Black Paradise Circus #2: A Pile of Bones

By CS Patra

Meet the girls of Portman's Creameries as they tackle one of their biggest cases. Join Irene, Chrissie, Pippa, Becca, Mary Beth, Stacey, and Winky as they step into the Black Paradise Circus and the strange mystery ahead.

After one of the kidnapped children is found gruesomely murdered, the stakes go up and everyone realizes they are running short on time. Irene refuses to come out of her room as she deals with demons from her past. Secrets are dug up from the circus grounds which makes the girls realize how close they are to the circus itself. Who are these people? What are they hiding? Things continue to get harder as they work to keep the circus on their side while trying to solve the case.

All the same, the main problem remains; the children are missing. Will the girls be able to find them before it's too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: CS Patra
• Release date: Sep 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311856364

CS Patra

Grace Templeton has been writing for a long time and is the author of many series. Her books include the Operation: Genome series, The Reaper's Apprentices series, Cirque Macabre series, The Portman's Creamery Mysteries, Patterns and Parallels series, and the recently added Ghosts of Burning Inn. She currently lives in NC.

Book preview

Portman Creameries Cases

Black Paradise Circus #2:

A Pile of Bones

For my girls, Isa and Chris

Cover design by pro-ebook covers

Editing by TCB Editing

Copyright @ CS Patra

September 2015

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 1

The work week started off normal for the women working in Portman’s Creamery. They didn’t have too many customers, so it was slow. No one minded though because it gave them time to think. The ice cream was run by Irene and Chrissie Garcia-Galvan and they were always able to keep money rolling in. Even in the winter, they were standing strong. Now that they were selling warmer products along with ice cream, people were coming in. Not only were they satisfying customers, but they always made their ice cream fresh from scratch. Never did they want to give their customers something that was days old. It meant a lot of work, but it was worth it.

At least it had been worth it. Pippa Langham, Becca Miyamoto, Mary Beth Pearson, Stacey McKinnon, and Winky Smith had always loved working in the shop. They didn’t mind having to put in hours because it meant more money. However, their spirits had been dampened and no one wanted to work. No one felt like putting in effort to make ice cream that no one was buying. The customers stopped coming around lately and the five of them didn’t feel like trying to bring in business. They had something else that was on their minds.

Portman’s Creamery was a lively place during warmer weather. Spring and summer had customers coming at all hours of the day. They sometimes struggled to find time for their other job; being detectives. They all had a love for mysteries and had read up on all kinds of crimes. They knew when to look for clues and to pay attention to anything that was unusual. A lot of people didn’t know about the side job unless they told them. For their part, they didn’t brag about the help they gave the police. It just didn’t feel right to brag about this. Not to mention, they didn’t want any unnecessary attention. They already got looks from suspects and detectives. Most people just tolerated them because of how good they were at their job.

The ice cream business itself was very slow, but now the detective business had slowed down with it. They had been working on a case that had stalled because of personal issues. Most of the issues had been with Irene. She was the one who opted to get out of the case without telling anyone. She dropped the case and decided to distance herself from everything. However, Chrissie wasn’t about to drop it. She took over as soon as Irene left. They had come too far to throw in the towel. They weren’t the kind of detectives to stop working just because they had come across a roadblock. It was as her father had said in the past; if there was something in the way, they had to get around it.

At the moment, everyone was back at the shop and trying to find ways to kill time. Chrissie stared at all the ice cream that was behind the glass. Very little of it had been scooped up and served today. If anyone came in, it was to have some coffee or a milkshake at most. This was one of the worst things when it came to running an ice cream shop. Summertime gave them a lot of business while winter made it feel like a ghost town.  Irene was the one who suggested that they started selling coffee and warm drinks so they could get extra revenue during that time. This was a good idea as it brought in more customers. However, it wasn’t enough so they had turned to solving cases. Normally, they would be focused on the latest case they had been given. The problem was that they didn’t have a case anymore.

I can’t believe Irene acted like that. Chrissie thought as she looked up at the menu. They hadn’t changed much except for the prices. Irene had made things a little more expensive just so they could cover everything. That had to be another reason for the lack of customers. Some of them wouldn’t pay this price for their coffee when Starbucks was down the street. She contemplated changing the prices but went against it. It wasn’t going to change what had happened. She was more upset over Irene’s behavior with their last case. Her mind went to what could have gone wrong.

It had started when their old friend, Chase Owen, came over with a case that was troubling him. Children were disappearing from all over the country and he only had one clue; the Black Paradise Circus. As luck would have it, the circus was schedule to perform in town that week. The police had managed to get them to stay a little longer and offered a refund to those who bought tickets to later shows. The girls tried to find evidence, but it was difficult. Eventually, Irene had asked them to work without the police noticing. Becca pretended to be a clown while infiltrating the circus, while the others tried to search the grounds. They were certain the circus was behind everything; all they needed was some solid proof.

When Chase came around with information, they used what they could find anything. The big problem was that nothing gave them answers. It wasn’t until they went to the circus grounds that things escalated. The body of one of the missing children, Johnny Brandon, had been found. It was in such a gruesome state that Irene fainted upon hearing what happened. The case was getting to her since it reminded her of a horrible incident in the past. Once the body was found, everything was closed off and the police were now working nonstop. The girls also decided that they had to pull out all stops and focus on the case. The store hours were shorter and the only time anyone went anywhere was when they went to class. Their plan had been to take the case, solve it, and then go back to normal. Everything was going fine until one small slip up. Winky ended up mentioning the work they were doing behind the scenes and it went tohell from there.

The worst part was Chase’s reaction to the whole thing. Normally, if they did something he didn’t approve of, he would roll his eyes, sigh, and tell them not to do it again. Those were times where he would get annoyed, but would understand why they did what they did. When he learned that they gone behind his back this time, his face went red and he became infuriated. They tried their best to calm him down, but Irene decided to push his buttons harder. She soon told him that they were no longer working together. The friendship had been broken and Irene was in a foul mood since the blow out. She no longer wanted anyone's help on the case. That just left Chrissie to handle the mess. She didn't want to take drastic measures, but it had to be done.

Right now, she was trying to clean the counter while the others were either reading up on the missing children or trying to study. Winky was the only one who was trying to eat anything. She had her tea while reading a book in German. In addition to the case, Irene insisted that they learn German since one of their biggest suspects spoke it. The Black Paradise crew all admitted that they owed their lives to their ‘father’. He wasn’t really their father but they treated him and called him as such. Chrissie and Pippa had a chance to speak to him and were surprised by how well he spoke. He understood what they were saying, but didn’t give them much to go on. He just told them that the circus was his family and they needed his help. That much of the story matched what everyone else had said. Father was their savior and he cared about them.

You don’t really have to read that book, Winky. Chrissie said. Their father will understand you when you ask him questions.

Maybe so, but I feel like he might not have told you everything. If I could understand his German better, maybe I’d know what he’s really saying. I feel like something is getting lost in translation, Winky murmured. She brushed a strand of her gray hair behind her ear. You know, maybe I should infiltrate the circus too. At the very least, I should go on a date with Calico.

Chrissie nearly dropped the ice cream scoop that she was cleaning. Calico, the circus leader, seemed to have an interest in Winky, but this was the first time Winky seemed interested in him. For one, he was younger than her. For another, she had been denying that he liked her. This was a brand new development. I beg your pardon?

Just for research purposes! Think about it. You all claim that he likes me so I think if I asked him for coffee or something, he’d say yes, Winky suggested. It wouldn’t really be a date. It would be like two friends going out for coffee.

Eh, Winky, I hate to break it to you, but you guys aren’t friends. Going out for coffee is stuff that we do, Pippa explained. Even if you did go out with him, what makes you think he may not want to take things a step further? Forget about age and all that. What will we do if he decides to be romantic? What are you going to do if he has other ideas?

Winky rolled her eyes at that. I don’t think that’s going to be the case. He’s just impressed by me.

Uh-huh, Stacey rolled her eyes. If you do ask him out, you have to be careful. Chase has already given us a warning if we interfere. I’d hate to see you get arrested for that.

That’s the thing though. I’m really going to ask him out, Winky said. There’s no reason why I can’t do that. I’m going as someone who likes him and wants to get to know him.

What if people take it the wrong way? Mary Beth asked. You are way older than he is. No offense but people are not going to take that well.

I’m not making out with him. I just want to talk. Yeesh! Winky sighed. Anyway, does anyone have a number for the circus or something? There’s got to be a way to call them at least. I mean, how about the people who handle the tickets?

You can try to call them, Winky, but I don’t know how much they’ll be able to give you, Chrissie said. Still, you might have a good idea. Talk to him in private. Don’t bring up the case. Just get to know him. There’s no harm in doing that. You’re technically not working then.

All right! Winky exclaimed. Now that we’ve settled that, what do you want us to do next?

While you handle that, we need to look up information on Johnny Brandon's disappearance first. See if you can find anything on Evie Waller and Becky Wu while you're at it. Chase gave some bits, but not enough. If I can figure out when Johnny was taken, we'd have a better time frame.

Stacey began looking for everything she could find. Most news stations mentioned his disappearance about three months ago. Granted, I don't know if that's really when he disappeared, but it's a start.

If only we could talk to Chase and see what the medical examiner found... Mary Beth sighed. Maybe we should try and talk to him. He's mostly mad at Irene. She's the one who cut things off, not us.

Chrissie shook her head. Let me try to talk to him. Seeing how angry he was, he may not be willing to listen to anyone. I think I can calm him down and tell him that Irene didn't mean it. She was just under a lot of stress.

Yeah, she is, Becca agreed. She's taking this one hard for a reason.

Pippa looked up with interest. What do you mean by that?

The others looked at each other. When Irene had mentioned her abduction, Chrissie and Pippa had been out of the shop. Irene had asked them not to tell her sister, but it was high time she knew. Stacey decided to lean back in her chair and took a deep breath.

There's a reason Irene's into this case. You see she had an experience similar to what the kids had, Becca began. That’s why she’s completely immersed into this. It’s triggering her.

Chrissie was confused. Why didn’t anyone tell me that sooner?

That’s because we didn’t know until now, Stacey shrugged. You guys were at the station when Irene mentioned it. Afterwards, we headed down to the circus grounds and that’s when we heard about Johnny Brandon’s body. She told us that she had been kidnapped when she was sitting on the front porch. Apparently, she went to get ice cream and they took her away. She didn’t go into too much detail, but it was hours before she was found. You were apparently a baby so that’s probably why you didn’t know about it.

My parents never told me Chrissie murmured. I heard that Irene used to be a lot more outgoing, but she went quiet all of a sudden. They tried for years to get her back to her old self, but it didn’t work. I guess I understand why now.

Sorry you had to find out from us, Mary Beth apologized. I know it’s a lot to take in.

On the contrary, it makes a lot of sense now. Everything about Irene is starting to make more sense. She sat down. I just wish I had known sooner. Maybe I could have helped her out. I know it wouldn’t change what happened but she could have some more support. I could be there for her.

I think Irene wants to fight this on her own, Pippa said. You know, maybe we should keep her out of the case. It’s clearly triggering her. It’s hurting her in a way that none of us knew about until now. Maybe we should let her sit this out.

It doesn’t matter if we let her do anything; Irene refuses to come out of her room, Chrissie sighed. "Ever