Page 28 of Monkey Business

“It could always be related to a woman having work or partner troubles, and in some instances, it wasn’t determined that she disappeared at the circus but just somewhere during her travel time to and from the circus. Many of the disappearances weren’t reported until weeks or months after they’d left, and it couldn’t be related directly to the circus itself. These aren’t teenagers or little girls. These are grown women, all over the age of twenty-three.”

“What the hell?” muttered Ghost. “That place is crawling with people. How are they getting women out of there unnoticed?”

“That’s your job,” smirked Ace. “My job was to figure it out.”

“Smart ass,” smirked Code. “You figured out that women have gone missing from the circus, but you didn’t figure out how Gus fits into all of this.” Code was proud of himself, staring at Ace. The other man nodded.

“You’re right. I forgot,” said Ace, grinning at the men. “Nozo Tolivari was Fernando’s oldest son. He was found dead of a heroin overdose a year before Gus disappeared.”

“How is that significant?” asked Nine.

“He attended the St. Thomas More church,” said Ace. They all stared at him. “Gus was the priest at St. Thomas More.”

“Shit,” they said in unison.

“The son confessed something to Gus, or at least that would be my guess. But why wait all that time to kill Gus?” asked Ghost.

“Maybe they didn’t know,” said Ace. “I’m going to dig in more on the missing women and see if any were ever found. It seems odd that not even a body popped up anywhere. Oh, and by the way, Whiskey, Mac, and Clay are handling an issue at the circus now. Another woman disappeared today, leaving her little girl unattended. The sheriff is with them now, along with her husband. Whatever happened in the past is still happening.”

“We’ve got to get Gus to remember this,” said Gaspar. “How are we doing on reviewing his journals?”

“They’re working on it, but there are dozens. That man wrote something every single day.”

“Well, kudos to him for doing that. I never had the urge to write down my thoughts,” said Ghost.

“That’s because it would have scared the shit out of anyone reading it,” smirked Nine. Ghost nodded, flipping him the bird.

“Any idea where Gus is now?” asked Ghost.

“No,” said Ace and Code, shaking their heads.

“He was on Devil’s Island earlier today, but we haven’t seen him since. It’s strange. He seems able to travel wherever he likes. On and off the property. How is that? Why is that? Everyone else here seems bound to this land or this property. None of them have been able to leave during their time here, that I’m aware of anyway.” asked Nine.

“I don’t know,” said Gaspar. “But if he can, then maybe that’s how he got on the property. Maybe he’s not supposed to be here. Maybe he’s supposed to be somewhere else, but because he didn’t die here, not that we’re aware of, he’s able to move back and forth to wherever he’s supposed to be.”

“Something is very, very wrong with all of this,” said Ian.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Gus was seated on an old log on Devil’s Island, whispering to himself. Noah and Julia had gone out to check on him but didn’t want to frighten him. Usually, when they approached one of the ghosts, they knew it immediately, sensing the living humans before they were even near them. Gus seemed oblivious.

“What’s he doing?” whispered Julia.

“I am not sure. He is speaking to himself. Or someone we cannot see,” frowned Noah. “He feels different, does he not? I mean, his spirit feels different than others we have encountered.”

“I agree,” said Julia, shaking her head. “The other spirits we always knew were near us, and they knew that we were near them before we even approached. I feel Gus, but not like the others. Do you think this has to do with his dementia?”

“It could be,” shrugged Noah.

They watched for a few moments longer, then noticed Gus kneeling beside the log. His head was bowed, his hands clasped in front of him.

“He is praying,” said Noah.

Suddenly, Gus stood, turning to stare at them. He walked forcefully toward them, and Noah pushed Julia behind him.

“Why are you here?” he yelled.

“We were worried about you, Gus. We came to see if you were alright,” said Noah. The man frowned at him, then shook his head.

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