Falafel Jones - The Kewpie Killer by Falafel Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

Come again soon… and bring your friend.”
    As we sat in Robby’s patrol car, I realized why we came here. Robby wouldn’t steal a file. Robby wouldn’t violate his oath as an officer, but Robby could visit a friend and pick up his dry cleaning. I also realized that a violent man like Breaker Burke wasn’t likely to have been carrying a Kewpie Doll. Someone else must have left it there, someone like Burke’s killer.
    I said, “Morty’s a nice man and you’re a nice guy for helping him.”
    “Nah, just doing my job. Now, let’s go see Brenda.”
    When we arrived at the carnival, Robby asked for Brenda at the ticket booth. A tattooed girl in the booth sent us to the sideshow. Only a few years ago, the ticket girl could have been an attraction. Now, she was just another heavily inked teenager.
    The sideshow tent smelled of canvas and animals. We passed a six-legged goat, a three-foot tall man playing basketball with a nine-foot tall woman and then we came to Brenda. A good sized group stood in front of her low stage as she juggled four bowling pins and then three knives. Robby and I watched her from a distance. When she finished her act, she waved her fingers at us and then came over.
    She spoke to me but stared at Robby in his uniform. “Raquel… why are you here? You didn’t tell any –”
    “Brenda, this is my friend Robby Carlyle. If you answer his questions and you’ve done nothing wrong, no one else will know your secret. You can trust him.”
    “I don’t know. You shouldn’t have –”
    Robby said, “Brenda. It’s OK. Raquel’s right. Just answer a few questions, please.”
    “Didn’t you see my note?”
    I asked her, “Your note?”
    Her voice rose. “If people find out about me, there will be dire consequences. I’ll be humiliated. I could lose my job. None of the boys would have anything to do with me.”
    I pulled the note from my bag. “You mean you left me this?”
    “Yes. You’ve got to keep my secret. Please!” Tears started to form in her eyes.
    “Brenda, did you also send me a Kewpie Doll?”
    “A Kewpie Doll? No, why?”
    “When I saw you last, did you throw a knife at me?”
    She took a step back. “What? No, of course not. Why would I do that?”
    Robby spoke up. “We might believe you if you can answer some questions.”
    “What do you want to know?”
    “Where were you just before you found your… the body?”
    “I was here in the show, a couple of hours, doing my act. We had a big crowd. A lot of people saw me here.”
    That was a strong statement. If she just told a lie, it would be easy to find out. I believed her.
    Robby asked, “On your way out to the field, did you see anyone? I mean other than the patrons enjoying the show or the staff working?”
    Brenda shook her head.
    “You know Breaker Burke? A loan shark and bookie that died near here last year?”
    “No.”
    “OK, Brenda. Thanks. Stick around, stay out of trouble and we’ll have no reason to say anything to anyone.”
    On our way back to the car, I asked Robby, “So, you believe her?”
    “Yeah. The ME put the time of death about an hour before Brenda reported the body. She would have been on display in front of a hundred people then. Unless she had help, she’s clean.”
    “I wonder how many folks can alibi with, ‘I was juggling knives in a circus sideshow’.”
    Robby laughed.
    I said, “Then someone else sent me the Kewpie Doll with the eyes and mouth covered.”
    “Yeah, and someone else threw a knife at you.”
    “And we don’t know who it is but we do know it’s easy to find where I live.”
    “Maybe you could stay with your Mom a while?”
    “I’d rather risk the knives.”
    “Why? I like your Mom.”
    “She’s OK, it’s just that she’s my Mom, my Dad and my Boss. I don’t need her to be my roommate too. She’s accomplished quite a bit in life and I’d rather stay out of her shadow. Does this make any sense?”
    “No, not to me, but I never knew my real parents. I