The county fairgrounds were located along a rural highway a few miles outside of Aerieville. Following a brief discussion, we decided that Rocky would drive, and the rest of us would leave our cars on the street in front of Deena’s parents’ house—which happened to be in a secluded subdivision out near the Country Club. Not that we were trying to be sneaky or anything. It was just a convenient place to convene.
After the short ride, Rocky parked his Jeep in an overflow parking lot behind the livestock barn. As we strolled past the cows, pigs, and goats—and the proud 4-H kids who had raised them—I felt a sense of peace wash over me. Something about the open air and change of scenery took me outside of all my worries and problems, at least for the moment.
The company was nice too. Rocky and Deena fell into an easy rapport. Walking side by side, they led the way toward the carnival grounds with Calvin and me following behind. We chatted companionably about inconsequential things. At some point, I swung my arm, causing my fingers to graze the back of Calvin’s knuckles. He took the opportunity to clasp my hand, and we continued that way, holding hands like a real couple. It gave me the warm fuzzies.
Entering the amusement park section felt like stepping back in time. I took it all in with relish: the smells of deep-fried food and cotton candy, the sounds of children laughing and shrieking on the high-flying rides. My ears picked up the melodious tunes of a calliope, coming from an old-fashioned carousel. I promised myself I’d fit in at least one ride on the merry-go-round before the night was out.
We passed by several carnival barkers before Rocky decided to stop. The rest of us formed his audience as he tossed darts at balloons, quickly winning a stuffed pink rabbit for Deena, after only three tries.
Calvin gave me a sidelong glance. “I guess it’s my turn now. I hope you won’t think less of me if I’m not as skilled at this as your brother.”
“You don’t have to—” I broke off as he threw a dart, popping a balloon on his first try. I chose a fluffy unicorn as my prize.
Next we stopped at a food stand for corn on the cob and grilled kebabs. (Rocky refused to let us go anywhere near the elephant ears.) We finished off our meal-on-the-go with paper cups of fruity Italian ice.
Everywhere we went, I kept an eye out for any familiar faces. I’d thought I might run into Vince and get my chance to try to reason with him. But as dusk fell over the fairgrounds, I had second thoughts. I was having such a good time, I found myself hoping I wouldn’t see anyone connected in any way with the murder investigation.
As it happened, less than a minute later, I recognized someone in the crowd: Officer Davy Wills. I froze when I saw him. Calvin noticed me holding back and signaled the others to wait. Standing under the canopy of the beer tent, I observed Davy on the other side of the pedway at a lemon shake-up stand. He wasn’t in uniform. And he didn’t appear to be on duty. In fact, he seemed to be engaged in a friendly chat with the person next to him. Then that person turned his head, and I saw who it was: one Richard Wales.
“Oh!” I broke into a delighted grin and tugged on Deena’s arm. “Look!”
So Davy is Richard’s secret boyfriend. That explained a lot—like why Richard was so certain he could keep the students from going on their planned hike. He must’ve asked Davy to come over and keep them tied up with questions about the investigation.
“Ah!” said Deena, following my gaze. “How wonderful and interesting.”
Rocky turned to Calvin. “What are they talking about?”
Calvin shook his head. “No idea.”
“Who wants to go on the Ferris wheel?” asked Deena, changing the subject.
“I’m game,” said Rocky.
Calvin and I looked at each other. “Eh,” we both said at the same time.
“Aw, come on,” said Deena. “It’s a tradition.”
“You two go ahead.” I took the pink bunny from Deena and handed it to Calvin. “We’ll take our prizes to the car, so we don’t have to keep carrying them around.”
Rocky gave me his keys, and Calvin and I headed back to the parking lot. As we left the noise of the carnival, we could hear strains of live country music from the bandstand at the rear of the fairgrounds.
“You’re not a fan of Ferris wheels?” asked Calvin.
“They make me nervous,” I admitted. “I don’t like feeling trapped on those little seats, at the mercy of the ride operator. I don’t love heights either.”
“I guess that rules out the rollercoaster then. And all the other rides.”
“All but the carousel.” I smiled hopefully, and he laughed, throwing an arm over my shoulders.
We passed by a line of booths, where vendors sold everything from T-shirts and sunglasses to novelty toys and personalized spray-art paintings. I slowed down near a table featuring Southwest-style jewelry, my attention snagged by a pretty turquoise and coral beaded bracelet.
Calvin paused. “If you want to browse, I can take our prizes to the car and meet you back here.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.” He took my unicorn and Rocky’s keys. “I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you!”
I perused the jewelry and found several items I liked. I was trying to decide between the beaded bracelet and a silver necklace with a lapis lazuli pendant, when a trill of laughter pricked my ears. Glancing toward the adjacent table, I gave a start when I saw who it was: April Finley, bouncing between her cohorts, Vince and Isaiah.
“Come on, guys,” April said loudly. “We only have an hour before Ms. Washington is picking us up. I want to go on the rides!”
Vince and Isaiah exchanged a bored look. Then Isaiah draped an arm over April’s neck. “I’ll go on the Ferris wheel with you, if you go on the Tilt-A-Whirl with me.”
Rolling his eyes, Vince snapped the collar on his leather jacket. “Alright, children. Let’s go.”
I didn’t think twice. I set down the jewelry I’d been holding and followed them. I made sure to stay far enough back that they wouldn’t catch a glimpse of me if they happened to turn their heads. Whenever possible, I walked behind other fairgoers while keeping at least one of my quarry in sight. In the midst of this game, I felt my phone buzz and knew it must be Calvin. I felt bad about not answering, but it felt too risky. He’d understand.
I wasn’t sure what I was doing exactly. I had a vague idea that I’d keep eavesdropping and perhaps overhear something incriminating. Beyond that, I also had an uneasy feeling about things between Isaiah and April. If I’d been afraid of them going mountain climbing together, the prospect of them on a Ferris wheel was equally as concerning.
Then I had another strange thought. What if April was the dangerous one? She was the one who seemed most intent on keeping leadership of their motley little drug ring.
A chill coursed through me, and I shivered. There was one thing I knew for sure. At least one of them was a murderer.
April ran up to a ticket booth and leaned her elbows on the ledge. As she spoke to the seller, I hid behind a giant inflatable clown and reached into my purse for my phone. Maybe I could at least send Calvin a quick text. I’d just opened the screen on my phone, when I glanced over and saw that the trio was on the move again. I dropped the phone back into my purse. Sorry, Calvin.
They wound their way through the carnival, with me once more on their tail, and ended up at the Tilt-A-Whirl. April and Isaiah got in line. Vince said something to them, then sauntered toward the food vendors.
Now was my chance! I’d finally caught Vince by himself, at least for the duration of a Tilt-A-Whirl ride. I waited for him to buy a soda, then started to approach him. But he turned the other way, heading, not back to the rides, but toward the end of the row. To my surprise, he stopped, looked furtively from left to right, and disappeared through the opening between a tent and a generator truck.
What is he up to? Feeling like a spy again, I crept through the narrow passage he’d entered. He hadn’t gone far. He was loitering next to the generator. As I watched, he dumped out half of his soda onto the ground. He then removed a flask from an inner pocket of his jacket. He proceeded to pour some of its contents into the rest of his soda.
I stepped forward and spoke casually. “Hey, Vince.”
He jumped into the air, cursing, and splashed his drink on his hand.
“Jeez, lady! What’s your problem?” He wiped the back of his hand on his jeans and replaced the lid on his cup.
“Why did you stand me up yesterday?”
“Stand you up? I never agreed to go out with you.” His eyes roved from my dress to my bare legs, and he smirked. “Under different circumstances, I would. But I knew you had ulterior motives.”
“I just want to talk to you. There’s nothing ‘ulterior’ about it.”
He took a long sip through the soda straw. “You want to talk, huh? Okay. Go on a ride with me, and we can talk.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why can’t we just talk here? No one else is around.” As I said the words, I became acutely aware of their truth. It was dark and shadowy back here. The loud hum of the generator muffled the carnival noises on the other side. Behind us a low fence separated the fair from a large area of scrubby grass, where a cluster of trailers provided temporary homes for the carnival workers.
He gave me a wolfish smile. “Indeed.”
Taking half a step back, I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Look, Vince,” I said reasonably. “I have some information I think you’ll be interested in, but I need you to be honest with me.”
“I’m always honest.” He cast about for a place to set down his cup. Finding none, he placed it on the dirt in front of him. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. As he did so, a plastic wrapper fell out of his pocket and floated to the ground. “What’s your information?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but I’d lost my train of thought. Something about the wrapper had jumped out at me—probably the image of sunflower seeds on the plastic label. I reached down and picked it up.
“So, now you’re the litter police?” said Vince.
Interconnected thoughts clicked in my mind like gears in a clock. There had been a receipt for sunflower seeds on the floor of the storeroom, right after the murder—a receipt Gus had, unfortunately, eaten. Then, as now, I realized the receipt was not exactly a smoking gun. The person who bought or ate the sunflower seeds was not necessarily the same person who dropped or tracked in the receipt.
Nevertheless, seeing it now was very interesting. And suddenly I perceived Vince in a whole new light. He was different from his classmates. More experienced and less eager. He seemed like a levelheaded sort of guy, willing to hang out with his ex-girlfriend and her other ex-boyfriend. April had gone to him when she was concerned about Isaiah, as if Vince had some influence over the younger guy. And, from what I could tell, Vince had no interest in carrying on Lowry’s devious schemes.
Observing him in the gloom, I remembered a few more things I’d learned about Vince Gonzalez. Like the comment he’d made about death messing a person up. And the fact that he’d tried to get the trip canceled—ostensibly so they could go someplace different for a change.
I held up the empty sunflower seed bag. “Did you get these at Marla’s Mini-Mart?” At his blank look, I elaborated. “The gas station on the western edge of Aerieville?”
“Yeah. So?” He lit his cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled out the side of his mouth.
“So … I think you dropped the receipt. In the storeroom at Flower House. After you hit Lowry on the back of the head.”
He was as cool as ever. His eyebrows only went up the barest amount. “That’s what you think, is it?”
“Yeah. It is. And I think I know why.”
He gestured for me to go on.
“It was to keep Isaiah from doing it. You didn’t want him to become a murderer. And the only way you knew to stop him was to do it yourself.”
Now he looked impressed. He leaned back on the fence and, smiling a little, took another drag. “That’s some information you have there.”
“That’s not all. I know what Lowry was all about, what he made you guys do. With the poppies and everything else.”
For a moment, he looked out over the bare grass toward the workers’ trailers. He seemed to be considering what I’d said, as he smoked his cigarette. Then his eyes slid back to my face. “And I suppose you’re not the only one who knows this?”
My eyes might’ve widened a little at that.
He laughed. “I’m only kidding. I wouldn’t hurt you.” He pushed himself off the fence. “So, what are you, psychic or something? How do you know all this?”
“I’m just perceptive.” And determined and lucky. “Are you admitting it’s true?”
He shrugged. “I told you I’m honest.”
“Not always,” I countered. “You tried to blame Calvin for the murder.”
“Yeah, well, somebody had to take the blame. I thought it would be the truck driver, but the cops never went for him.”
“Bart was on his phone at the time, so he had an alibi.”
“Ah,” said Vince.
I felt my phone buzz again and ignored it. This dialogue was too fascinating. “Do April and Isaiah know?”
“Nah. April thinks Isaiah did it, and Isaiah thinks Calvin did it.”
“And you let April believe that about Isaiah. Is he a dangerous person? Do you think he could harm April, or anyone else who stands in his way?”
Vince hesitated for a moment. “I don’t think so,” he said slowly. “It was different with Lowry. The professor got under Isaiah’s skin. The way he used people and manipulated them. That’s what got to Isaiah so much.”
“And you too,” I pointed out.
“I’m not sorry he’s gone.” Vince finished his cigarette and tossed the butt. “You probably won’t believe me, but I didn’t really mean for him to die. I thought I might put him in the hospital and get the trip canceled. Buy some time to find another way out.” He squinted his eyes, as if imagining how things might have turned out differently. “He never even knew it was me. I told him Calvin had something on him, hidden in the back of that closet.” He shot me a rueful look. “Oh, well.”
My phone was buzzing like crazy now. Calvin had probably called Deena and Rocky. They’d never find me back here, but I wasn’t scared. Vince seemed to have given up.
“I have one more question,” I said.
“Shoot.”
“Why did you lock me in the storeroom?”
He furrowed his brow. “What?”
“On Tuesday, when you guys rode Richard’s bikes to the bakery.”
“Oh, that was Isaiah. He wanted to search the shop. He thought Calvin might have a stash of unwashed poppy seeds he could steal. He was scheming to get ahead of April somehow. I told him it was a waste of time.”
“That reminds me. What happened to Lowry’s canteen?”
“He left it in the flower shop bathroom. April found it and tossed it out the window. She begged me to come back for it later.” He shook his head. “The things I’ve done to keep that girl out of trouble.”
I softened my stance. “You’re not a bad guy, Vince. When the truth comes out about Lowry, that’s sure to be a mitigating factor. You can plea-bargain. Maybe it won’t be…” I trailed off, when he moved closer to me and touched my shoulder.
“I got priors, babe. Nobody’s gonna go easy on me.”
“For what?” My voice came out as a whisper.
“Theft. Vandalism. A few other things.”
“Those aren’t violent crimes.”
He reached into his jeans pocket. Before I realized what was happening, he’d pulled out a switchblade and flicked it open. I gasped.
Laughing softly, Vince pushed me against the fence and leaned over my face. “You’re quite the innocent flower, you know that?” Quick as a flash, he thrust his knife under the strap of my purse and cut it from my shoulder. Holding the bag like a football, he hopped over the fence. “See ya, babe.”
Then he tore off into the shadows.