The Freak Show

10am Friday, July 18, 1924: Peter Grave’s grandmother called from her home in Bolton, “Dear boy, I hope it’s not asking too much, but I have a new friend that needs your help. Her baby has been kidnapped. I’d rather not discuss this over the phone… extra ears you know.” In the background of the party-line, Peter heard the muffled “Harrumph” of the displeased neighbor Agnes, “Harold, it’s Bessie again, making up excuses for her boy to visit.”

 Jimmy (aka Lance Bass)

Hoplomania: unhealthy obsession with firearms.

Bibliokleptomania: compulsion to take books. His habit more for keeping them off the streets.

Peter

Pseudomania: compulsion to lie.

Apotemnophobia: fear of people with amputations.

Essie

Basophobia: fear of falling.

Geliomania- compulsion to laugh.

Riche

Hypnophobia: fear of sleep or being hypnotized.

Eisoptrophobia: fear of mirrors. 

Arkham: It was a slow day for Essie, who wrapped up her cataloging at the Historical Society to join Peter. Jimmy was just going over the books with his bartender, restoring the shelves of his speakeasy. All three arrived at Richie’s penthouse to learn from the doorman that Richie was at the library. They found him at the MU campus Orne Library, researching scientific articles about other dimensions while also reading more about Black Jamie lore. Seeing the image of a Hound of Tindalo brought back painful memories for Peter as he grimaced and grabbed his right-side still healing from the POW draining attack. After learning of the kidnapping in Bolton, they decided to use the library to research:

• Jimmy (dressed as Lance) went to the restricted section to select a book at random. [Slight-of-Hand-92] The librarian approached with another man at her side, “Young man, you have to read these books here AFTER you ASK to me to retrieve them for you. You can’t just take them. I have to ask you to leave; Orville, please escort the man out. Turn in your library card. What do you mean you don’t have one?!”
• Essie scoured the newspapers for recent articles about kidnappings in a 50 miles radius. She was appalled to learn it was not uncommon with most cases related to divorces and custody battles. There were a few rare cases of children of wealthy families kidnapped for ransom.
• Peter scoured the papers for articles more specific to Bolton. A lot of articles about the county fair and apple pies.

• Richie focused on Bessie’s trivial mention of a carnival as where grandma met the mysterious woman. He found a stack of fliers advertising Nichol’s Carnival in Bolton. “But it says here they only were in town through July 13^th. No mention of their next stop.”

Since Richie needed his chauffeur Claude to watch his sister Madeleine, Peter convinced Richie to let them drive his limo. Jimmy was excited, “Flip you for the driver-seat… Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Peter slid behind the wheel without even playing the game, “We don’t have time to get thick bibles for you to sit on so you can see. And need I remind you: this is my grandmother’s house. Best behaviors! Don’t make me count her silverware.”

1pm, Bolton: Grammie Bessie dusted off the cracker crumbs from her lap to greet her guests, “Oh my, I didn’t expect you to come so quickly. And with friends. Hello Essie and Richie and… Jimmy, is that you? You almost had me fooled. Is that part of a disguise to get into the carnival to find Janet’s son?” After a pleasant intro of tea and cookies, Peter got down to business, “What can you tell us about Janet Marsh? You only met her at the carnival days ago? Why did she approach you? Oh, you approached her because of her crying. Where is she now?” Bessie handed over a hotel card with Janet’s name on the back. Essie was thinking of a ritzier hotel name like the Statler chain per her thoughts of a wealthy family and ransom. Instead, Harriet’s Hotel in Bolton sounded more low-scale.

Jimmy put down the photo-album to thumb through the phonebook and dialed the hotel, “Yes, is Janet Marsh there? I know you can’t give out her room #; just tell her a friend of Bessie Graves is calling.” The clerk plugged in her switchboard and soon Jimmy was talking to Janet. “I’m sorry, who are you? Is Bessie there to confirm?” Jimmy heard a short, muffled conversation on the other end as if Janet held her hand over the microphone as she talked with someone else before coming back on the line. “Oh, hello Bessie. Yes, you can send your boy over, I’m in room 202.” As they said goodbyes, Peter offered, “Grammie, if we wrap this up soon enough, we’ll take you to dinner.” As they climbed into the limo, Jimmy held out the baby photo and teased, “Ain’t Peter cute in the buff on this bearskin rug?”

2pm: The bell over the door chimed as they entered the Harriet’s Hotel lobby, yet no one came to attend to them. Peter turned the register around to read and confirmed Janet Marsh was in room 202. “Come in.” As Peter reached for the light switch, Janet tearfully asked, “Please, keep them off as my eyes hurt. Too much crying. As I told Bessie, I was walking my son at the carnival when this man came forward and snatched him out of the carriage. Seth is only 18 months.” Essie tried to console the woman sitting in the dark in the far corner of the room. Jimmy tried to console her by casting Cloud Memory to help her forget the painful memories.

And that’s when they hear Jimmy gagging and sputtering as Janet rapped on the wall as she stood and backed up, “How dare you threaten me! What do you want? Heard I have money and come to rob me?!” Richie rushed to aid his friend by performing the Heimlich maneuver. Essie also turned to help. 

Peter flipped on the lights and gasped. [Sanity check] Under the lights, the smooth-skinned look of Janet turned to a bluish toned skin complete with pointy ears and gills on her neck. [Occult] Richie reacted to Peter’s gasp and exclaimed, “You’re a Deep One!” Now it was Janet’s turn to react, “How do you know about my kind? And to be correct, I’m a hybrid. My husband is a Deep One. Was.”

[CONsave- fail] Jimmy continued to sputter and cough as he was literally drowning in seawater. Richie revealed his cane-sword and threatened Janet, “Remove your spell if you want help finding your boy!” Everything seemed to happen at once: a mist suddenly appeared, blanketing Janet in the corner while 4 men burst into the room, “You all right, sis?!” 

Peter saw their fishy features but quickly composed himself as he flashed his PI badge, “Cut the bullshit. We came to help but apparently you don’t want human help.” Jimmy gasped for air as he spit out the last of the seawater, “I didn’t mean to harm you. I was only trying to console your painful memories.”

Uneasy postures by all as Janet explained, “Relax Wilbur. This is Bessie’s boy I told you about. I didn’t know he was coming with friends. You are Peter Graves, correct? These are my brothers, Wilbur and Reggie Babson and their associates. Excuse my lies, but now that you know what we are… my husband and son were swimming off the coast of Gloucester when they were caught in a fisherman’s net. 

We’ve learned a Harrod Bailey killed my husband but kept my son. We only recently learned he was sold to a Mr. Dots O’Dowd who operates the freak show part of Nichol’s Carnival. I offered the man $200 but he turned me down with laughter.” Reggie spoke up, “Sis, I collected another $200 from the family to add to your offer.” Wilbur scoffed, “To hell with buying your boy back like property. I saw we confront the man with reality of who he’s dealing with. We could have gotten the Deep Ones involved if he hadn’t moved the carnival so far from the coastline.” Jimmy was incredulous that Dots turned down $200 [$3,600 in today’s economy], “He must think he has a goldmine with your boy as his main attraction.”

Wilbur interrupted, “The fool only has his carnie roustabouts for help. They’re no match for OUR skills.” Peter added to Reggie’s plea for calm thinking, “No need for violence; you’ll only draw forth the police and an investigation which could expose your kind even more. Let us try to handle this.” Jimmy emptied his wallet as he handed over $52, “We can add this to your offer, along with the $200 Reggie collected. Besides, I have a plan: I’ll get an inside job at the carnival so I can search around and find Seth and figure out an escape plan.”

It was Wilbur’s turn to be skeptical, “Inside job? What, be one of the clowns or midgets?” [Sleight-of-Hand] Jimmy explained his routine, “Kind of like a magician, making things appear.” Jimmy held out his left hand, “Such as this watch I believe belongs to you?” 

Reggie was satisfied, “We’ve checked with some of the locals who helped take down the tents. They say the carnival moved on to Wenham southwest of here.” Peter used the phone to call Bessie, “I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone that dinner.” To Janet and the others, “We’ll get your boy. Hold off on anything rash.” Jimmy was a bit more cautious, “Can your boy do that drowning spell? I want to know what we’re getting into.”

5pm, Wenham, Nichol's Carnival: The Friday parking lot was already starting to fill as Peter parked the limo to Richie’s concerns, “Are you sure it’s safe out here? Claude would get angry if it’s scratched.” Peter was more confident, “Relax, we still have 3.5 hours of daylight. Time to get a lay of the land and introduce you to the finer aspects of carnival life such as fried butter and cotton-candy.” They split up, each forking over the dime entry fee:

• Jimmy made his way to the Backyard area “Off Limits” to the general public. “I’d like to see a man about a job.” Jimmy touted himself as The Great Gazoo as he demonstrated his act. Earl Harrie (41yo midget wonder) was impressed as Gazoo misdirected with his handkerchief to then present Earl with his own watch and clown nose. “Hey, leave the wallets alone. We don’t need that reputation within the carnival grounds. Give it a try in the Sideshow area where we have magicians and vaudeville acts. If the crowd likes it, I’ll talk to the bossman (Ted Nichols) to hire you.” [POW-fail: Bibliokleptomania] Earl barked, “Hey, enough with the act and put my account books back!”

• Richie toured the Sideshow per the arranged plan for him as Jimmy’s mark. What better way to impress the crowd than a fancy-dressed foreigner being the butt of the act. It wasn’t long before the crowd was into it with jeering laughter. Laughter that eventually brought Ted Nichols to investigate. Richie laid it on thick with his French accent, “THIS is the kind of entertainment folks back home would enjoy.” Richie openly fanned the bills in his wallet, “What would it take for you to come overseas with your show?” Jimmy interrupted, “Excuse me Mr. Nichols. Earl only has me working on probation. Would you mind giving the approval to hire me?” Ted signed the back of his business card and sent The Great Gazoo on his way so he could conduct real business. Richie walked and talked, “Perhaps you could give me a tour…” 
• 

[POW-fail: Eisoptrophobia] Richie starred at the distorted image of the Frenchman starring back: bulging waist, long neck, and and narrow face. He suddenly realized he was looking into one of the fun-house mirrors!

• Peter & Essie walked as a couple through the Midway as each tried to gift the other with prizes. Without her bow, Esie tried her luck at darts: a kewpie doll prize. Peter sighted the BB gun and realized the barrel had a slight curvature. He adjusted accordingly but failed to compensate for the over-stretched spring as the BBs fell short: a kazoo prize. [POW- fail: Apotemnophobia] Peter dropped the kazoo as he realized the man was missing his left arm! He grabbed Essie and ran, leaving the man to ponder as he finished scratching his back with his left hand, “I wonder what that was all about?” As Peter & Essie made their way further into the carnival, they stopped to watch the ringmaster Ted Nichols perform with Gorgo the Ape. The crowd anxiously watched, expecting Ted to be ripped to pieces any minute as the fool wrestled and played catch with the “fearsome ape.” Did the others realize the ape was nothing more than a large adult chimpanzee?

They finally made it to O’Dowd’s World of Wonders and heard the hawker extolling the exhibits, “For a mere 20 cents, two thin dimes, you can witness Redondo (the Fire-Eater), Sulaami (the Snakeman), or be charmed by the Painted Lady herself. Have that extra dime ready if your heart is strong to witness the never-before-seen Fishboy!”

“Essie, is that you?” Essie turned to find the biology Professor Handy at her side. “I had to see for myself! I can only imagine the suit or makeup they made some poor child wear.” Although he kept talking as they entered the area, Essie was able to count 6 roustabouts while Peter looked for other entrances and exits. They endured the front shows of “The Living Skeleton” (6ft, barely 70lb man), and Heavy Evvie (the 570lb woman) who touted herself “the biggest attraction in this carnival.” Where these shows were set up as draped partitions under a large tent, the last attraction was separated by a wooden door. Dots O’Dowd himself hawked the crowd, “Mam, you best stay out here with your little boy. Otherwise, he might become a tasty treat for my Fishboy inside.” The poor woman almost fainted but quickly left with her son to the jeering laughter of Dots, “Come now, surely the rest of you brave souls brought your dime.”

Meanwhile, Jimmy tried to get a better look at the crowd as he whispered to Richie, “I think I just saw Wilbur. What’s he doing here?” Jimmy lost track of him in the crowd as he made his way back to the Backyard and handed the card to Earl, “Bossman said I’m hired. So, where do I bunk? Oh yeah, Mr. Nichols needs you to cover his ringmaster duties as he has a rich client to impress.” Once he was in the clear, Jimmy/Gazoo worked his way towards the back to find the Fishboy attraction.

Dots had the little ones get closest with the adults behind as he stepped on the platform to draw back the curtain to reveal a 6ft circular tub with its rim encircled by chicken wire. Dots rattled his walking stick on the wire before plunging it into the dark water, “Come out, come out Fishboy; you’ve new fans waiting for you to see.” 

[Sanity check] Some adults took off running, forgetting they brought their kids along. Others just gawked in disbelief. Essie recoiled at the pitiful cry of the poor creature as Dots continued to poke and prod it into action, “Swim for them Fishboy. Show them your teeth.”

Essie and Peter walked away as if they too upset and frightened. Essie bit her tongue in disgust, “Dots is dead to me!” Peter tried to slip away and hide but was caught, “Move along fella. Only exit is straight ahead. No puking in the corner.” Essie was adamant, “We can’t wait another night. That creature needs to be saved.” “I couldn’t agree with you more.” It was Professor Handy, “I must confess, I saw this show in Bolton and still couldn’t believe the cruelty. I emptied my bank account and offered that O’Dowd fella my life savings of $400 and he only laughed about a better offer from the Ringling Brothers Circus. Perhaps you could help me save the poor thing.” Essie corrected, “We already have a plan with more determined help. But maybe you could help create a distraction.” Peter considered their options, “We could try to convince him, but if Dots is willing to turn down $400, we might have to cut our way into the tent and rescue the boy ourselves. Let’s get the others.”

CLIMAX

And that’s when they saw Ted Nichols leading Richie towards the Wonders’ stage. And that’s when they all hear the screams of terror from the Center Stage. Richie was at an entrance to the stage to see the current act: the lion-tamer Clyde Court in the cage with Marcus the Lion. An act performed hundreds if not thousands of times. 

Except: Marcus ignored Clyde’s whip and cap-pistol and lunged for the man’s throat. The audience at first thought it part of the act till blood squirted everywhere! It was a mad rush for the exits.

Essie thought of using the opportunity to rescue Seth (the Fishboy), till Peter drug her along to see what was happening. Essie gasped when she saw the lion perched over the body. [POW- fail: Geliomania] She broke into uncontrollable laughter as she watched Wilbur Babson trying to unlock the lion cage door, “HaHaHaa, are you mad?!” Wilbur pulled at the lock, “We tried Janet’s way. Now it’s MY way. Discredit the carnival till Dots caves in.” Peter fought through the crowd to confront him, “These are innocent people. Your beef is with Dots in the back. We could use your help there.” Wilbur slowly complied.

Essie and Peter returned to the Wonders stage where Dots stood with 4 of his roustabouts (holding clubs) as if he was expecting trouble. Ted pleaded, “My God man, if you don’t send your hired hands to stop the carnage, we’ll never get another show date ANYWHERE!” Dots only laughed louder, “I’ve got my prize Fishboy to protect. Besides, I’ve got a better offer than this pitiful carnival.” Peter tried to work off of that incentive, “Maybe whoever caused the lion attack has already stolen your prize. Shouldn’t you go check?” Now Dots was suspicious of Peter and kept a closer eye as he sent two men to check backstage, just in case.

Richie continued his charade as he begged Ted to show him this Fishboy, but Ted was already running toward the ring-show center stage. And that’s when Jimmy appeared: he rushed on stage as if panicked and needing to hide, “The lion is loose and coming!” He pushed past the two roustabout thugs and entered the back area where he began looking into one side-area after another in hunt for Seth. Heavy Evvie offered him grapes as he continued on. The turban-headed Sulammi teased with a python offered.

Meanwhile, Richie jumped off the stage and ran screaming towards the rear. Once out of sight, he cut his way through the tent to gain access to the inside so he could also hunt for Seth. Richie tore the hole wider and was about to step in when a blast of fire greeted him. So much for surprising Redondo the Fire-Eater! Meanwhile Peter used Jimmy ploy as he too suggested all hide behind the stage. While the thugs tried to restrain him, he pushed (brawl) his way inside. Essie…fainted. And when the thug turned his attention to her…she stabbed him! [Dodge- fumble] Essie managed to roll out of the way of Dots’ walking-stick attack but earned a few splinters for her effort. Dots screamed out for more help.

Richie re-entered the hole and caught Redondo in the act of preparing another blast. Richie ducked and thrust at the same time. While the fire singed his hair, Redondo collapsed per the rapier strike with flames burning his lips coated with kerosene.  And that’s when Richie heard the shots ring out. He ran towards the gunshot.

Jimmy found the other two thugs guarding the door with the overhead sign “Fishboy”. He pulled out both gold pistols, “Get the fuck out of my way!” Their raising their clubs was all he needed as he blasted away with two shots per pistol at close range. [regular, extreme] One thug collapsed dead while the other [hit, miss] collapsed unconscious from a serious wound.

Peter stood inside the tent, ready for Dots and more of his thugs. Essie joined him as she escaped from the other thug and Dots, “Better hurry, Dots called for more of his men.” Dots and his men stopped at the sight of Peter holding his sawed-off shotgun, “Just give me a reason, you scumbag!”

[Sanity check] Jimmy and Richie both recoiled at the sight of Seth clinging to the chicken wire. Richie took off his shirt to wrap the boy to carry out. [Sanity check] Both men gasped at the sight of the fishtail on the boy. Richie should have known when Janet said his father was a Deep One.

EPILOGUE

They slipped out of the carnival in the throes of mass confusion. Responding police were blocked by the mad exodus of panicked patrons leaving the scene. It was another hour before they arrived in Bolton and Janet’s hotel room with Seth in wraps. Wilbur was there to sheepishly explain, “I didn’t think you would come through; so, I added drugs to the lion’s water dish. I was ready to escalate more if needed.” Reggie slapped his brother on the head, “I told you to stay out of it. What if someone saw you? What if they report your scaly skin? You might have put us all at risk of exposure.”

Janet offered Jimmy his $52. “Keep it as long as you’ll teach me the drowning spell.”

Richie took the time to talk more with Reggie, “What can you tell me about your kind? I need to know more if I’m ever to help you hybrid again. How best to recognize you and maybe a few Deep One words for introduction.”

Dots cursed as he watched his men put out the fire spreading through his World of Wonder. He stepped over Rodondo’s body as he retrieved the silver lighter for himself as he lit a cigar. He blew smoke in Professor Handy’s face, “You seemed to know the girl. What can you tell me about her and her friends?” Drunk on whiskey poured down his throat, Handy groggily admitted, “I actually tried to get their help to steal Fishboy for myself. I wanted to dissect him and see whether he truly was like a fish.”