We had prepared to go to the circus and were coming out of our rooms. I was wearing a short, pale pink dress, Lavinia in a long navy blue dress, and Daisy in a pale blue gown with a white ribbon. We walked past the boys' room just as they were coming out.
"Yes, we will." George was saying, and I saw him roll his eyes.
They exited their room and saw us immediately.
"Alexander's grandmother is annoying." said George.
"She really is." Alexander rolled his eyes.
Just then, we saw Amelia coming out of her own room, shouting to her father.
"Bye dad! I'm going out with some of my friends. Daisy, Hazel, Lavinia, George, and Alexander!"
"Oka- who are Lavinia, George, and Alexa- where are you even going?" I heard a puzzled male voice calling back. For a moment, as I saw Amelia close the door behind her, her room key sticking out of her pocket, I felt a bit sorry for him.
I saw Uncle Felix whisper something in Daisy's ears that made her go slightly pink.
"No, Uncle Felix." she whispered back. "We are not planning anything suspicious. We're just going out to the circus like very close friends."
She said the last part almost sarcastically, and I panicked slightly, but then I saw that Daisy's eyes were fixed on Alexander as she spoke and I relaxed.
"Okay, okay." Uncle Felix said, although he did not sound entirely convinced.
We arrived at the circus (somehow, we all managed to cram in the car - Daisy and Uncle Felix sat in the front, whereas Lavinia, Amelia, George, Alexander, and I were forced into the back) just before the show started. It was quite boring, considering we had watched it already. Then, halfway through Lola's performance, Daisy whispered to me, "You and George use the bathrooms in five."
I nodded, and said this to Lavinia, who whispered it to Amelia, and so on.
After five minutes, like Daisy had said, I whisper-shouted, "Uncle Felix, I need to use the bathroom. I'll be back quickly."
Uncle Felix tutted. "Really, Hazel? We have two minutes until the break."
"It's desperate." I begged.
"Alright. Do you know where the bathroom is?" he asked.
"No." I responded untruthfully. I knew where the bathroom was, just outside the circus where the tents were.
"Daisy, take Hazel to the bathroom."
"Of course." said Daisy politely, and we rushed off together.
George and Alexander came sprinting after us.
"He wasn't suspicious?" asked Daisy, astonished.
"He was." Alexander said. "But George just said, 'well, I need to go' and we rushed off."
Daisy smirked. "Uncle Felix may be a marvellous... police officer, detective, whatever he is, but he's not very cautious."
"Where are Lavinia and Amelia?" I asked.
"Waiting for the break." said George.
As if on cue, roars and claps were heard and we could see two figures racing towards us. At first, I did a very Hazel-ish thing - I jumped back in shock. After all, what if it was Maxwell and Collette? What if they had figured out what we were doing? I was relieved, however, when I found out that it was the obvious answer - dark-haired Lavinia and fair-haired Amelia.
"You came!" exclaimed George.
"Of course." said Lavinia.
"I honestly didn't think that Felix would let you come." admitted Alexander.
"Who said he let us?" asked Amelia, pulling a face.
"She means that we just slipped off by ourselves." explain Lavinia, and we all laughed. I saw George looking at Lavinia admiringly (with her returning the look) and I couldn't help but feel that pang of jealously. I was happy for both Lavinia and George, of course, but somehow it didn't feel fair.
"Now, are we going to examine these clues?" said Daisy briskly. "We kn-"
"Shush!" exclaimed Lavinia.
I saw two angry spots of red appear on Daisy's cheeks. "Did you just tell the Honour-"
"I mean it, Daisy, shush!" snapped Lavinia.
And then we heard it. Rustle's faint voice in the distance, speaking - no, announcing something.
"Usually, the breaks in a performance are used to relax and talk. However, I'm afraid that in this break, we must let you all know of some very bad news. Sean Pierce, our beloved ringmaster who has been running this circus for 17 years, has died in a car accident on the way to the circus."
"Sean Pierce!" I exclaimed. "Alexander, your theory was right! The knife must have belonged to the ringmaster. His surname was carved into the knife!"
"This isn't right!" raged Daisy. "He did not die in a car accident! I'm going on the stage."
"It's not a stage, Daisy!" I exclaimed. "Come back, it's too dangerous!"
But she was off. I could hear her voice from where the remaining five of us were stood.
"Sean Pierce did not die in a car accident! He was murdered - stabbing, in fact."
"Daisy Wells!" I heard Uncle Felix roar.
"We know - my friend, er, Emily Brown, has the evidence. She has his knife."
"Emily Brown?" Amelia wrinkled her nose. "Does she really think that's my name?"
"No." I said, shaking my head. "She's protecting us."
The crowd laughed and booed.
"This isn't - honestly!" screeched Daisy. "Somebody support me!"
I saw Alexander about to rush off, but Amelia got there first.
"It's true!" she panted. "Us and our friends were looking behind the scenes, when one of us - um, Harper - saw the body. I have the knife here."
She brandished it, and the crowd gasped. Lavinia, Alexander, George, and I had already rushed closer to the ring. I could see that even Uncle Felix had gone pale.
"You may not be able to see." said Amelia, her voice shaking. "But morse code is-"
"Go!" snapped Rustle. "Leave!"
Daisy and Amelia gasped simultaneously and practically ran back to us.
"Hazel, update your suspect list." hissed Daisy.
SUSPECT LIST
1. MAXWELL
NOTES: Took the victim's role in the performance without giving any explanation as to where he was. The strange poetry carved into the knife was written in shaky handwriting. Could it be his? MOTIVE: Possibly wanted a chance in the spotlight. ALIBI: None yet.
2. COLLETTE
NOTES: Victim's body was found in her tent, slumped over the seat. The strange poetry carved into the knife was written in shaky handwriting. Could it be her's? Was seen arguing with the victim at 10:50 by Alexander Arcady, confirmed by George Mukherjee. MOTIVE: Anger? Really depends on what they were arguing about. ALIBI: None yet.
3. LOLA
NOTES: The strange poetry carved into the knife was written in shaky handwriting. Could it be her's? MOTIVE: Unknown. ALIBI: None yet.
4. IL MYSTERIOSO
NOTES: He is not part of anything shady and is quite nice, but he does illegal things to help people. Perhaps the victim found this out and threatened to tell everyone? The strange poetry carved into the knife was written in shaky handwriting. Could it be his? MOTIVE: The victim could have found out his secret. ALIBI: None yet.
5. RUSTLE
NOTES: He was a very bad act. He also was the one to announce Mr. Pierce's death, pinning it on a car accident. MOTIVE: The ringmaster may have commented on Rustle's poor performances and he killed him out of spite. ALIBI: None yet.
PLAN OF ACTION
1̶. R̶e̶t̶u̶r̶n̶ t̶o̶ t̶h̶e̶ E̶s̶t̶a̶t̶i̶q̶u̶e̶ C̶i̶r̶c̶u̶s̶
2̶. A̶n̶n̶o̶u̶n̶c̶e̶ t̶h̶e̶ m̶u̶r̶d̶e̶r̶
3. Research Collette's tent
4. Research the ringmaster's tent
5. Recreate the crime
6. Solve the murder!
"I'm challenging this list." I admitted, looking at number 5.
"What?" asked Daisy sharply, her head turning to me as soon as I said it.
"I think we should recreate the crime first." I said. "Then it will give us a better understanding of how long it took."
"I agree with Hazel!" Amelia said quickly.
"Ugh, fine." Daisy said (reluctantly, as always when she has to agree with an idea she doesn't like).
Maybe, for once, I should have listened to Daisy. Maybe we could have solved the murder quicker.
We crawled inside Rustle's tent (simply because we could not recreate the crime in Collette's tent and Rustle's was nearest) and were shocked to see the state of the tent. The floor was filthy with insects and spiders, and the equipment was all over the floor.
"We can still recreate the crime in here." said Daisy.
"Yes, but we'll need paper." Amelia said.
"We wi- why?" asked Daisy, annoyed.
"Well, we don't have teacups." Amelia answered, and then shrugged. "Well, you might, but we can't throw them."
Daisy sighed. "Alright. Who has paper."
"I do." Alexander and I said at the same time.
Daisy raised her eyebrows at me. "Well, Alexander, we can use yours. Hazel's casebook is too special."
Alexander tore two pages out of his notebook and then crumpled them up, giving them to Daisy.
"Right, who is who?" asked Daisy. "We need someone to be the murderer, presumably Collette, someone to be the ringmaster, and someone to record the time."
"I can record the time." said Alexander, and stepped to one side.
"I'll be the murderer, and Hazel, do you want to be Mr. Pierce?" Daisy asked me.
"Y-yes, I'll be the ringmaster." I stammered. I'm not very good at acting.
"Alright, Alexander, record this as soon as Hazel enters the tent or I don't know what I'll do." Daisy whispered threateningly.
"Okay."
"Hazel, are you ready?" Daisy asked, sitting down at the first table.
"Alexander, record the time when Hazel 'dies' and when Daisy moves the body to Collette's tent. The body won't be there, after all. That way, we can see the murder as if Collette did it and as if anybody else did it." George instructed.
"Good point." Daisy nodded. "Wait - what if Maxwell did it?"
"He didn't!" gasped Amelia. "I remember now - I knew there was something - he was talking to my father!"
"Talking to your father?" Daisy furrowed her brow. "That sounds suspicious to me."
"No - Maxwell is an entertainment critic and my father is a food critic!" exclaimed Amelia. "We arrived early, and they were talking about business. We arrived at about quarter to eleven, and we saw Mr. Pierce preparing for the show at five to eleven."
Daisy's eyes went wide and even I felt slightly shocked.
"That gives Maxwell an alibi!" Daisy said, grinning. "We can rule him out! At last! Hazel, write that down, quickly!"
"Can we rule out Il Mysterioso?" asked Alexander. "I'm tired of him being a suspect. We know that he's a nice man."
Daisy considered this, but I nodded. "Fine." she groaned. "Yes, Hazel, rule him out as well."
SUSPECT LIST
1̶. M̶A̶X̶W̶E̶L̶L̶
N̶O̶T̶E̶S̶:̶ T̶o̶o̶k̶ t̶h̶e̶ v̶i̶c̶t̶i̶m̶'s̶ r̶o̶l̶e̶ i̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ p̶e̶r̶f̶o̶r̶m̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ g̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ a̶n̶y̶ e̶x̶p̶l̶a̶n̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ a̶s̶ t̶o̶ w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ h̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶. T̶h̶e̶ s̶t̶r̶a̶n̶g̶e̶ p̶o̶e̶t̶r̶y̶ c̶a̶r̶v̶e̶d̶ i̶n̶t̶o̶ t̶h̶e̶ k̶n̶i̶f̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶ w̶r̶i̶t̶t̶e̶n̶ i̶n̶ s̶h̶a̶k̶y̶ h̶a̶n̶d̶w̶r̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶. C̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ i̶t̶ b̶e̶ h̶i̶s̶?̶ M̶O̶T̶I̶V̶E̶:̶ P̶o̶s̶s̶i̶b̶l̶y̶ w̶a̶n̶t̶e̶d̶ a̶ c̶h̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ i̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ s̶p̶o̶t̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶. A̶L̶I̶B̶I̶:̶ N̶o̶n̶e̶ y̶e̶t̶ RULED OUT: Was talking to Mr. Downing at 10:55 to the start of the show, when Mr. Pierce was alive.
2. COLLETTE
NOTES: Victim's body was found in her tent, slumped over the seat. The strange poetry carved into the knife was written in shaky handwriting. Could it be her's? Was seen arguing with the victim at 10:50 by Alexander Arcady, confirmed by George Mukherjee. MOTIVE: Anger? Really depends on what they were arguing about. ALIBI: None yet.
3. LOLA
NOTES: The strange poetry carved into the knife was written in shaky handwriting. Could it be her's? MOTIVE: Unknown. ALIBI: None yet.
4̶. I̶L̶ M̶Y̶S̶T̶E̶R̶I̶O̶S̶O̶
N̶O̶T̶E̶S̶:̶ H̶e̶ i̶s̶ n̶o̶t̶ p̶a̶r̶t̶ o̶f̶ a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ s̶h̶a̶d̶y̶ a̶n̶d̶ i̶s̶ q̶u̶i̶t̶e̶ n̶i̶c̶e̶, b̶u̶t̶ h̶e̶ d̶o̶e̶s̶ i̶l̶l̶e̶g̶a̶l̶ t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ t̶o̶ h̶e̶l̶p̶ p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶. P̶e̶r̶h̶a̶p̶s̶ t̶h̶e̶ v̶i̶c̶t̶i̶m̶ f̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ o̶u̶t̶ a̶n̶d̶ t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶t̶e̶n̶e̶d̶ t̶o̶ t̶e̶l̶l̶ e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶?̶ T̶h̶e̶ s̶t̶r̶a̶n̶g̶e̶ p̶o̶e̶t̶r̶y̶ c̶a̶r̶v̶e̶d̶ i̶n̶t̶o̶ t̶h̶e̶ k̶n̶i̶f̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶ w̶r̶i̶t̶t̶e̶n̶ i̶n̶ s̶h̶a̶k̶y̶ h̶a̶n̶d̶w̶r̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶. M̶O̶T̶I̶V̶E̶:̶ T̶h̶e̶ v̶i̶c̶t̶i̶m̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ f̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ o̶u̶t̶ h̶i̶s̶ s̶e̶c̶r̶e̶t̶. A̶L̶I̶B̶I̶:̶ N̶o̶n̶e̶ y̶e̶t. RULED OUT: Is a nice man and was not involved in the Orient Express case.
5. RUSTLE
NOTES: He was a very bad act. He also was the one to announce Mr. Pierce's death, pinning it on a car accident. MOTIVE: The ringmaster may have commented on Rustle's poor performances and he killed him out of spite. ALIBI: None yet.
"Good." said Daisy approvingly. "Now let's recreate the murder."