It struck me as odd that my initial reaction was to go to her, help her, even after all she’d done to me. I let go of Jack’s hand and stopped her by placing my hands on her shoulders.

“Julie, what happened?” I asked, frantic.

Her chest heaved in panic, but as she took us all in, she seemed to find her voice. “He came after me. He hurt me,” she sobbed before breaking down into tears.

Jack stood in front of Julie and spoke firmly. “Listen to me, you need to tell us what happened.”

“A man in a mask broke into my camper. He…he attacked me, tried to rape me, but I punched him and managed to get away.”

Jay let out a low whistle, and I looked at him to see he had one eyebrow raised as he took in Julie’s state of distress. He was staring at her very closely, but I couldn’t tell what on earth he must have been thinking.

“I’m calling the police,” said Matilda, her phone already out of her bag as she held it to her ear.

When I looked at Jack, it was almost as if we were having a silent conversation. We both knew what this meant. Julie’s attacker sounded all too similar to Lola’s, which had happened all the way back in Orléans. It was way too much of a coincidence. This was the same guy. And if it was the same guy, the chances were likely that this person was someone in the circus. We all helped lead Julie back to her camper, where, sure enough, the door was wide open and a few bits of furniture lay tossed aside from the scuffle.

A few minutes later her sisters arrived, full of concern, and I relayed to them what had happened. Matilda hung up the phone and told us that the police were on their way; we just had to wait for them to get there. Now that her sisters were with Julie, the rest of us weren’t really needed anymore, so we began walking in the direction of Jack’s camper. None of us were much in the mood for continuing with our night, though.

“So you’re telling me this happened before,” said Jay, now rolling a dice between his fingers as he walked beside us, Matilda on his left.

“Yes,” I answered. “My friend Lola was attacked back in Orléans. And a couple of years ago, a dancer with the circus was raped and killed. All evidence seems to be indicating that the culprit works here.”

“Hmm,” Jay murmured, and rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Curiouser and curiouser.”

“What are you thinking?” Matilda asked, eyeing her husband with interest.

Instead of answering her, Jay stopped walking to stand in front of us. We all paused mid-stride, and Jay looked to Jack. “How many people live here? Forty? Fifty?”

Jack nodded. “About that, why?”

Jay waved aside his question to ask another of his own. “Do you think you could gather them all in the tent tomorrow, say around lunchtime?”

“I could try.”

“It has to be everyone. And I mean, everyone — well, except for the kids,” Jay went on, a wicked gleam in his eye and an expression that told me he was forming some kind of plan.

“Oh, God, what are you up to now? This better not be anything dodgy,” said Matilda warily before addressing Jack and me. “He’s always coming up with hare-brained schemes. He uses all his mentalist voodoo to trick people.”

Jay tugged on her wrist and pulled her into him, staring down at her fondly. “Ah, dear Watson, I’m not trying to trick anyone this time.” He paused for dramatic effect, eyeing each of us in turn. “I’m going to catch us a killer.”

Nineteen

But the magician, alas, solved the riddle

 

As it happened, once Jack and I were finally alone in his camper, he wasn’t rough with me at all. In fact, he was surprisingly tender. He poured hot wax on my skin, titillated me with hot matches and metal toys. He traced his hands over every inch of me and brought me to the cusp of euphoria before plunging me into the pleasurable depths of several mind-blowing orgasms.

The following morning we woke early, and after we ate breakfast, Jack went to find Marina to try to organise the meeting in the tent for Jay. I still had no idea what he was planning, but he had a reassuring sort of confidence that made me believe whatever he was going to try would work. It was a relief to think that in just a few hours we might have our culprit, and things around the circus could be safe once and for all.

I was on my way to the gazebo when I saw Bea wandering between the campers, wheeling along a battered old buggy with a baby doll inside. She looked tired, her hair was dirty, and it seemed like she hadn’t changed her clothes in a while. She hadn’t struck me as the best cared-for child, but I’d never seen her look this bad.

I was just about to approach and ask her how she was when her dad came marching out of their camper van, grabbed her roughly by the arm, and dragged her inside. It startled me, because Aiden had always struck me as a kind, though slightly laissez faire parent. He must have sensed me watching him, because our eyes met and his were hard.

“She’s been misbehaving,” he ground out in explanation, then went inside the camper, slamming the door shut behind him. I didn’t feel right after witnessing that, but I knew it must be hard being a single dad, so I couldn’t exactly judge. Still, he needed to take better care of Bea, at least make sure she was washed and had clean clothes. It made my heart hurt to think of her in her current state.

In an effort to lighten my mood, I went and had lunch with Lola and Luan in the gazebo. The two of them seemed to be slowly moving towards coupledom, which was nice to see. The entire circus was rife with talk of the meeting that was to take place after lunch, and once Lola, Luan, and I had finished eating, we all walked together to the Spiegeltent.

Inside people sat in various locations around the audience, chatting in earnest and speculating as to what was going on. I noticed King sitting in a corner on the floor, passed out and looking as dishevelled as always. It upset me a little. Somewhere deep down I thought maybe the painting would make him better somehow. Perhaps he was right after all, perhaps he was too far gone.

When I spotted Jack in the front row next to Matilda, my heart did a little leap. I got excited just at the sight of him and made my way towards the front.

“Hey,” he greeted me, low and husky. I smiled at him, then gave Matilda a little wave, but before I could take the seat next to him, he pulled me down to sit on his lap. The action gave me tingles, and his gaze fixed on my bare collarbone, where there were some small red marks from the wax he’d dripped on me last night. His attention scorched far more than the wax, and I found myself trembling a little at the memory.

Then his thumb brushed over the markings, causing me to let out a tiny gasp. His chest rumbled with a muted growl, and I could tell Matilda was watching us, but she didn’t say anything. I leaned up and had just enough time to lay a peck on Jack’s lips before a hush fell over the gathering. Footsteps echoed around the tent as Jay stepped out onto the stage, all eyes focusing on him.

“Greetings,” he said, scanning the space and flashing a big smile. He looked excited and full of energy. Electric. I wondered if this was what he was like during his performances and imagined watching him do a show would be quite the thrill ride. “Before I begin, could I ask you all to come and sit at the front in a circle? There should be enough room in the first two rows for everyone.”

Slowly, those gathered began to come forward, and, just like Jay had requested, it seemed like everyone in the entire circus was present. I saw Marina carrying Pierre. I saw Winnie hand in hand with her husband Antonio. I saw Julie and her sisters. Even Pedro was present. All except for the kids. After a minute or two, we were seated. I remained on Jack’s lap, staring at Jay as he continually moved his attention from one person to the next as though taking his time to study everyone individually. Then I saw him nodding as he began to count heads.