Send in the Clowns, a Detective Mike Bridger novel by Mark Bredenbeck Read Free Book Online Page B

be speaking
with them as well.”
    Anthony’s demeanour had
gone from distraught at the loss of his former business partner too
outright rage, it was a strange distinction in such a short space
of time, and Bridger wondered which show of emotion was more
believable. He had a sixth sense, which he had learned to rely on.
He liked too think he could tell when someone was hiding something,
or trying to deceive him in some way and something was not quite
right with Anthony Gonzales. He made a mental note to explore his
theory further.
    “ We will be
speaking with them Mr Gonzales, in the course of our enquiries into
Michael Wilsons death.” He did not think the release of animals
from the Circus was quite as important. “And we also need to
re-interview quite a few of the people here at the Circus,
including you.”
    There was a flash of
something behind Anthony’s eyes, “We can make ourselves available
for you any time you need Sergeant, but you should be concentrating
on those idealistic waste of time protesters over there. They have
more to gain by hurting us, as they have just proved…” Anthony
indicated in the direction of the silent protesters again, most of
them had come out of the safety of their cars and were now standing
in a solemn line, staring at the circus from the safety of
distance. Bridger did not take the bait and Anthony continued. “I
have cancelled all the remaining Dunedin performances but we won’t
be leaving just yet. It seems somehow inappropriate to go while the
killer is still out there somewhere.”
    “ Thank you Mr
Gonzales, we will be speaking with the protesters this morning, so
how about we arrange it for about one o’clock this
afternoon.”
    “ That’s fine;
I will make sure everyone is available.”
    Bridger noticed a strange
indifference in Anthony’s tone as he spoke, no real trace of grief
now for his lost partner, cementing his doubts about Anthony’s
emotional responses.
    “ Mike…, the
Clowns are going to kick off…” Steve was pointing in the direction
of the protesters. Somehow, the Clowns had materialised across the
road and were lining up, almost nose to nose, with the masked
group. Bridger had not noticed them walk past him.
    The Clowns looked
hopelessly outnumbered against the cast of fake animals who were
standing their ground in silence, but their posture was menacing
and confident. It was a surreal standoff; the faux jolly faces of
the clowns now looked threatening, destroying any boyhood images he
may have had of fun loving jesters. These Clowns were serious.
Bridger did not fancy getting between them, but did not want it to
escalate any further, whatever he thought of the reasons for both
parties’ actions.
    Walking slowly towards
the standoff, he could not hear anything passing between them;
everything displayed in their stance. The Clowns were not going to
back down; they had one group in their sites for releasing the
animals and they looked like they wanted to make a point. The Zebra
mask stepped forward, chest puffed, and stood right in front of the
middle Clown. He saw the Clown lean forward slightly, his bushy red
hair obscuring his face so he could not see if the Clown spoke or
not, he would still be too far away to hear anyway. Whatever it was
that had passed between them, it had an effect on the Zebra mask,
as his chest deflated a little and he took a step backwards. One by
one, the fake animals turned and walked away, watched by the
Clowns.
    Bridger and Steve reached
the line of Clowns just as the last protester got back into their
vehicle. The Clowns did not speak. Turning, they walked back
towards the Circus in silence. Steve shouldered the rifle he had
been carrying at the ready and stood beside him.
    The protesters got back
out of their vehicles, removing their masks in the process. A
diverse group of people stood before them, with sweaty hair pressed
to their scalps. Bridger could see them glancing nervously between
Steve and his gun and the