Page 16 of Monkey Business

“How are we going to tell who their people are?” asked Angel. Trak just stared at the groups for a while, then turned to his friend.

“They’re wearing blue. The teams of performers are all in specific colors. O’Noth is dressed in blue. Dark blue.”

“I’ll be damned, they are.”

“Let’s go find the animal cages,” said Trak.

The massive fields of cages with animals and their handlers were out in the open for all to see. Approaching a ring where monkey acts were performing, they arrived just in time to see the O’Noth monkeys. Two trainers were in the middle of the ring, one male, one female. They were dressed in dark blue velvet with sequins, and the monkeys all had dark blue velvet bow ties.

“I just need one volunteer,” said the woman in her microphone. “Just one!” Everyone laughed, but no one stepped forward.

“Nado, help us get a volunteer,” said the man to one of the monkeys. The monkey immediately scurried toward the audience. Trak and Angel watched him carefully.

“Pickpocket?” frowned Angel.

“I don’t think so,” said Trak. “He’s looking at them, not touching them yet.”

The animal went to a small group of girls and grabbed two by the hand, pulling them toward the center of the ring. The trainers did several tricks, including getting the girls to dance with the monkeys. When they were done, they took a bow and were given a circus coin that they could spend on concessions.

When the crowd dispersed, they followed the paths around the entire event, stopping occasionally to watch performances. Nothing seemed out of order. Approaching the main trailer for the owners’ section, there were two older men seated outside a large motorhome.

“Excuse me, we’re looking for the owner of the O’Noth Circus,” said Angel.

“That’s us,” smiled the older man. “I’m Sean, and this is my brother, Patrick. Two Irish boys who ran away to the circus.” The men laughed, Angel smiling at them but not nodding. Trak just stared.

“I’m Angel, and this is Trak. We run a private security agency and were recently asked to help with some cold cases around the country.”

“That sounds exciting,” smiled the old man.

“Well, it can be. It can also be frustrating. We’re investigating the case of a man by the name of Gus Presley.” The two old men said nothing at first, then Sean pursed his lips, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know that name.”

“How long have you owned the circus?” asked Trak.

“Thirty years now,” smiled Patrick.

“Thirty years, yet you don’t know the case of the man who was hauling equipment for you and is accused of using his trailer to kill more than sixty Mexicans in the desert?”

The silence was deafening. The two men glared at Trak with a hatred that even his thick skin felt.

“Right. Now, I remember,” said Sean. “Sorry, it’s been a long time. Besides, he didn’t work for us. He was a contractor. We hired him on occasion to haul our equipment for us from location to location.”

“So, do you remember this incident? The incident where he’s accused of killing those people in his truck,” asked Angel.

“Sure, sure, I remember now. The police were everywhere. I don’t think they ever caught the old guy,” said Sean.

“No. In fact, we believe he’s dead,” said Angel.

“Dead, you say?” said the brother. “Well, can’t say I’d be upset about that, killing all them innocent people. Besides, he wasn’t right in the head. He was getting forgetful, sometimes missed deadlines. He’d go on a tirade about his sister dying, and we’d have to calm him down. We couldn’t let him be around the customers any longer. He was just acting strangely, and he wasn’t getting any better. We felt sorry for him, so tried to give him work now and then.”

“You seem to remember a lot for a man who remembered nothing moments ago,” said Trak, staring at him.

“I think we’ve been cooperative,” said Patrick, standing beside his brother. “We’ve got a lot happening here this week, so if you’ll excuse us. We hope you catch him or figure this out. Those poor people deserve justice.”

Angel and Trak watched as the brothers walked away from them. Although it wasn’t uncommon for two men with Irish names, it seemed odd that they both had black hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin.

“Did you believe any of the bullshit coming out of their mouths?” asked Angel.

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