Chapter Text
“Winger, this year you’re up.” The captain of the police station announced as a box dropped on top of his desk with a heavy thud, dust particles flying all around. Lifting his eyes to look at the label, his thick brows rose as he read “Carnage Circus”.
“Is this this a joke chief?” he asked unimpressed as he focused back on the report he was working on.
“No joke, these still need to be solved and this year you are the lucky detective.”
Waving him off with his left hand, he did not bother looking at his captain again “Find someone else, I’m not interested in cold cases.” However the shadow of his boss still loomed over his desk, that piercing stare of his grinding on his nerves. Setting aside the pen, he opened a drawer, taking out a cigarette, lifting his eyes once more.
“No debate Winger, it’s your turn and you just closed a case. The rest are busy. Do this, they are here for only a week.” And with that he left, Talbott huffing in annoyance.
He had heard of the mysterious murders surrounding the circus, however he wanted nothing to do with it. He liked to work on active cases, take it from the very top, come up with theories and catch the murderers. Putting his hands on worked cases, by various detectives was not what he wished to do. The case wasn’t even assigned to their precinct from the very beginning, it came from another one in a different city after it travelled to other precincts as well.
Detectives quit after being assigned, some even say a few went mad.
And now that it was sitting on his desk, he had a bad feeling about the dusty box. Last year one of the oldest detectives was assigned, just one year before his well deserved retirement. He killed himself two weeks after the circus left.
“Bollox.” Clearing his desk, he finished the cigarette before lifting the lid to read the files.
One person managed to get into the panther’s cage and got ripped to shreds.
A visitor apparently got drunk and stumbled in the large tent, went up the ladder and fell.
Someone managed to strangle themselves with the puppet cords.
One woman didn’t even die in the circus, however at the autopsy they discovered her insides burned to ashes.
They had in common only one thing, based on the autopsy report, it was as if the person died instantly but due to the body shutting down completely. As it was explained then, there were no alive cells in any of the victims. Usually some trace of life remains, especially if the body is fresh, however when examined it was as if they have died a long time ago, without rotting.
People started saying the circus was cursed, thus receiving the Carnage name when before they used to be the Night Circus. Whenever they were in town, tickets sold in the first hours, everyone flocking to find out the mysteries behind the tents and attractions.
Sitting back in his chair, he took a glance at the list of employees from over the years. Same changes, people coming and going, however the director appeared to be the same, at least the last name was listed everywhere.
“Guess it is time to pay mister Crane a visit.”