Carnival (8 page)

“I suppose so,” he said, a strange bitterness in his voice. Jeanne couldn't understand that. “Nothing ever changes in this dreadful place.” She didn't understand that, either. He looked down at her. “Do you wish me to call the authorities?”

She shook her head. “I guess not. It would be their word against mine. And I've seen what happens in that situation. Besides, that boy in the stupid-looking cowboy hat with the feather in it is Karl Steele. His dad is rich. Lyle Steele. He'd just buy his kid out of it.” Jeanne realized that she was probably talking too much with this carnival person . . . how did she know he was with the carnival?... she just did. But he sure was real easy to talk to.

“Their word against yours? Yes. I know that feeling as well.” More bitterness in his voice. And something else, too.

Jeanne stood looking up at him. She suddenly realized that she was afraid of this man. She smiled at him. The smile was not returned. And there was an odor about him. Like something charred. But that thought vanished from her head as quickly as it had entered.

Several women came running over. The man gently pushed Jeanne toward them. “Ladies, those young hooligans over there by the pavilion were bothering this young lady. They frightened her very badly. I would not like for them to confront her again this day. Do any of you know her parents?”

They all did.

“Fine. Then I might suggest that one of you call her parents and ask that they come get her. Or if that is not possible, would one of you take her home?”

Jeanne smiled up at the man. He stared at her. She could not see his eyes behind the dark glasses. “Thank you, mister?”

“Nabo, girl. Just Nabo.”

“I'm gonna whip Lyle Steele's ass!” Matt Potter said.

Jeanne's mother had not been at home, so the ladies, all local women, knowing Linda was the girl's best friend, took her to the Holland's. Matt had stormed in about an hour later, when he'd finally been tracked down and informed of the incident, his wife with him. Another couple in Martin and Alicia's circle of friends.

“Lyle didn't have anything to do with it,” Matt's wife told him.

“Lyle has everything to do with it,” Martin corrected. “However, I will agree that being an overbearing jerk is a family trait of the Steele family.” He looked at Matt. “Sit down and calm down, Matt. And think about it. Lyle Steele is a bull of a man. He's spent his life fighting. When's the last time you had a fight—in high school? You might last one round with him. And I don't mean to be ugly by saying that. So don't go out and get yourself stomped.”

Threatening to beat Lyle Steele to a pulp was something that Matt had to say, and everybody knew it. They also all knew that Martin was giving the man an acceptable out. The father blustered for a moment more and then sat down, sipping on a beer handed him by Alicia.

“Why'd you call us all over here, Martin?” Eddie asked. “I know it wasn't about Jeanne's ... incident. I got the call before we knew anything about that.”

Gary opened his mouth to speak just as the door bells chimed. Alicia opened the door and waved Chief Kelson inside. The chief had a wary look in his eyes. He was out of his element, and knew it; but he was also perversely enjoying this intrusion into the town of Holland's sanctum sanctorum.

“Real sorry to come in like this, folks,” Kelson said, holding up a piece of paper. “But I got an arrest warrant charging Jeanne Potter with battery against Hal Evans. Where is the girl?”

“Let me see that!” Eddie jerked the warrant out of the man's hands, startling the chief.

Martin openly laughed at the charge. The red began creeping up the chief's neck. “Boys sure have changed over the years, haven't they?” He directed the question at no one in particular. “Chief, Jeanne is a minor child. I wouldn't press my luck on the validity of that warrant, or place my law enforcement career in Holland in jeopardy by trying to arrest her.”

Kelson tried his best to look confused. He was anything but confused and most in the room knew it. Most also knew that Martin had just handed the man a very thinly-veiled threat. Kelson looked around the richly furnished den. Yeah, he was out of his element, and yeah, he knew it. Handling rowdy cowboys was one thing, foolin' with the kids of rich folks was something else.

“I still got the warrant, Mayor . . .”

“The fairgrounds, Chief, is outside of your jurisdiction,” Eddie reminded the man. “That's county business.”

“Oh, yeah. Say, you're right.” Kelson had been just a little muddle-headed ever since yesterday. Thought he might be coming down with something. “So what do I do?”

“Let it cool for a few days and give me time to call the judge down at Harrisville,” Martin took it. “Jeanne isn't going to run away.”

The chief nodded, then walked to the door, opening it. He looked back at the group. Blinked a couple of times. “I think I'll just go over to the fairgrounds. The carnival's in town, you know?”

The chief stepped out into the late afternoon and closed the door behind him.

“What an odd thing to say.” Diane Potter looked at the closed door. “Well . . . not really. He's right. The carnival is in town, you know?”

Martin and Gary exchanged glances. Gary arched one eyebrow and reserved comment.

“Say, that's right!” Matt said. “The carnival is in town. By golly, this is going to be fun.”

“Matt?” Martin gently spoke to the man.

“Yes, sir. The carnival's in town.”

“Matt!”

The man jerked his head and looked at Martin. “Huh?”

“You want me to speak to Hal's father about this incident?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. You do that, Martin.”

“What's wrong with you, Matt?” Eddie asked, annoyance in his voice. He shook his head and cut his eyes to Martin. “Back to the issue at hand, Martin. I repeat, why are we here?”

Martin stood up. “Brace yourselves, people. The next few minutes are going to be interesting.”

“To say the least,” Gary muttered.

* * *

They gathered in Nabo's Ten-in-One. The Dog Man and a few others were not in attendance.

“You had one in your hands,” Madame Rodenska said. “How did she feel?”

Nabo looked at the woman. “There was no evil in the girl! And the three young thugs screwed everything up . . . except what they were supposed to screw. Fools!”

“How did the other girl break through to the damned?” Slim asked.

“We're very close to the edge. We've got to bear that in mind and be very careful. What we're doing is very dangerous for us and those like us.”

“The young girl who was affected this afternoon and taken to the doctor's office,” a canvasman said. “She is not an innocent?”

“No. She carries the seed of evil within her. Remember, we cannot stop what has already been set in motion. So that means we are all going to have to be extra careful while we are here. It's taken us a long time to reach this point in our journey.”

“The list in the book is long,” Monroe reminded him. “And our time here is relatively short. ”The list was compiled at great risk to—”

“Don't speak the name!” Nabo's order was sharp. He softened that with a smile. “Besides, even if we are discovered, what can anyone do?”

Tiny, towering above the rest, rumbled, “Kill them all! Give them all a taste of the flames. Let them all feel the pain and the helplessness of injustice. Our journey has been too long and too arduous to play favorites.”

The others in the tent agreed . . . in various ways.

Lulu jumped around and hissed and grunted and filled the air with profanity.

Carlson swore in a language that had been dead for centuries, while at the darkened end of the long tent, the Geek laughed insanely.

Samson grunted and raised his mighty arms and clenched his big hands into fists and rumbled low in his throat.

“No!” Nabo silenced them all with the word. “Friends, listen to me: we cannot risk failure here. We must win. We've all witnessed those across the River who have no choice but to spend forever attempting in vain to undo the failures they committed or who simply sat back and allowed good to overcome evil without thought of interceding. The eons will roll while they suffer in timeless agony, the pain forever locked within them, while they burn outside—no hope ever of redemption. I will not allow us to become as they. Think about it.”

Tiny glared at Nabo for a moment, then lowered his big head and sighed. “You are right, of course. And I was rude to those men this morning. The doctor and the mayor. I will try to play my role more convincingly. But my pain of remembrance is great. Almost overpowering at times.”

Madame Rodenska walked to the giant of a man and put a small hand on his forearm. “As is all our pain, Tiny,” she reminded him.

“The doctor does not know?”

“Not yet,” Nabo said. “But soon.”

“What a marvelous time we will have. It's so difficult to contain my emotions,” the fortune teller said with a smile. “But the Master, speaking through Nabo, is right. We must wait.” She met Nabo's gaze. “For here, time is both our friend and our enemy. We must all be very careful.”

Dolly Darling sat in her special-made chair and wept silently, no tears falling, remembering the feel and the smell of her own flesh cooking while townspeople laughed at her. “Yes,” she agreed. “I watched as your cards spoke to you last evening.”

Madame Rodenska wore a worried look. “But the cards also told me that this Martin Holland is very dangerous. He is insighted, Nabo.”

“I know. But he can be dealt with. We must be careful. So is it agreed?” Nabo asked.

“It is agreed,” they all murmured.

“Go, friends,” Nabo ordered. “And choose your method of revenge.”

* * *

Eddie sat and looked at Martin as if the man had taken total leave of his senses. Alicia, Joyce, Janet, and Diane, wore stunned expressions on their faces. Gary held his empty coffee mug in his hands, staring into the emptiness of the still-warm mug. Audie Meadows had joined the group, coming over at Martin's call. The deputy sat uncomfortably on the sectional, wishing he could have a chew of tobacco, but not knowing where he'd spit.

Matt Potter sat speechless.

Eddie opened his mouth to speak. His wife shushed him. Startled him and slightly angering the man by saying, “I agree with Martin.”

The lawyer jumped to his feet. “Now, wait just a minute!” He looked at his wife and shook his head. “Are you telling me that you agree that the carnival is, well, I mean, that the people out there are . . . dead?”

Not quite sure she could trust her voice to speak, she nodded her head.

Martin said, “Audie has agreed to ask a friend of his with the state police to come in and give us his opinion. From the criminal investigation division. The detective is starting on vacation Monday, so unless we so desire, there won't be any official word on any investigation going on in here.”

“I think you've all lost your goddamn minds!” Eddie yelled.

The young people, all of them, including Mark, who had just come in from work, had been sent out into the back yard of the Holland house. The house was two-story, built by Martin's father back in the late '40's. It sat on a five acre tract of land, neat and well kept, but certainly not a house one might think of a millionaire many times over living in.

“Something's up for sure,” Mark said, Eddie's shouting reaching them as they sat around the pool.

“I sure would like to know what Kelson was doing here a minute ago,” Jeanne said. “That guy gives me the creeps. ”

“He gives everyone the creeps,” Linda said. “If it wasn't for a few rich ranchers around here, he couldn't get a job night-herding.”

“Yeah, and one who comes to mind is Lyle Steele,” Rich added. He looked at Jeanne and laughed. “I wonder how Hal Evans is feeling about now?”

Everyone had a good laugh at that. Joyce and Eddie's brainy kid, Ed, saying, “Hal is going to be walking rather oddly for a couple of days. From what I hear, you really kicked him a good one, Jeanne.”

Linda had told them all about her vision-if that's what it was, and it had sobered them all.

“Where's Missy, Ed?” Linda asked.

“My sister told mom and dad she wasn't about to come over here, and that they couldn't make her. Dad's just given up on her and mom is about ready to do the same.”

Susan had slipped up to the window of the den and had been listening through an open window. She ran back to the group and took her seat. “Hal's dad swore out a warrant for your arrest, Jeanne.”

The kids all spoke their opinions of that move, most quite profane.

“Hal's dad is just as disgusting as Hal is,” Susan's brother, Rich, put in his two cents. “Everytime Lyle Steele or Jim Watson bends over, Halbert kisses their ass.”

The kids all smiled, knowing what he said was true. Halbert was the attorney for Steele and Watson and two other big ranchers, the Flying C, Thomas Clark's spread, and the Circle DC, Dennis Cameron's spread. Those men, along with Martin Holland, were the five richest men in the county. If it wasn't for the ranch business, Halbert would go broke. He was a mean, petty little man, always on the edge of something either illegal or unethical.

Angry voices once more came from the house, the words muffled.

“What else did you hear, Susan?” Linda asked.

“You're not going to believe this; I was saving it for last.”

She paused to heighten the suspense.

“Will you get it said!” Ed frowned at her.

“I'll bet it's got something to do with that carnival,” Mark guessed. “Ever since it came to town, things have been flat weird.”

“Eddie!” Martin's voice came out the open window. “Will you, please, just sit down and listen for one minute? I've never seen a lawyer yet who didn't want to talk all the time.”

“Martin and my Dad believe all the people out at the carnival are dead,” Susan dropped it.

“Dead!”
Rich blurted.

“You mean like in ghosts!” Jeanne asked.

“They think they've come back for revenge; something about that fire a hundred years ago, or something.”

“You're joking!” Mark said. “You can't be serious! What are they going to do about it?” He wanted to laugh.

“I don't know. I slipped and was afraid the noise might attract attention. That's all I know.”

“I bet you all one thing,” Ed said. “I bet we all get orders to stay away from the fairgrounds.”

He had no takers.

Gary had not told any of the group about Jimmy Harold's insides being cooked. Now he did, quietly and professionally. He told them about the young girl who went stiff as a board and talked in tongues. And about her parents strange behavior, and about Kelson's repeating the exact same phrase as the others had. And about the ten year old Alma driving off, her parents smiling and carefree while she almost ran off the road everytime she turned the wheel. He told them his suspicions about the people gathering at the fairgrounds, and then agreed with Martin's theory about the contract now being fulfilled.