Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 01 - Death Is Clowning Around (18 page)

Chapter 20

Carl hung on a rope.
The lights blazed, music blared and everyone was dancing.
But the entire event seemed comical rather than enticing.
The dancing seemed less seductive, more clumsy and forced.
And the food didn’t taste as good either.
But I was starving so I had a huge helping anyway.
Afterward I went to get the kids and bring them to breakfast.

Henry and Dan stood outside the door of the dorm.

“What’s up?”
I asked.

“They started whining and crying an hour ago.
We couldn’t take it anymore, so we just shut them in,” Dan replied.

“I tried to calm them down, but they just kept on going.
I’m sorry.
My head is killing me this morning and I just couldn’t take it either.”
Henry replied, holding his hand to the side of his head.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I couldn’t think straight.
I need more aspirin.”

“Go get your aspirin, both of you.
Are Lori and her friends still here?”

“Not Lori, but I think the other girl is.
She stayed up really late, so she’s in bed.”

“I’ll get her to help me.
Go on.”

They both took off quickly.
I found Terri sound asleep in her bed.
She’d helped me out this morning, so I’d let her rest.
I could get the kids to breakfast by myself.

Henry and Dan were right.
The kids were not their usual drugged out selves this morning.
They were tired, cranky and noisy.

I went from room to room, gathering up the kids.
The promise of food enticed a few, several more came along when I told them they’d be flying on the trapeze today, and the rest f
el
l in line when they knew they’d see their families this afternoon.

Breakfast was uneventful.
Dan and Henry joined me as the kids ate.

“Thanks for bringing the kids to breakfast, Liza,” Henry said.

“No problem.
I promised a few of them they’d be able to fly on the trapeze today.
Can we make sure they get to do it?”

“Sure.
We haven’t really figured out what we were going to do today, so that’s fine.”

“Great.”

The kids finished their breakfast and we walked them to the trapeze.
I stood and watched them enjoy flying through the air.
I felt a tap on my shoulder.
It was Terri.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

“Thanks again for this morning.”
I smiled.

“You’re welcome.”
She turned her attention back to the kids.

“Can I ask why?”

“Why I lied?”
She looked back at me, her mouth drawn tight.

“Yeah.”

“Besides the fact that I don’t like clowns, I figured you’re an adult and whatever you were doing was your business and not theirs.”
She gave me a cocky grin.

“You’re pretty mature for a teenager.”

She smiled, clearly flattered by my words.
“I’ve heard that before.”

“How long have you been coming to the camp?”

“Since I first met Lori.”

“How’d you two meet?”

“We were both new at our school so we just started hanging out with each other and now we’re the best of friends.”

“Her parents told me she’s adopted.”

“Yeah.
Beverly and Carl treat her really well.”
She shook her head and frowned.
“Lori didn’t have a very good life before that.”

“What do you mean?”

“She told me she and her mom lived in a car for a while.
I guess that was one of the better places they stayed.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, but everyone has issues they have to deal with.
Lori handles it really well.”

“She sounds like a remarkable girl.”

“Yeah, she is.”
She nodded.

“I look forward to meeting her.”

“You probably won’t see her until tomorrow.”

“Why not?”

“Usually we don’t mix with the participants.
We wait until tomorrow when everyone’s gone.”

I laughed.
“She doesn’t like clowns either?”

She scowled.
“No, that’s just me and my clown phobia.
Tomorrow everyone will be dressed in street clothes and just fooling around and having a good time.
It’s a day off for all the employees.
Some go home, if they live close but most just stick around and play with the equipment.
It’s cool.”

“So what brings you out today?”

“I saw you watching the kids and decided to come over and say hello.”

“That’s nice but it can’t be the only reason.
What’s up?”

She grimaced.
“One of my teachers gave me an assignment over Spring Break.”

“And you think I can help you with it?”

“Yeah.”
She shifted her weight.

“Well, you came to my rescue earlier so I’d be happy to assist you in any way I can.”

“Great.”
She heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
“I’m supposed to interview a complete stranger.
It’s part of my speech class.”

“When do you want to do the interview?”

“Not today.”
She shuddered as she walked away.
“Too many clowns around.”

The rest of the day was uneventful.
The kids enjoyed the activities and were thrilled to see their parents arrive.
I was tired and ready for them to leave, too.
It felt just the end of an all-day field trip.
It was time for them to go home.
After the last child was safely delivered to their parent’s arms, I went back to my hotel room.
Tina was gone and I reveled in the silence.

The bed looked so inviting.
I’ve never been a good napper.
There were just too many requirements for me to sleep: darkness, quiet, warmth, and a flat firm bed.
After I pulled the heavy curtains closed and added a couple of extra blankets, sleep came in minutes.

I didn’t sleep long, but enough to make me feel refreshed.
The clock said four.
Dinner wasn’t until six, so I took my cell phone to the roof.
As soon as I started to dial Tom’s number, it rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Teach.”
It was Justin
.
“How’s clown camp?”

“Over, for the moment.”
I sighed.
Spending my vacation working with children wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind.
They were exhausting and I needed a rest.

“I did some more research on the Internet.
Do you want to know what I found?”

This peeked my interest.
“Of course.”

“If you search down several layers the camp is owned by a huge conglomerate.
Its initials are C.L.O.W.N.S.”
He laughed.

“That figures. What do the letters stand for?”

“That took me awhile.
They don’t spread the definition of their acronym around.
I had to go back to the camp website to find it.
It stands for Critical Lineage Of White Nations Supremacy.”

I shook my head.
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“White power is everywhere and this particular organization owns the entire town of Santa Dominga.”

“The whole town?”

“Oh, yeah.
Everything from the fast food restaurants to the courthouse.
The hospital, police force, county offices are all paid through them.
Not to mention all of the judges, too.”

“Is there anyone not on their payroll?”

“Not that I can find.
A few of the business
es
have gone broke over the last decade or so, but the bottom line says that the CLOWNS owned them too.”

I hadn’t seen any closed signs on any of the buildings in town.
“Which business closed?”

“Two restaurants, a lawyer’s office, a grocery store, and gas station.
Other than those, the same businesses have been around for the last thirty years.”

“Nothing new?”

“Nope.
The buildings were taken over by existing businesses that needed to expand.”

“I guess there isn’t much need for a lawyer when you own the police force.”

“He wasn’t a criminal lawyer, anyway.
His specialty was family law.”

“As in adoptions?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Lucky guess.
Can you find out how many adoptions he handled?”

“Sure, that should be a part of the county records.”

“Okay.
Was there anything else out of the ordinary in your search?”

“That’s hard to say,” he laughed.
“What would that look like for those clowns, anyway?”

“Good question.”
I checked my watch.
It was almost time for dinner.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.
Do you think you’ll have the information by then?”

“Of course, my fingers are already flying around the keyboard.”

I hoped I hadn’t offended him.
“I never doubted your ability.”

“Don’t sweat, Teach.
I was just giving you a bad time.”

“Okay.
I really appreciate the help.”

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about when you get home?”

“Of course, every little detail.”

“Good.”

“Pet my dog for me.”

“She’s sleeping right next to my chair.”

“Thanks, Jason.
Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Stay safe, Teach.”

There wasn’t time to call Tom; maybe I’d try later.
Dinner was served in the same place, but with no rhythmic music, flashing lights, mind-control rhetoric or drugs.
The atmosphere seemed calm.
Terri and Lori sat at a separate table with Carl and Beverly.
The rest of the staff was at rectangular tables.
I went over and sat with Tom and Henry.

I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“Liza.”

It was Terri.

“Hello.”
I smiled broadly.
“How are you?”

“I’m fine.
Would you like to join me at my table?”

“Sure.”

The rest of the staff stared and whispered to each other.
I was probably the first to be invited to the “big people’s table.”
I followed Terri.

Carl stood as I got near the table.
“Good evening, Liza.
Thanks for joining us.”

“Thanks for the invitation.”

“It was the girls’ idea.”

I nodded to Lori, who didn’t bother to acknowledge my existence.
Her hands were crossed over her chest and her face was tight.
It had obviously been Terri’s idea and Lori was upset that I was interfering with her dinner.

The food arrived and it was wonderful.
Large steaks covered with sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, garlic mash potatoes and chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

As dessert was being served, Carl started asking me questions.
“So, Liza.
How do you like teaching?”

“I love it.”

“I can’t imagine spending one hundred and eighty days with the same group of kids,” Beverly replied, wincing.

“It can seem really long, depending upon the group.”

“That’s why I like camp.
The kids come, they stay for four days, you get a few days off and then a new batch comes.”

“I can see where that would be nice.”
I shrugged.

“And the pay is better,” Carl interjected.

“Well, there is that.”
It was easy to agree, because it was true.

“You ever think about doing something besides teaching?”
Beverly asked.

I knew what they were getting at, so I played along.
“Sometimes.”

Carl and Beverly smiled at each other.
A job offer was coming, I could feel it.

Suddenly Lori spoke up for the first time.
“I think kids are dumb.”

I nodded.
“They can certainly act that way sometimes.”

She scowled.
“I’m sure glad I’m an only child.
I’d hate having a brother or sister.”

“I have a sister and sometimes we don’t get along either, but I still like having one.”

“I wish I had a brother or sister.”
Terri folded her hands on the table.

“You’re an only child?”
I asked.

“Yeah, my mom says I’m her little miracle.”
She grinned.
“She had three miscarriages before I joined the family.”

“Well, she’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Lori said.
“My parents picked me from all the kids at the orphanage because I’m special.”

Beverly reached over and stroked the side of Lori’s face.
“You are
very
extraordinary, my dear.”

“Thanks, mom.”
She beamed for the first time this evening.

The love between them was obvious.
Of course it would have to be if Beverly and Carl had stolen her away from her parents, put her into an orphanage, and then adopted her.
If I could keep them talking, maybe somebody would make a mistake.
“Your dad told me that you were adopted.”

“Yeah.
My mom was a mess.
As far back as I can remember, we slept in old dirty rooms, doorways, and sometimes in a car.
I was always hungry.”
Her voice trailed off.
Her face fell.

Was this a real memory or one that had been planted by mind-control?
“I’m surprised you remember so much.
You were pretty small when you were adopted, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, I was six.
But I still remember.”
She groaned and hunched her shoulders.
“I used to have nightmares about it.”

“Let’s change the subject,” Terri said.

“That’s a good idea.
What’s your favorite thing to do in clown camp?”
I asked Lori.

“I like magic.”

“She’s really good, too,” Carl said.

Lori reached behind my ear and brought out a bouquet of red roses.
My eyes immediately started to itch and I sneezed.

Lori’s eyes widened.
“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”
I sneezed several more times.
“I need some allergy medicine before I sneeze my head off.”
I got up from the table and left the auditorium.
The fresh air stopped my sneezing but my sinuses hurt.
A few Sudafed and I’d be as good as new.

When I got to my room there were three messages taped to the door.
They were all from Tom.
The first one said, “Call me”.
The second, “Call me as soon as possible,” and the third, “Call me now!”
I went to the roof.
It seemed I was spending more time there than anyplace else in the camp.

He picked up on the first ring.
“Where the hell have you been?”

“Clown camp, remember?”
I replied.

“Weren’t you supposed to call me every day?”

“Only if I could and I’ve been busy.”
I emphasized the last three words.

“Doing what?”

“Investigating?”

“Liza, you’re going to get hurt.
I’ve had a friend from the FBI look into the clown people.
They’re a dangerous lot.”
He paused.
Was he waiting for me to respond?
When I didn’t, he continued.
“I repeat, very dangerous.
It’s time to go home.”

“But they’re getting ready to offer me a job.
And I haven’t found Jessie yet.”

“How about you go back to the kids in your class and I’ll come down and find Jessie?”

“No.
You won’t be able to do that.”

“You think you’re a better investigator than me?”

“I look better in the uniform, or was that out of the uniform?”

“Liza…”

“I’m fine, Tom.
No one is intimidating or harassing me.
I’m just a teacher at clown camp.
I’m not a threat to anyone.”
I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

“The closer you get to Jessie, the more of a threat you’ll be.”

“First they’d have to know that I’m looking for Jessie, right?”

“I suppose.”

“Tomorrow is a day off for everyone in the camp.
I’m going to talk to a few of the teenagers here and see if I can get a line on Jessie.
If I can’t, then I’ll tell Beverly and Carl that I need to go home.
Okay?”

“Fine.
I’ll meet you at your house the day after tomorrow.”

“You don’t know where I live.”

“I’m a cop.”

“Do you miss me that much?”

“Yeah.”

“I miss you too.”

“Please be careful.”

“Careful is my middle name.”