“Well, it is,” Gideon replied simply.
“I know, I know, and I’ll take care of it all,” Della Jane persisted. “I’ll get animal control to do their jobs and take care of whatever’s been harassing you out here, and I’ll get the cops to lay off you.”
Gideon scratched the side of his head and seemed to consider it for a moment. “Perhaps we should just cut our losses. We can accept half the agreed-upon payment, and we’ll head out.”
“The contract’s very specific, and I don’t think the mayor would just let you out of it.” She frowned. “Unfortunately, it’s all or nothing.
“But we can fix this,” Della Jane went on excitedly. “If you come down to the sheriff’s office around”—she paused, checking her gold Rolex—“eleven, we can talk to them and get this all cleared up. How does that sound?”
“Doesn’t seem that I have much of a choice,” Gideon muttered. “I’ll be there.”
Della Jane shook his hand, promising that this would all be taken care of soon, and it’d all be worth it. She waved as she left, like a beauty contestant in a parade float.
“You heard all of that, so there’s no reason to recap,” Gideon said, speaking to anyone who might be listening. “Open up today, like normal, and I’ll try to have this all taken care of by tonight.”
“I’m not opening up,” Jackie said, shaking her head. “It’s not safe for a child here. I’m not staying.”
Gideon nodded once. “If you still want to be a part of this carnival, we’ll see you in Houston.” He paused. “Anyone else that wants to join her, go ahead. I won’t have your blood on my hands. But I’m staying, so I can keep a roof over our heads.”
38. rotten
“It’s like a ghost town,” Roxie said, staring out at the half-empty campsite. Luka stood a few feet in front of us, waving wildly at his boyfriend, who was inside the retreating trailer along with the rest of the Phoenixes.
Almost half the carnival had pulled up stakes and gotten out of town, including Betty Bates and her husband, Damon. That didn’t count Carrie, Seth, Zeke, and the tigers, who had already gone to Houston.
Most of the midway workers stayed, since Doug Bennett refused to pay anyone anything if they left, but Gideon offered partial compensation to all who felt too threatened to stay.
Gideon had left for the meeting at the sheriff’s office a half hour before, around the same time Roxie returned with Hutch. The doctors had stitched him up and assured him that he’d be no worse for wear, and Hutch was now doped up on pain meds and sleeping soundly in his motorhome.
“I must be crazy for staying,” Roxie said with an exasperated sigh.
“What else are we gonna do?” Luka asked, walking back over to us since the Phoenixes’ trailer was out of sight. “Your trailer is trashed, and I’m the only one working now to support three people.”
“We need to find this thing and stop it.” I’d been sitting on the steps in front of Roxie’s Airstream, but I stood up now. “We need to get it before it gets us.”
“That is a great idea, but how exactly are we gonna do that?” Roxie asked. “We don’t even know what it is.”
“When we visited Leonid Murphy, he seemed to have a few ideas about what was happening in Caudry,” I said.
“Yeah, but he also seemed kinda crazy and a little strung out,” Luka reminded me with a grimace. “Not to mention that his apartment reeked really bad.”
“The creature is getting bolder. It broke through the window right above Roxie’s bed.” I pointed to the shattered glass, and Roxie shivered involuntarily. “We have to stop it before somebody gets killed.”
Roxie chewed her lip for a moment, then nodded. “We can take my truck.”
“I’ll stay back with Hutch,” Luka said. “There’s no way I want to deal with that stench again.”
I hurried to tell my mom where I was going so she wouldn’t panic, but she didn’t really have much to say. She was otherwise preoccupied with trying to get the carnival going when half the acts had skipped out.
As we drove through town in Roxie’s beat-up Chevy, she sang along to Madonna. I leaned my elbow out the window, relishing the way the wind helped cool the sweat that clung to my skin. Despite the heat, I felt a permanent chill inside me, like my heart had frozen solid.
“What are we gonna do if Leonid doesn’t know anything?” Roxie asked once the song ended.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head.
We’d reached the Blue Moon Bar & Grill, and, at my request, Roxie parked her truck on the far side of the parking lot, where Gabe’s dad would be less likely to notice me. She turned off the ignition, but we both sat inside for a minute.