Picture Perfect 73
A car pulled into the park lot. On the roof was an illuminated taxi sign that had been repainted with a crude rending of a donairs on one side and Dumphy’s on the other.
He paid for it, tipped generously, as it was Quintex money anyway. He sat at one of the picnic tables outside the breakfast diner and ate the meal. It tasted better when he didn’t have to see it.
Cameron came out of the dark. “I’ll have to speak to Baxter about this place. Those cabins are rough. I don’t what it is about them but I can’t stand being in one for more than an hour before I’m ready to climb the walls.”
“Ditto.”
“Funny what people will do to get in the credits for a TV show.”
“How so?”
“Locations swung a deal with places. In return for discount, or in this case free, they get mentioned in the credits for the show.’
“Like catering by so and so.”
“Exactly but no catering service is stupid enough to give food away for credits that they know full well no one reads. Owners here didn’t know that. Baxter convinced them it would be good for the tourist trade. We have to shoot an interview here in return.
Dan laughed. “You should be filming me now eating out here. I can move so the sign is over my shoulder.”
“Don’t have a night vision camera.”
“One think to be thankful for or we’d be skulking around at night with Jennifer Devereaux looking for the emanations of the departed.”
“Keep that one to yourself or we’ll end up doing just that.” Cameron gave a little laugh. “Seriously, can I ask you something?”
“Uncut. Versatile?” Dan said.
“What!” Cameron laughed. “No. Never mix work with play. What do you think happened to those children? You always ask that question so I was wondering what you think?”
“I think they are dead.”
“Yes but I mean what happened to their bodies? One never being found I can understand but not this many.”
“Bones have been found in the strangest of places decades centuries after the fact.”
“So you think they are in some cave somewhere? Or in a freezer in someone’s basement?”
“That’s a question you should ask Jennifer. When I was in the Force I never dealt with a cold case of this type. Here we’re trying to make connections as we sift though data, not bones.”
“Baxter would crap his pants if we found remains somewhere though wouldn’t he? In some farmer’s field.”
“There are no unplowed fields in this area, trust me.”
‘Yeah, but you know what I mean.”
“Yes I know. Don’t give him any ideas though or some unidentified remains are likely to show up. There enough drama going on now.”
“Unidentified Remains – sound like a great show title.” Cameron got up from the table. “See you in the morning.”
<>
Winston Chamberlain was waiting for them in the Circus Museum parking lot.
“We’re closed on Monday’s” he said. “But Baxter was so insistent I said I’d talk with you today just to shut him up. We’ll go in the side way. Fewer locks to deal with.”
Inside he gave Cameron a quick tour of the various exit halls and the rides.
“Choice stuff. Let’s sit you two here.” Cameron said. “I can get that merry-go-round frmm one side of you, the Hippo Dog stand from the other.”
“This is to be an interview?” Winston asked. “I thought you just want to check this out for locations.”
“It shouldn’t take too long.” Cameron said.”We never know when we’ll get something we can use.”
“Don’t I have to sign some sort of release.” Winston brushed his hair flat. “How do I look.”
“I have release forms here in my equipment bag.” Cameron rummaged in it and pulled out some forms.
Winston read them over.
“Its really standard stuff.” Cameron explained. “We can’t use this in any other context except the show. If you divulge anything relating to illegal activities we have to inform the authorities.”
“Okay.” He signed where Cameron indicated.
“Your family owned the Happy Hippo Carnivals?” Dan began.
“Yes.” Winston’s expression changed as the camera started. His irritated smile quickly became garrulous & inviting.
“This museum is a way of preserving them.”
“That’s right Dan. All of the exhibits come from my Father’s need to accumulate. He was a sort of circus hoarder. He couldn’t throw anything away.”
“You worked in the carnival as a boy?”
“Yes. I spent a few summers with the tours. I learned all about the Hippo from the ground up because my dad wanted me to take it over eventually. But, well, it went bankrupt before that could happen.”
“Did you enjoying working the midway?”
“Oh, yeah. I loved the games, the rides. The way the rides worked fascinated me. The gears and mechanics.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t become a mechanical engineer.”
“I did consider it but once the circus folded I didn’t see myself wanting to join any of the other carnivals. You know, move to Toronto to work at the CNE.”
“Does this bring back any memories for you?” Dan handed him a copy of the photo of him and Theresa.
“That’s me! Where did you get this! Man I look so young there.”
“You were young. Around fourteen.”
“I must have really dug that girl.”
“You don’t remember her? Stoney.”
He looked up from the picture. “Jesus. That’s right I used to call myself Stoney so no one would know I was the owner’s son.”
“Used to tell them you were nineteen as well.”
“I might have. Easier to get laid when you tell them you are nineteen.”
“There were rumours about you.”
“Such as?”
“You had a … hankering for younger girls. I mean younger than the one in this picture.”
“Fuck where did you dig that up.”
“I didn’t dig it up. I wasn’t even looking for it when, there it was.”
“What was I thirteen or fourteen year old kid. I might have looked up the skirts of girls my age on the ferris wheel when I was checking their straps. Who didn’t do that. They weren’t that much younger than me.”
“Right.”
Dan was amused to see how completely Winston’s camera personality disappeared as he become defensive.
“Are you trying to implicate me in this case?” Winston snapped.
“Not at all. Did you hear anything about them at the time?”
“Only that they had happened.” He took a deep breath. “That was after the fact too I might add. Didn’t know there that many either.”
“Apparently only one person did.”
“Who?” Winston asked.
“The abductor.” He looked to Cameron. “I think we’ve got enough here.” He glanced at his cell. “We have to get to the Moncton Municipal Hospital for the O’Connor interview.”
Cameron slung his shoulder mounted camera off and stored it in the equipment bag.
“Sorry I put you on the spot there Winston.”
“Sorry! You fucking accused me of being a child molester. If anyone ever sees that I’ll fucking sue you and Qunitex for everything you’ve got. Now march you asses out of here.” His shouts echoed in the hall. “In fact, if anything about the Hippos is mentioned in your fucking TV show I’ll shut you down so hard you’ll wish you’d never met me.”
<>
In the car Cameron shook his hand. “That was one of the best reveals I have ever witnessed.”
“Reveals?”
“He was so cooperative while the camera was on but the minute he thought it was off he went off.”
“Thought? You mean you got all that?”
“Oh yeah.” He took off his baseball hat. There was a wire from the front and circling the inner brim. “That Qunitex logo isn’t just for looks. The lens remote feeds directly into this baby.” He indicated his equipment bag.
“You’re as bad as me.” Dan turned up the collar of his interview sports coat to show the remote for his camera.
“That’s not Q issue is it? Where’s the lens.”
“No, it’s not and the lens is a trade secret. There’s something going on there though. And someone tinkered with my rental car the last time I was here. He wasn’t with me every minute I was here that time.”
“He certainly has something to hide.” Cameron said. “You might want to talk with that Theresa again. She had more to say. I could tell that when we left her at the park.”
“Yeah I’d like to talk with her again too. Now, back to Waterside then on to hospital.”
“Cut or uncut?” Cameron asked. “Winston I mean.”
“Winston? I’d say uncut. Why? Are you interested.”
“I didn’t get such a good look at that picture of him before. You sure he didn’t have a career in porn.”
“That’s something I never thought to check.”
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