Shadow in Serenity

nineteen


News spread like a forest fire the next day, starting in the diner where Logan and Jack ate breakfast, and making its way through the barbershop and the beauty salon, down through the drugstore and printer’s, across to the hardware store, and up to the post office and florist. Roland Thunder was considering investing in the park and putting his name on it.

Carny heard it first from Lahoma at the Clippety Doo Dah, when she brought Lahoma the delivery she’d picked up for her in Dallas that morning. “Who told you this?” she asked.

“Well, Logan. He’s been telling everybody. Roland Thunder is gonna come for the opening and give a special concert for all the investors, and folks are sayin’ he might even build a house here and live here part of the year! Can you imagine it, Carny? Roland Thunder in Serenity?”

“No, actually,” Carny said. “I can’t imagine it.”

“Well, it’s gonna happen. And I’ll be a part of it. I’ve got an appointment with Logan this afternoon. I’m gonna get a piece of this action. Have you invested yet?”

“Of course not,” she said. “I’m still not convinced it’s legitimate.”

“Oh, Carny,” Tea Ann Campbell said from under the dryer. “When will you stop suspectin’ him? He’s the nicest man I’ve ever met. How can you watch him traipsing around town with that dog and not just know he’s pure as the driven snow?”

Carny didn’t argue. No one in town would buy her objections anymore. Logan had convinced them. And the truth was, she was starting to wonder herself.

But Roland Thunder? Something about that didn’t ring true. Where would Logan have gotten a connection like that?

She left the beauty shop and started up the street to the hardware store to make another delivery while she turned the new information over in her mind. As she passed the barbershop, she saw Logan and Jack chatting with Cecil, to whom Slade had left the shop.

Slowing her step, she looked at the dog, sitting where he had always sat, though his head was tipped and his ears were cocked, as if he waited for Slade to come in at any moment and take him home.

The men in the shop looked up when she came in. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey, Carny,” Cecil said.

Logan grinned that big, irreverent grin. “Well, look who’s here, Jack.”

She bent to pet the dog. “How’s he doing?”

“About as well as you could expect. He’s a little confused. A little sad.”

“Do you think it was a good idea to bring him here?”

Logan shrugged. “I don’t know, but I figure a little familiarity never hurt anybody.”

“Maybe.” She straightened up, and sliding her hands into the pockets of her khaki shorts, said, “So what’s this I hear about Roland Thunder?”

Logan looked at the others, apparently waiting for someone else to answer, then said, “Well, it’s not a done deal yet. But we’re close.”

“We’ve even got a name for the park,” Cecil said. “Thunder Road.”

“Thunder Road? Don’t you think that’s a little silly?”

Logan laughed. “Hey, if he’s willing to invest millions of dollars, we’ll name it anything he wants.”

“And he really suggested Thunder Road?”

“Well … no,” Logan said. “Actually, that was sort of my idea. I haven’t run it by him yet. But he’s ninety percent committed, and I’m giving Serenity a few more days to invest. It’s not too late to throw some in, Carny.”

“I don’t think so, Brisco. How do you know Roland Thunder?”

“I don’t know him,” he said. “One of my investors, a bank down near Houston, does business with him, and he was looking for some new ventures. It was actually his idea. He got the idea from Dollywood. My investor decided to hook him up with us.”

“So, do you have a contract?”

Undaunted, he shook his head. “Nope. None of this is a done deal. It all depends on my getting enough enthusiasm here to convince my employers and bigger investors that Serenity’s the place to build it. Thunder can’t sign anything until they know for sure there’s going to be a park.”

It all sounded so pat, so logical, yet there wasn’t anything anywhere that could be verified as authentic — it was all based on Logan’s word. Logan had just appeared here out of nowhere, his company had never returned Carny’s calls to verify his employment, and no one in Serenity knew yet who the major investors were. Meanwhile, this man was taking money from her friends like there was no tomorrow.

“What if it all falls through?” she asked. “Do the investors really get their money back?”

“Of course.”

“With interest?”

He laughed. “No, not with interest. It’s a risk, and I’ve told everybody that. They won’t lose their money, but if the park falls through, they won’t make any, either.”

To Carny’s disappointment, this wasn’t the same man she had seen, ruffled and vulnerable, in his motel room last night. He was on stage now, all charm and salesmanship, the man with all the answers.

“You sure you don’t want to come in with us, Carny?” Cecil asked. “You stand to gain more than any of us in Serenity. You’ll have to expand the airport, and you could make a killing.”

“Not interested,” she said, going to the door. “I didn’t come to Serenity to get rich.”

“Well no, but wouldn’t it be nice if you did?”

“It’s kind of a moot point, isn’t it, Brisco?” she asked over her shoulder as she left the barbershop. And she knew, even as she walked away, that he watched her.

Driving home, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he had almost counted her among his marks. He had almost persuaded her, yesterday, that he was legitimate. He had almost made her think he was an honest man.

But he’d had on his con man mask today, that charismatic smile that hid the poison. She really didn’t know much about him, despite her research. And all she’d learned last night was that he’d met a man when he was fourteen …

Montague! That was the man’s name. And his last name … Montague … Montague Shelton! When his guard was down, when he hadn’t been covering up or putting on, when he’d only been himself, he’d revealed that name. Quickly, she turned her truck around and revved it, heading for the sheriff’s office to dig a little deeper into Logan Brisco’s past.


Joey Malone was Carny’s primary connection at the sheriff’s office, though she knew everyone there. Two of the six deputies had been past suitors whom she had finally shaken off, politely but firmly. Joey was the only survivor among them, and he was clearly pleased that she had decided to pay him a visit.

“I need a favor,” she said, when he’d bought her a Coke from the machine and offered her a seat at his desk. “I know you can help me.”

He smiled. “I’ll do anything you ask, Carny, you know that. Unless it’s illegal.”

“No, it’s not,” she said. “I want you to run a name through your computers. See if he has a record, any arrests, anything you could tell me.”

“I can do that,” he said. “Who is it?”

“Montague Shelton,” she said. “I don’t know if that’s his real name. Would his aliases be registered?”

“Maybe, if the FBI or somebody ever had reason to investigate him. What’s the deal? Is he one of your dad’s carnies?”

“No, no,” she said quickly. “This has nothing to do with my father. Actually, it’s a long story.”

Joey punched a few keys on his computer. “Let’s see,” he said, waiting for it to come up. “Montague Shelton …”

In a moment, the screen filled with data, and Joey stared at it, fascinated. “Wow. Look at that. Had charges under three aliases, plus his real name. Maurice Hinton, Shelton Ainsworth, and Sidney Moore. Died sixteen years ago.”

She stood behind Joey and scanned the screen. “Are those arrests?”

“Yeah,” Joey said, moving the cursor down. “Had one conviction in 1983 for mail fraud. Served six months.”

“Mail fraud,” she repeated. “That’s a con artist’s crime, huh?”

“Could be. Another conviction in 1985, for passing counterfeit checks. Only served three months that time.”

Both of those convictions would have been before he had taken Logan in. “Does it say anything about a partner?” she asked. “Any accessories to his crimes?”

He scanned the rest of the report and shook his head. “No, nothing. There is something else here, though. Apparently, between the time he got out of prison the last time and the time he died, there were twenty-four warrants out for his arrest.”

“Twenty-four?” she asked. “Where?”

“All over the states,” he said. “The charges range from theft by swindle to counterfeiting. Looks like he managed to evade the authorities until he died.”

For some reason she couldn’t name, Carny felt as if a fist had just punched through her stomach. Those were the years when Logan would have been with Shelton. And if Shelton had been involved in swindling, then Logan had been a part of it too.

And that meant she wasn’t wrong about him.

“Are you sure there’s no mention of anyone else in these arrest warrants?” she asked. “Maybe even a child? A teenage boy?”

“Nothing,” he said. “The FBI file might have something a little more detailed.”

“Joey, could you get that?” she asked. “It’s real important.”

He frowned. “Why? Who is this guy?”

She sighed and glanced around, making sure no one overheard them. “I think he was someone real close to Logan. In fact, he might have been his mentor. If I’m right, that gives us a big clue to Logan’s credibility. Please, Joey. Can you do this for me?”

He sat back in his chair and stared at Carny. “I’ll do my best, but I should tell you. I ran a check on Logan myself, just because you were so upset about him at the meeting. Turns out, he has no priors. None at all.”

“That only means he’s never been caught,” she said, getting to her feet. “And that may not be his real name. Call me when you get the file, Joey. And try to hurry. Serenity might be running out of time. If he leaves and takes all that money with him, we might never be able to find him again.”

“You’re assuming an awful lot, Carny.”

She looked at him sharply. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“Yeah, I’ll help you,” he said. “Just don’t get your hopes up. And I gotta tell you, I hope to God you’re wrong. My dad just cashed in his IRA and invested it with Brisco. And my uncle’s taking out a second mortgage on his house.”

Closing her eyes, she whispered, “Why is everyone so stupid?”

“Because they want it to be true. It would be such a good thing for Serenity if he can do what he says he can.”