by B R Snow
“Yeah, that’s how he died,” I said. “But Claude didn’t kill him.”
“What are you talking about?” Wanda said with a deep frown.
“The medical examiner found traces of insulin in the syringe.”
“What?” Wanda said, shaking her head. Then she tried to recover and deflect. “Well, anybody could have done that. There’s probably a lot of diabetics who work here.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I said. “But I doubt if any of them were being threatened by Pontilly and the clowns.”
Wanda folded her hands in her lap and sat quietly.
“Pontilly was threatening you, wasn’t he?”
Wanda managed a silent nod.
“He said if you left the circus, you were going to regret it,” I said.
“He did,” she whispered. “And he sent Bubs and Chuckles around a few times to rough me up a little. You know, just to get my attention.”
“And you told Miguel what was going on?” I said.
“No, he overheard Pontilly and the clowns talking the other night about all the lovely things they’d like to do to us.”
“Did you and Miguel talk about it?”
“We did,” she said, tearing up. “But he told me not to worry about it. He said he’d take care of it.”
“Because nobody messes with his sister, right?”
“Yeah, Miggy’s good about things like that. I never have to worry when he’s around,” she said, then took a couple of deep breaths. “But I had no idea he’d ever do something like that. You really think he killed Mr. Pontilly?”
“I wish I didn’t. But, yes, I do.”
She sat quietly for a long time trying to process the fact that her brother had killed the old man.
“He’s never been quite the same since that fall,” she said. “But I can’t believe he could do something like that.”
“I’m sure he was just trying to protect you,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m sure he was,” she said, exhaling loudly. “So, what now?”
“You need to talk to Miguel and get your story together. Then you need to speak with the cops. Maybe they’ll decide there were extenuating circumstances. After all, they were threatening you.”
“Maybe he can claim self-defense,” Wanda said, staring at me.
“A chiseled trapeze artist defending himself from a ninety-year-old man who barely weighed a hundred pounds?” I said, frowning. “I’m afraid you’ll have to do better than that.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said.
“Have to do better than what?” Miguel said, poking his head inside.
“Come on in, Miggy,” Wanda said.
“Yeah, I need to get going,” I said, giving him a hug on my way out. “Thanks again for catching me.”
“No problem,” he said, glancing nervously at his sister.
I headed for the animal area and walked past the two tigers who were asleep and snoring loudly. But the elephant was wide awake and immediately made eye contact with me as I approached. I came to a stop directly in front of her, and she raised her trunk and gently draped it over my shoulder. I stroked it and stared back at her.
“How would you like to get out of here and come home with us?”
The elephant raised her trunk into the air and let loose with a trumpet blast that probably woke half the town.
“I think she likes the idea,” Josie said.
I turned around and noticed Queen B. wagging her tail as she stared up at the elephant.
“All creatures great and small, right?” I said, reaching out to pet the beagle.
“Yeah. Maybe our species will figure it out someday,” Josie said.
“I have my doubts.”
“You having a glass-half-empty kind of night?” she said.
“Yeah. Death and murder always depress me,” I said. “You ready to get out of here?”
“I am,” she said. “Let’s drop Queen B. off then head home for a nightcap.”
“Why don’t you take off?” I said. “I need to have a chat with the Chief. I’ll get a ride home with him.”
“Okay,” she said. “But I think you should have your head examined.”
“No, crazy jokes tonight, okay? I’m not in the mood.”
“I’m not talking about that, you idiot,” she said, laughing. “I’m talking about having the doctor take a look at the dent in your forehead.”
Chapter 28
I followed the Chief into the Clay Bay police station, a small granite building semi-covered in ivy that was located close to downtown. I glanced at the clock on the wall and immediately stifled a yawn when I realized it was almost one in the morning.
“I’ll put a pot of coffee on,” the Chief said.
“Coffee sounds great,” I said.
“You won’t be saying that after you taste it,” he said with a grin. “At home, I’m not allowed within twenty feet of the coffeemaker.”
“What do you think is going to happen to Miguel?” I said, putting my feet up on his desk.
“Hard to say,” the Chief said. “He confessed without putting up a fight. And their story about how they felt their lives were in danger sounds plausible. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s guilty of the premeditated murder of a ninety-year-old man. The prosecution is gonna have a field day with that.”
“What did Miguel have to say about how it all went down?” I said, yawning and putting my hands behind my head.
“You really need to stop watching so many cop shows,” he said, sitting down behind his desk. “I think Miguel’s tongue wasn’t the only thing he damaged when he missed the net in Colorado.”
“Scrambled neurons?”
“I knew you’d understand,” the Chief said with a big grin.
“Funny.”
“He said he did it as payback for what Pontilly was thinking about doing to his sister.”
“And he and Wanda were already suspicious that the old man was behind what happened to Samantha?”
“They were. He went into the wardrobe room when everybody was outside taking a break. Snuck up behind him and injected a full syringe of insulin behind his ear.”
“And that drove Pontilly’s blood sugars down, right?”
“Way down,” the Chief said. “At some point, Pontilly would have slipped into a coma, then the overdose eventually finished him off.”
“Nobody found him in the wardrobe room?”
“Apparently, Pontilly had a strict ritual before a show. And a big part of it was being left alone,” the Chief said.
“Man, what a horrible way to die.”
“Yeah, bad way to go out,” the Chief said over the gurgle of the coffeemaker.
“You do know that you’re going to have to hire a crew to take down the tents and figure out what to do with all the circus equipment,” I said.
“I do,” he said. “But it can wait.”
“We’re taking the elephant and the tigers,” I said.
“Why am I not surprised?
“But just on a temporary basis,” I said, glancing across the desk.
“Of course,” he said with a smile. “Just a temporary thing.”
The Chief’s phone chirped, and he answered on the second ring.
“Chief Abrams…Hey, Williams…How about that? It’s nice when they make it easy…Yeah, I get that. But that sounds like an insult to the box of rocks…Okay. I’ll be back in the office sometime before noon. Thanks.”
He ended the call and tossed his phone on the desk.
“Detective Williams, I presume,” I said, yawning.
“He called from the ambulance. He’s escorting the two clowns down to Upstate Medical. Apparently, they both need multiple surgeries.”
“Good.”
The Chief laughed as he headed for the coffeemaker and poured two cups.
“Just outside of Watertown, they started throwing each other under the bus.”
“Did they happen to mention why they thre
w her off the boat?”
“Detective Williams said they were babbling about how she was threatening to go public and take the circus down. It sounds like they were definitely acting on Pontilly’s instructions.”
“I just can’t figure out why she would all of a sudden start doing that,” I said. “She’d worked there for years.”
“Haven’t you figured out enough stuff for one night?” he said, handing me a cup.
“Yeah, I should probably quit while I’m ahead. It sure smells good.”
I took a sip then grimaced.
“How is it?” the Chief said, taking a sip.
“It sure smells good.”
“I warned you,” he said. “After we drink these, we’ll head back to the cells and turn Master Claude loose.”
“Let him wait,” I said, forcing another sip down. “You know, you might want to try adding water to the coffee grounds.”
“Too strong?”
“Not if you like drinking road tar.”
We finished our coffee, then I followed the Chief through the door that led to two small cells in the back of the station. The cells would never be mistaken for a maximum-security facility, but the bars were solid, and the doors locked tight. Claude sat up on his cot when we entered.
“What are you doing here?” he said, glaring at me.
“Unfortunately, I’m here to keep you from going to prison.”
“Really?” he grunted.
“But now that I see you in a cage, I kind of like it,” I said. “It works for you.”
“What’s she talking about?” Claude said to the Chief.
“Suzy thinks she might know who killed Pontilly,” the Chief said, delivering his line perfectly.
“Well, that’s great. I told you somebody put that syringe in my bag,” Claude said, turning to me. “Who was it?”
“My memory is a little fuzzy at the moment,” I said.
“Considering the crease in your forehead, I’m not surprised,” Claude said, laughing. “What did you do?”
“Trapeze accident,” I said, gently pressing the bruise on my forehead and realizing that it was, in fact, slightly indented. “Weird,” I said with a frown.
“You’ll get no argument from me,” Claude said.
“You know, I think I changed my mind, Chief,” I said, wheeling around. “Let’s just let him rot in here.”
“Hang on,” Claude said. “I was just kidding. Are you gonna tell me who killed the old man or not?”
“Maybe,” I said. “But first, you have to agree to one thing.”
“Like what?” Claude said, his eyes narrowing.
“You need to agree to turn over the tigers and the elephant to me,” I said.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I said so,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. “You are officially out of the animal act business.” Then I smiled at him. “But maybe you can make a comeback as a clown. They’re down a couple at the moment.”
“What are you gonna do with them?” Claude said.
“Apart from making their lives as comfortable as possible, not a thing,” I said.
Claude thought about it for a few moments, then shrugged.
“Okay. Why not?” he said. “Actually, you’ll be doing me a favor.”
“Don’t remind me,” I said.
“So, who killed Mr. Pontilly?”
“Miguel,” the Chief said.
“The Silent One killed the old man?” Claude said. “Why the heck did he do that?”
“He had his reasons,” the Chief said.
“Can I get out of here now? I need to get back to the circus and check in with everybody. We have to figure out what we’re going to do now that Pontilly’s gone. But without the animal acts and the aerialists, it’s gonna be tough sledding for a while.”
“Yeah, that’s what they thought,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” he said, confused.
“They all left earlier tonight on the boat,” I said.
“What?”
“Yeah, they all bailed. I guess they figured the world-famous Pontilly Family Circus had finally run its course.”
“I can’t believe they left without me,” he said.
“Yeah, they were heartbroken to leave you behind,” I deadpanned. “But I imagine they were sure you were going away for a long time.”
“I’ll explain everything when I track them down,” he said. “Did they say where they were going?”
“Actually, they did. I think I’ve got it written down somewhere,” I said, digging into my pocket for a slip of paper. “Yeah, here it is. But I can’t read the handwriting.”
“Let me see it,” Claude said, approaching the bars.
I handed the slip of paper to him, and he peered down at it.
“That’s horrible penmanship,” he said. “Is that a J or an I?”
He continued to stare down at the slip of paper trying to decipher what I’d scribbled a few minutes ago at Chief Abrams’ desk. Then I wound up and fired the best punch I’d ever thrown between the bars. It landed with a crack, and Claude tumbled backward holding his nose that was already gushing blood.
“Good punch,” the Chief said.
“Thanks,” I said, rubbing my hand. “But I hurt my hand.”
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” he said. “Man, you’re falling apart tonight. We better get you home before you do any more damage to yourself.”
“What about him?” I said, nodding at Claude who was staring at his hands that were covered in blood.
“He can wait awhile,” the Chief said. “Besides, he’s already missed his ride.”
We headed for the door but stopped when Claude yelled.
“Hey. You can’t do that,” Claude said.
“Do what?” the Chief said.
“Hit me like that,” he said. “That’s police brutality.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you, Claude,” the Chief said. “But not this time.”
“Why the hell not?”
The Chief gave the bleeding man with the broken nose a big grin.
“Because she’s not a cop.”
Chapter 29
I watched Josie climb the stepladder to inspect the back of the elephant’s ears. The elephant continued using her trunk to toss copious amounts of hay and fruit into her mouth and didn’t bat an eye as Josie continued the exam. She climbed down and put the ladder away before joining me.
“How’s she doing?” I said.
“Apart from some scarring, the last vestiges of the bullhook are gone forever,” she said, patting the elephant’s trunk.
“She seems happy here,” I said.
“As much as I hate to admit it, she does,” Josie said.
“Does that mean you want to keep her?”
“No, it does not,” she said, gently punching me on the shoulder. “I merely said she seems happy.”
“I’m not sure we’re going to be able to find a good place for her to go,” I said.
“You found a home for the tigers in two days,” Josie said.
“Yeah, we got lucky with that,” I said, deflecting. “Who knew there was a tiger reserve in Texas?”
“She needs room to roam, Suzy.”
“I know,” I said, then pointed out at the acreage. “But I thought that when we finish the fence around the perimeter, we could also add another fence inside that. We could run it off the caged area a couple hundred yards in from the perimeter fence and take it all around the property. By the time we were done, Beulah would have several acres to wander around on.”
“She should have a lot more room than that,” Josie said.
“In a perfect world, yes,” I said, firmly. “But she’s been in captivity since she was a baby. She wouldn’t have a clue about how to survive in the wild.”
“I’m not talking about releasing her into the wild.”
“And if we sent her to a reserve, who knows if the other elephants there would acce
pt her? And what about poachers?”
“Suzy.”
“We just need to take our time and make sure we find the perfect spot for her.”
“Unless you’re able to build her the perfect spot right here first?”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. “Just look at her. She loves it here.”
“Unbelievable,” Josie said, shaking her head. Then she stared off into the distance and laughed. “Here comes the floorshow.”
I followed her eyes and saw Jill coming through the gate off the back of the dog’s play area. She closed the gate behind her, then placed Queen B. on the ground. The beagle raced across the field, making a beeline for us. Beulah spotted her and trumpeted then placed the tip of her trunk on the ground. The beagle slowed but didn’t stop, and she scooted up the trunk, climbed to the top, then perched herself on the elephant’s back and began surveying the scene. Then she nuzzled one of Beulah’s ears.
“Besides, Queen B. would never forgive us if we sent Beulah away,” I said, making a face at Josie.
“I repeat; unbelievable,” Josie said.
“Your three o’clock is here,” Jill said to Josie. “And your mother wants to have a chat with you.”
“Did she call?” I said.
“No, she’s waiting in your office,” Jill said, laughing. “With the binder.”
“Okay,” I said, shrugging. “Another round of wedding dress debate.”
“Let’s get going,” Josie said. “I’m not looking forward to this one. Audrey is bringing her Chihuahua in for his shots.”
“Ew,” I said, frowning. “Billy the Biter?”
“Yeah, he got me good last year.”
“You want to trade?” I said. “I’ll swap you my mother for the dog straight up.”
“Not a chance,” Josie said, then glanced at Jill. “You coming?”
“No, I thought I’d stay here for a while,” she said. “I love watching these two playing together.”
“Have fun,” I said, waving as we headed across the field.
My mother was sitting on the couch studying the binder when I entered my office. I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek before I sat down behind my desk. I grabbed a bag of bite-sized from the drawer, ignored the disapproving look she was giving me, and popped one of the morsels.
