Copyright © 2003 Laura Bradford. All rights reserved. 

    She rounded an overgrown corner and felt her shoulder hit something firm and hard, parting company with it almost as quickly.

    "What the...?" She stopped in her tracks as an inexplicable breeze flickered across her face momentarily. She turned the beam of light upward and saw the muddied shoes swaying. Her hands began trembling as she moved the beam up a bit more, terrified of what she would most certainly see.

   The eyes stared back at her like mirrors of fear, even in death.

   All the running, all the terror, all the scrapes and cuts...only to be back where she had started. She dropped to her knees and gave into the tears she had been refusing to cry.

    I just want this nightmare to be over...

    As she pushed her way past a barrier of low branches, Kelly was relieved to see that her eyes had not been playing tricks on her. There, just across the clearing, stood a small carnival. Rides stood silent. The smell of stale popcorn seemed to hang in the air. A small fun house stood dejectedly nearby, the arrival of morning bringing an end to its usefulness. Small campers and trailers dotted the field behind the midway, each serving as temporary shelter for the people who worked there.

    She made a wide path around the attractions and headed toward a small tan camper with thin brown pin striping. When she reached the camper’s faded door she knocked softly.

    "Go away, Ernie! I’m trying to sleep in here," shouted a groggy voice from inside.

    "My name is Kelly McCormick and I need help desperately," she said, her voice breaking. "Please!"

    She fell forward as the door was yanked open.

    "Whoa there little lady." The man grabbed Kelly by the shoulders and steadied her against a wall. "Good Lord, are you okay?"

    The concern in the man’s voice was more than she could take. Kelly slid to her feet, sobs racking her body.

    The feel of his strong hand on her shoulder had a familiar, calming effect. As the sobs dissipated into a quiet cry, she tried desperately to catch her breath.

    "Can I get you something to drink?"

    She nodded her head slowly. The well-built man walked to a small corner of the shabby quarters and reached for a paper cup. He opened the maroon cooler sitting on top of the counter and pulled out a small carton of orange juice.

    "Here you go." He handed the cup to Kelly and sat beside her.

    Kelly could feel the knots in her body loosening as she sipped the cold juice. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Her thoughts were becoming clearer, her panic being replaced by exhaustion. When she opened them again, she realized it was time to give the confused man some answers.

    A pounding at the door interrupted her.

    "Who’s there?" The man’s face was a mixture of apology and irritation as he shrugged his shoulders and looked at Kelly.

    "It’s Ernie. We’ve got a big problem. Open up."

    "Can’t seem to get any sleep around here this morning." The man winked at Kelly as he stood and opened the door.

    The concern etched on Ernie’s face was unmistakable.

    "What’s up, Ernie?"

    "It’s Sasha. She never came home last night."

    "Damn!" The fear in the man’s voice surprised Kelly. "I looked all over for her last night, but no luck."

    "And you just gave up?" Ernie asked incredulously.

    "I called her name till I was hoarse. So, yeah...I gave up. You know how Sasha is. She is the epitome of a lady who joined a traveling carnival to keep moving...no ties, no attachments."

    "But it’s not like her to just up and disappear with no word to anyone and you know that, Sam."

    "Well then you didn’t see her at the meeting yesterday morning. She was pretty ticked off at her demotion in the show."

    Kelly leaned forward on the floor, intrigued by the conversation taking place between the men.

    "That don’t give her no right to just take off...being a part of this group means stickin’ together," Ernie said, scratching his head.

    "Give the girl a break, Ernie. The clown act has been the staple of the Big Top Show for years...just ‘cause some hair-hanging acrobat walks into the boss’s office and blinks her eyes at him doesn’t mean he had the right to toss Sasha aside." Sam shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Look, Ernie...I’ll take a walk in a little while and see if I can’t track her down this time. Finding a clown in the middle of nowhere shouldn’t be too terribly difficult, right?

    "I guess." Ernie kicked his foot haphazardly at the gravel outside the camper.

    "I’ll let you know what I find," Sam said. He shut the door and turned to face Kelly again.

    She smiled shyly at him.

    "Thanks for the juice," Kelly said. She looked around the tiny camper for a wastebasket.

    "I’ll take that." He took the paper cup from her hand and tossed it in the direction of the overflowing can on the other side of the kitchen area. "Sorry about the interruption."

    "Are you worried about that Sasha girl?" Kelly asked, evenly.

    "A little. Sasha is this dynamite clown that performs in our big top show. You should see some of the tricks she does with ropes. She can rope up just about anything. The kids love her..."

    "What’s she look like?"

    "Red hair, big red shoes..."

    "I’m serious," Kelly said, surprised by the laugh that escaped her lips.

    "So am I," Sam said. He sat down beside her once again. "Sasha just simply showed up one day in a clown suit and put on a show for the workers as we were getting ready to move on to the next location. She was fabulous and the boss hired her on the spot, no questions asked. No one has ever seen her without her clown makeup and wig on."

    "Don’t you find that odd?" she asked curiously.

    "Maybe a little. But you’ve got to understand why people join a traveling carnival or circus...most don’t have families, some are trying to escape them, and still others look at the people they find here as a kind of family."

    "Is that how it is with you?" Kelly asked softly.

    "We accepted Sasha’s need for privacy," Sam said sharply. "So how can I help you?"

    Kelly took a slow, deep breath. The words flowed easily from her mouth.

    "...I was having a tough night. I went for a long walk, much longer than I intended and it got dark sooner than I expected," she said, swallowing hard. "Just when I thought I had made some headway in finding my way out of the woods...I saw it."

    "Saw what?"

    "Her body."

    "Whose body?" Sam asked.

    "It was hanging from a tree..."

    "Sweet Jesus!" he said, whistling under his breath.

    "She was dead."

    "Can you find her again?"

    "I think so...but I can’t go back there alone," Kelly said, her voice breaking.

    "I’ll be right there with you," he said.

    The feel of Sam’s cold hand was in stark contrast to the warmth that radiated through her arm at his touch.

    "Should we call the police?" she asked quietly.

    "I’ll borrow someone’s cell phone and we’ll call them once we find the body," he said. She watched as he jumped to his feet and reached for her hand to pull her up.

    Kelly followed Sam out into the bright sunshine. She was feeling stronger with each passing moment. Maybe it really would be okay, she thought.

    "Hey, Ernie. Have you seen Victoria?" Sam shouted to the balding man who had stood outside his door just a short time ago.

    "Who’s Victoria?" Kelly whispered.

    "The newest addition to our group."

    "Is that the acrobat Ernie was telling you about earlier...the one that stole the clown’s thunder?"

    "Yup."

    "I haven’t seen her in a while. What do you need her for?" Ernie asked. The man stopped in his tracks and looked Kelly up and down from head to toe. "Who’s the little lady, Sam?"

    "A friend," he answered quickly. "I was hoping Victoria would let me use her cell phone for a sec."

    "I don’t see why not, if she didn’t take it with her," Ernie said. He shrugged his shoulders and jerked his head in the direction of the small trailer several yards away.

    "Thanks, Ernie," Sam said. He looked back at Kelly. "Wait here a sec, okay?"

    She watched as Sam crossed the pathway to the trailer Ernie had motioned to. She saw him knock once...twice. He stepped inside the doorway only to emerge a moment later.

    "I got it, let’s go." Sam waved the cell phone in the air as he caught up with her once again.

    "Did she mind?"

    "Don’t know. She wasn’t there."

* * *

    "Should be right around here," Kelly said. She pushed aside a low-lying branch that blocked the crude pathway and stepped into a small clearing. She stopped dead.

    "What’s wrong?" Sam asked.

    She didn’t need to say anything. Her eyes must have been a giveaway because she could feel his gaze turn in the direction of the body.

    "Oh my God," Sam said. He ran toward the body that was hanging from the tree branch. "That’s Victoria."

* * *

    Three hours later they returned to his camper, physically and emotionally exhausted from the day’s events. The people who worked at the carnival were all shocked at the brutal murder of one of their own, yet sympathetic to Kelly for the ordeal she had been through. As supportive as they had been, she was grateful for the quiet embrace of the tiny room.

    "Sorry about your friend." Kelly peered across the room at Sam, waiting for some sort of response.

    "I didn’t really know Victoria that well...she had only been here a week or so," he said. "I’m sorry you had to go through that last night and then all the questions from the cops today."

    "It’s over now, that’s what matters."

    "Is there someone you want to call...someone who will be worried about you?" he asked quickly.

    "No."

    "I understand completely. No questions asked around here...none that you don’t want to answer anyway."

    "I appreciate that," Kelly said.

    A comfortable blanket of silence covered the room briefly, as Kelly’s thoughts drifted off. She couldn’t help but wonder what Sam thought of all of this. His concern for Sasha had been a touching surprise.

    "Do you really think Sasha did it?" Kelly asked quietly.

    "That’s what the cops seem to think."

    "Maybe they will track her down soon," she offered. She shivered at the feel of his hand as he pushed aside a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

    "I think the cops are right when they say that finding her will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. No one knew anything about her..."

    A pounding at the door brought a welcome relief to the charged atmosphere inside the camper.

    "Are you in there, Sam?"

    It was Ernie again.

    "Yeah. Come on in," Sam said.

    "The boss says its time for everyone to get their stuff together. We hit the road in two hours." Ernie stepped into the camper. "We’ve got to find ourselves some new acts for the big top show."

    Kelly took a deep breath and squared her shoulders confidently. "Could I come along?" she asked. Kelly looked at Ernie and then turned her gaze in Sam’s direction.

    "Are you serious?" Sam asked.

    "I could use something like this. I’ve got no ties here."

    "The boss ain’t gonna approve no ride-along, Sam," Ernie cautioned.

    "He’s right, Kelly. Everybody that travels with us has to be a part of something--ride operator, ticket sales, concession worker, entertainment..."

    "I could do something like that," she offered hopefully.

    "Like what?" Ernie asked. She could feel the old man’s eyes sizing her up, judging...wondering.

    Could she really pull it off?

    Taking a deep, deliberate breath she smiled warmly at the men standing in front of her. A second chance was more than she could have ever hoped for.

    "I think I would make a good clown..."