Send in the Clowns, a Detective Mike Bridger novel by Mark Bredenbeck Page B

for him, something
that drilled home after receiving a curt text message from Laura
telling him not to bother showing up, she was going to have a drink
with a friend instead. He had only just remembered his intended
liaison that evening after walking through the front doors of the
police station. He had been about forty minutes late at that point
and decided not to text, out of guilt, or it may have been fear
that Laura was right. Late was late though, he had no real excuses.
It was something he was beginning to regret now, but he knew things
would never change. Work sometimes had to come first, Laura had to
know that, or it would never work between them anyway. The thought
did not stop him retrieving his phone again and searching the
message for any hidden meanings, other than the obvious angst it
had portrayed.
    The computer
beeped a notification, breaking his inward thinking. As promised,
John had sent a copy of the link containing the footage of Coster
and Staverly together, in their disturbing tryst. Putting his phone
away reluctantly, he scrolled the curser down to the little
envelope icon on the email system and pressed open. The page
displayed a line of incomprehensible letters and characters, which
John had explained was the ‘hyperlink’, along with a short
message. ‘Don’t linger over the ‘money
shot’… enjoy.’ followed by a smiley face.
Very droll, he thought, before clicking on the link. The screen
shot changed, as another window opened up, revealing the P.A.A.I.N
website in vivid detail. His eyes glanced over the short bio at the
top of the screen.
    People Against
Animals In Captivity Network are an organisation that stands
against cruelty to animals in the form of immoral incarceration. We
as a people should not get too decide the fates of those who cannot
speak for themselves. It is infinitely worse when we do it for our
own pleasure. Circuses and Zoos must be held to account. Please
join us in our struggle to free our lesser cousins. Remember, in
the big scheme of things, we are all just animals…
    Sitting just under the
caption was the link to the video, aptly named, ‘Taming the Zebra’.
Bridger’s mind flashed back to the images he had viewed at John’s
house, Coster certainly fitted the description of an animal, but
not one that the bio portrayed. He decided to wait for the others
before subjecting himself too the footage once more.
    Studying the
rest of the page, he saw a list of names, most probably the members
of P.A.A.I.N, and at the very bottom, he saw Coster’s name. There
were pictures of animals, whipped by smiling men wearing funny
clothes. There were bears wearing tutus and standing on their hind
legs, and there was a wild-eyed elephant holding a manic faced
clown off the ground with its trunk while the clowns smiling mates
tormented it with water guns. The images were stark, taken in just
the right light too imply something sinister about what they
showed. It was quite captivating and enraging at the same time.
Underneath the pictures, a simple statement read ‘How can we be so cruel…’
    Bridger had not really
thought about how you could mistreat an animal in a circus by
forcing it to perform. He had always seen it as just another form
of entertainment. They always looked well cared for and obedient.
Looking at the pictures displayed, he could see how they would be a
call to arms for the right type of person. Whips used to maintain
obedience, animals doing unnatural things. It did paint a certain
sort of picture although you can manipulate anything to appeal to
your cause. However, that was the point of this website to stir up
support, and it did that well. Humans and animals have always had
an obscure relationship.
    Glancing over at the
promotional picture of Michael Wilson, dressed in his over the top
finery, pasted onto the whiteboard on the far side of the room, he
drew a breath and held it. Even from where he was sitting, he could
see something in the practiced smile