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Once upon a time...
Ladies and
gentlemen, Children Of All Ages, step right up and experience
The Greatest Circus Show On Earth! It’s the
annual convention for the Bracelet Sisters & Bailey’s
Scottish Cream Circus. Performers, freaks, and clowns
have descended upon the sleepy village of Cloudcroft, New
Mexico. Where there’s a circus, one can of course
expect to find thrills, cheers, and mayhem.
But
on this fateful weekend…there’s MURDER!
For
106 years the Bracelet Sisters & Bailey’s Scottish
Cream Circus has been entertaining America by traveling
across the country by rail during the summers to bring their
marvelous show to millions. Once a year after the close
of each season, the performers and staff meet to plan for the
following year’s schedule of events. This year,
The Lodge of Cloudcroft, New Mexico was chosen for this
dastardly convention. Nineteen staff members fly in on
Wednesday evening from their winter grounds in Sterling ,
Illinois to El Paso , Texas . Everyone drives from the
airport to The Lodge in three shuttle vans; one for the
Administration staff, one for the Circus Performers, and one
for the Sideshow Actors. The group has booked the entire
Third floor of The Lodge and everyone (except the Siamese’s
Twins, of course!) has their own rooms.
The
convention begins Thursday afternoon at 3p.m. , where the
staff first meets to discuss and evaluate the past season.
Everyone is present at the meetings, except the Ringmaster;
Ondar D. Begtup, and the circus organ player, Herum Pipes.
Both men are said to be in Ondar's room all afternoon
preparing for the evening presentation - where it is believed
that Ondar will announce new cast changes for the following
season.
Rumor has it that the Circus
Performers have been pressuring Ondar to get rid of all
Sideshow Acts. They believe that the public comes to each
show to see them and only them and not the "freaks of
nature" (what they call the Sideshow actors). Tensions
have been building over the last year between both groups and
during the afternoon meetings tempers actually begin to flare
and get out of hand.
Arial Flips and Guy Wires argue
that the increase in revenue this past season is due to the
"true" Circus Performers and not the freaks. This
upsets most of the Sideshow Actors, and led by Stucco Widher
and Ineeda Shave, they warn the group they will unionize to
prevent them from being fired. The meeting gets so out of
hand with shouting, name-calling, and belittling, that the
staff of The Lodge threatens to expel the group from the
hotel if they don't get control of themselves. The meeting is
adjourned at 5:30 p.m. for a two-hour dinner break.
During the first hour of the
break, (5:30 pm-6:30 pm), a secret meeting is held by all
Sideshow actors, except Uptin Flames, in Ineeda's room to
strategize and discuss forming the new UFOCSS (Union of the
Federated Operating Circus Sideshow Stars), in case it would
be announced that evening by Ondar that their acts were being
let go from the Circus. The rest of the cast have their meals
in the dining room where the Lodge is serving stuffed Chili
Rellenos for the main course. Uptin Flames is seen by Pacca
Derm eating with Annie Mable Lunes. They look as if they're
having a serious discussion during their meal.
At 6:45 pm, on their way back to
their rooms, Ima Fonny-Won and Y. Doncha Laff, could hear a
commotion coming from Ondar's room. Besides Ondar's and
Herums's voice, there is another voice but they are unable to
recognize it. Herum is heard yelling, "These damn freaks
are costing us too much money!" To which Ondar replies,
"They have every right to be a part of this circus as
the rest of us!" Ima and Y. Doncha could only hear the
unrecognizable voice begin sobbing uncontrollably.
Ondar calls for a special closed
board meeting in his room at 7:10 pm. Present are all board
members, Ondar, Mackie, Annie Mable, Uptin, Herum. At 7:30pm,
all cast members gather again in the meeting room downstairs.
Some board members appear to be unhappy and quiet. Ringmaster
Ondar gives praise to everyone for a season that was very
profitable. During his speech, he states, "Even though I
have felt much pressure to downsize our Sideshow actors, I
will NOT, and let me repeat it, will NOT make ANY cast
changes for next season!" There are many gasps and
murmurs from the cast members, especially the Circus
performers. Mackie N. Munny and Herum Pipes are both VERY
visibly upset while Annie Mable Lunes and Uptin Flames remain
emotionless.
The meeting continues with
Ondar's shocking plans to expand the sideshow tent area the
following year to include even more acts. Ondar states that
in a 3-2 vote from the board members that evening, he
believes the expansion will help to bridge the rift between
the cast members. Furious, the Circus Performers get up and
leave the meeting, yelling obscenities at Ondar and the
Sideshow actors. With half the cast gone, the meeting has to
be adjourned until 9:00 am the next morning.
Later that evening, between 8:00
pm-10:00 pm, cast members are all off doing their own things.
(Drinking!) All the Sideshow Actors, except Don D. Hatch, are
loudly celebrating in the Red Dog Saloon. Don has complained
of not feeling well and gone to bed early. There is a
lot of talking and movement in the bar. During the two-hour
period, all Sideshow actors leave the bar at one point to
"use the restroom or make a phone call."
Uptin comes into the bar at 8:45 pm and pulls Ineeda and
Stucco aside. The three men are seen whispering in a comer
for about 15 minutes. Joy D. Hip is listening to music from
her IPOD during this conversation, never hearing what her
brother is saying with the two other men. Uptin then makes a
toast and wishes his congratulations to all the Sideshow
actors for sticking together. He heads upstairs at 9:05 pm.
Pacca Derm, who's been drinking in the comer the whole time
with C.M. Roar, becomes drunk beyond belief. She begins to
taunt Andie Loose at 9:15 pm, calling her "a wild
whore-freak" and the two women get into a huge cat
fight. Mackie N. Monny and Liftin Tons have to pull Andie and
Pacca off one another. Pacca yells at the top of her lungs,
"I'm going to kill you one day!!" and storms
outside. Andie bruised and bloody heads upstairs to her room
at 9:25 pm.
Most of the other circus
performers have chosen to stay upstairs in their rooms for
the rest of the evening, but a few are seen sitting together
in the Red Dog bar nursing their egos and scowling at the
happy Sideshow Actors. Arial Flips and Guy Wires come in from
8:15 pm-8:40 pm. They do not speak to anyone only just have a
beer and leave. Y. Doncha and Ima come in around 9 pm
and have a glass of wine. They witness the toast and the cat
fight and are seen laughing during both. They leave at 9:20
pm. Ringmaster Ondar is seen with Annie Mable sitting by the
fireplace by Ineeda Shave on his/her way back from the
bathroom. He/she notes that around 9:40pm, Ondar receives a
cell phone call and leaves in a hurry frantic upstairs.
Everyone else stays in the bar until it closes at 10:00 pm
then heads to their rooms.
The next morning at 9:00 am,
everyone gathers again in the meeting room but Ondar and
Uptin are nowhere to be seen. Annie Mable excuses herself to
see if management can fetch them. After 15 or 20 minutes she
bursts back into the room crying,
"They're
dead! They're both DEAD!!"
Everyone begins consoling each
other when Joy D. Hip realizes that Don D. Hatch is also
missing at this time and sends management upstairs to his
room.
All Sideshow Actors are now
beside themselves because they are in mourning for the loss
of Ondar, Uptin and Don. All Circus performers seem unmoved
by the three deaths. They show no emotion what-so-ever and
only keep repeating, when asked about the tragedy, "As
Ondar said last night, the show must go on!" The
remaining Circus Board members also seem indifferent about
the deaths. Herum Pipes and Mackie N. Munnyjust shrug their
shoulders, "We warned him that these freaks would cost
us." Annie Mable Lunes is a wreck. A mystery man appears
with a camera and notepad and begins taking pictures of the
Sideshow Actors. Occasionally he laughs at the mourning
actors as he takes their pictures. When he is done taking
pictures he begins interviewing the board members.
Since the Cloudcroft police are
so short staffed, they decide to let Mackie N. Munny lead the
investigation into these deaths. She states that everyone is
now a suspect and will not be able to leave until this
tragedy is solved ... including the mystery man.
Everyone is told that they must report back Friday night for
informal interviews and again on Saturday night for formal
questioning and to hold elections for a new board President.
Why have these three men died?
Who hated these men enough to kill them? What is to become of
the show? Start putting your clues together, Sherlock, as you
try to solve,
“MURDER
AT THE CIRCUS!”
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