Free Death is a Bargain (A Kate Kennedy Mystery Book 3) by Noreen Wald Page A

sight.
    Kate was alternating between frantically dialing Marlene’s cell phone—with no answer—and scrutinizing the Big Top, expecting to see the tent go up in a blaze. At least the survivors, though coughing and frightened, seemed uninjured. Many of them, especially those with children, were heading to their cars in the large northeast lot. Several of the firefighters who’d dashed into the Big Top so aggressively now exited, looking far less stressed.
    What had happened in there? Were Marlene and Ballou safe? Dare she risk taking Billy all the way around the circus tent to the corridor entrance?
    He’d been weeping off and on, asking about his mommy, wanting to see her. Kate waited for another few minutes—they ticked by like eternal damnation—then grabbed Billy’s hand. “Let’s go find your mother.”
    The light in his eyes assured her she’d made the right decision.
    By making a wide circle around the Big Top—a long walk for such a small boy, but Billy scampered to keep up—they made it to the outside corridor door without interference.
    A firefighter with an ax in one hand and what appeared to be a bowl in the other came running out of the corridor as they approached. Black smoke had settled like smog, turning the air thick, making it hard to catch a breath.
    Marlene sat at the same table where they’d had lunch, cuddling Ballou on her lap. The little dog had her whole hand in his mouth, serving the dual purpose of pacifier for him and comfort for her.
    Huddled close by, Linda held a terrified Precious, whose head was tucked into the crook of her mistress’s arm, and a box of Storybook dolls. A shopping bag overflowing with larger dolls was at Linda’s feet.
    Kate ran over to them, pulling Billy behind her.
    The two old friends embraced, both crying, then laughing. “Thank God,” Kate whispered. Her best friend could be trying, but what would life be like without Marlene? And Charlie’s beloved Ballou, who was becoming Kate’s other best friend?
    Billy bent and kissed Ballou who backed off, then squirmed toward the boy in delight, licking Kate’s arm while trying to jump off Marlene’s lap.
    “Can I see my mommy?” The boy sounded anxious. “Is she inside with the elephants?”
    While Kate struggled with an answer, she glanced around. Suzanna Jordan and her daughter stood back to back, not touching. Olivia, facing the corridor door, flushed scarlet when a fireman walked by, straining her neck to see what he was carrying. Then she sank to her knees, putting her head in her hands.
    Kate wondered about Freddie Ducksworth and Carl Krieg. Were they missing?
    And what about Suzanna? Had she returned to the corridor after her screaming match with Freddie? Hadn’t Freddie come back? The circus matinee, filled with kids, would have been ending, if all hell hadn’t broken loose. Why would the comic-book vendor have left his booth unattended with all those hot prospects about to descend on him?
    And where was Carl? Sean had put him to bed hours ago. Could he have slept through all this? Or been injured?
    Before Kate could ask Marlene, another firefighter, this one a young woman, coughing and streaked with dirt, came out, carrying a hose.
    “No flames in the animal area either,” she said to the first firefighter, blowing her nose.
    “If ‘where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire’ doesn’t always hold true, then what’s next?” Marlene asked. “Maybe men do make passes at girls who wear glasses.”
    Kate smiled at Marlene’s marriage of an old adage and a Dorothy Parker quip, glad to see her sister-in-law’s sense of irony intact.
    “Come on, Mrs. K, let’s find my mommy.” Billy tugged on her arm.
    “You can’t go in there, son,” the male firefighter said. “That smoke is dangerous.”
    “I want to see my mommy. Now.” Billy threw himself on the grass, feet flying, kicking the heavy air, causing the smoke to move.
    “Is everyone out?” Kate asked the young man.
    He didn’t