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surely survive this one. The show will go on."
    Carlson has asked that anyone with any information should contact the Bayfield County Sheriff's Department. "We have no further comment at this time. The Chautauqua organization will fully cooperate with the investigation," Carlson commented.
    Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua produces and presents a summer season of concerts, plays, and lectures, and a highly acclaimed professional local troupe, which performs original multimedia musicals in the Tent and on tour. The three-month summer schedule includes performances by renowned national, regional, and touring musicians. Opening night is scheduled for this Thursday evening.
    Finishing her cup of coffee and feeling restless, Deb decided to walk Strider, her golden retriever, and to stop to see Pat. Despite her thoughts and fantasies of travel, Deb just couldn't stop thinking about the dead body that had been found in the canvas at the Big Top. She wondered how the poor soul had ended up hidden in that barn for so long without being missed.

    At the same time as Deb was walking Strider, Sal Burrows and Gary LeSeur were sitting on either side of a desk in the sheriff's office, discussing the discovery of the dead body.
    "Technically, the coroner is calling it a death by a blunt instrument, used with great force directly to the face. Can't she just tell me what it was and whether or not it was murder? Jeez Louise, why did I ever take this freaking job in the first place? I could have stayed with you in Ashland. But no, I wanted to be in charge of my own place. Well, this is working out
real
well! Two weeks into the job in Bayfield County, a place where, need I remind you, they assured me nothing ever happens, and I'm trying to figure out how a six- to eight-month-old decomposing body could have gotten into our major tourist attraction! The mayor has called me six times, and don't even ask how many times Phil has called. Who murdered him? We don't even know who it is yet. Help." The young detective looked as bad as he sounded as he slumped down in his new chair.
    "Calm down, Sally," LeSeur said soothingly. "No one expects you to solve it in five minutes. You're going to do great, and now that the okay has come down, we can do this together." He patted his young former deputy on the shoulder sympathetically.
    "But what do we do?" Sal wailed, slamming down his coffee cup.
    "Settle," his former boss said a little bit more firmly. "First, we have already done a lot. We've secured the scene, had the coroner in, and talked to the volunteers who were helping yesterday. And we can safely say 'murder' because no dead person ever accidentally rolled himself up in a piece of eight-by-ten-foot tent canvas." He took a breath and relaxed his shoulders—the yoga technique that Deb had taught his wife surely did help him, too, even though he didn't want her to know.
    "Right," the younger man said, leaning forward on the desk. "So what now?"
    "Now, we roll up our sleeves and get to work. And as much as I shudder at the thought, we bring in those two women who discovered the body and find out what they remember."
    "You mean ...? Oh, no! Those two are like melting chocolate—they stick to everything. Oh, why did I take this job?"
    Growling, LeSeur stood up and handed Sal the phone. "Call Deb first," he instructed. "She's the saner of the two. And stop whining. Take it like a man. After all, they did give you a dollar-fifty-an-hour raise."
    Grinning, Sal picked up the phone directory to look for the number. "Hey, Suzie," he called into the next room, "can you bring us another pot of coffee? I think we're going to need it."

Pat got up even earlier than usual on Monday morning and went out on her side deck. She had made herself a pot of Sister's Choice coffee. Sunday had been a long day and an even longer night after discovering the body. She still didn't know who it was—the Tent's gossip mill hadn't reached her yet. Even though it was a sunny day, Pat