Page 34 of Sinistram
“I talked to the guy who owned the calliope at the steam show, and he said to watch for Ike if we went to chase away the ghosts at the circus wreck site,” Brent said.
“Makes me wonder why there’s still a haunting, if it’s in his territory,” Travis said.
Brent was grateful his partner didn’t doubt the story. “Maybe there are too many ghosts for a hunter who’s a ghost himself. Or maybe he can only do so much as a spirit, and he’s kept the haunting from being more dangerous, but he doesn’t have the mojo to stop it altogether.”
“Interesting theory,” Travis allowed. “As long as he doesn’t get in our way, I won’t turn down help, living or dead.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“You’re supposed to be resting,”Travis protested when Brent called to sell him on the idea of going to New Castle to interview Helene.
“She’s a circus witch,” Brent countered. “And she might be able to give us some tips—or spells—to help set the Walter Brothers’s ghosts to rest.”
“Yeah, but?—”
“Matthew cleared me to drive,” Brent said. “But I’m asking you to drive so I don’t have to. That counts as resting.”
Travis sighed, knowing when it wasn’t worth arguing. “Okay, but if it takes longer for you to feel better, don’t blame me.”
“Helene didn’t seem surprised when I called her,” Brent said.
“Ya’ think Finley warned her, or is she psychic?”
“Damned if I know, but she invited us to come talk and gave me her address,” Brent replied. “Either she’s the real deal or it’s some kind of trap.”
Travis frowned. “Unless Finley was in on it somehow, I can’t figure how it could be a trap. Not like we’re the trusting sort, regardless.”
“Guess you’re right.”
Brent typed the address into his phone for directions, and they headed out. “Did you ever hear of a circus town outside of New Castle?”
“Can’t say I did, not that I ever looked for it,” Travis replied. “What is a circus town, anyhow?”
Brent grinned, and Travis knew his partner had been using his search engine talents to do a deep dive.
“Circuses were top-tier entertainment back in the late 1800s. Some of the big names from then are still around now, like Ringling Brothers, but dozens of smaller companies spent the good weather months traveling to towns near railroad lines and putting on a weekend show,” Brent told him.
“They were often called ‘ten-cent shows’ because that’s all they charged for a full day of trapeze artists, clowns, trained dogs and horses, live music, snake handlers, and everything from dramatic readings to people who used their physical oddities to make a living as a performer,” Brent said.
“And one of those shows was based in New Castle?”
Brent nodded. “The Hurlburt and Hunting Circus lasted into the early part of the 1900s. In the off-season, the performers needed somewhere to live, train, and house their animals. They had a little enclave on the outskirts of New Castle. They didn’t bother anyone, and the locals apparently didn’t mind them being there. When people retired, they stayed and helped run the circus town.”
“This new friend of yours has to be way too young to remember those days, unless she’s a ghost,” Travis said.
“Finley says she’s very much alive. The Hunting Circus closed, but the enclave remained, and so did its reputation as a safe place for circus folks. Most people have forgotten all about that piece of local history, and I think that suits the community residents just fine,” Brent told him.
“So we need to be careful about not blowing their cover.”
“I make it a habit not to annoy people who have trained snakes for a living,” Brent said with a deadpan expression.
The GPS took them around New Castle to what looked like a small town swallowed by the modern developments around it. “Welcome to Gibbstown,” a sign said.
A tidy community of houses and shops lined the road and stretched a few blocks on either side. Many of the houses were Victorians, while others dated from across the last century. A café, general store, bakery, and a couple of other well-maintained businesses looked like they were doing okay.
“Looks pretty ordinary,” Travis observed.
“You were expecting circus tents?” Brent joked. “Pet tigers in the backyard?”
