As Puck Would Have It

by Paul Ruditis

  “Animals dying unexplained deaths within a few weeks of each other?” Piper asked, summing up what she had heard. “I’d agree that that’s odd, but this sounds more like a case for a trained vet than the Charmed Ones.”

  “There’s a vet on the job already,” Paige said. “But I don’t think the animals are dying of natural causes.”

  “Why?” Piper asked.

  “Well, the elephant trainer told us that she’s never seen anything like it,” Phoebe said. She knew that wasn’t exactly hard evidence, but there was something about Lane’s demeanor that had made Phoebe believe it was an important detail.

  “Okay, I don’t mean to be a skeptic,” Piper began.

  “Who are you kidding?” Paige asked lightly. “That’s your main role here.”

  Piper shot her sister a look, but she didn’t contradict her. “It still doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s anything supernatural going on here.”

  “I just have this feeling,” Paige said. “Puck sent us here for a reason.”

  “Yeah, but we still don’t know what his true goal is,” Phoebe added. “If we assume he wants to help the animals, why doesn’t he just do it himself? Isn’t he powerful enough?”

  “Why doesn’t Puck just tell us what’s going on?” Piper asked, though she didn’t really expect an answer. “If he’s really worried about the animals, what’s stopping him from just saying, ‘Hey, there are some sick animals at the circus. Go do something about it.’”

  “He did say something about testing us,” Phoebe said.

  “And he did tell us to go to the circus in the first place,” Paige added. “Maybe we should stop worrying about Puck and focus on the animals.”

  “I can do both at the same time,” Piper said. “Now, if Puck sent us here to stop the animals from getting sick, I’m guessing you’re right and something supernatural is the cause. We’re not exactly the first people to call for medical assistance.”

  “We need to figure out what kind of demon is involved in this, and how it has access to the animals,” Piper concluded.

  “This is a pretty big circus,” Phoebe said. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

  “True,” Piper said. “Your new friend Reed can probably help us narrow down the list of suspects. There are only so many people who have unlimited access to all the animals.”

  “Good idea,” Paige said.

  “And you,” Piper said, looking at Paige, “why don’t you orb back to the Manor and look up demons that have anything to do with animals. It’s safe to assume that nobody here has seen anything like this before, but it’s possible our ancestors may provide us with some clues.”

  “Aye-aye, mes capitaines,” Paige said, giving a mock salute.

  Piper and Phoebe just stared at her for a moment.

  “Anyway,” Piper continued. “See what you can learn. But be quiet because Leo just put Wyatt down for a nap.”

  “They won’t even know I’m there,” Paige said as she orbed home.

  “Okay,” Piper said, checking her watch. “The show will be starting soon. That should make it easier for us to look around.”

  Just then, the clown with the tiny blue bowler hat came running up to Phoebe again. This time, he grabbed her and clutched her in an exaggeratedly romantic embrace.

  “Friend of yours?” Piper asked.

  The clown released Phoebe from his stranglehold, then grabbed her hand, looking for the ring he had put there earlier. He looked absolutely devastated when he saw that it was gone. To call the guy a “ham” would have been kind. Although both Phoebe and Piper were impressed when the rivers of fake tears started pouring down his face from some device he must have had hidden on his body.

  “I gave it to a little girl who said she liked it,” Phoebe lied, trying to stop the waterworks.

  It seemed to work, because the clown perked up immediately, then suddenly took an interest in Piper. He pulled a colorful bouquet of fake flowers from his sleeve and presented them to her.

  “Oh no,” Piper said. “Really, I couldn’t.”

  That set the waterworks off again.

  “Take them or he’ll never leave,” Phoebe said to her sister through clenched teeth.

  “Okay,” Piper said, holding out her hand like she was accepting a soggy toy that Wyatt had been teething on. “Thank you very much.”

  As she took the flowers, the paper blooms immediately wilted and all the petals fell to the ground. Piper stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do.

  The clown looked horrified as he quickly took the bouquet of stems back from her. Then his face fell into a look of utter sadness again. The range of emotions he had experienced in the last minute was actually pretty amazing.

  “That’s okay,” Piper said, trying to soothe the crying clown. “But don’t you have a show to—”

  As soon as Piper mentioned the show, the clown went from sad to shocked and then back to horrified. It was as if he had forgotten all about the fact that the circus was about to start. Of course, it was all part of his act. Not the one onstage, but the one he was putting on for the Charmed Ones.

  He checked his watch, but it only squirted more water in his face.

  “We’ve got to find out what kind of makeup this guy uses,” Phoebe said. “Talk about waterproof.”

  The clown grabbed one of each girl’s hands and pumped them hard, shaking good-bye. He tipped his hat to them one last time, pulling up the wig and exposing his red-and-white-colored head. Then he dashed off to the circus staging area.

  Piper and Phoebe stood there gawking after him for a moment.

  “So, we’re thinking that was Puck, right?” Piper asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” Phoebe said as they started walking toward Reed’s trailer.

  Chapter 14

  “Maybe he’s watching the show,” Piper suggested as Phoebe continued banging on the door to Reed’s office. She had been at it for over a minute already, and still no one answered.

  “Right now he’s our best source of information,” Phoebe said as she knocked yet again. “Our only source of information. Maybe he’s in the back.”

  “Phoebe, the trailer’s not that big,” Piper said. “If he’s in there, he’s heard you knocking by now. Let’s try something else.”

  “Everyone’s in the arena,” Phoebe said, looking out over the empty lot of trailers. “We might have to wait until after the show to speak with anyone.”

  “Ms. Halliwell?” Reed said as he popped his head out the door of the trailer that stood next door to his. “I thought I heard someone knocking. I’m not in there, by the way.”

  “So I gathered,” Phoebe said as she and Piper walked over to the next trailer.

  “I would have thought you’d be filing your report by now,” Reed said as he waved them inside. There was a slight tinge of suspicion in his voice. Phoebe couldn’t blame him. He was probably wondering why she was still there.

  “I had a few more questions,” she said as she stepped into the media trailer. Piper was right behind her. “This is my assistant, Piper.”

  Piper glared at her sister for a moment, but didn’t say anything.

  “Nice to meet you,” Reed said to Piper.

  “You too,” she said, shaking his hand.

  The media trailer was considerably smaller than the one that served as Reed’s office/living quarters. It was simply a one-room camper with a large amount of technology crammed inside. Several televisions, DVD players, and tape machines sat on a table that stretched along one wall of the tiny room. Along another wall sat shelves full of DVDs and videotapes, stacked from the floor to the ceiling. A computer, a large printer, a scanner, and a fax machine sat precariously balanced on one small console in a corner.

  An air conditioner was running to keep the room cool, even though it wasn’t that warm outside. Phoebe assumed that when all the machines were on, it probably got pretty hot in the small space.

  “Nice setup,” Phoebe said facetiously. There was
barely room in the place for the three of them to stand, much less sit back and enjoy the video library.

  “We do what we can in our little city on wheels,” Reed said. “You should see the trailer that functions as our recreation hall. All we have in there is a game of Twister, but the trailer’s so small, only one person can play at a time.”

  “I’m sure the contortionists must have fun,” Phoebe said.

  “They’re undefeated,” Reed said, smiling.

  “That’s a lot of tapes,” Phoebe noted, looking at the packed shelves. She remembered the video camera in Tasha’s tent and wondered if there was something in the room that might help them find the demon.

  “We take videos of all the performances, dress rehearsals—practically anything related to the animals,” Reed said. “We pretty much keep them under constant surveillance.”

  “The animal rights people would probably love to know that,” Phoebe said.

  “They do,” Reed replied. “They’re the main reason we started taping constantly. I wasn’t just feeding you a line when I told you the circus cares about our animals. We want to make sure none of them are being mistreated. The video helps.”

  “I’m sure it does,” Piper said. She was secretly hoping the recordings would help with their cause as well.

  “Now, those follow-up questions?” he asked, looking back to Phoebe.

  “Of course,” Phoebe said as she reached into her purse and pulled out the small notepad she had stolen from him earlier. “First of all, who has access to the animals?”

  “You mean, who had access to the animals before they were sick?” Reed asked.

  Phoebe nodded.

  “Everyone,” Reed said. “Literally. You saw the fairgrounds. The animals are pretty much open to the public.”

  “But not while the circus is traveling,” Phoebe said. She was thinking back to how Reed had said that Sabra had not taken ill until they were already on the road.

  “No,” Reed acknowledged. “Then it’s just us circus folk. But we think that whatever bug Zeus and Sabra caught could have been incubating for days, if not weeks.”

  Somehow, Phoebe doubted that. She suspected that the animals had suddenly become ill, just as it appeared. “Was anyone with the animals when they died?”

  “Actually, no,” Reed said. “They both passed in their sleep.”

  “What about the video?” Phoebe asked, thinking back once again to the video camera trained on Tasha. “Did you keep them under surveillance while they were sick?”

  “It’s standard procedure,” Reed said, “but you’d have to talk to Dr. Kahn to find out for sure.”

  “Jordan?” Phoebe guessed, remembering the name Lane had mentioned.

  “You’ve met him?”

  “No, but his name has come up during my investigation,” Phoebe said. She noticed that Piper was casually looking over the videos on the wall. She was probably thinking the same thing as Phoebe: The tapes might show them what exactly was going on. The only problem was that Reed kept trying to include Piper in the conversation. She had to stop perusing the shelves or else he’d think she was trying to steal something.

  “Investigation?” Reed asked, repeating the last word that Phoebe had used. It was clear that he wasn’t pleased that her article had become an “investigation.”

  Phoebe didn’t blame him. Lately, every time the word “investigation” was used in the news it seemed to be in reference to some overblown scandal intended to increase ratings or newspaper circulation numbers. She immediately corrected herself. “I meant research.”

  “Would Dr. Kahn keep a copy of the video in here?” Piper asked, eyeing the wall of recordings openly.

  “Probably,” Reed said, though he didn’t offer to share the videos with them. Neither Phoebe nor Piper had expected him to—there was being helpful, and then there was risking your job.

  “How long has the doctor been with the circus?” Phoebe asked.

  “Oh, about a hundred years,” Reed replied. “Sorry. That wasn’t some kind of ageist joke. He’ll be the first to tell you he’s as old as the hills. But he’s been here almost as long as the circus itself. He loves these animals.”

  “I’m sure he does,” Phoebe said.

  Piper threw up her hands, stopping time.

  “What did you do that for?” Phoebe asked.

  “This is taking too long,” Piper said impatiently as she went through the tapes on the highest shelves. She had to stand on tiptoe to reach, so she couldn’t have searched them while Reed was watching her. “There might be something on the tapes, and I doubt he’s going to give us permission to go through them, no matter how much you flirt with him.”

  “I wasn’t flirting,” Phoebe said. “Honestly. I mean…I’d know if I was flirting, wouldn’t I?”

  Piper shot her sister a look. “You think the contortionists would have fun playing Twister? Please.”

  Phoebe had been certain that she had meant it innocently at the time.

  “I’m sure the circus has already looked at the tapes,” Phoebe said, changing the subject. “Or at least the vet probably has.”

  “But they wouldn’t know what to look for, would they?” Piper asked. “They’d only be looking for signs of a natural cause of death.”

  “Technically, we don’t know what to look for either,” Phoebe reminded her sister.

  “Yes, but we have a better chance of finding something,” Piper said.

  Phoebe conceded that her sister was right. “Good thinking,” she said, giving in. “What do you think of the interview so far?”

  “I think we’re done with Reed for now. We should check out the vet,” Piper replied. “I’m cautious about anyone who refers to himself as being ‘old as the hills,’ considering the life expectancy of a demon.”

  “Me too,” Phoebe said. “That seems fishy.”

  “Possession?” Piper suggested.

  “Possibly,” Phoebe said. They had dealt with their fair share of demons taking over bodies in the past. In fact, demons had possessed both Piper and Phoebe at one time or another. It was possible that something similar had happened to a circus member.

  Phoebe looked at her sister for a moment, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  “What?” Piper asked.

  “Well, when I asked how you thought the interview was going, I kind of meant what did you think of my interview skills? How was I doing?”

  Piper smiled. “Oh. I think you’re a natural.”

  “Really?” Phoebe asked. “Maybe I’ve found a new career path.”

  “Yeah,” Piper agreed. “But don’t think that I’m going to be your assistant.”

  “I wouldn’t,” Phoebe said.

  “Hey, I found something,” Piper said as she pulled a pair of tapes from the top shelf. There was a rubber band holding them together. The spines read SABRA and ZEUS. “The dates on these are recent.”

  “The one on Sabra is the day before the circus got to San Francisco,” Phoebe said, reading over Piper’s shoulder. “That’s the day she died.”

  The ringing of a cell phone interrupted their conversation. The sisters looked at each other.

  “It’s not mine,” they said in unison.

  They turned around and looked at Reed. Apparently, stopping time didn’t include cellular service.

  “We could let it roll over to voice mail,” Phoebe suggested.

  “I think we’ve got what we need,” Piper said as they moved back into the positions they were in before she had frozen time. Piper handed her sister the tapes so Phoebe could slip them into her purse. The black cases barely managed to fit inside the small bag.

  Piper gave a wave of her hands, and time resumed as Reed’s cell phone continued to ring.

  Reed was caught off-guard by the noise coming from his phone. “Excuse me,” he said as he pulled it out of the holster hooked onto his belt. “Reed here,” he said into the phone.

  A moment later, Phoebe
’s cell phone rang as well.

  “Maybe it’s contagious,” Piper joked as Phoebe answered the phone.

  It was Elise. Apparently, an intern had managed to track down the information Phoebe had asked for earlier.

  Phoebe jotted down what Elise told her on her stolen notepad. It was very interesting, to say the least. It also added a whole new level to the seriousness of the situation.

  As Phoebe finished taking her notes, she glanced up and could tell by the look on Reed’s face that his conversation was just as serious as hers. They both hung up their phones at the same time.

  “Is there a problem?” Phoebe asked. She happened to look past him at a calendar posted on the wall. It was a mini-poster listing the circus’s tour dates from the past year.

  “Dr. Kahn has just put Tasha under full quarantine,” Reed said. “I’m afraid things aren’t looking good.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Phoebe said, shooting her sister a look.

  Piper got the message. She shifted to the side of the trailer so that Reed was between the two of them. “Is there anything we can do?” Piper asked, drawing his attention away from Phoebe.

  “Just put together a fair article,” he said, with a touch of sadness.

  “We wouldn’t think of doing anything else,” Phoebe said a second after she slipped the calendar into her waistband.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Reed said as he ushered Piper and Phoebe out of the trailer.

  “I was still hoping to ask you some more questions,” Phoebe said, trying to find a reason to stay in the trailer with the video equipment. They needed to watch the tapes she had stolen.

  “Please, stay and watch the show,” Reed said, referring to the circus, not the pilfered videos, as he walked them outside. He pulled a handful of comp tickets from his inside jacket pocket.

  “Thanks,” Phoebe said, looking at the tickets. “But there are only two of us.” She figured it would be best not to mention Paige at the moment. He didn’t need to know that there were three people on the case.