CHAPTER TWENTY

Beast was wearing his ‘service dog' vest, forcing the circus ticket agents to allow him in. Although, one of the security men at the gate asked if he were a dog or a bear. Ani just smiled at him.

"A little of both. Strange crossbreeding," she laughed. He frowned at her, unsure if she was joking or for real.

"It's been years since I've been to a circus or carnival," said Erin. "Nine doesn't like the crowds."

"Alec doesn't either," said Lissa, "but he likes the food." She snapped a photo of the food trucks and texted it to him, knowing he would be jealous. A few minutes later, she got a text back.

Bring me back a funnel cake, corn dog, giant lemonade, churro, and one of those foot-long hot dogs.

Lissa just laughed, showing the women the text message. They all wanted to make a joke about ‘foot-long,' but Lissa beat them to it.

"I should have told him he already has a foot-long," she smiled.

"Girl, you beat me to the joke," said Ani.

Beast was by her side, behaving perfectly as he was trained to do. The smells were wonderful for him, but he knew this was all business. His vest told him that.

"Well, let's walk around, ladies," said Erin.

They walked toward a large outdoor circle where jugglers were competing in a number of events. Groups would juggle traditional things like balls, bowling pins, and other things. Then, the real events began. Chainsaws, knives, swords, even flaming objects.

The team applauded for each of the groups, noting that whatever was happening with O'Noth didn't seem to matter to these men and women. They were taking the competition seriously.

"Nine said that the O'Noth team was all in dark blue velvet. They didn't win that competition," said Lissa.

"I'm sure they'll be pissed about that," said Erin. "Let's keep moving. There's a lot more here than I thought there would be."

They took their time exploring the games, midway, and other attractions. They even had a museum of circus history, filled with images and exhibits on attractions and the start of circuses around the world.

By lunchtime, they found a shaded table where they ordered food from the food trucks and just watched the people passing by. Despite the heat and humidity, the event was packed. With children out of school, mothers were probably clamoring for something to keep them busy.

"Do you remember how excited you would get when school let out for summer break?" smirked Erin.

"Oh, yes!" said Lissa. "I was always happy about it because that meant I got to go to dance camp and extra dance classes. Silly, but it was my fun. At least my kind of fun. I would get to dance with some of the biggest names in dance theater around the world."

"It's not silly," said Erin. "The man who claimed he was my father didn't allow me to go to camps. I had to attend summer schools focused on science. It felt like I never got a break, but ironically, I didn't mind. It kept me away from him. When I was in middle school, one of the men assigned to guard me took me to a school fair. He was the only person that ever went against his orders."

"I hate that for you," said Ani. "Being raised in Hawaii, we didn't get to do a lot of camps or extra stuff that cost money. Noa went to football camps a lot, but I'm not sure that was fun. My sisters worked with my mother and grandmother selling crafts and working tours for the visitors. I went to hula lessons, which I hated."

The women all laughed, staring at the athletic svelte body of Ani.

"I don't know," smiled Rose, "I'd say those lessons worked out for you. I'd kill for your body, and if hula does that, then sign me up. Maybe you should start offering classes at the dance studio. I'd bet a lot of women would sign up for that."

"Well, thank you, but we all have things we liked or didn't like about ourselves. It's definitely something I have my husband to thank for, a strong body image," said Ani.

"Same," nodded Erin.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" asked Lissa. She pointed to a growing crowd around a small ring.

"Not sure, but let's check it out," said Erin.

They tossed their trash and grabbed their drinks, walking toward the crowd of people. With Erin, Lissa, and Ani being taller than Rose, they were able to see what was happening.

"It's monkeys," smiled Lissa. "They're dancing with them."

"That seems cruel," frowned Rose. "Isn't it?"

"I'm not sure. They seem to be responding to the music. They have blue velvet collars on," said Lissa.

They watched as the monkeys danced and danced. When they asked for volunteers to dance with them, a few young boys stepped forward. They danced for a few moments, and then the monkeys walked them back to their spots. When the monkeys turned, you could tell that they were looking for someone in particular.

"Are they trained to find people?" whispered Rose.

"It looks like they are. Look. Those two just grabbed the hand of a woman with two children," said Erin.

"They didn't take the kids," whispered Ani. Turning, she looked at Rose and Lissa. "Make your way around the circle and stand with those kids. Don't let them out of your sights."

The women nodded and slowly moved around the circle until they were standing behind the children.

The woman was laughing, waving at her children as the monkeys danced with her. When the music stopped, a man walked over and grabbed her hand, telling her to take a bow. She laughed, thanking him for the chance to laugh with her children.

The monkeys walked back toward the woman, each one grabbing her hand.

"Where is she going?" asked Ani.

"I don't know," frowned Erin. "Why is she going with them?"

"Shit. The monkeys are taking her away. What is she doing?" Ani tried to cross the barrier of the ring, but a security guard pushed her back, shaking his head.

"You have to go around, ma'am."

"Damnit," she muttered. Erin was hot on her heels as they passed Lissa and Rose. "Stay with them." The two women nodded, kneeling beside the children.

"Where did they go?" asked Erin to Ani.

"I can't see them anymore. This damn crowd. Comms? Can you see them on the drone?" she asked.

"Can't see anything except heads," said Code. "There are dozens of monkeys, and they all are clasping someone's hand."

"Shit!"

They wandered around the tent as far as security would let them, then walked toward the monkey cages but saw nothing. The woman and the monkeys were nowhere to be found.

The two women went back to where they'd left Rose and Lissa. They were deep in conversation with the children, laughing with them as they animatedly spoke about the monkeys dancing. Rose had purchased two lemonades for them.

"Thank you, ma'am," said the little boy. "Mama said we didn't have money for lemonade today. We brought water."

"Water is very good for you," smiled Rose. "It's very hot, so water was a smart choice. But sometimes lemonade is a great treat as well."

The children both had caramel skin and beautiful ringlets of hair. Their Mulato and Creole heritage was shining through. They hadn't gotten a good look at the mother, but her hair was identical to that of her children.

"Where is Mama?" asked the little girl.

"You know, I think she might have gone to get some food for you," said Erin with a smile.

"Oh, good. Cuz we're hungry."

"Sheila!"

"What, Devon? I'm hungry."

"It's alright, Devon. Would you two like a hot dog?" asked Ani. They both smiled, nodding at the women. "Let's go sit in the shade. We'll be close when your mom comes back."

The children ate three hot dogs each, a plate of nachos, a churro each, and two more lemonades. When Ani and Erin were unable to find a trace of the woman, they had to call in fairgrounds security and the police.

As it turned out, the children and their mother lived with their grandmother. They lived in low-income housing, and today was a day that the mother had saved for weeks to give the children. When the grandmother appeared, the children ran to her, sobbing.

"It's alrigh'," she cooed, hugging them. "I'm here. Granny is here."

"We're so sorry to call you," said Erin.

"Are you the police?" she asked.

"No, ma'am. We just saw your daughter walk off with the monkeys and noticed the children were alone. We're all mothers, so we couldn't leave them."

"I appreciate you so much," she said with tears in her eyes. "They got no one ‘cept their mama and me."

"Granny, the pretty ladies bought us hot dogs and lemonade and churros!" said little Sheila.

"Oh, that's fine," smiled the older woman. "That was real nice of y'all."

"Would your daughter have walked away like that?" asked Ani. The old woman looked down at the children and then away from them. Rose smiled at them and took their hands.

"If your Granny says it's okay, why don't we go and get one of those cups of fruit," she smiled. Their granny gave them a nod, and the children happily went with Rose.

"My Shondra is a good girl. A bit lost sometimes, but she's a good mama. She was workin' at the grocery and got laid off, which is why she was stayin' with me. Her no-good husband left her about two years ago. Doesn't give her a damn dime for them babies."

"We're so sorry," said Erin.

"No. No, don't be sorry. He was worthless. She was lookin' for another job, and I told her to take the babies to the circus today. They all deserved a day off. She didn't have much, but together we got enough for tickets. They packed a sack lunch and water bottles. Broke my heart she couldn't afford even a sno-cone."

"Would she have left her children?" asked Ani.

"Never. Never in a million years. Them babies are her everything. She'd do anything for them. I don't know what happened to her, but my daughter ain't no deadbeat mama."

"We didn't think she was," said Erin. "We think something strange is happening here as well."

"I need to get the babies home," she said, wiping her tears back. "I gotta get them bathed and somehow explain that Mama is away for a while. Don't know what I'm gonna say to them. Ain't nothin' to say."

"Ma'am, before you go, do you have anything that belonged to your daughter? I mean, like a t-shirt or jacket. Something that the dog could get a sniff of?"

The woman nodded, walking back to her car and returning with a blanket. She handed it to Erin.

"This was hers. She and the kids used to lay on it in the front yard countin' stars at night. Cutest damn thing you ever saw. She was a good mama. A good mama."

The woman walked away, hugging the children as Rose handed them their fruit cups. She shook Rose's hand and led the children toward her car. A police officer followed her, handing her his business card. When they were gone, Lissa and Rose looked down at Beast.

"Time to work, boy."