Thrills And A Kill (An East Pender Cozy Mystery Book 12)

by Leona Fox

  From their window the peak of the big top could be seen, poking into the night sky as though trying to tear it apart. And around it all were the glittering stars, which sparkled and brought back memories of Aurora's outfit. Somewhere up there she was watching down on them, Ellen thought, and her last thought before she went to sleep was a promise to Aurora that she would bring the killer to justice.

  Chapter 6

  There was a much different mood the following day as a somber air seemed to be hanging around the town. Ellen and Andy were up at the crack of dawn to get a quick start on the day, and it was fortunate the two of them were used to getting by on little sleep. The grabbed some cereal before getting dressed and heading off to the circus. Before they left Andy talked to Ellen and told her that, although he understood her love of the circus, there was a chance it wouldn't be able to get back on its feet again, at least not in East Pender. The show the previous night could have been the last one for a while.

  Ellen sighed sadly, for in her heart she knew it was true, and although she wanted to solve the case quickly she couldn't risk compromising the investigation by being reckless and not doing things properly. After reassuring Andy that the most important thing to her was finding Aurora's killer, the two of them left the house and made their way to the park.

  The people of the circus were used to getting up early and a few of them were milling about, but it was a far different atmosphere than what it had been at the show the previous day. Barely anyone was talking to each other and there was a palpable tension in the air. They didn't look too kindly on Ellen and Andy either, not that it deterred them one bit.

  “Did the guys find anything at the scene of the crime?” Ellen asked.

  “No, there was just too much happening and too many people. But presumably the knife they used is going to be around here somewhere and, hopefully, it'll have some fingerprints on it, but I'm not banking on that. I have a feeling this Mr. Mysterio is going to have something useful to say, though.” They made their way to his trailer, which was the longest one, and sat in the middle of the semi-circle that ringed the big top.

  Andy looked around for Bonzo the clown but he was nowhere to be seen. Andy couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to that clown, and made it a point to seek him out later. Ellen kept Scampy close by as she didn't want to risk him running off given the number of people walking about. Yet he was straining against the leash and wanted desperately to go exploring.

  Mr. Mysterio’s trailer was much longer than the others and shared the color scheme of the rest of the circus. Pictures of the performers adorned the side, a vast array of people, and Ellen was stung with sadness as she saw Aurora's face writ large on the side of the trailer. Andy rapped his knuckles against the door, and repeated the gesture after there was no response. He placed his ear against the door and heard a voice inside.

  “We don't have time for this,” he said, then announced himself as he flung open the door and entered the trailer.

  When they walked in they saw why it was so long. It was not only a place for Mr. Mysterio to sleep, it was also the office as well. The walls were adorned with posters of the Red State Circus over the years. As Ellen looked at them she saw some familiar faces over the years, but there was much that had changed as well. The small kitchen had dirty dishes in the sink, while a small door led to a dark bedroom.

  On the other side was the office. They saw Mr. Mysterio sitting hunched over, talking on the phone. His skin was sallow and he didn't look as though he had slept at all. The telephone was glued to his ear and he didn't seem to notice Andy and Ellen as they stood in the doorway. His eyes were focused on various documents strewn around in front of him on the desk. There were filing cabinets on either side and it was so cramped he looked as though he was trapped.

  They were surprised to hear him talking about profits after his daughter had just died. He was speaking angrily and hurriedly on the phone, and from what they could hear it seemed as though he was trying to get a replacement act. This struck Ellen as a particularly cold thing to do mere hours after his daughter had died. She wondered how many he had called, how many hours he had spent trying to salvage something so the circus could continue. From his expression he wasn't having any luck, and as he set the phone down he held his head in his hands and sighed loudly. Ellen and Andy glanced at each other, unsure if he was completely blind to them. Finally, Andy cleared his throat and walked forward, standing at the desk, towering over the old magician.

  Mr. Mysterio looked up with his black eyes. “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “I'm investigating the murder-”

  “I know who you are,” he snapped, “and I'm sure you've heard it before but we don't need you snooping around. Just leave us alone and let us sort out the matter ourselves.”

  “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.