Murder At The Circus: A Witch Cozy Mystery (A Bluebell Knopps Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Disclaimer

  Special Offer!

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Contact Nancy McG

  One More Thing

  A BLUEBELL KNOPPS COZY MYSTERY, BOOK 2:

  Murder At The Circus

  By

  Nancy McGovern

  Rights & Disclaimer

  This is entirely a work of fiction. All people, places and events contained have been completely fabricated by the author. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are completely coincidental.

  Murder At The Circus Copyright © 2016 Nancy McGovern

  http://www.Facebook.com/AuthorNancyMcG

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any manner or used in any way without advanced written permission by the author.

  A Special Offer!

  To receive updates & special offers on my books PLUS a FREE STORY, please sign up for my newsletter by CLICKING HERE! I’ll also tell you more about joining my Street Team, through which you can receive FREE COPIES of my books in return for honest reviews! It’ll be so much fun!

  Dedication

  This book is for everyone at Amazon. You brighten each and every one of my days! Thank you for doing such a great job!

  Chapter 1

  Murder At The Circus

  On his 16th birthday, Felipe learned that he was being groomed to take over his family’s multimillion dollar business. It was the worst day of his life.

  His entire future was laid out for him over a family dinner, with his grandfather presiding at the head of the table. Beaming, his father told him that he’d enter in the sales department, be expected to move around departments learning the business, and then eventually be promoted to the board of directors, before taking control. His grandfather nodded, staring down at Felipe, challenging him to say something.

  Felipe did. “No,” he said. “This isn’t my dream. It never has been.”

  His father’s beaming smile evaporated into a sour grimace. “You don’t have a choice,” he said. “What are you going to do? Run away and join the circus?”

  Fifteen years later, as the lights shone down on him, Felipe recalled that moment. He stretched, rotating his hands, moving his lithe upper body this way and that.

  “And now, ladies and gentlemen...” a voice said from somewhere far below him. “Now we ask for your silence. In the next few minutes, our very own Felipe Frenzy will attempt a feat that has never been attempted before! High above the ground, suspended over a pit full of broken glass and rusty nails, Felipe will make an attempt to perform a triple-somersault! Yes, it’s never been done before, and perhaps, if he fails tonight, it will never be attempted again!”

  Felipe felt no fear. No matter how physically daring his feats were, he had never felt fear. To him, the bravest thing he’d done in his life was standing up to his father. After that, what was a pit full of knives? It could kill him, but it couldn’t break his heart.

  A pair of hands wrapped around his waist, and soft lips pressed against the side of his neck. He knew it was her by the floral perfume that followed her everywhere. His face grew even more opaque. “What is it?” he asked.

  “I just came to say good luck,” Tara said. “I love you, Felipe.”

  “Right.” Felipe felt his heart begin to hammer, and his blood begin to boil. Pushing her away, he said, “We’ll talk later, Tara.”

  “What is it?” She looked hurt. She dared to look hurt?

  He stared at her. She was beautiful and she knew it. She had on a wispy white dress, and bright red lipstick. Her green eyes were surrounded by smoky makeup, while her straight black hair hung slick around her shoulders. A yellow silk scarf was tied around her neck, calling attention to the cleavage just beneath. Gorgeous. Half the people were here just to see her, he knew.

  As for him, after today, he didn’t ever want to see her face again. He didn’t feel anything but the most profound hate for her. His chin jutted out as he mashed his teeth together. “Get out of here,” he said. “I need to concentrate.”

  “Felipe, we need to talk.” Her chin went up.

  Oh yes, she was a princess, unused to a man who could resist her charms. She thought today would be like all the days before it - she’d sweet talk him, and he’d eventually capitulate. Well, she was wrong. Dead wrong. Today, his life would take a new direction. Today would be a new beginning.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, I present to you! FELIPE FRENZY!”

  Applause burst through the circus ring, and Felipe stepped from the shadows onto his stage, bowing and raising his hands up to appease the crowd. As if by magic, he was handed a long pole. Balancing it in his hands, he took his first steps onto the tightrope.

  “Break a leg,” Tara hissed behind him. But Felipe’s focus was solely on the line in front of him. Here, high in the sky, above the applause, above the petty lives of the audience and above his own ordinary life, Felipe felt free. He was a bird, dancing on a string. He was an adventurer, as he’d always wanted to be.

  He was free from all the emotions that tore him to pieces, free to experience the true beauty of life, and whisker close to the immense blackness of death.

  With a calculated misstep, he stumbled. Below him, the audience gasped. Deliberately, he began to wobble, acting as though he were about to fall.

  “A fall would be fatal,” the announcer reminded his audience helpfully. “Please everybody, say a little prayer for Felipe!”

  “Help me!” Felipe cried, wobbling even more. “Somebody help!”

  There were cries and shouts from the audience below. Suddenly, the long pole in his hands slipped, and fell to the ground. A cry of horror went up, as it instantly ignited. Underneath him, the pit was now on fire.

  “Call the firefighters!” the audience cried out. “Call the police!”

  Felipe grinned. They cared. Good. Now to show them that he was in control after all. With a deep breath, he pushed down on the rope, and performed a somersault.

  The horrified gasps turned into cheers and claps. He bowed to the audience, and began walking again. He was almost halfway across the tightrope now - enough playing around. It was time to attempt his triple somersault.

  “Silence, ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer was saying. “We need silence, as Felipe attempts the impossible!”

  Felipe prepared himself. He was about to do the stunt he’d trained so hard for, when a scream split the air. His eye turned down, to the entrance of the circus ring. Tara! What was Tara doing down there?

  “He’s dead!” Tara cried. “Oh somebody help me! Help me please! He’s dead! He’s dead!”

  The audience only watched her, convinced that it was another game, or a trick of some kind. But a horrified Felipe knew better. Tara wasn’t trying to steal the show - she was telling the truth.

  “He’s been murdered!” Tara cried, and then collapsed.

  *****

  Chapter 2

  Bluebell’s Mechanical Skills

  Bluebell Knopps adjusted her dress, and wondered if she looked pretty. This was the first date she’d been in on in… well, in two years. After her ex-boyfriend
Steve had died, she’d buried herself in work, and in learning a few new tricks from her teacher Mathilda.

  Facing the mirror, Bluebell turned this way and that. The dress was really nice - it fit perfectly, and she liked the retro polka dot pattern. But if only it was coral colored, instead of a boring olive green. With a smile, she closed her eyes, concentrated, and snapped her fingers. The air around the dress shimmered. The dress itself fluttered a bit. Bluebell opened her eyes and grimaced. Instead of turning coral, the dress had turned purple. Where magic was concerned, she clearly had a long way to go.

  Bluebell had very recently learned that having blue hair wasn’t just a trick of nature or genetics. She was one of a handful of people around the world who had powers, powers that normal mortals did not.

  Outside, a car honked. Her best friend Nolan was here. She grabbed her purse and went to his car. Nolan’s red BMW was rusty and old, but his prized possession. He was leaning on the door, and waved as she walked up to him.

  “So, all set to meet Drew and Megan?” Nolan asked.

  “You owe me one, Nolan,” Bluebell said. “I’m a fool for agreeing to go on a double date. A blind date at that.”

  “Oh, if Drew looks anything like his sister, he’ll be cute,” Nolan said. “Megan is quite a fox.”

  “What’s she doing with you?” Bluebell teased.

  “Well, I’ve been working out.” Nolan took one hand off the wheel to flex it. “See?”

  “Sure I do,” Bluebell teased, poking him in the stomach. “So where are we heading to?”

  “The circus,” Nolan said. “Fun idea, right? Drew owns the lot that the circus is parked at, so he thought we might as well all go check it out.”

  “So I’m dating a landowner,” Bluebell said. “How charming.”

  “Oh no,” Nolan said suddenly. He frowned, staring at a blinking light that had suddenly appeared on his dashboard.

  “What’s wrong?” Bluebell asked.

  “Wish I knew.” Nolan sighed. He pulled over and got out of the car. Opening up the hood, he peered inside.

  “Well?” Bluebell asked. “Any idea what happened?”

  “Nope,” Nolan said. “I don’t know the first thing about mechanics. Opening the hood just seemed like the right thing to do. My dad does it all the time.”

  “Useless.” Bluebell grinned. “Here, let me have a look.”

  “Be my guest.”

  She peeked in, and found herself confused by a mess of wires and various alien looking engine parts.

  “Shall we call a tow truck?” Nolan asked.

  “No… wait.” Bluebell pretended to fix two wires. Meanwhile, under her breath she muttered a spell, and discreetly snapped her fingers. “All right,” she said. “Try starting it again.”

  “That’s not going to be any help,” Nolan said. “You didn’t even do anything but shift wires around.”

  “Well the engine’s cooler now,” Bluebell said.

  “All right,” Nolan agreed. They got in the car, and he turned the key. The engine revved up smoothly.

  “See?” Bluebell felt pleased.

  “Awesome!” Nolan said, pressing on the gas.

  Immediately, the car coughed, spluttered, and then made a series of horrible noises.

  “Oh!” Bluebell was alarmed, then disappointed. She’d been trying so hard to memorize the spells Mathilda had taught her, and perform them, but it seemed like no matter how hard she worked, she always ended up messing up somehow.

  “Well, whatever you did just made it worse,” Nolan said glumly, echoing her thoughts. “Guess we need the tow truck after all.”

  As it happened, a passing RV contained an ex-mechanic, who cheerfully rescued them by fixing Nolan’s car issues. Bluebell, for her part, decided to refrain from using magic on any more mechanical devices. In an hour, they reached their destination.

  From afar, the circus was a collection of pointy-ended tents with multicolored stripes running down their sides. Even as they parked, they could hear the crowd milling about inside, and the faint tinny music emanating from the stalls and rides.

  “Cute,” Bluebell said. “I feel like a teenager, not an adult.”

  “Well, mentally, I’ve never seen much growth.” Nolan reached out to knock two fingers on the side of her head. “You have all that hollow space you could be renting out.”

  Laughing, Bluebell threatened to throw him off the nearest cliff. They entered the circus, passing by a depressed looking clown handing out flyers. Bluebell grabbed one - a map of the circus.

  “Oh, cool! They have a tarot card reader!” she exclaimed. “I really want to go see her.”

  “You don’t really believe in those things, do you?” Nolan asked.

  “Well what’s wrong if I do? People can have… a little bit extra sometimes. ESP.”

  Nolan scoffed. “Sure, and fairies still dance about on hillocks and trolls live under bridges. These people are mostly frauds. Science is humanity’s way forward.”

  “Science is humanity’s way forward, arrogance isn’t,” Bluebell said. “There’s still a lot of magic in the world, Nolan.”

  “Yes, and it’s all in Megan’s baby blue eyes,” Nolan said with a sigh. “I texted her, she and Drew are already in the big tent. The show’s about to start.”

  Bluebell was distracted by the pathetic mewing of a kitten. From the corner of an eye, she saw a little boy picking a kitten up by the scruff of its neck.

  “Hey!” she said, going to him. “You’re hurting the little thing.”

  It wasn’t much to look at, all skin and bones with large eyes and ears that couldn’t quite stand up on their own.

  “Cute little thing,” Bluebell said. “Do you work with the circus, kid?”

  “My dad’s a clown,” the kid said. “He told me to drown the kitten, coz we don’t have enough money to bring it up and no one is willing to adopt it.”

  “That’s horrible!” Bluebell said. “You can’t do that!”

  “Well I have to.” The kid shrugged. He was a skinny little thing too, the human equivalent of the kitten, with mud streaking his cheek and an old patched sweater hanging down to his knees.

  “Look, I’ll buy him from you,” Bluebell said. “Here’s $5.”

  The boy didn’t take the money. “How about 20?” he asked.

  “Are you kidding me? You’re about to drown the kitten!”

  “Yeah, well it’s my kitten to drown, right now,” the boy said.

  “What’s your name, anyway?”

  “Joel.”

  “Well, Joel. I can call the cops on you, or you can give me the kitten.”

  “20 bucks,” Joel said.

  “Here’s 10,” Nolan said, intervening. “Now give us the kitten, and get out of here.”

  With a big smile, the boy handed over the kitten and padded away.

  “Some people!” Bluebell bought the little furball close to her face, and ran a finger gently over its body, examining it. “Can you imagine killing this poor little guy?” In a sweeter voice, she talked to the cat. “Don’t worry little buddy, I won’t let anyone harm you. You’ll be my pal now, won’t you? Yes, you will!”

  “You’re a silly kid, Blue.” Nolan smiled. “But a good one. Now come on, Megan and Drew are waiting for us in the big tent. The tightrope walker is about to attempt a daring triple somersault!”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I have-”

  “You have a kitten who’s fallen asleep,” Nolan said. “Put him on your lap, and enjoy the show.”

  A few minutes later, Nolan had introduced her to Megan and Drew. The siblings looked alike. Both had blue eyes, bright smiles and light brown hair.

  “Isn’t it exciting?” Megan asked. “The tightrope walker is attempting something that’s never been done before, and there’s no safety net to save him if he fails!”

  “So dramatic.” Drew smiled.

  But of course, the real drama didn’t start until half an hour later, when a screaming Tara had rushed int
o the tent, bearing news of the murder.

  *****

  Chapter 3

  Magic In The Air

  The news of the murder brought chaos with it. The audience began stampeding out of the tent, even as the announcer and others tried to maintain order. People screamed and cried, while a few dozen crowded around the beautiful woman who had fainted by the tent’s passageway.

  Bluebell made her way through the crowd, and stood next to Nolan, who was checking Tara’s pulse.

  “She’s all right,” he said. “Someone should get her some water.”

  “I’ll get it.” The announcer, Trent, was a tall boy, barely into his twenties, with a rather prominent Adam’s apple and a buzz cut that made him look even younger. He ran off to get water, clearly glad that someone had taken charge of the situation.

  “What is happening?” A baritone voice pierced through the hue and cry. The tightrope walker stepped forward, bringing a retinue of clowns and acrobats behind him. “Tara?” The man bent down on one knee, and took the woman’s face in his hands. “Tara. Wake up!”

  “Oh.” She stirred, and looked up at him, the mist from her eyes slowly receding back. “Oh Felipe! It was horrible!”

  “What is it? Who is it?”

  “It’s Alex! He’s been… he’s been… he’s dead!”

  For a moment, Felipe’s face had triumph on it. At least that’s how it appeared to Bluebell. Then, a second later, he had on a mask of concern. “Where is Alex? Where is he?”

  “In his trailer,” Tara said.

  “Call the police.” Felipe stood up, and helped her stand up as well. “Mark, make sure that anybody who’s not part of the staff is escorted out of here. Don’t let anybody near Alex’s trailer either. All right? Nancy, refund tickets if people complain.”

  He began walking towards the trailer with Tara, but she resisted. “No!” she exclaimed. “No! I can’t go there. Please don’t make me! I don’t want to see him again!”

  Felipe looked confused, but Bluebell stepped in.