actually a witness to what happened.”
“At least we think no one is. Someone had to see the nuts being loosened, didn’t they?” Joyce gestured to the staff walking around the fairground. “There are people everywhere.”
“Oh!” Brenda gasped, and her eyes widened. “Joyce, I just remembered something! I saw Rowan sneaking around the tent earlier today, not long before Rocco died.”
“Rowan? From the shoe store?” Joyce furrowed an eyebrow. “What would he be doing out here?”
“I have no idea. But I noticed him because he was acting so strange. He walked along the side of the tent and seemed to be trying to get underneath it or look underneath it. It was very odd.” Brenda frowned as she looked at Joyce. “Do you think he might have had something to do with this?”
“I think it’s worth looking into. I also think it’s worth mentioning to Detective Crackle, now that we know it wasn’t an accident. Any information we can give might help.”
“But Rowan?” Brenda shook her head. “I don’t think he could have done anything like this. Why would he ever want to hurt Rocco?”
“That’s a good question, one that might be difficult to answer.” Joyce met Brenda’s eyes. “You should go home now, get some rest. We’ll need to be back here tomorrow, and there’s still a lot to get prepared.”
“You’re right. I should get home. I know that Charlie will be waiting to talk to me properly about what happened today. I’m just going to finish a few things, and then head out. But you can go if you’d like. Everything is set for tonight.”
“All right, I think I will. Take care of yourself, Brenda, okay?” Joyce gave her friend a tight hug. “Try to put this day behind you.”
“I will if you will.” Brenda met her eyes. “Get some sleep, okay?”
“I will if you will.” Joyce winked at her, then left the truck.
Brenda drove home with a heaviness in her heart. She pushed open the door to her house and stepped inside. With so much weighing on her shoulders, she didn’t even notice when she took her purse off and set it on the table in the hallway. A few steps into the house, Sophie came barreling out from the living room, and slammed her body into her mother. As her arms wrapped around Brenda in a tight hug, Brenda hid her wince with a smile.
“Hi sweetheart.” Brenda ran her fingers through Sophie’s hair. “Did you have a good day with Daddy?”
“He’s grumpy.” Sophie sighed. “But he gave me pizza bagels.”
“Oh good.” Brenda smiled, then leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Daddy has a lot on his mind, sweetie. Why don’t you grab a game from your room, and we can all play it together?”
“Yes.” Sophie jumped up and down, then bolted into her room.
“Charlie?” Brenda peeked in the living room. It was empty, aside from the toys scattered across the floor. When she reached Charlie’s office door, she found it partly closed. “Charlie?” She knocked lightly on the door.
“Come in.” Charlie’s muffled voice called out to her.
Brenda stuck her head into the office. “Do you have a deadline you’re working on?”
“No.” Charlie turned in his office chair to face her. “I’ve been looking into some things. How was it today?”
“Difficult.” Brenda stepped into his office and pulled the door closed partway behind her. “Like I said on the phone, Joyce saw everything. I needed to be as supportive as I could for her.”
“I understand, that must have been difficult.” Charlie curled his hands around her wrists.
“I told Sophie we would play a game together.” Brenda shook her head. “Let’s try to enjoy our evening.”
“That’s good. I haven’t been the greatest dad today
.” Charlie wiped his hand across his face. “My focus has been on other things.”
“Like what?” Brenda wrapped an arm around his shoulders and peered past him at the computer monitor.
“Like, Rocco’s history, as much of it as I can find, and who might have had it in for him.” Charlie leaned back in his chair and looked up at her as he curled one hand around her forearm. “I know, you’re going to tell me to leave it alone. But this is important. What happened to Rocco, happened while you were right there. Joyce witnessed it. It was a horrible thing. I think it warrants me doing a little research.”
“Charlie, I just don’t want you to lose yourself in it. I know how you are when you get involved in investigating something.” Brenda sighed, then kissed his cheek. “I wish we could just rewind, you know. I wish that none of this had ever happened.”
“Me too. Sophie was heartbroken when I told her she wouldn’t be going to the circus tomorrow.” Charlie frowned.
“Oh, I wish you hadn’t told her that. The performers are putting on a show in honor of Rocco, families of the staff and vendors are invited to attend.” Brenda smiled some. “At least she’ll be excited when I tell her.”
“What?” Charlie turned in his chair so that he could face her eye to eye. “They’re doing a show so quickly?”
“Yes, they say the show must go on.” Brenda straightened up as she looked at him.
“Brenda.” Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “Do you really think she should go?”
“Absolutely.” Brenda smiled. “The police will be there. If none of this had happened, and we took her to the circus tomorrow, there would still be a risk of someone getting hurt, or even killed.” She squeezed his hand. “I just want her to be able to enjoy it. She was so excited about it.”
“Okay, if you think it’s best.” Charlie nodded. He always worried more than Brenda about things like this.
“I do. It’s a bright spot. It’s one good thing that can distract all of us from the terrible thing that happened. I think it’s a great idea.” Brenda rubbed her hand along his shoulder and the length of his arm. “Can you bring her?”
“I’ll try, but I don’t think I can. I have a meeting tomorrow, now. I hope I’ll be finished in time, but I’m not sure.” Charlie shook his head.
“Okay thank you.” Brenda smiled. “She’ll love it. I would pick her up if I could. But it will take a while to drive all the way back to pick her up and it doesn’t feel right leaving Joyce alone to run the truck after what happened.”
“You need to be careful, Brenda.” Charlie gestured to the monitor. “Do you have any idea who this guy was?”
“Rocco?” Brenda turned back to face him. “I don’t know much about him, no. Why? What did you find?”
“Look, I’m sure the police will figure this out, but you need to have all of the information about what kind of trouble this guy was in. I’ve found information about him being a fence. People sell him stolen items in one city, and when the circus moves on, he sells the items in the new city. The police have been tracking him for years but have never been able to build a case against him.”
“Interesting.” Brenda narrowed her eyes as she recalled the two men shouting at Cecilia. “I had no idea anything like that went on.” She frowned as she rested her hand on his shoulder and leaned a bit closer to him. “But I shouldn’t have to worry about it. Rocco’s gone now.”
“Yes, I know he is. But that doesn’t mean that the people he was involved with won’t still be around.” Charlie leaned back to look up into her eyes. “You need to be cautious.”
“I will be.” Brenda sat down on the edge of his desk and focused her attention on him. “I think tomorrow would be a wonderful opportunity for Sophie to see a show, with a very small crowd. It’s not an opportunity that she will likely get again, and I am looking forward to it.”
“I hope I can bring her.”
“Me too.” Brenda sighed as she stood up. “Cecilia asked us to be there as vendors and guests. Don’t forget we were counting on this event to be a big income maker, and since the show will likely be canceled, I doubt that we will have that now. Even just a little bit of sales will help offset the loss.” She frowned as he turned in his chair to look at her. “I was really looking forward to sharing this with Sophie, and you.” Brenda gave him a light kiss then turned and left the office.
Chapter 8
Instead of heading home, a sense of urgency drew Joyce in another direction. She headed for town, and in particular, Rowan’s Shoes and Socks. A neon open sign in the front window of the store indicated it was still open. She parked, then headed for the door. Without much idea of what she would say to Rowan when she saw him, she pulled open the door and stepped inside. The scents of rubber and leather drifted under her nose as she looked around the shop. Several benches with cushions were positioned at the end of each aisle of shoes. Many small displays were scattered around the open area near the cash register. However, she did not spot a single customer.
“Hello?” Joyce peered down each of the aisles as she walked past. “Is anyone here?”
“Hi. Be right out.” Rowan’s voice came from the direction of an open door at the back of the store. She assumed it was his office. As he stepped out, she prepared herself for the conversation she was about to have. Was there a polite way to ask a person whether they had been involved in a murder?
“Hi Rowan.” Joyce smiled as he approached her. “I know you’ll be closing soon, I just wanted to check on you.”
“Check on me?” Rowan led her towards the register. “Is there something I can interest you in? A dress shoe perhaps? Or some slippers?”
“No, I’m not here for that I’m afraid, although I could use some socks.” Joyce grabbed a pack from one of the displays and set it down on the counter. Was it okay to buy socks from a potential murderer?
“Oh okay, then what are you here for?” Rowan scanned the socks, then looked across the counter at her.
Joyce sized him up for a moment. In his forties, he appeared a bit older, with thinning, brown hair and a thick beard. Slender, and not very tall, she guessed that he wasn’t the strongest of men.
“I know that you were out at the circus today, and after what happened, I just wanted to make sure that you were handling it okay.” Joyce braced herself for his reaction. If he was guilty, he might deny being there altogether. Or he might just be flustered.
“Oh.” Rowan lowered his voice as his cheeks flushed. “You saw me there?”
“Actually, Brenda did.” Joyce tipped her head to the side, uncertain how to take his reaction. “Were you trying not to be seen?”
“No, of course not, well yes, maybe a little.” Rowan cleared his throat. “I don’t really know what you’re talking about. What tragic thing happened?”
“Rocco, one of the trapeze artists was killed.” Joyce leaned a little closer to him. “We all thought it was an accident at first, but it turns out that it wasn’t. Someone removed the nuts on one side of the trapeze swing on purpose, so that he would fall.”
“Oh, how awful!” Rowan clenched his hands into fists. “How could anyone do such a thing?”
“I don’t know. The police don’t know who did it yet.” Joyce placed a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. “Did you speak with the detective?”
“Detective? No, not at all.” Rowan picked up the twenty and popped open the register. As he counted out her change, his cheeks grew even more red. “They have no idea who did it?”
“No idea. It could be anyone.” Joyce smiled, then accepted the change from him. “I’m just glad that you weren’t there when it happened. I assume you left before it did?”
“Yes, well, otherwise I would know about it, wouldn’t I?” Rowan glanced towards the front window, then looked back at her. “I am about to close up for the night.”
“Of course. Thanks for the socks.” Joyce held up the pack of socks, smiled, then turned towards the door. So far, she knew he had been there, and didn’t want
to say why he was there. That was enough for her to be quite suspicious of him. But he did seem genuinely surprised to hear about Rocco’s death. Was that something that could be faked?
On the drive to her house, Joyce thought about all of the possible suspects. It was a game she and her late husband used to play, when he was still a detective. He would share a scenario with her and ask her to spot the suspects. Was it the gardener? What about the ex-boyfriend? She became quite good at it after some time, and instead of making up a scenario, he would often tell her about cases he was working on, in order to get her insight. At the moment, there were too many possible killers. With such an abundance of people that worked at the circus, plus outside potential suspects, narrowing down the suspect pool would be very important.
Joyce reached her house, and parked. When she unlocked the door, she could hear rattling.
“Settle down now, I’m home.” Joyce set her purse down and locked the door behind her. The rattling got louder. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” She laughed as she walked into the rabbit’s room. Molly poked her nose through the bars on her hutch and wiggled it. “Aw, you know I can’t resist that.” Joyce popped open the hutch door. With her being gone all day she didn’t feel safe letting her pet rabbit roam the house, but now that she was home, she let her free. Molly began to bolt around the living room. Joyce was always surprised when she came home, and Molly hadn’t managed to escape her hutch.
“I know, too long cooped up in the hutch. I’m sorry, sweetheart, I had a busy day.” As soon as Joyce sat down on the couch, Molly hopped up right next to her, then crawled into her lap. The moment that Joyce’s fingertips touched Molly’s soft fur, she began to relax.
“What do you think, Molly?” Joyce stroked her hand along the bunny’s back. “Who wanted to see Rocco dead?” She sighed as she closed her eyes. “Perhaps the better question would be, who didn’t?” She nuzzled the fur on the rabbit’s cheek. “Yes, I’d rather just snuggle with you and not think about today, but I’m not sure that I can.”
