by Jaden Wilkes
Rose turned around and stood slowly. “You don’t want to see this,” she said, “Just go back. The cops will be here soon.”
“What happened?” Cai asked and stepped past me. He let out a low groan and put his hand out to keep me back. “Stay there,” he said.
“I need to see,” I protested, a growing suspicion in the back of my head raising the alarms. I felt a sudden compulsion to know what was happening.
I pushed past Cairo and Rose and came to a sudden stop in front of what appeared to be a mannequin. I was about to turn around and tell them off for making such a big deal over a plastic doll when something caught my eye.
The mannequin was twisted in an unnatural pose, propped up against one of the trailers with her hand up to the side of her head.
I said, “No,” and dropped to my knees beside the body.
It was no doll, it was Cara. My friend had been returned.
“Cara,” I whispered and felt Rose kneel beside me.
“I’m sorry,” Rose said, “I didn’t want you to see her like this.”
Cara’s body had been displayed as though she were casually sitting up against the trailer, chatting on the phone. She was naked, and her skin was sallow and slack but covered with prisms of bruises. They ranged from dark black to yellow, so she’d had time to heal from some of them.
Her face was a mass of blood, she was barely recognizable, but distinctly Cara.
Her throat was torn out and her head nearly severed. Her body was striped with what appeared to be welts, and criss crossed with distinctive slashes and deeper puncture wounds. They almost looked like the marks Lucille had left on my body.
My beautiful, young, lively friend was dead.
“Liv,” Rose said and leaned towards me, “look at the phone. That’s not her phone.”
I took a look and felt a jolt surge through my body. I looked up at Cairo who hadn’t noticed it yet. I felt a combination of rage and fear race through me and felt the sudden urge to race back to my trailer, pack all my belongings and flee back to Canada.
Jason might have been an asshole, but I’d never felt this afraid around him.
The phone pushed into Cara’s right hand was what Cairo had once called vintage.
My dead friend was holding my boyfriend’s phone.
The phone Cairo claimed he’d lost.
How had it turned up in the hand of a dead girl?
Chapter Eighteen
“Liv,” Cairo yelled as I broke away, running for my trailer. My emotions were all over the place and I couldn’t get the image of my dead friend’s broken body clutching Cai’s phone out of my head.
All along I’d suspected he knew more about Cara’s disappearance than he’d let on. How could I have been so stupid?
I got to the trailer and fumbled for my keys. My hands were shaking when I tried to open the door, but the key didn’t seem to work.
“Liv!” Rose said right behind me. I jumped and dropped the keys and started to cry. “Oh my God,” Rose continued, “I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”
“That was his phone,” I said and handed the keys to Rose. Rose opened the door and we went inside. I had to busy myself, so I wiped my tears and plugged the kettle in for tea. “That was Cairo’s phone. You saw that, right? In her hand. She was so broken, so small...” My voice trailed off and I started to cry again. Just slow, hot tears leaking down my face, but I couldn’t help myself.
“I know,” Rose said in a quiet voice, “but we have to go back there. We can’t hide out in here drinking tea like nothing happened. We’ll have to talk to the cops, ID the body, that kind of thing.”
“Should I tell them it’s his phone? Should I tell them I fucked him last night? Rose, what do I do?”
“Security called 911, the police will be here any minute. We have to go back there Liv, get your head together.”
“But it was his phone, and she was torn apart. Did he do it?”
“That’s a question you’ll have to answer, but we need to go.”
Rose was right, as much as I wanted to react with my usual pattern of behaviour, stick my head in the sand, retreat into a cozy cave of denial, I had to face this head on. There were legal implications, as well as the danger it posed to my heart and my emotional well-being.
“Right,” I replied, “okay, we can do this. I got this.”
*****
There were several police present when we got back to Cara’s body. Cairo was standing with a small group of them, three officers who appeared to be asking him questions. He stood a good head taller than all of them and the quick motion of his hands as he answered them betrayed his anxiety.
I hoped he was upset over Cara’s death, not over getting caught for it. I stood with Rose and watched them put a white sheet over Cara’s body. Crime scene technicians were holding her hands up wiping them with cotton swabs, taking samples.
Surely if Cai had been involved, they would find out through DNA on Cara’s body. I told myself that there could be no way somebody would get away with a murder like this, especially in such a small community with today’s advances in science.
They would be caught, and I prayed it wouldn’t be Cairo.
“This all feels like a nightmare,” Rose whispered to me.
“What should we do?” I asked, “I don’t know who to talk to.”
I looked over at Cairo again, he appeared less agitated and glanced in my direction. When he caught my eye, he tried to give me a small smile, but it turned out more of a lopsided grimace.
“I told you he was dangerous,” Orion said over my shoulder.
“Cairo? Your own son? He didn’t do this,” I said, surprised at how vehemently I defended him when it was somebody else doing the accusation.
“Can you be so sure?” Orion asked, his voice stretched into a sly implication.
“I am sure, you sick fucking bastard,” I whispered back, not wanting to attract attention to us.
“Then good, you need to come with me,” he said and took my hand. Rose looked at us and was about to ask something when he cut her off. “Just Liv,” he said, “you’re fine to talk with them.”
I allowed myself to be dragged away from the scene. I glanced back at Cairo and he smiled again, this time a genuine gesture. The police had his hands out and were examining them, a crime scene technician was wiping them down.
“Where are we going?” I asked, suddenly aware that nobody really knew where I’d gone, other than Rose. What if Orion had been responsible for Cara’s death?
“You don’t have papers,” he said. “You have to stay with a few others who are also here illegally.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “I thought you had my passport.”
“We haven’t had time to arrange proper work visas, and we’re moving across the US after this and heading up into Quebec, so you won’t need anything for a month or two. We’ll make sure it’s done right the next time we hit the States.”
“Why did you ask me about Cairo?” I demanded as we walked.
“I wanted to be certain you were still in the family,” he replied, stopped and turned to face me. “The Cirque is a family,” he said, “it is important that you know where your loyalty is. Those who want to stay with us know how to keep their mouths shut when outsiders are brought in. Do you understand this, Liv? Do you really get how important it is?”
“I do,” I said, “but I honestly don’t know why you’re making such a big deal of it.”
“Then perhaps you don’t get it,” he said and narrowed his eyes. “You’re a smart girl, beautiful too...life might have come too easy for you. You’re in it now though, you’re part of us. If you can’t put the group’s safety ahead of anything else, then you will be asked to leave.”
“The group as in just the Cirque? Do you mean the performers? The Freaks? I’m confused Orion, who exactly is this family of mine?”
“You came from a very fractured background, didn’t you?” he asked, his dark eyes p
enetrating me with a single glance. “Perhaps this is too much for you to comprehend. Perhaps you are incapable of the kind of loyalty we demand from our employees.”
“I can be loyal,” I said and straightened up, “I just want to know who I’m fighting for. What side I’m on.”
“Cairo,” he answered and turned to keep walking. “You are fighting for my son’s side.”
I struggled to keep pace with him, hating how inadequate I felt, loping after his lean, muscular frame. He made speed walking look easy, natural. He had the grace of a wild animal, something long and lovely forced to spend time among mere mortals.
We reached his RV, the very one he’d interviewed me in over a month ago now. How strange, the time had passed so quickly and things had changed so dramatically.
“Come in,” Orion said, “stay here until this blows over. I will come and get you.”
I obeyed, I didn’t know why I always did what he said, no questions asked. He just had that kind of presence, a certain authority that demanded complete obedience, regardless of what a prick he was.
“Wait,” I said as he was leaving, “what’s going to happen to Cai?”
He frowned at me, perhaps because of the familiar usage of his shortened named. “I don’t know,” he replied, “I have called my lawyers, they will be here soon enough to handle any of this. He cannot go to jail. I want you to know two things though, first, my son is not guilty of harming that girl...and second, stay the fuck away from him now. You don’t know his true nature. Or mine.”
“Why are you so hell bent on keeping me away from him?” I asked, a surge of defiance adding power to my words and thankfully keeping the quiver from my voice.
“I know he fucks around, and I know he leaves a lot of girls in his wake, but I also know you’re different, and I don’t like different. Just leave him alone. You’re not one of us.”
“I’m different because he’s different,” I said, sticking my chin out stubbornly, “we’re different together. I think you know how much we already care for each other, and you’re feeling threatened by it. I know how much you need the money.”
“Who told you that?” Orion demanded.
“Cairo,” I said, “we talk about a lot of things. I know his fiancée is just a front for the money and I know he doesn’t love her. He doesn’t even know her.”
“You think you know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Orion spat, “but you know nothing, little girl. You watch your back or you’ll end up...” His voice trailed off but his eyes were flaming with fury and his body was almost vibrating with rage.
“End up? Like Cara? Like the other girls who disappeared? Are you threatening me? Did you have something to do with her death?”
Orion shut down before my eyes. He was the quintessential showman and could apparently force himself to change emotions at the drop of a hat. His face relaxed, he adjusted his long jacket and smiled. He said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, other girls. Now if you will excuse me, I have to meet with our lawyers and go protect my son. That’s what families do.”
Before I could reply, he was gone. I wanted to rage at somebody, get my fear and anger and frustration out before it went toxic and turned on myself, but there was nobody there.
I wasn’t alone for long. Alexi joined me in the RV’s living room within minutes of Orion leaving. I was killing time by watching trashy TV on the big screen and quickly shut it off when the door opened. I felt a little guilty, watching some vapid reality television when Cairo might be facing serious consequences.
If he did it. Did he do it? I still couldn’t decide what side of the fence I was on. As much as I was falling for him, I couldn’t ignore the fact that my friend disappeared, Cai left town, his phone mysteriously went missing and suddenly showed up on Cara’s beaten body.
“Have you heard anything?” I asked, hopeful for news.
“Nothing, sorry,” Alexi said and shook his head.
“What are you doing here?”
“I am in the same boat as you,” he said, “I don’t have proper paperwork.”
“What’s happening with Cairo?” I asked, desperate for information.
“Nothing that concerns you,” Alexi replied and sat in the chair next to the sofa. There wasn’t much space between us, but I suddenly became aware of a tension building. I’d always liked and trusted Alexi, had my trust been premature?
“Why not?” I asked, “I think I have just as much right to know his future as any of you. More even.”
“Why,” Alexi asked and chuckled, “because you fucked him? Because you think you can control him with your witchy powers?” He made a strange gesture in front of me, a complicated arrangement with his fingers.
I drew back, shocked at the words coming out of his mouth. He’d been nothing but kind to me previous to this.
“It’s not just that,” I replied in a cool, steady voice, “we’re friends. We’re fond of each other.”
“Listen,” Alexi said and leaned towards me. I could smell alcohol on his breath and noticed the very slight tremor in his hand. I wondered if he was drunk or just a little buzzed. “Orion and I have been friends ever since he hired me,” Alexi continued, “I know you think you understand what’s going on around here, but believe me, you don’t know shit. You don’t know about these wolves and how dangerous they can be.”
“I know more than you think. And I hardly think they’re wolves,” I said and reached for the remote. Even though Orion gave off that weird predatory feeling, I wasn’t going to sit around and listen to Alexi being a giant asshole, so I turned the television back on. I flipped it to a real estate channel, people were searching for an overpriced apartment in Paris and were complaining about the small bathroom and washing machine in the kitchen. “They always complain about that shit, hey?” I said and gestured towards the TV, hoping to break the tension.
“I like you,” he said as though he hadn’t heard me, “that’s why I’m telling you this. You should go back to Canada. Get a good job, be a good girl and get away from the Cirque as fast as you can. Once you find out what’s going on, you’ll never get out.”
“Are you warning me or threatening?” I asked. On screen the idiotic buyer was trying to decide if her shoe collection would fit in the small closet space. I hated her nasally voice, it grated on my nerves and reminded me of the life I’d left behind. I couldn’t go back now, back to dull office jobs and people like the shoe whore on TV judging me when they found out I was so different.
Alexi didn’t answer. He stared straight ahead, watching the TV, drinking from a small silver flask occasionally.
In spite of his drunken state and the obvious threats, I didn’t feel as though I were in immediate danger with him. It was better to hang out here than go and face the police and possibly be sent back to Canada. I wanted to stick around, to find out what happened with Cai and determine his place in all of this.
I needed to know if he were guilty before I let myself fall even farther in love with him.
Chapter Nineteen
I waited with Alexi until Orion returned a short time later. Alexi tried a couple more attempts at conversation, letting me know how little I understood about the big, bad world of the Cirque, but I ignored him until he fell into contemplating the bottom of his drink and was silent.
I still liked him though, but not when he was drunk. That was often the case, even my own sister had been mildly tolerable while sober, but had become another person when she drank.
I had always been blamed for her drinking, but that was far behind me now.
Orion swept in with no warning, droplets of rain clung to his jacket and he drew a sweep of fresh smelling air behind him.
“What’s going on?” I asked and jumped up, “where’s Cairo?”
“He was taken downtown for questioning,” Orion said and hung up his hat, “I sent our lawyer along with him. The police reassured me they are simply ruling him out as a suspect at this point. The phone appears
to be a terrible coincidence.”
“Do they need to talk to me at all?” I asked, “Cara was my roommate after all.”
“You barely knew her, what could you possibly have to add to this dialogue?” Orion asked. He wasn’t being mean, just plainly stating a fact.
I decided to head back to my trailer to decompress and go through the last couple days. My head felt stuffed full of information, and I felt as though there were answers there if only I could unravel it all.
“Can I go back to my trailer? Is it safe?” I asked.
“Yes, please do,” Orion replied and removed his jacket, gave it a stiff shake and hung it near the door. He gestured towards Alexi who was now slumped in the chair, possibly sleeping or passed out. “What’s with him?” he asked.
“I think he’s a little tipsy,” I replied and tried to move around him to leave. The RV, in spite of the slide out and luxury, was still a little uncomfortable once you were in a room with a man who terrified and intrigued you.
“Did he tell you anything?”
“Nothing of importance.”
“What did he say?”
“Just shit about me not knowing a thing, how I should stay away from Cairo, how you’re a bunch of wolves...stuff he’s heard from you I’m sure.”
“Nothing about the murder?” Orion persisted and narrowed his eyes. He glanced over my shoulder at the sleeping Alexi and something tweaked in the back of my head.
“Does he know something?” I asked. “Could he help Cairo?”
“I don’t think so,” Orion said, but the look in his eyes said otherwise. I shivered and wondered if he would let his own son go to jail to cover up his involvement in something like murder.
I didn’t think Orion would think twice to save his own ass, he would watch Cairo go down in flames if it meant staying out of trouble.
“If you know something, please tell the police,” I pleaded, “Cai might be in deep shit here, Orion, as his father you should stand up for him.”
