The uproar came from where the overpowering smell of kerosene was evident. It came from the area close to the canteen – an area where the inky blackness of the night was starkly illuminated by the flames that were now engulfing a section of one of the tents.
The two ex RAF men rushed towards the fire like moths to a candle flame. Striding over ropes, cables and metal poles they joined a group of men, dressed in black, who were dismantling a section of vinyl canvas. The pungent smell of kerosene was potent but the damaged section was being speedily brought under control.
Senhor Ramon was spotted by Giles near to where the fire was being extinguished. Giles approached him and inquired. ‘How did this happen?’
‘I’m not sure, but I suspect it was yet one more attempt to create an accident and make my hold on the circus more precarious.’
‘Did you see how it started?’
‘No, I came out to meet my visitors who were arriving by plane.’
‘So that’s what we heard?’
‘Yes, my visitors are from a leading film studio. They have come to collect some circus background they might use in a future movie.’
‘But I thought this was no longer an airfield.’
‘That is basically a correct description of this place but the runway can still be used though only by light aircraft. It will no doubt deteriorate as each year goes by. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll go and meet my guests.’
When Ramon had gone Giles moved across to where the fire had been. He introduced himself to one of the men clearing the burned debris. He was a short stocky man with a jockey’s tan and a wrestler’s handshake. He was perfectly willing to answer Giles’ question.
‘Is it normal practice to use kerosene as a waterproofing agent for circus tents?’
‘No. Not that I’m aware of. We tend not to use chemicals that are highly inflammable. Why do you ask?’
Giles gave a shake of the head and a rather vague ‘No reason. I was just curious, that’s all.’
He looked across to Freddie whose face registered disbelief in the harsh light from the head lamps of one of the circus wagons.
Chapter 8
“DOUBLE, DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE” William Shakespeare
Sitting down to a meal in the canteen was a welcome relief after the excitement and clouded contention of the previous hours.
With dinner finally over, Giles and Freddie decided that a night cap, in the artist’s bar area, would make a deserving end to an interesting day.
They were hardly inside before they were joined by the two gentlemen Giles had been advised to keep an eye on while he was in the barber’s chair earlier in the day.
‘Professor Dawson, let me introduce my colleague, Felix Reiser,’ Sebastian Capuzzo, the ringmaster said as he made the introduction. ‘Felix is our outstanding band leader. I’m not exactly sure if you spoke with him at the New Year’s Eve celebration at Soho in London?’
‘We had a few words, that tragic evening,’ Giles ventured as he shook hands with both men. ‘Neither of you have met my associate, Freddie Oldsworth. Please join us.’
Greetings done with, Giles gave Freddie a sneaky wink accompanied by a sly grin.
‘Do you mind if I ask both of you a few questions?’ Giles looked at each of the two talented individuals as he spoke.
‘I have a good idea you are about to ask us our opinion of tonight’s unfortunate incident. I have no hesitation in offering you my total co-operation and I’m sure Sebastian will agree with me. That happens to be one of the reasons we came over to join you.’ The band leader’s self-confidant tone was received with suspicion.
‘And what were the other reasons?’ asked Giles.
The two circus professionals glanced at each other before the ringmaster replied.
‘We’d like to know what you think of the situation we seem to be faced with. We both have come from circus backgrounds and I doubt if there has ever been a circus, large or small, that travelled without the occasional accident happening.’
‘I assume you are stating what appears to be the obvious; simply because of the nature of this form of entertainment which deals with danger. I am, however, reluctant to accept that a circus of this magnitude, with the immense skill at its disposal, can stomach so many so-called accidents in such a short space of time without a realistic questioning of the whys and the wherefores.’
Freddie nodded approval of his friend’s speech.
‘Professor Dawson, I don’t accept that the spate of minor accidents are the norm in a circus of this quality but I really am unconvinced that everything has been deliberately staged in an attempt to relieve the circus of its present owner.’
‘Minor accidents, did you say?’ Giles’ disapproval of Sebastian Capuzzo’s trivial definition of the accidents was evident as he continued. ‘I would hardly call the fire that happened tonight or the one in the clowns’ scene as minor. Nor the sword act, that occurred on New Year’s Eve. And certainly not the several times when Khan’s cage has been suspiciously unlocked.’
‘I wasn’t aware that our Tiger’s cage had been unlocked. No-one has told us about that.’
‘Well,’ stated a ruffled Giles. ‘I am telling you now! And I would be very interested to know how you two gentlemen appraise the situation?’
The look on the circus artistes’ faces showed evasion and a reluctance to continue their own line of enquiry.
‘I’m sorry if what I said sounded flippant. The particulars you mention about the possibility of Khan leaving his cage make all the difference to the predicament we’re in.’
The apology by Sebastian was immediately followed by the ringmaster taking a drink from his glass and then removing a black silk handkerchief from his pocket.
As he used the piece of black silk to dab his upper lip the expression on Giles’ face had an instant effect on Freddie. It was such an impact that Freddie knew he was certain to quiz Giles about it once they were on their own.
It was sometime later that evening when a tired Giles and Freddie made their way back to their trailer.
They were hardly in the door when Freddie swung his compatriot around.
‘I know what you’re about to ask,’ said Giles. ‘You want to know what startled me a short time ago when we were speaking to the ringmaster and band leader.’
‘It was the look on your face, old son. A dead giveaway…but why?
‘It was something Michael Wagner, the circus magician, said when I asked him if he ever used a double. He implied that he intended using a double with Ramon in one of his acts. He didn’t give a name but said there was someone in the circus that was the exact double. All he had to do was wear a moustache to create the likeness.’
‘So I assume you saw the likeness when Sebastian brought the black silk handkerchief up to his mouth?’
‘Exactly. Although both men are not quite the same height, as doubles they would never be seen together.’
‘I wonder what he plans to do with them?’
‘No doubt we’ll find that out in due course. Now then, Freddie, I believe I saw you make some notes when we were in the control tower. Have we got something important to watch tomorrow? I’d like that to be our last day for a while as I have some important business to attend to. I’m sure you’ll need to get back to the family and plan a few outings at race meetings.’
‘Yes, its time I was back but I would like to see the Trapeze act tomorrow,’ Freddie said as he fumbled for the notes he had in his pocket.
A note was pushed in front of Giles. It read: The Flying Trapeze, Velazquez Family.
‘I haven’t put down the date but it’s tomorrow,’ said Freddie. ‘It’s to be in the large hanger at eleven o’clock in the morning.’
‘That will be worth watching,’ Giles said, rubbing his hands together. ‘It will also give me a chance to meet, and get to know, the final members on Ramon’s list of suspects.’
‘It says Velazquez Family,’ said Giles. ‘Did the notice board give any more details abo
ut them?’
‘Only that they are two brothers and a sister. They are Puerto Ricans; Miguel, Cordero and Luisa. We’ll know a bit more about them tomorrow. Until then I suggest we get some shut-eye.’
Next day the first port of call for Giles was to the trailer of Senhor Mordomo. He informed him of how things had progressed so far and let him know that he and his friend would be travelling back to London that afternoon and could be away from Winkleigh for some considerable time.
Before he left, Giles asked Ramon to keep a note of any further incidents and possible suspects. He could then weigh up such developments when he returned for the first official opening performance of the circus due to be scheduled for Tuesday, 7th March, before an invited audience of North Devon residents.
The big hanger was quiet when Giles and Freddie entered. The trapeze and all the trappings were in place along with a large safety net. Both men wandered around the set, looking up at the equipment with worked up anticipation; this was the first time either of them had been in close proximity to the gear used by “The Daring Young Men, and Woman, on the Flying Trapeze.”
They were so engrossed with the apparatus that a near accident almost took place that had nothing to do with making the circus supremo run the gauntlet of fear.
With eyes skywards, Giles just about fell over a body that was lying on the floor. The body was that of a young man dressed in a leotard and he was one of three persons, similarly dressed, who were engaged in a warm-up routine that stretched to nearly half-an-hour.
‘I must congratulate you, old son,’ said Freddie as he pulled his friend to one side. ‘You deftly side stepped that athlete like a steeplechaser avoiding a stricken rider in an event at Cheltenham.’
‘It’s a good job another accident was prevented or I might have been added to that list of suspects,’ Giles said with thankful relief.
‘That would put the cat among the pigeons and no mistake’
‘And it would certainly end any prospect I might have of emulating Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock.’
‘If you had fallen over that trapeze artiste you’d have had more than your pound of flesh. More like Shylock than Sherlock, old son.’
A silent chuckle from both men was the forerunner as they waited and watched the completion of the vital warm-up.
Several assistants entered the hanger and it was fairly obvious that their entry coincided with the termination of the trapeze artistes’ warm-up.
Everything appeared to be going like clockwork and each assistant moved to specific spots with a diligence that signified absolute attention to detail for a dangerous act that was about to begin.
The younger man and his sister started to ascend ropes that were held securely by circus helpers. They climbed to a platform next to a trapeze using only hands and arms but with their legs free.
The older artiste did likewise climbing to the second trapeze. For upwards of five minutes the brother and sister, at one end, took turns moving through the air from one trapeze to the other while the older man ensured that the timing of the trapeze swing, at his end, gave the aerialists perfect synchronisation thus allowing the grace of the act to be admired by the spectators.
With unblinking eyes Giles and Freddie watched the talented twosome with high regard yet, at the same time, the sweating palms of the two men somehow acted as a warning of things to come. The act was poetry in motion but inevitably, in a circus act, there was another side to the coin. The act was undoubtedly danger in motion and could end in disaster.
There was a pause in the proceedings as the older brother hooked his legs over the bar of the trapeze at his end and, with upper body hanging downwards below the bar and facing the trapeze at the flyer’s end, started to swing with his arms stretched. He was now ready to play his role as the catcher.
The aerial act commenced once more with the younger pair taking it in turn to swing towards the catcher changing from one trapeze to then grasp the arms and wrists of the catcher before the 180 degree return to their starting trapeze and swinging back to the platform.
Tension was building as the moves on the flying trapeze took place; tension and danger increasing when the young man and girl began to practice the complicated next act of transfer. As the girl reached and was caught by the catcher, the younger brother was on his way back and both boy and girl switched in mid air before returning to the platform, having changed places.
The complex manoeuvre was attempted three times but on the third attempt the male athlete missed the catcher’s arms and fell to the safety net.
The aerialist wasted no time in climbing back to his base on the platform. One more time the trio tried the tortuous trapeze turn which they completed with success.
After a very short interval the young masculine flyer started to add a somersault to the act. The acrobatic move was done between leaving the trapeze and being caught by the catcher. This he achieved three times before finally doing a double somersault. On his return to the platform both Giles and Freddie applauded his effort with a prolonged handclap.
They were clapping as the trio, one by one, swung on their trapeze and, letting go, dropped safely to the net below.
They were still applauding as the assistants rushed forward to give the flyers their dressing gowns. Giles moved forward to greet them.
‘You must be Miguel,’ Giles said, as he prepared to shake hands with the older brother.
‘That’s correct. And you are Professor Dawson. Allow me to introduce my brother and sister. Luisa, my sister, is the youngest in the family and Cordero is my younger brother.’
Giles introduced Freddie before announcing his high regard for what they’d just watched. ‘I’m sure I speak for both of us when I say how riveting your performance was. It was a privilege to be so close to the action.’
‘Thank you. We aim to please.’
‘As you probably know I am here to take note of accidents that are troubling the owner of the circus. I was wondering if your trio has had any bad luck that might have been construed as deliberate acts of sabotage?’
‘Well, you may have noticed that we pay close attention to checking each and every part of our equipment before and during our performance. The attention to detail has worked in our favour and only last week we came across a smear of Vaseline on one of the trapeze bars. How it got there we don’t know but it could have been disastrous had it not been discovered.’
‘I’m interested to know if your fall was an accident,’ Giles asked Cordero, the younger brother. ‘Or was it a calculated part of the act?’
Cordero smiled as his sister answered the question. ‘A return to the action immediately after a fall always gets an ovation from the spectators,’ Luisa explained. ‘Will that answer satisfy you?’
It was Giles’ turn to smile.
‘Our routine is aiming for something we did not rehearse today,’ Miguel disclosed. ‘The double somersaults Cordero executed will be followed by an attempt at the triple aerial somersault first performed by Alfredo Codona. That will be done with the safety net for obvious reasons, though Alfredo did it without a net’
‘One further question before we leave you,’ said Giles. ‘What is your opinion of the “toil and trouble” that is persistently causing grief to Senhor Ramon?’
‘I simply cannot fathom it out,’ Miguel affirmed. ‘He is a stoical leader of our circus and has helped us every step of the way. Not many outsiders realize that he also has the ability of many of the top performers in their various acts.’
‘That is interesting and I thank you very much. I look forward to witnessing that triple somersault.’
Final congratulations and handshakes were exchanged then Giles and Freddie turned to leave.
On the return journey to London in Freddie’s car Giles was morose and silent for much of the way.
As usual, when mood swings like that took over, Freddie had the good sense not to interfere. Eventually, though, the question had to be asked.
‘Wha
t’s bothering you, Giles? Something’s puzzling you and talking about it might just help.’
A slight irritating cough from Giles preceded his reply. ‘Yes, Freddie, something is definitely bothering me, and it’s to do with what happened in the hanger.’
‘Well, let’s be having it.’
‘Can you remember what happened when the aerial trio finished their act and left the safety net?’
‘Yes I can. You went over to speak to them.’
‘No, Freddie. I mean before that.’
‘You’re talking in riddles again.’
‘Perhaps I am. But you’ll see what I’m driving at when I mention…that when the Velazquez trio left the safety net three assistants went over to them and helped them with their dressing gowns.’
‘That surely was the right and proper thing to do, Giles. Aerialists, like all other circus performers, have to be kept warm. That prevents ailments such as torn shoulder ligaments. Racehorses have rugs placed over them after a race. Even you know that.’
‘Sure I do, Freddie. But the point I’m making is this. The Flying Trapeze act has had no accidents, but there was another stunning act we saw that has had no accidents either. In each of these acts something didn’t happen there that might well have been an accident and it didn’t register with us.’
‘I’m not sure I follow you.’
‘Do you remember when we watched Lizzie doing her equestrian act?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, after she dismounted and left the ring, her horse was taken away by stable staff but Lizzie was never given a dressing gown. It was a cold morning and she was starting to shiver. Surely someone should have given her something to put on. Or was that a deliberate act of sabotage?’
‘I think you’ve hit on something quite serious, Giles. But, who could have been responsible?’
‘That, I’m afraid, is what I have to discover.’
Once they were back in London and, after Freddie had left to head back home, the days and weeks passed in no time at all. Giles was kept busy: interviews with the press, visits to museums and libraries gave him plenty to think about, yet there was hardly a moment when his mind was not occupied either with the circus riddle or the thought of going back to Scotland and the house near Lockerbie.
Gauntlet of Fear Page 9
