Circus Wolf (9 page)

Did she know something? The switch of tigers in last
night’s act could have ended in disaster. He could have been eaten too. How
much control did Tigra have on how the act played out?
I’m thinking crazy, letting a jealous woman stir me up
.

****

Tigra dialed Coleman, her hands steady now. “Boss, I
wanted to assure you, I’ll be fine for tonight’s performance.”

“That’s my girl, always the show woman. Knew I could
count on you. We’re short a clown for the entrance parade. Billy Cornwell
didn’t show up for the clown meeting and didn’t return after his trip to town
last night, so I asked Hugh to fill in.”

She wasn’t surprised. Every few months Billy got
mixed up with a woman and went off on a drunken romp. Why the boss put up with
him was a mystery. “What about my act?”

“Hugh can do both. But he may have to wear a clown
costume into the cage tonight.”

“He’ll have to change. I don’t want a clown
upsetting the tigers. They’re still upset about Rolo and Candy.”

“Come on. You can handle it. It might even add spice
to the act.”

“It’s spicy enough. I want to talk to Hugh.
Now.”

“I saw him leave Bubbles caravan just a few minutes
ago.”

Her eyes widened and her stomach flip-flopped.

Coleman was quiet for a moment. “It’s not what you
think. I sent him to her for make-up.

When I last saw him, he was wearing a ruffled clown
costume, white-face make-up, and his trademark moccasins were heading toward
the canteen.

****

Slamming closed her cell, Tigra felt hot annoyance
rising in her gut. She rushed outside to look for Hugh. She didn’t know which
made her angrier; Coleman changing her act, or the fact he’d sent Hugh to that
hussy Bubbles. With the costume in the mix, it was more important than ever to
get in at least half an hour of practice with Hugh and the tigers. She frowned,
mulling over her conversation with the boss. Coleman had done nothing to
directly arouse her suspicions, but his attitude about Rolo dying seemed
callous and revenue centric.

She spied Hugh sitting on a bench with a little
toe-headed barefoot boy of about seven. He wiped away the child’s tears with a
long length of rainbow scarves tied together. The freckle-faced child with the
tear-stained face had the saddest expression she’d ever seen. Hugh made funny
faces and when the child stopped crying and laughed, Hugh hoisted him up on his
shoulders and headed into the crowd. Rather than catch up to Hugh, she followed
behind, enthralled with his ability to comfort the child so quickly. Hugh had a
number of sides to him and she found them all intriguing. He caught up with a
frantic-looking couple, who apparently was the boy’s parents, and talked with
them a moment, shook their hands, and then headed back toward his caravan alone.

Again, she couldn’t help but wonder who this man was
and what made him tick.

****

Tigra caught up with Hugh.

“How did you know it was me?”

“The moccasins,” she said. “And Coleman told me
about your new getup and makeup job.”

“You don’t like the clown outfit, right?”

“What I like isn’t the point. Just don’t spook my
tigers. Now let’s get to work. We’re short of time, but we must practice the
highlights of tonight’s performance a minimum of three times to keep us safe
and the tigers protected.”

She worked Hugh hard and admired him even more when
he didn’t complain.

Finally, time ran out and they had to stop. Tigra
looked at her watch and said, “Up for a cup of juice or water before the parade
starts?” She could use some water, but no sugary stimulants. Maybe a lemony
magnesium drink would be best, if the snack shack had some. She needed to stay
calm and in control. Her goal was merely to engage Hugh in conversation for a
few minutes and learn more about her intriguing new assistant.

He winked. “Sure.
Why not?”

They headed for the refreshment tent with its red
and white awning.

“Magnesium water for me,” she told the counter boy.

“Sorry. We’re out.”

 
“Then, I’ll
have a bottle of
Arrowhead Springs
water.”

“Make it two,” Hugh said.

After they were seated across from each other, she
lifted her bottle as if in a toast.
“To your good health.
This water is reportedly bottled from the local mountain springs.”

“Interesting, but I find you more interesting. I
have to ask, what enticed a classy, talented lady like you to join a traveling
circus?”

 
She intended
to quip that she liked to travel and loved animals, but his seriousness and
something indefinable in his ridiculous clown made up face and unsmiling eyes
and the unreality of the moment, made her want to give him a touch of something
real of herself. “My foster dad was a ringmaster and I was raised in a circus
atmosphere.”

He smiled. “Awesome. But you said foster dad. What
happened to your birth dad?”

She dug her nails into her palm
.
“I doubt you really want to hear about him.”

“Oh, but I do. Please.”

She glanced at her watch and sighed. “He was a
thirty-year old absent, philandering Scotsman who traveled the world. He met my
mother while in Africa and promised to marry her and take her to the United
States where she could live like a queen. Her father, a chieftain who practiced
witchcraft, became enraged when the lying scum failed to keep his promise and
deserted my mother who was only fifteen at the time. Not knowing she was
pregnant, the chieftain cursed him and his offspring. ”

“What happened to your mother?”

 
Tigra forced
a laugh and glanced at her watch again. “We’ll save that saga of my life for
another time.” She shredded a napkin with her dagger nails. She wasn’t willing
to reveal the rest: that when her terrified pregnant teen mom, with no means of
support, bore a cursed, growling tiger-child that she dumped her in the hills
where the ringmaster found her.

She only knew the early history because of Madam
Mystic. Or had the wily African mystic lied? The colorful crystal-gazer was
known for her wild tales.

None of it mattered now. But it was lucky for her,
the ringmaster was fascinated by her duality and he took her into his heart and
raised and educated her as his own. “That saga is too long a story for the short
time we have. But we have time to hear about you. Why did you join the circus?”

He grinned. “You’re right. My story is short and
straightforward. I love animals and travel. I’ve read about the world and now I
want to see it.”

She doubted his reasons were that uncomplicated.
Everything about him carried a web of mystery. She pointed to her watch and
stood. It was time for him to join the rest of the clowns for the night’s
opening pre-show parade. “Have fun with the clowns, but don’t wear yourself
out. I need you sharp and alert for our act. And if you have time, ditch the
clown garb. It seems to agitate the tigers.”

She watched him jog away, looking foolishly
hugable
.

Telling Hugh even that small amount about her life
had stirred memories of her ringmaster dad. He was more like a granddad and she
called him Grandy. Unmarried and childless, he opened his heart to all
children.
Especially her.
His many wondrous stories of
the animals and his travel experiences made her content to call the circus
home. Grandy was knowledgeable about every phase of the circus, the good and
the evil, and taught her all he knew. Raised in a circus atmosphere, her
empathy and understanding of the animals made her a natural trainer and
handler. Grandy had always kept her secret and no one knew of her duality,
except the mystic, who for her own reason never spilled the beans. Tigra felt a
wistful smile tug at her lips. It was natural for her to stay on after Grandy
died. She’d wondered about another life, but never longed for it. Now she was
more curious than ever about Hugh. The more she learned, the more certain she
became she’d only scratched the surface.

Chapter
Ten

After the parade, Hugh headed for the center ring in
his clown costume. For a lead-in, he did a cartwheel and a handstand and walked
forward upside down. The crowd laughed and pointed. He decided to play it to
the hilt and build on their expectations. He righted himself and pointed toward
the cage and shaking his head, he pantomimed a violent
No
! Stalling, he did some somersaults and flips. He gestured to the
cage and took a step forward then jumped back shaking his head. The full-house
crowd laughed and a man shouted, “Go get um’, clown man.”

The spectators were hungry for slapstick thrills and
he felt their tension mounting.
Can I
pull this off?
He remembered the little toe-headed boy and figured he was
in the stands somewhere. It had been a great feeling to make the youngster
laugh.

His hand hesitated on the door of the Center Cage.
“For you, kid,” he said.

He’d barely stepped inside when the animal hatch
banged open and Stripes charged into the cage. He felt a small measure of
relief that Tigra had decided to hold back some of the tigers. Probably because
of the trouble they had this afternoon due the clown costume.
Good thinking, Tigra. One agitated tiger is
enough.
Stripes rushed toward him with his orange and black powerful body
in muscled motion. Stripes
growled,
his mouth wide and
hungry-looking.

Hugh sucked in a long breath and snapped his whip.
With a huge paw, Stripes swatted at the whip and whisked it away.
Oh, God
.
Big decision.
Run, or stay and try to hypnotize the beast. What if I morph? Sometimes tough
situations brought on the change.
The
quickest way to save my life, secure my secret, and keep the act going is to
stick with humor
. He grabbed the cage bars, and quick like a monkey, he
performed a hand over hand upward climb, squealing like a Banshee. When well
out of reach, he hung upside down and made funny faces at Stripes. The crowd
went wild with laughter.

Stripes stood on his hind legs and lashed at him
with clawed, slashing fore paws. Hugh climbed a little higher and stuck out his
tongue. He heard the uproarious laughter of the crowd.
So far
so good.
But am I making Stripes
more dangerous to Tigra?
Until this second, he hadn’t thought of that.

He heard Tigra’s strong young voice ordering Stripes
back. When the tiger turned and growled at Tigra, his heart skipped a beat.
It’s now or never. He dropped from the side of the cage onto the
beast’s
back and rode him like a mad bull. The crowd went
wild. Then someone went against the plan and released the other four tigers
into the cage. Tigra looked stunned, but continued as though, that too, was
part of the performance. Hugh let loose with a gush of air in great relief when
the four tigers turned and leapt up on their pedestals. They pawed the air.
Now what?
He grabbed his chain of
rainbow scarves from his pocket with his teeth, wrestled the tiger to the
ground like a bull, and hogtied its paws with the link of colorful ribbon. With
Stripe’s strength and sharp teeth, the silk would only hold for an instant.

Hugh grabbed Tigra’s curvy firm body, wrapped only
in those enticing strips of fur, up into his arms and thrust her into the
smaller cage and slammed the door. He leapt on top of the large cage, cage two,
covered it with the drapes, waved his hand across the top and shouted, “
abracadabra
”. He prayed she would disappear the way she’d
appeared in the previous show. Before the tigers could leap up and get him, he
leapt higher onto the bars of cage three, caught hold, climbed to the top of
the main cage and again, played the antic-filled, screeching monkey. The crowds
went wild with laughter. He was breathing hard and needed a moment to catch his
breath, but this was no time to rest on his laurels. He had to finish the act.
He dropped down and removed the drape. Sure enough, Tigra was gone and another
tiger crouched inside the cage.

To a burst of applause, Tigra appeared outside the
main cage. Suddenly handlers were herding the remaining tigers to their escape
door. Once they were gone, he dropped down, did a few somersaults, bowed, and
gestured toward Tigra who had just reentered the cage. Her flashing eyes and
thin lips told him he’d gone too far. She grabbed his hand in a pinching hold,
and, together, they bowed. He’d survived his second encounter with a tiger. But
if looks could kill, he probably wouldn’t survive his next encounter with
Tigra.

****

Tigra paced her caravan fuming about Hugh’s antics
and her boss’s call. Coleman loved the performance. Well, she didn’t love it.
She glared at Hugh. “What possessed you to change the act? I’m the head of this
team. You’re the new-hire assistant. You put us in tremendous danger. Not to
mention the trauma you caused my tigers. Your clown costume and monkey antics
agitated them big time. Not to mention your bull-riding insanity.” She’d never
admit to him that he’d pulled it off like a pro. “Where the hell did you learn
to jump and
climb like
that? And ride a tiger like a
bull?” She rushed on without giving him a chance to answer. “Don’t you realize
you took a huge risk riding Stripes and hogtying him with that flimsy chain of
silk? Damn you. Stripes may never be the same again. For safety’s sake, he
might have to be retired. If that happens, I’ll…” She breathed in, trying to
calm down. She hated…
hated
her
complete loss of control. On the one hand, she was proud of Hugh. During the
whole escapade he had never shown fear.
Even when Stripes
chased him around the cage.
He did flips and climbed the cage bars. And
the crowd loved him. Damn him! She wanted the boss to fire him! But Coleman
wanted to keep him and incorporate the
new
act
.
Sure.
Over Hugh’s dead body!