East Pender Boxed Set: Cozy Mystery Series Bundle of Books 1-14

by Leona Fox

  “I'm sorry, but we can't do that. I take my job seriously and I'm not about to let a murder go unsolved here. You either can help us find who killed your daughter or--”

  “Who told you she was my daughter?” Mr. Mysterio asked, interrupting Andy.

  “That's not important. Why didn't you want people to know?”

  The weary magician leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his thin chest. “It wasn't me who didn't want people to know, it was her. Have you got children?” he asked, looking at them both.

  Usually both Ellen and Andy were unflappable but on this occasion they squirmed a little and refused to look at each other. Neither of them had spoken about children and it was probably too late for them anyway, but it was something that had played on their individual minds. When they were younger both of them had entertained thoughts of having a child. Yet, as they grew up other things took precedence, and now that they were in their late 40s it seemed as though time had run out.

  “No, no, we don't,” Andy replied. Mr. Mysterio nodded sagely.

  “Then you do not know what it is like between a daughter and a father, especially not in the confines of the circus. Children like to rebel, it is their nature. Aurora was going through such a phase and she wanted to distance herself from me. It was painful but it was a natural thing, I suppose.”

  He spoke calmly, and his voice had the barest trace of an accent. It was almost too calm for Ellen's liking, and quite the contrast from his distraught appearance the previous night.

  “Forgive me for saying so, but you seem rather relaxed considering your daughter died.”

  Mr. Mysterio's eyes flickered and his thin lips grew even thinner as he struggled to maintain control of his emotions. “Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of time to grieve,” he said.

  “Maybe that's because you're not really that upset. We know you and your daughter were fighting a lot. Care to tell us what it was about?”

  Mr. Mysterio waved his hand. “Like I said, she was young, she lashed out at her father. It did not help that I was also her boss. It was difficult for me but I knew that in time she would see the error of her ways.” As he said this his tired eyes were filled with sadness once more as he realized there was no more time for her to see the error of her ways.

  “Did you know she was planning to run away?”

  “She always threatened to run away,” the ringmaster sighed, “but I never took it seriously. She had too much of her mother in her, that was the problem.”

  “It would cause a lot of problems, your star attraction running away, and we heard what happened with your wife. Maybe you couldn't bear history to repeat itself and--”

  “That's enough,” Mr. Mysterio said, swiftly rising from his seat and slamming his palms down on the desk, his thin, wiry body arching like a vulture.

  “Do not presume to believe that I could do this. I am being generous enough to let you into this circus. I loved my daughter and, yes, I was afraid that she would leave like my wife, but what good would it do me to kill her? Look at the show last night. All those people running about in fear and horror, that's not what the circus is about. Why would I betray my entire life's work?” The outburst seemed to drain him of energy and he closed his eyes slowly, sinking back into his chair.

  “We just have to explore every possibility. I was a little surprised to see you talking about trying to get a replacement act the morning after she died. Isn't that a bit disrespectful? It doesn't strike me as the type of thing a loving father would do,” Andy said harshly.

  “Perhaps not, but it is something a ringmaster must do. The show must go on, no matter what,” he said with a grand sweep of his arm, but he was exhausted and sad and the gesture lacked the requisite strength to be impressive, and his voice was weak.

  “Profits are slim as it is. We do this because it is our way of life, not because it is our job. We work hard to travel across the country. Our schedule is important and if we miss one show it can have serious effects. Many would have come just to see Aurora. So without her they may not come at all, and if there's one thing I hate it's giving out refunds.”

  He paused for a moment and his eyes drifted past Andy and Ellen toward a poster on the wall. Ellen followed his gaze and saw him in his pomp with a glamorous assistant by his side.

  “It's funny, when I was younger the circus was at its lowest point. Barely anybody wanted to come and see us anymore but we still kept going because it was all we knew. Some people stopped, though. They became ordinary with normal jobs and families but I knew that I never could leave. The circus is in my family's blood, it has been for generations,” he said.

  Then his eyes became liquid as he realized he would be the last of his family. It went unspoken, though, and he soon collected himself and continued speaking.

  “And we tried hard to rebuild the image and remind people that they needed us. The last thing we wanted was to become a memory, and I had images of taking the stage with my daughter at my side.”

  “But then your wife left you,” Ellen said.

  The ringmaster tilted his head but let the revelation pass without comment, understanding they had spoken to a lot of people and it wasn't surprising they had found out that particular fact.

  “Indeed she did and that was the beginning of the end for me. We had worked together since we were children. I had loved her since we were children. It always felt like we were meant to be together. When Aurora was born it was the happiest time of my life, but then my wife said she wanted to leave. I couldn't believe it, she had been in the circus as long as I and I thought she wanted the same thing as I did. We tried to hide it from Aurora but she knew there was trouble. She was always so smart, even for one so young...and then my wife left in the middle of the night. At that point I wanted to leave as well, but I knew I had a responsibility to Aurora and to the others. I wanted to bring the circus back to its best. So I used what little money I had to buy it from the owner and I became the ringmaster. Ever since then I have put everything into making the Red State Circus something special. I lifted Aurora up to heights that she never thought possible and now...now...” he said, and his head bowed.

  Ellen walked forward and rested on the side of the desk, trying to remind the ringmaster that he wasn't alone. She felt it must have been quite a lonely position, for although the circus was a community he was the one who had to make the decisions. He was the one who had to lead them and stand apart from them, and now he had to mourn the loss of his daughter alone.

  “I know this is difficult for you, but do you have any idea who could have done this? Is there anyone who actually would want to see the circus fail?” Ellen asked.

  “What do you mean?” Mr. Mysterio said, blinking away the tears.

  “You said yourself the circus would take a hit if it had to cancel shows. It's possible Aurora was killed to tank the circus. Taking out the star attraction certainly would have that effect. Do you think there's anyone here that's mad at you, or would want to see the circus fail?”

  “It is bad enough to think there is someone here who would kill one of our own, let alone destroy everything we have worked so hard to build. I refuse to believe anyone here would seek to bring the circus down. I...I can't believe it,” he said, his eyes searching for some truth. Ellen knew what he must have been going through. His entire world was collapsing around him and a shadow of doubt was being cast over everything he trusted.

  While the ringmaster tried to process things, Andy walked over to the wall and looked at the posters hanging there, trying to see if there were any clues in there, but there were not. His keen eyes searched the rest of the trailer, mainly looking for a knife, because he still didn't completely trust Mr. Mysterio. He said there was no logic to the crime but crimes were often illogical. If there is one constant in the universe it is that humans are irrational, especially when it comes to family. Ellen sat by Mr. Mysterio, feeling sorry for the man who had lost everything but couldn't allow himself time
to grieve properly or even sleep. The weight of the circus rested on his shoulders and his alone.

  “I hope you don't mind me asking, but if you knew Aurora wanted to leave, why did you try so hard to keep her here? Surely you must have known that forcing her to stay only would make her want to leave more,” she asked.

  “Knowing something and acting on it is not the same thing. I never claimed to be a perfect parent. I have made many mistakes over the years but above all else Aurora knew that I loved her, at least I hope she did. I wanted her to be the best, because I knew that she was. She was taken with the outside world because she wanted to experience the idyllic life that your fiction promises and, I fear, she wanted to try finding her mother.”

  “Would that have been such a bad thing?” Ellen asked.

  “I never told Aurora this but on one tour I actually managed to find her. I wanted to bring her back to the circus. I hoped she would have grown tired of her new life and would have missed the excitement and adventure. In my heart I tried to believe she only needed some time to miss everything we had and eventually she would come back to us. How could she not? We were childhood sweethearts. We always said we were fated to be together. Even though it had been a few years since she had left I still harbored hope that someday I would find her and everything would be back to normal.

  I went to find her, to tell her all about what a great performer Aurora was turning out to be. I hoped that at least her curiosity would lead her back to us, and once she saw Aurora she would fall in love all over again and never would leave us again. But I went to her new house and as I was about to approach I saw her through the window nursing a child. Her new child… She had moved on completely, started a brand new life without us and replaced us with a new family. I don't know what happened to the woman I fell in love with but she had changed and I did not want Aurora to feel the pain of that. I did not want her to turn up on her mother's doorstep only to be turned away.”

  “Did you ever think to tell Aurora this? If she knew, she may not have wanted to go,” Ellen said, moved by Mr. Mysterio's story.

  He laughed softly. “The last thing any parent wants to do is put their child in jeopardy. Aurora has been holding onto her mother's love all her life. She has been blaming me, blaming the circus, and in her mind she thought if she could see her mother again everything would be alright. It hurt enough when I saw her with her new family, how do you think Aurora would feel? No, I never would let her do that. It was difficult, but it was for her own good. Perhaps one day, when she was older, I would have told her...perhaps it was a mistake. Maybe it would have been better if she had left. Then she would not have been here...” he said, his voice trailing off.

  Ellen's heart went out to him and emotions welled up inside her. She squeezed his arm, and this gesture came as a shock to him, but she could tell from the smile on his face that it was welcome.

  “We'll leave you alone now. Don't worry. We will find out who killed Aurora, I promise you that. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. From the sounds of it you loved Aurora very much and even if the two of you had your differences I am sure she knew that, too,” Ellen said, and smiled warmly at him.

  “Oh, and one more thing, make sure you get some rest.”

  “I wish I had time for that,” he said.

  Meanwhile, Andy was taking his time looking at all the pictures dotted around the room. One in particular caught his attention. It was of Bonzo the clown without makeup. As Ellen and the ringmaster were deep in conversation Andy covertly swiped the picture, promising to bring it back later. He was determined to figure out the clown’s true identity, because Bonzo was hiding something. Andy had become skilled at reading body language but it didn't take an expert to see that Bonzo had a guilty conscience, and Andy was going to find out why. They thanked Mr. Mysterio as they left the trailer.

  “It's such a sad story,” Ellen said. “I'm sure he didn't do it. Like he said, it made no sense to kill her if he wanted the circus to continue.”

  “It's unlikely, still possible, though, but I agree. I don't think he did it either. I found it interesting that he didn't mention anything about the romance between his daughter and one of the twins.”

  “Aurora did seem the type to like secrets. I think they need to be our next stop.”

  The two of them stepped down from the trailer and looked out as the bright morning sun made all the trailers and vans glow. There was a slight breeze that sent the tent flapping, and it was a peaceful morning. It was difficult to tell even that a murder had taken place.

  “I just need to make a call,” Andy said, and walked away from Ellen, who took the opportunity to breathe in the morning air and think through the case.

  She lamented the fact that she had been denied the opportunity to know Aurora personally but it seemed she was the type of person to elicit strong emotions. While she was not discounting the possibility that it was a jealous performer who killed her, Mr. Mysterio's words kept running through her mind. All the performers in the circus knew what a difficult life it was, and they all were equally devoted to the show.

  Whoever killed Aurora must have known it was going to cause the circus – and by extension, themselves -- a great deal of trouble. So whatever reason they had, they must have thought it was worth it. The key had to be the Twins of Fortune. Any romantic entanglements were sure to offer motivation, but even if it was another dead end at least it could shed some light on Aurora, perhaps they knew things that even Ivan didn't know.

  “What was that about?” Ellen asked as Andy returned.

  “Oh, I just had to call Iris for something. It's not really important, just something that's been bugging me,” and sure enough Iris, ever the dutiful deputy, arrived shortly and took the picture from Andy, then left again.

  “She really goes above and beyond doesn't she?” Ellen said.

  Andy murmured in agreement. After Iris moved off the two of them discussed where to investigate next but the path they had to take was obvious. So they made their way toward the Twins of Fortune, very aware that they soon could be face to face with the person who killed Aurora.

  Chapter 7

  As more people rose to meet the day the surrounding area grew busier, although there was still an icy tension in the air that could not be melted even by the hot sun beating down. Ellen lifted her hand to shield her eyes as she surveyed the area. There were no members of the public eagerly looking to get a glimpse behind the scenes of the circus. She wondered if tonight’s show even would go ahead and, if it did, would anybody actually show up, given what happened?

  Everyone at the circus was moving about as though it was taking place, and she assumed this was partly because it gave them something to take their minds off Aurora's death. Many of them still looked at her and Andy with skepticism. She wondered how much information they were missing purely because of the circus' insular nature.

  The Twins of Fortune were in their early twenties and their trailer was all the way around the opposite side of the big top. So Andy and Ellen took a stroll through the park and tried not to peer into the middle of the tent, for when they did all they could see was Aurora's body falling helplessly through the air. The moment repeated itself endlessly, and as much as Ellen wanted the circus to get back on its feet and bring joy to thousands of people once again, she had to admit to herself it was hard to see how the ghost of Aurora's death ever would be exorcised.

  It was difficult enough for her to replay the grisly moment in her mind. She couldn't imagine what it would be like for the actual people who knew her to be in that same position, to stand where her broken body had landed. How would they ever be able to concentrate on their acts again? Mr. Mysterio certainly had his work cut out for him if he expected to carry on with this tour and make it a success.

  As they walked around the circus, Andy and Ellen questioned a few people casually, just testing the waters to see if they could glean any new information. Unfortunately, it was a fruitless task. Andy saw
that Bonzo was notable by his absence, which only made his suspicions rise. They encountered the mime that had so aggravated Iris, and after a few moments with him Ellen understood why. If nothing else, she had to praise him for the dedication to his craft.

  Eventually they made their way to the small trailer that held the Twins of Fortune. Outside the trailer were poles set up where they practiced their act. There was a mattress in between the poles, and these poles were not as high off the ground as they were in the ring, but they still were fairly high up. At this moment there was nobody on them, but as Andy and Ellen approached, the door to the trailer swung open and the two young men emerged, bickering loudly in a foreign tongue.

  The Twins of Fortune were diminutive men, probably around five foot seven or so, with wiry bodies that, on closer inspection, were packed with muscle. They wore gray vests and beige pants with nothing on their feet. They had dark hair, and sported different styles. One had his hair swept tightly back, while the other had his tousled and messy. Their voices were deep and low, and as they jumped out of the trailer they landed with a dull thud and moved to the training equipment, ignoring Andy and Ellen completely. In fact, Andy had to cough loudly and announce his presence; it was clear he did not take kindly to the manner of these circus folk.

  “I'm sure you know we've been asking around about the incident last night. We'd like to speak to you,” Andy began in a polite but firm tone. The twins looked at him, then at each other, and laughed, and said something in their native language. Andy sighed.

  “In English, please,” he said.

  “We have nothing to say to you,” the one on the left replied.

  “That's all well and good but we have plenty to say to you. We know one of you was involved with Aurora romantically and that makes you suspects. So either you can talk to us here or we all can take a trip to the station, but either way we're going to have a conversation.” The twins looked at each other and muttered something unintelligible, much to Andy's delight.