A Tragic Party by April Fernsby

Author:April Fernsby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cozy fiction, Cozy murder mystery, humorous cozy mystery, psychic cozy mystery, short cozy mystery, british cozy mystery
Publisher: April Fernsby
Published: 2019-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

I was grateful we’d been subjected to the vibrant entrance area before meeting the other clowns because they were even brighter than the painted walls and colourful carpet tiles. The large room we were taken into was abundant with many colours. At first, it looked like swathes of silks had been placed decoratively around the room. But as the material moved, it became clear the room was full of people in clown costumes. They looked like living, breathing rainbows. All of them smiled our way, their make-up making their painted-on smiles even bigger.

Peggy nudged me, and whispered, “Should I take a photo of this for Robbie?”

I whispered back, “Why would you do such a cruel thing?”

“In case he ever gets on my nerves.” She pursed her lips as she took in the smiling clowns. “On second thoughts, I won’t take a photo. I think the bright colours would break the camera on my phone.”

The clown who’d brought us into the room led us over to a sofa and invited us to sit down. Excited giggles erupted from the waiting clowns. For the briefest of seconds, I felt like we’d walked into a trap. Maybe these clowns were behind the death of Alvin Peel, and they knew we were on to them.

Peggy must have been reading my thoughts because she said quietly, “I hope we make it out of here alive. Those smiles they’re giving us suddenly look sinister.”

The clowns fell silent, bowed their heads, and parted like the Red Sea. An elderly female clown in a stripy purple-and-pink outfit stepped forward with her arms open wide.

She aimed the full beam of her smile on us, and said, “You are warmly welcome to our matinee performance. My name is Gertrude Washington, or Giggles as I’m lovingly known.” A devilish glint came into her eyes. “I do hope you’re not easily offended.”

She didn’t wait for our answers. Then she proceeded to tell us one smutty joke after another. I had never heard such filthy humour before, and my cheeks felt like they were going to burst into flames of embarrassment. I looked at Peggy and saw how shocked she was too. As a contrast to my red cheeks, Peggy’s face was chalk white.

The rest of the clowns weren’t shocked whatsoever. They roared with laughter at every joke, which made Gertrude tell further jokes which became increasingly more obscene.

When Gertrude finished, we were treated to a sketch by a clown called Puddles. His act started by him throwing glitter at Peggy and me. Peggy told him in no uncertain terms to shove his glitter where the sun didn’t shine. Puddles wasn’t upset by her words, and proceeded to dance around the room with an open umbrella.

A few more clowns appeared and showed us what they could do. A lot of creaking and cracking noises came from their elderly bodies, and some of them forgot what they were doing. I kept a polite smile on my face. Peggy only swore a few times, and all under her breath.

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