Read Foul Play at the Fair for Free Online Page B

arm and came to stand by Liv.
    “What’s going on?”
    “Remember me telling you about when Dolly was young?”
    “Yes.”
    Ted lifted his chin toward the dead juggler. “Well. That’s Joss’s brother, Pete.”
    Liv frowned at him. “Joss’s brother? I thought he was a Zoldosky brother.”

Chapter Four
    “If only he were,” Ted said, shaking his head.
    Liv stepped closer and peered over Bill’s shoulder. There was a definite resemblance to Joss. The dead man was thinner, rougher looking; life had not been kind to him. And neither had death. Blood smeared his cheek and made a sickening contrast with the white greasepaint.
    And even more sickening was the fact that was slowly seeping into Liv’s brain. The man didn’t hit his head and climb into the barrel for a nap. Someone had put him there, the same someone who had hit him over the head hard enough to kill him. Because, now that she had forced herself to look closer, she could see the bloodied, matted hair above his right ear.
    Her stomach roiled, and she swayed on her feet. Joss’s brother had been murdered.
    Bill straightened and shuffled to face them. Perspiration had broken out on his forehead. “Joss, when do the rest of your people come on shift?”
    “What?” Joss blinked hard several times. “Most of theguys are over at the new mill already. The first shift starts at five. Donnie and I set up everything here; then Ronnie and Earl Weaver come in around eight thirty to run the electric mill for the tourists.”
    He ran a big hand over his face, leaving a streak of white paint and blood across his cheek. “Fiona Higgins keeps the register, and I hire a couple of teenagers to help out on the weekends. They come in at nine.”
    Bill looked around the room. “I’m sorry, Joss. But you better call them all and tell them not to come in today.”
    “I…Of course.”
    “Ted, you and Ms. Montgomery take Joss back to the house and wait for me.”
    “I’ll make the calls,” Ted said and took Joss’s elbow.
    Joss pushed him away. “I’m not leaving. That’s my brother. Good God, that’s my brother,” he repeated as if it had just sunk in. “What the hell is he doing back here and dressed like a goddamned clown?”
    Liv realized that he’d been working at the store all day yesterday and hadn’t been in town to know about the jugglers.
    She doubted if anybody would have recognized him after thirty years. It wasn’t until Joss had removed the whiteface that he recognized him. And though Liv could see the resemblance between the two brothers now, she would never have guessed it without seeing them together.
    She glanced at Ted and remembered his reaction to the jugglers the day before. She’d called his name twice to get his attention; then he’d gone back to confront the juggler. For what reason?
    Joss was shocked, but Ted didn’t even seem slightly surprised. Was that because he’d recognized Pete the day before?
    Ted caught her eye, looked away. “Come on, Joss. Let Bill do his job.”
    “I don’t understand,” Joss said, holding his ground.
    Neither did Liv. What was Pete doing in Joss’s store? Hemust have come straight from the festival since he was still wearing his costume and makeup. The store would have been closed by then. If he wanted to see his brother, why didn’t he go to the house?
    And that is for the police to figure out
, she reminded herself. Solving a murder didn’t come with her job description. Though she’d have to do something about stopping it from becoming public knowledge. If it got out that there was a murderer loose, it could kill the weekend. It could kill the town’s reputation and their main source of income as surely as someone had killed Pete Waterbury.
    There was a commotion outside, the sound of footsteps, and three faces appeared in the doorway.
    Bill Gunnison groaned. “Folks, could you all move back? This, I’m sorry to say, is a crime scene.”
    “A crime scene?” Amanda Waterbury, still