The Corpse at the Carnival Read online

  Kendall stepped out of the trailer. "This is a crime scene," she said in a loud voice. "Who's in charge here?"

  "I am," said Harry.

  "Right. We're going to need to shut the carnival down." Kendall held her mobile phone to her ear.

  "Shut it down? Are you serious?"

  Kendall regarded Harry with a look that made it clear how serious she was.

  "A man's been murdered," she said, before turning her attention to whoever was on the other end of the phone.

  Harry took the briefest of moments to let that news sink in before she turned to the crowd and started issuing instructions. Addison watched as the woman organised staff, herded patrons, and brought an air of authority to the chaos, and would have been impressed if she wasn't so shocked to hear of another murder in Getaway Bay.

  "Come on, Mum," said Olivia. "Let's go find somewhere to sit down."

  "Hang on, I need to speak to Kendall first."

  Addison tried to get the police officer's attention, but Kendall was too busy guarding the crime scene and making calls. Jason was standing close by, so Addison called him over instead.

  "Is there really a body?" Addison couldn't help but ask.

  Jason nodded. "The knife thrower, by the looks of it. I only got a quick glance, but it seems someone may have stabbed him in the back with one of his own knives."

  "Brutal," said Justin.

  "I need to speak to Kendall when she has a minute," said Addison. "I might have seen something while we were up there." She pointed to the top of the Ferris wheel, which had a clear view of the staff trailer area.

  Jason nodded. "I'll let her know. Wilcox is on his way, apparently."

  "Good." Isaac Wilcox, the local detective, was also a friend. Addison could speak to both him and Kendall about what she thought she might have seen.

  Addison, Justin, Emily, and Olivia found a spot to sit on a low wall about fifty metres away from the crime scene. They were out of the way but could still see what was going on. Addison wanted to know when Isaac arrived.

  "Do you really think you saw something?" Olivia asked her mother.

  "I don't know," Addison replied. "But we were up there for a while, and I spent some time watching this area. I saw a few people coming and going. Maybe I can remember something." She closed her eyes and tried to picture what she'd seen from the top of the Ferris wheel. She didn't get far before she was interrupted.

  "Addison!" Addison opened her eyes to find Holly, a young woman from the carnival she'd befriended days earlier, standing in front of her. "What are you doing here?" Holly looked over to the trailer, which was now surrounded with crime scene tape. Constable Diaz had arrived, and was assisting Kendall with maintaining the perimeter. "What's going on?"

  "Hi Holly," said Addison. "It looks like something's happened to the knife thrower." She wasn't sure how much detail she should be sharing.

  "Frankie? Good. He's an a…" Holly stopped short of swearing in front of Addison. "He's not a nice person. What happened? Someone beat him up?"

  "Someone knifed him in the back," said Justin.

  Addison shot her son a look.

  "Sorry," he said. "But that's what Jason said. You can't keep a secret like that, Mum."

  "No, I suppose not."

  "Is he dead?" asked Holly.

  "It would seem so, dear," said Addison. She took the young girl's hand. "Are you okay?"

  Holly's eyes were wide with shock, but otherwise she didn't seem too affected by her colleague's death. "Yeah, I'm fine. Wow. He must have finally upset the wrong person." Holly took a seat on the wall next to Addison. Olivia, Justin, and Emily introduced themselves.

  The first day the carnival had arrived in Getaway Bay, Holly had visited Hazel's cafe in town. She'd tried one of Addison's cinnamon scrolls, one of the many treats Addison baked on a regular basis for Hazel's cafe. Holly had professed her undying love for the cinnamon scroll, and had been back to Hazel's every day since for another sweet fix. On the third day Addison had been at the cafe when Holly came in, so Hazel had introduced her as the creator of all the wonderful baked goods. They'd hit it off immediately.

  Holly was a sweet girl. From the few short conversations they'd had Addison gathered that Holly's home life had been troubled. She'd jumped at the chance to join Hanley Brothers a couple of years ago and travel the country. She worked in one of the food trucks, and had been trying to convince her boss to let her expand the truck's offerings.

  "So tell us about Frankie," Justin asked Holly. "What?" he added, when Addison glared at him.

  "Don't you tell us not to get involved," said Olivia with a sly grin. "That would be hypocritical, don't you think?"

  Addison had no answer for that. There'd been two murders in Getaway Bay since she'd arrived – one of them in her own house – and Addison had been deeply involved in both investigations. She couldn't very well tell her children to butt out of this one.

  "No, fair enough." Addison turned to Holly. "Why do you say he must have finally upset the wrong person?"

  Holly picked at the hem of her dress and shrugged. "I don't know. No-one liked him very much. Except old Mr Hanley, of course. He's the one who hired him. Frankie always sucked up to Mr Hanley, but to everyone else he was… well, let's just say he was unpleasant."

  "In what way?" Addison pressed. Like her children, she couldn't help herself. She'd recently started writing again, and murder mysteries were her favourite genre. As sad as it was that someone was dead, this real-life murder had already captured her inquisitive side.

  "Different ways with different people," said Holly. She nodded towards Paolo and his assistant, who were now sitting in plastic chairs a little way away from the crime scene. "Take Paolo and Gianna, for example. Paolo is an awesome magician. Harry says he's the best we've ever had. But Frankie wanted his job, and it seemed he was making progress. Corey told me Mr Hanley was thinking of giving him a trial in one of the last shows of the season."

  "I'm guessing Paolo wasn't too thrilled with that idea," said Addison.

  "No. Gianna wasn't, either. Gianna and Paolo are married. She works as assistant on stage to both of them, but she hated Frankie. She was always scared of him. She told me it was just about the knives, but I reckon there was more to it than that. She loves Paolo, but that never stopped Frankie trying it on with her."

  "He was trying to get her to go out with him?" asked Olivia. "Even though she's married to Paolo?"

  "Yeah," said Holly. "That about sums him up."

  "Wow. What a guy," said Justin. "You might be right about him upsetting the wrong person."

  "He's a real bully," said Holly. "Or I guess I should say he was. None of the ride operators or the other staff liked him."

  Addison was about to ask who else specifically held a grudge against the victim, but Harriet was calling for Holly.

  "I'd better go," she said. "Are you sure you're all right, Addison?"

  "I'm fine," said Addison. "Make sure you come and see us at the beach house before you leave town," she added.

  "I will." She left with a wave, and Addison turned back to her family.

  "Interesting," she said. "I wonder who else had it in for Frankie?"

  Olivia nodded in the direction of the crime scene. "I guess that's what he'll be trying to find out."

  Addison followed her daughter's gaze. Detective Wilcox had just arrived.

  4

  "You look like death warmed up," said Addison when Isaac finally joined their little group. He'd spent a good ten minutes speaking to Kendall and Diaz and inspecting the crime scene before heading over to where Addison and her family waited on the low brick wall.

  "Thanks," he said, sniffling. "Hang on a minute." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose. The sound matched his physique – imposing and loud as thunder. "Sorry," he said, stuffing the handkerchief back in his pocket.

  "What are you doing here?" asked Addison. "You should be home in bed."

  "I was. But I
can't leave a murder to Short and Diaz." He pulled his notebook out of his pocket then got as official-looking as he could manage with a red nose and watery eyes. "Senior Constable Short tells me you were a witness?"

  "Well, yes. At least I think so." Addison explained how they were stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel for a good fifteen minutes right before the body was discovered. She told Isaac how she'd been looking at the ground in this area for a lot of that time, leaving out the part about being afraid of heights.

  "Can you tell me what you saw?" Isaac asked.

  "There were a number of people coming and going in this area," Addison began. "They all had red shirts on, which I see is the uniform for the staff. I don't remember seeing anyone without a red shirt."

  "What about the victim's bunk in the trailer? Did you see anyone enter or leave it?"

  Addison took a good look at the trailer and tried to picture the scene from up at the top of the Ferris wheel. "I really can't tell from down here," she said. "I think there was someone who went in and came out again a minute later, but I can't be sure it was that particular bunk."

  Isaac shielded his eyes from the sun as he stared up at the top of the Ferris wheel, and then looked back to Addison.

  "Come on, then," he said.

  "Where are we going?" Addison asked, although her stomach was doing backflips already.

  "Up there." Isaac pointed up to the scene of her nightmare.

  "I was afraid you were going to say that."

  "I think they've shut it down," said Justin.

  "And you are?" Isaac asked.

  "Oh, sorry. Justin Lake. This is my fiancée, Emily."

  "My son and daughter-in-law," Addison added, although no clarification was necessary. She was stalling.

  Isaac shook hands with Justin and Emily. "Nice to meet you." He signalled to Kendall Short, who came over. "Can we get the Ferris wheel back up and running? I want to take Addison up and see if she can recall anything."

  "I'm on it," said Kendall.

  Isaac held out a hand in front of him. "Let's go."

  Addison couldn't think of a decent excuse.

  As they walked back to the Ferris wheel Addison noticed most of the crowd had cleared out. It was less than an hour since Kendall had ordered the carnival be shut down. Despite her initial protests, Harry had been very efficient at complying with police wishes. It fit with Addison's overall impression that the Hanley Brothers Carnival was a very well-run operation.

  After a few more minutes of standing around, during which time Isaac blew his nose enough times to make Addison concerned about the state of his handkerchief, Harriet Hanley came over and instructed the Ferris wheel's operator to fire the thing up.

  "Nabil here will look after you," said Harry. "I've got to get out the front, make sure the gates are closed."

  "Thanks," said Isaac. "I'll come and find you later. I'll need to speak with all the staff."

  Addison felt sorry for him. As sick as he was, there was a job to be done. It was going to be a very long afternoon for Isaac and his colleagues.

  "Let's get this done," she said, trying to inject a level of enthusiasm in her voice she didn't feel.

  "You want us to come with you?" Olivia asked.

  "Did any of you see anything?" said Isaac.

  Olivia, Justin, and Emily all shook their heads. "We were playing eye spy," Justin explained. "Trying to distract Mum from our predicament."

  Isaac nodded. "No worries. Why don't you three stay here then. It'll be quicker if we go up alone."

  Nabil ushered them along and Addison climbed into the basket for the second time that afternoon. This time, though, they didn't have to endure the slow climb and stop routine to fill the rest of the baskets. On Isaac's instruction, Nabil lifted them straight to the top and held the wheel in place.

  After a moment to get her bearings, Addison worked out which was Frankie's bunk in the trailer. It wasn't hard – it was still surrounded by crime scene tape. The crime scene officers had also arrived, and they were milling about in their blue overalls.

  "What can you remember?" Isaac asked.

  Addison took a good look at the location of the bunk, then closed her eyes. She remembered counting the staff in and around the trailers. She remembered a couple of people going into one of the bunks, but it was at the far end of the camp.

  "Take your time," said Isaac, earning himself a narrow-eyed glance from Addison. She was taking her time.

  She remembered the washing hanging on the makeshift clotheslines. That's right – now she could see it.

  "Someone walked through the clothes hanging there and entered Frankie's bunk," she told Isaac.

  "How long were they in there?"

  "At least a minute, maybe longer. Then they came back out again. A lot of the staff were walking in this direction, and they joined in. I supposed because the Ferris wheel was broken down and they were coming to help."

  "Can you describe the person you saw?" asked Isaac. He had his notebook out again.

  Addison tried to think, to see the figure again in her mind's eye. But it was no use. They were too far away.

  "I'd only be guessing, sorry. They were wearing a red shirt, though."

  "Great," said Isaac with a sniff. "That narrows it down to the entire staff, plus any visitors wearing a red shirt."

  "Sorry," Addison said again.

  "What about build? Solid, or slim?"

  She shook her head.

  "Hair colour? Skin colour?"

  Another shake.

  "So nothing at all, except the red shirt."

  "And blue jeans," she added. "Or at least long blue pants of some description."

  Isaac managed a half-smile. "That's not a total loss. From what Kendall's managed to find out, the victim was not well-liked among his peers. There's a good chance we're looking at a member of staff." He signalled to Nabil to bring them down, then changed his mind.

  "Hold up for a minute," he called down. The ride stopped again.

  "What is it?" Addison asked.

  "I'm not sure. Give me a minute." He spent some time looking around, then finally signalled to Nabil once again to bring them down.

  They reached the bottom and climbed out of the basket. Addison realised she hadn't been half as scared this time around. Maybe there was something to facing your fears.

  Isaac pulled Nabil aside and started asking him questions. Addison left him to it and returned to her family. When she looked back they had the cover open on the mechanical part of the ride again, and Nabil was pointing and explaining something.

  "What was that all about?" Addison asked Isaac when he rejoined them a few minutes later.

  "Oh, just a suspicion," he said. "When we were up there you said a lot of the people in uniform were walking towards the Ferris wheel."

  "Yes, because it had broken down. By the time they got us down there was quite a crowd here."

  Isaac got his notebook out again and started writing. It was a minute before Addison realised what he was getting at.

  "You think the broken Ferris wheel might have been a diversion," she said.

  "Maybe." He shrugged. "Thanks for your time, Addison."

  She obviously wasn't going to get any more from him. "Is there anything else I can do?" she asked.

  "No, we can handle it from here. Go home and spend some time with your family."

  Addison nodded and linked arms with her son. "Come on, you lot. Take me home. I think a glass of wine is in order."

  5

  Back at the beach house Layla and Adam were in the kitchen preparing a salad. Well Layla was preparing a salad, Adam was sitting at the bench with a beer picking at the contents of the salad. Charlie came racing through the dog door to greet them, his tail wagging so much Addison wondered how it stayed attached. He leapt into Olivia's arms, and she gave the little fluffy dog a cuddle.

  "You're all back early," said Layla. "What happened?" she added when she saw the concerned look on Addison's face.
r />   "There's been another murder!" said Olivia, lowering Charlie to the floor. To her credit she was doing her best to hide her delight.

  Addison shook her head at her daughter. Olivia was studying forensic science at Griffith University which, coupled with the two murders Getaway Bay had already experienced in their short time in residence, meant Olivia had a macabre outlook on the whole thing.

  "You're kidding," said Layla.

  Addison shook her head again. "Unfortunately, we're not." She gave Layla and Adam a quick rundown of the events of the past couple of hours while Justin found a bottle of wine and poured three glasses. He got two beers out for himself and Olivia, and held up a third in Adam's direction.

  "Yes please," said Adam. "Did you see anything?" he asked Addison, passing Justin his empty bottle and opening the fresh one.

  Addison explained both of her rides on the Ferris wheel. "I don't know if I helped or not. I guess that's up to Isaac."

  "Wow," said Adam, taking a sip of the fresh beer. "This place is going to give Midsomer a run for its money."

  "Midsomer?" Emily raised one eyebrow.

  "Midsomer Murders," said Addison and Olivia in unison. Olivia explained the show, one of Addison's favourites.

  "Oh, I see," said Emily. "Why would anyone want to live there?"

  "Exactly," said Addison. She had to admit, it was starting to feel a little like that here in Getaway Bay.

  She brushed the thought away and turned to Layla. "Thanks for preparing for tonight," she said, nodding towards the salad. "I'm not sure who's coming. Isaac and Kendall will be no-shows, I'd say. They'll be busy at the carnival for hours."

  "No problem. Leftovers never go astray in this house. Not with all these young mouths to feed."

  Not long after arriving in Getaway Bay, Addison had established an informal get-together on Friday nights for her house guests and any of the locals who cared to join in. Most people brought drinks and a plate of something to share, and they'd had quite a few fun nights now sitting out the back around the barbecue. It had started with a wake after Layla's sister's funeral, but it had become a tradition Addison and her new friends had come to look forward to.