The Hearts Series

by L.H. Cosway

  It looked like the show had just ended when we arrived at the circus, because there were dozens of cars blocking the road as the audience left the tent and headed back into the city. We got out, the cool night air kissing my skin. Jack led the way to the gazebo, where most everyone would be hanging out after the show. I thought he seemed a little excited to introduce Jay as his brother. Before we got there, though, we stopped in our tracks as a terrified scream rang out somewhere close by.

  “What was that?” Matilda asked, moving closer to her husband, a wary look on her face.

  “It sounded like a scream,” I said, skin prickling. This was eerily similar to the night Lola was attacked, and when I met Jack’s gaze, I knew he was thinking the exact same thing. Before any of us could say another word, we heard footsteps pounding hurriedly toward us, and I jumped in fright when Julie emerged around the side of a camper. She was wearing a silk robe that was torn at the shoulder, her stage outfit on underneath, and blood was trickling down from a cut on her eyebrow. Her eyes were wide and full of terror

  It struck me as odd that my initial reaction was to go to her, help her, even after all she’d done to me. I let go of Jack’s hand and stopped her by placing my hands on her shoulders.

  “Julie, what happened?” I asked, frantic.

  Her chest heaved in panic, but as she took us all in, she seemed to find her voice. “He came after me. He hurt me,” she sobbed before breaking down into tears.

  Jack stood in front of Julie and spoke firmly. “Listen to me, you need to tell us what happened.”

  “A man in a mask broke into my camper. He…he attacked me, tried to rape me, but I punched him and managed to get away.”

  Jay let out a low whistle, and I looked at him to see he had one eyebrow raised as he took in Julie’s state of distress. He was staring at her very closely, but I couldn’t tell what on earth he must have been thinking.

  “I’m calling the police,” said Matilda, her phone already out of her bag as she held it to her ear.

  When I looked at Jack, it was almost as if we were having a silent conversation. We both knew what this meant. Julie’s attacker sounded all too similar to Lola’s, which had happened all the way back in Orléans. It was way too much of a coincidence. This was the same guy. And if it was the same guy, the chances were likely that this person was someone in the circus. We all helped lead Julie back to her camper, where, sure enough, the door was wide open and a few bits of furniture lay tossed aside from the scuffle.

  A few minutes later her sisters arrived, full of concern, and I relayed to them what had happened. Matilda hung up the phone and told us that the police were on their way; we just had to wait for them to get there. Now that her sisters were with Julie, the rest of us weren’t really needed anymore, so we began walking in the direction of Jack’s camper. None of us were much in the mood for continuing with our night, though.

  “So you’re telling me this happened before,” said Jay, now rolling a dice between his fingers as he walked beside us, Matilda on his left.

  “Yes,” I answered. “My friend Lola was attacked back in Orléans. And a couple of years ago, a dancer with the circus was raped and killed. All evidence seems to be indicating that the culprit works here.”

  “Hmm,” Jay murmured, and rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Curiouser and curiouser.”

  “What are you thinking?” Matilda asked, eyeing her husband with interest.

  Instead of answering her, Jay stopped walking to stand in front of us. We all paused mid-stride, and Jay looked to Jack. “How many people live here? Forty? Fifty?”

  Jack nodded. “About that, why?”

  Jay waved aside his question to ask another of his own. “Do you think you could gather them all in the tent tomorrow, say around lunchtime?”

  “I could try.”

  “It has to be everyone. And I mean, everyone — well, except for the kids,” Jay went on, a wicked gleam in his eye and an expression that told me he was forming some kind of plan.

  “Oh, God, what are you up to now? This better not be anything dodgy,” said Matilda warily before addressing Jack and me. “He’s always coming up with hare-brained schemes. He uses all his mentalist voodoo to trick people.”

  Jay tugged on her wrist and pulled her into him, staring down at her fondly. “Ah, dear Watson, I’m not trying to trick anyone this time.” He paused for dramatic effect, eyeing each of us in turn. “I’m going to catch us a killer.”

  Nineteen

  But the magician, alas, solved the riddle

  As it happened, once Jack and I were finally alone in his camper, he wasn’t rough with me at all. In fact, he was surprisingly tender. He poured hot wax on my skin, titillated me with hot matches and metal toys. He traced his hands over every inch of me and brought me to the cusp of euphoria before plunging me into the pleasurable depths of several mind-blowing orgasms.

  The following morning we woke early, and after we ate breakfast, Jack went to find Marina to try to organise the meeting in the tent for Jay. I still had no idea what he was planning, but he had a reassuring sort of confidence that made me believe whatever he was going to try would work. It was a relief to think that in just a few hours we might have our culprit, and things around the circus could be safe once and for all.

  I was on my way to the gazebo when I saw Bea wandering between the campers, wheeling along a battered old buggy with a baby doll inside. She looked tired, her hair was dirty, and it seemed like she hadn’t changed her clothes in a while. She hadn’t struck me as the best cared-for child, but I’d never seen her look this bad.

  I was just about to approach and ask her how she was when her dad came marching out of their camper van, grabbed her roughly by the arm, and dragged her inside. It startled me, because Aiden had always struck me as a kind, though slightly laissez faire parent. He must have sensed me watching him, because our eyes met and his were hard.

  “She’s been misbehaving,” he ground out in explanation, then went inside the camper, slamming the door shut behind him. I didn’t feel right after witnessing that, but I knew it must be hard being a single dad, so I couldn’t exactly judge. Still, he needed to take better care of Bea, at least make sure she was washed and had clean clothes. It made my heart hurt to think of her in her current state.

  In an effort to lighten my mood, I went and had lunch with Lola and Luan in the gazebo. The two of them seemed to be slowly moving towards coupledom, which was nice to see. The entire circus was rife with talk of the meeting that was to take place after lunch, and once Lola, Luan, and I had finished eating, we all walked together to the Spiegeltent.

  Inside people sat in various locations around the audience, chatting in earnest and speculating as to what was going on. I noticed King sitting in a corner on the floor, passed out and looking as dishevelled as always. It upset me a little. Somewhere deep down I thought maybe the painting would make him better somehow. Perhaps he was right after all, perhaps he was too far gone.

  When I spotted Jack in the front row next to Matilda, my heart did a little leap. I got excited just at the sight of him and made my way towards the front.

  “Hey,” he greeted me, low and husky. I smiled at him, then gave Matilda a little wave, but before I could take the seat next to him, he pulled me down to sit on his lap. The action gave me tingles, and his gaze fixed on my bare collarbone, where there were some small red marks from the wax he’d dripped on me last night. His attention scorched far more than the wax, and I found myself trembling a little at the memory.

  Then his thumb brushed over the markings, causing me to let out a tiny gasp. His chest rumbled with a muted growl, and I could tell Matilda was watching us, but she didn’t say anything. I leaned up and had just enough time to lay a peck on Jack’s lips before a hush fell over the gathering. Footsteps echoed around the tent as Jay stepped out onto the stage, all eyes focusing on him.

  “Greetings,” he said, scanning the space and flashing a big smile. He looked excited
and full of energy. Electric. I wondered if this was what he was like during his performances and imagined watching him do a show would be quite the thrill ride. “Before I begin, could I ask you all to come and sit at the front in a circle? There should be enough room in the first two rows for everyone.”

  Slowly, those gathered began to come forward, and, just like Jay had requested, it seemed like everyone in the entire circus was present. I saw Marina carrying Pierre. I saw Winnie hand in hand with her husband Antonio. I saw Julie and her sisters. Even Pedro was present. All except for the kids. After a minute or two, we were seated. I remained on Jack’s lap, staring at Jay as he continually moved his attention from one person to the next as though taking his time to study everyone individually. Then I saw him nodding as he began to count heads.

  “Okay,” he said, and glanced at Marina. “If my math skills are correct, we’ve got forty-six people, am I right?”

  “That’s correct,” Marina answered.

  “Great.” He rubbed his hands together. “So, let’s get down to business. My name is Jay Fields, and I’m a stage illusionist. I’m proficient in a number of arts, one of which includes cold reading and mentalism. Solving mysteries is something of a hobby of mine. Just think of me as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, or better yet, consider me your deus ex machina, here to solve the unsolvable. At the very least, I’ll endeavour to put a criminal behind bars. As you’ve all probably heard by now, there have been two separate incidents of violence and attempted rape against women in this circus in the past several weeks, as well as a murder two years ago. All evidence seems to suggest the crimes were carried out by the same person. The evidence also suggests that that person is in the room with us today.”

  Quiet elapsed, and a tension filled the space. Jack’s arms tightened around me, and I wondered if he was thinking what I was thinking. That I could have fallen victim to this sicko if I had been in our room that night instead of Lola. Jay paused for a moment to let everyone absorb the information, and there were a couple of grumblings amongst the gathering. I heard Pedro swear and ask how Jay, an outsider, thought he could come in and begin pointing fingers at people. His argument made me wonder, and not for the first time, if he was the man we were looking for. His behaviour in the past certainly indicated a slight deviancy, but did that mean he had the ability to rape and kill? I wasn’t quite sure. In the end Marina stood, her voice booming loud around the tent.

  “Now, you all need to listen up and listen good. I agreed to have Mr Fields here today, and so long as you’re innocent, you have nothing to worry about. So please, can you all shut up complaining and let the man get on with his job?”

  Her reprimanding tone worked to hush the grumblings, and Jay sent her a look of gratitude before giving her a dashing little bow. “Thank you, Marina.” She dipped her head to accept his thanks, and then Jay began to pace.

  “Now, I’m going to go around the room and ask each one of you a set of three questions. These questions will consist of the following: What is your name? Where were you born? And what is the name of the street you grew up on? Of these three questions, I want you to give me two correct answers and one lie. You can lie on any one of the questions you wish, but do not, under any circumstances, tell me which one. Everybody got it?”

  Once Jay’s instructions were understood by all, he walked to the far right of the room and fired off his three questions. The first person to be asked was the stuntman, Raphael.

  “What is your name?” said Jay.

  “Raphael Suarez.”

  “Where were you born?”

  “Brazil.”

  “What is the name of the street you grew up on?”

  “Rua Santa Teresa.”

  I noticed that after each question was answered, Jay took a moment to stare at his interviewee. When he was done with Raphael, he moved on to the man sitting next to him. It was a long and tedious process, truth be told. Jack and I were sitting on the opposite end from where Jay had started, so it took about a half hour for him to reach us. He smiled at me warmly and asked me the questions. I decided to lie on the second one. I knew from my accent that my lie was probably obvious, but hey, just because I sounded Irish didn’t mean I was born in Ireland.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Lille Baker.”

  “Where were you born?”

  “Argentina.”

  Jay give me a little grin before asking the final question. “And what is the name of the street you grew up on?”

  “Fitzgerald Street.”

  “Thank you, darlin.” The way he spoke to me gave me a warm feeling in my tummy, like he held an affection for me already, and he barely knew me. He only knew that I was in love with his brother, and that seemed to be good enough for him. He moved on to Jack next, and soon he was done asking everyone the same three questions. I had no idea what he was up to, but the glint in his eye told me he had a plan.

  “Have I gotten everyone?” Jay asked, and there were a number of yeses from the gathering before a noise sounded from the back of the room. I twisted in Jack’s lap to see King had knocked over a chair while trying to stand up. “Ah, not everyone, I see,” said Jay as he hopped off the stage and strode towards King, who glowered at him and rubbed his temples like he was suffering from a headache.

  “Hey, there,” said Jay, eyeing King closely. Jack and I shared a look. We both knew that King was a wildcard, and there was a good chance he’d say something rude or insulting.

  “What do you want?” King griped, and tried to move past him, but Jay did a suave little sidestep.

  “I want to ask you some questions. Will you play ball?”

  “Piss off.”

  Jay chuckled and took another step closer to King. I watched him as he tilted his head, taking a moment to study Marina’s brother, and he seemed intrigued. “I bet you could tell me some stories,” Jay observed almost absently.

  “I need a smoke,” King grumbled, and moved to walk by Jay again. He was clearly growing impatient.

  “I’ll tell you what. You come sit up the front, let me ask you some questions, and I’ll buy all the cigs and booze you could wish for.”

  King eyed him suspiciously, then finally nodded his agreement. “You better not be lying.”

  “Cross my heart,” said Jay, swiping his finger over the left side of his chest in an “X” shape before gesturing for King to go sit up at the front. King stumbled by him and took the seat on the other side of Matilda, who looked at him sadly when she saw how uncared for he was. Jay came to stand before him.

  “I’m going to ask you three questions. I want you to answer two correctly and lie on one of them. Got it?”

  “Yeah, yeah, two true, one false. I’m a drunk not an idiot.”

  “No, I imagine you’re far from it,” said Jay, his brows drawing together in what looked like concern. “So, the first question, what’s your name?”

  King coughed his pained cough and answered, “King. Oliver King.”

  “Where were you born?”

  “London.”

  “And what is the name of the street you grew up on?”

  King seemed pained as he considered his final answer. “Molesworth Street.” I wasn’t quite sure why, but I felt like his third answer was the lie.

  “Thank you, sir,” said Jay before turning to address the gathering again. “Okay, so this is where things start to speed up. Now I’m going to ask you all one question. I don’t want you to lie here — I want you to tell the truth. The answer will be a simple yes or no. Once you’ve answered, I’ll either tell you to move to the back of the tent or to stay where you are. I repeat, I do not want you to lie to me.”

  He began to the right again with Raphael, shooting off his question. “Did you attack Julie Young last night?”

  Raphael seemed appalled by the very idea and answered immediately. “No.”

  “Thank you,” said Jay. “You can go to the back of the tent.”

  Raphael rose and walked down th
e aisle before sitting in the very back row, folding his arms as he lowered himself into a seat. Jay moved on to the next person and then the next, asking everybody the same question in rapid-fire succession. Sometimes, if he wasn’t happy with the answer, he asked twice. He even asked Julie herself. She furrowed her brow at him.

  “How on earth can I attack myself?” she complained.

  “Just answer the question, darlin.”

  “No, I didn’t fucking attack myself,” she deadpanned.

  “Okay, good,” said Jay, raising a hand. “Stay where you are for now.”

  In the end, both Jack and I were at the back of the tent with almost everyone else. He ran his hands soothingly up and down my arms, which worked to rid some of my restlessness. I wished Jay would speed things up and discover the culprit already. The only people left at the front were Julie, Pedro, King, Luan, Aiden, and Antonio. Jay asked all of them to stand in a circle around him. He paced a moment as they watched, and then began asking them all the same question again, though this time it was phrased slightly differently.

  “Are you the attacker?” he asked Julie.

  “No.”

  “Are you the attacker?” This time, Pedro.

  “No.”

  “Are you the attacker?” Now it was Luan’s turn.

  “No.”

  Jay continued asking his question, and again he asked some of them twice, even three times. Each time every one of them answered no, and they all seemed to be growing irritated. Pedro swore in Portuguese, while Luan’s cheeks grew red and Julie pulled a strop.

  “This is a joke,” she griped, and stared daggers at Jay. “Seriously, do you even know what you’re doing?”

  Jay put his finger to his lips to hush her, and quiet descended. He bowed his head for a moment, as though trying to think, then whipped it up and pointed to Antonio and Pedro. “You both can go join the others at the back.” There was a light in his eyes now as he studied his final four suspects, and a chill came over me, because something told me Jay had finally decided who the guilty party was. Jack must have seen me shiver, because he pulled me close and wrapped both his arms around my shoulders. I sank into his hard, sturdy frame, seeking comfort as I listened to Jay speak.