A Fear of Clowns (The Greasepaint Chronicals) (14 page)

"Jay! We wondered if you
were going to make it today. It's only a two hour trip." He didn't seem
that concerned, even when Wendy popped her head from the kitchen, her face
looking slightly moist from the heat.

He shrugged, and made a face. It
was one that probably didn't seem all that upset, just annoyed.

"I stopped and got new belts
and tires, did the fluid thing. Found the official tracking unit on my car that
the Sheriff left for me. All that. Then I drove the rest of the way like I had
a driver's test examiner in my passenger's seat. You know how it goes. Big
brother watching makes for good driving." This came out dryly enough that
Carlos just looked at him quizzically. Wendy however frowned.

"Wait..." She spoke a
bit harshly, then cleared her throat before going on. "Did you really find
that, or-"

"For
real
. In the
right rear wheel well. Here, I'll show you. I feel almost important or loved,
really. I mean think about it, they didn't get you your own tracking unit, did
they?" They all trooped out to the driveway, after Wendy took things off
the stove so nothing would burn. At least that was what Jason assumed she was
doing, noticing that she ran into the other room before dashing back, jogging
with her legs straight, like she were being watched.

They both crawled on the ground
to have a look, but didn't touch the thing. Not after he explained his thoughts
on the matter. Carlos whistled, and spoke in a low tone, as if it might just be
a bug that could hear him.

"Sweet. I knew that some
people had the occasional issues with clowns, but I didn't know it would get
you on the national terrorist watch list."

Smiling, Jason nodded.

"Part of the Clarabelle act
of nineteen sixty-nine. You remember, the one about preventing the spread of
clowns, mimes or other makeup bearing creatures?" It was a reference to an
old television show, and he wasn't certain that either of the others would have
ever heard of Howdy-Doody, but both smiled.

He'd come across the program
during his research into his new profession. That part would probably have
seemed strange to most people, but it was the kind of thing he did. Carlos had
suggested being a clown, so instead of simply learning a few tricks and
slapping some greasepaint on his chin, Jay had spent weeks going over
everything he could find out about the topic. It was why he'd picked the
working name of Joey. Clowns were called that sometimes, particularly in circus
circles, because the original clown, the first one credited with white face and
a big lace collar, was named Joseph Grimaldi.

So, Joey the Clown had been
created.

They all went in, not talking,
knowing what the real reason for the tracking device was. Harassment. The Sheriff
was a creep that couldn't stand...

That part still eluded Jay's
understanding. What had he done to the man that would cause him to keep coming
at him like that? Telling people about what Carl had done? It might have been a
small problem, but nothing had come of it. Not really. The only person hurt in
the whole thing had been him. Maybe Alex. She was at least as innocent in the
whole thing. Carl and Lynn had both not only been guilty, but other than the
loss of a free meal ticket, him going away hadn't harmed either of them.

So it didn't really make any
sense. Not years later. Even if Carl had been left fighting for his marriage,
he'd
won
on that score. His job had been left intact and everything. It
was like the man just couldn't stand the idea of anyone escaping from under his
thumb.

Too bad, if that was the plan. Jay
was just about gone. Gainfully employed, and about ready to start a new life.

He didn't mention that, just
going in and helping Wendy in the kitchen. She was getting dinner ready for
them all. It didn't take a lot of work on his part, so he made the salad. Wendy
was a vegetarian, and included veggies at every meal. It made for strange
breakfasts at times, but helped her keep such a trim figure. She needed to do
that, since her job required it of her.

Forty minutes later they were
settled at the dinner table, like they normally did in the evenings when the
other two were in town. It was homey and polite, since they ate together, like
a family might have.

Carlos didn't insist that they
pray or anything, but always bowed his own head first, and mumbled to himself.
Always
.
Even at restaurants. It made for an interesting show, when he was in public and
did that in full regalia, complete with cape and tux. Wendy didn't, not even at
home, but she sat respectfully, so Jason had always done the same.

God wasn't real, but he didn't
care if his friend had a buddy that he couldn't see. It was a tradition, and if
it left him feeling better about life, or gave him hope, then Jay wasn't going
to try and steal that from him. Doing that would be cruel, as well as annoying.
People that believed in God knew that it wasn't real after all. They chose to
pretend, because it made them feel better. The smart ones had to be doing that
at least. Except that Jason knew that wasn't true.

The capacity of the human mind to
fool itself was vast, and underselling it could cause problems. Plus, he could
be wrong. It wasn't likely on that score, but it wasn't impossible. What if God
simply hated him for some reason? It might explain a few things about his life.

Wendy took a bite of green
leaves, which had nothing on them at all, and spoke after she got it down. Jay
marveled a bit at her ability to not only eat plants like that, but seem to
enjoy it.

"So, Jay, among the employed
now! We really thought that Max was bringing you on part time. This is an
improvement. Good for him. He needs the help." She ate more then, since
plain salad as a main portion of her meal meant that she had to tuck away a lot
of it. It just wasn't calorie dense enough otherwise.

Carlos looked at him and smiled.

"That's the truth, isn't it?
I still can't believe what he did with Felicity. I mean, I can, it isn't like
it never happens, but I thought that
he
was better than that. He
hasn't... given her any more problems?" There was real concern in his
voice about it and Wendy looked at Jason closely, as if trying to read his face
for signs.

"No. At least I'm trying to
keep on top of that. She works with me a few days a week, passing out coupons.
I have her wearing a fairy costume. People love it.
Everyone
loves
Tinkerbelle. My part is the hard sell. Still, even if people find me scary, it
works for them, most of the time. Disconcerting, but they know that a clown
won't just be hanging out, so it marks me as working there." Jay ate too,
for a bit, and then nodded, having his salad plain, like the others did.
"Max has been good though. He hasn't even tried to fire me for hitting
him. I keep waiting for that shoe to drop, but really, it's like he doesn't
even care about that."

It was weird, and really had
worried him, but Wendy made a face and then put her fork down on the edge of
her plate, delicately.

"You're kidding, right? He
probably get's punched six times a year by various people. Normally without
half as good a reason. In that kind of job you have to learn to suck things
like that up. It will happen to you eventually, too. Some drunk, or one of your
performers high on something will take a swing or two. If you go to the police
every time you get a bruise no one will work with you. The same goes for Max.
Besides, from what Carlos said, you had a good reason. I can't believe that Max
would try to use his position to force someone that young to be his
girlfriend." Her voice was sincere, and she took another bite, as if what
she'd just said wasn't totally missing the point. If Max had really been going
after an honest relationship, Jay wouldn't have hit him.

He was about to correct her when
Carlos looked up from his own plate, his eyes a little sad. That was all. It
was enough for Jay to get it. He hadn't told her about what had really
happened. Probably not about him hitting the man too. It made Jason seem like a
bit of a hothead, but so did what really happened, so he let it slide. It was
pretty clear that his buddy was protecting someone by lying about it all.
Probably Max, actually. Wendy might not be an Amazon warrior, but she could
spread rumors with the best of them, and that would hurt business. His, as the
case would have it, since his fortunes were tied to Max pretty solidly for the
moment. They'd also promised Felicity that they'd never mention what had
happened to anyone, so word wouldn't get around. It could simply be that Carlos
was taking that very seriously. It was a real enough point.

"Yeah. That was low of him.
I'm keeping an eye out for her. For everyone I can." It made sense, after
a fashion. It wasn't like a family, but things worked better when you tried to
be there for other people. It was still hard for him to trust anyone, after
Lynn, but that didn't mean it wasn't the better way to be. Or that the people
he helped were actually worthy of his efforts. The problem hadn't been that
she'd been evil though. Not really. If she'd started out that way, seeming bad,
he never would have trusted her. The difficulty was that she'd seemed so
normal
the whole time. They hadn't had a perfect marriage, but their problems had
seemed like the kind of things that everyone had issues with. Who was supposed
to take the garbage out, or watch Alex. Now it was clear that she'd dumped a
lot of that on him, but at the time he hadn't thought much of it. He was just
doing his part to be a good husband.

That's why it hurt so much now,
and made him wary about everyone else in the world. If she'd been faking their
entire life, and had never loved him, despite what she'd said, then who else
was?

He got a grateful look from
Carlos, and Wendy nodded at Jay, not really paying attention to the interplay.
Most people didn't. He'd learned to, on the street. Reading faces was important
when you didn't have resources. You learned who you could approach for a
handout, and who was going to yell at you, or even attack.

The topic shifted, thankfully, to
other things. Finally, as they nearly finished with the meal, Jay smiled.

"So, I was thinking that I'd
clear out of your shed, finally. Get the lawn gear back where it belongs. I
really want to thank you both, for putting me up all this time. I'd probably
still be on the street, if not for the two of you."

They both looked at each other,
and then at him, with Carlos biting his lips a bit. His hairless face lined
around the eyes.

"We... Hadn't thought about
that. I guess we both assumed you'd just be staying. Are you planning to get a
place here in town?"

Smiling, he shook his head.

"Nope. The Sheriff here
wants me gone, it's pretty clear. I need to get out of the county at the very
least. I've been looking at some places in Vegas, or around it really. For the
time being I can just stay at the Placemont. It means picking up extra shifts,
probably, being there all the time, but I've been on sabbatical long enough not
to mind too much. I really should have left a long time ago, even if I didn't
have the funds for it. This place, Brickston, reminds me of what happened. I
wasn't dwelling on it like this back in the city." He really hadn't been.
It had come to mind, a few times, but not like it did here.

 There was a pounding on the
front door then. A loud thing that was out of place. It was dark out, but not
pitch black by any means. The early part of twilight. Carlos got up, seeming
wary, so Jay and Wendy followed along with him. When he opened the door, after
using the low peephole that had been put in just for him, his face was
confused.

That made sense, because on the
other side of the door stood all four members of the local Sheriff's department,
along with two men in dark suits. Without waiting to say anything, Deputy Richmond
ran forward, grabbed Jay by the arm and wrenched it around behind his back.

"Got you, you clown mother
fucker!" His palms were turned up, and cuffs slapped on instantly. Then
the man pulled upward, hard, making Jay bend over toward the ground.
"You're under arrest."

Jay didn't speak. Not even to ask
what was going on, or to say they were hurting him. He was being injured, since
the shackles hadn't been double locked and Richmond, the smug jerk, had pulled
them tight already, to cut off circulation. Saying anything could be taken as
resisting arrest, so he didn't. They could lie about it, but he wasn't going to
give them anything to work with, if he could help it.

Carlos moved forward, his hands
up a bit.

"What's this about now? Do
you have a warrant?" He was concerned and Richmond yelled at him to stay
back and not interfere, or face arrest himself, but one of the suited men moved
in, and flashed a badge.

"Sorry about this. Special Agent
Daniels, FBI. We just need to ask Mr. Hadley a few questions, about an ongoing
case. His name was suggested to us by Deputy Richmond and Sheriff Morse. I'd
actually planned on something a little more sedate, but they insisted... and we
don't have jurisdiction here." That confused them all enough for Jason to
be propelled out the front door, and with the help of Deputy Pensley, the only
female on the force,
if
she wasn't actually a man in drag, his forehead
found the top of the doorframe on the back of one of the large vehicles. That
took teamwork, since Richmond and the lady had to pick him up in order to make
it happen. He saw stars for a bit, and the other suited man, who hadn't given a
name yet, called out.

"None of that. He's being
invited
in for questioning, that's all. We don't even-" The door got slammed shut,
cutting off whatever was being said. Richmond climbed in the front, but didn't
talk to him, just calling in that he'd been picked up. For
questioning
.
His voice was sarcastic when he said that part. As if he already knew it wasn't
real. Jay still didn't speak, his forehead throbbing from the impact.