Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 01 - Death Is Clowning Around Read online

  I ate my pizza and opened my email. Ignoring all the junk, I opened Justin’s. Then I downloaded what he’d attached. It was an article in the San Francisco Chronicle titled “Ex-Clown Exposes All!” The story featured a man named Jack Armstrong (not his real name according to the article). He’d been a member of the Uptown Clowns for several years. He joined after going to one of their camps. The article went on to say that the clowns were heavily involved in pornography, both film and pictures.

  There were several layers within the organization. Different colored badges were used for each level. Level 1 was for the “real’ clowns. It was nice to know that everyone involved wasn’t a sleaze ball. In order to climb up a level, one had to participate in their “clownship” program and meditation rituals. Jack called it “mind programming. It’s a lot of chanting, rhythmic music, and drugs. They get you so messed up that you’ll do anything to keep being part of that level. The higher the level, the better the drugs and the more power the individual has in the organization.”

  When the writer asked about women and children, Jack laughed. “Most of them weren’t a part of the Uptown Clowns. The women were there for the clowns to use and control. Only a few women actually held high positions within the organization. The kids were just a smoke screen to make the place respectable.”

  When Jack tried to get out, they fabricated several crimes. All the evidence implicated Jack and he couldn’t prove otherwise. He lost his family, his home, and his job because of the criminal investigations. Now he’s in hiding from the police and the clowns. The last statement of the article was: “Don’t trust a clown, unless you’ve seen under his makeup.”

  Nice parting shot. I was going to have to be very careful. I wasn’t into drugs, chanting or rhythmic music. Besides most women weren’t allowed to scale the levels, so why would they bother to have me participate in any of that. Like the kids, I’d probably just be window dressing for the camp, but maybe I could find out a few things. If I could have a conversation with Carl, Jessie’s uncle, it could help immensely.

  I sat down on the couch and called Justin on my cell phone. He answered immediately.

  “Hey, Teach. What did you think of the article?”

  I drew in a deep breath. “Scary stuff.”

  “Oh yeah. Did you pass the information on to your friend?”

  “Yes. Could you do me another favor?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m going out of town for a few days and I can’t take Shelby. Can you come over, pick up the mail and stay with her for a little while?”

  “Of course. I love that yappy dog.”

  “Thanks Justin.”

  “Where are you going?”

  I thought quickly – I was always good at that. “I’m going to a teacher’s conference for four days. Some new reading program. It’s been a great success in New York and so they’re going to try it here.”

  “Do you think it’s any better than the way you teach already?”

  “If I learn one thing, it’ll be worth it.”

  “Always the optimist?”

  “What other way is there?”

  “Goodnight, Teach.”

  “Goodnight, Justin. And thanks.” I hung up the phone. It was still early. I wondered what Jordan was doing right now. I dialed her number and got her voice mail, then left a message. “It’s just me, Jordan. We haven’t talked in a while. I hope everything’s going well for you. I met a guy. Give me a call and I’ll tell you all about him. I think you’d like him. He’s in law enforcement. I’m going out of town for a few days. I’ll give you a call when I get back.”

  It’s strange that I decided to call my sister. I hadn’t talked to her in over a month. We aren’t that close. In fact, we disagree about almost everything. Touching base with family members wasn’t a good sign. I hoped it wasn’t an omen of the next few days at clown camp.

  My phone rang and I picked it up. Hearing Tom’s voice made me smile.

  “Did you get home safe?”

  “Of course.”

  “Glad to be home?”

  I glanced around and sighed. “Always.”

  “Miss me.”

  “As a matter a fact, I do.” I sat back and put my feet up on the coffee table. “It’s weird.”

  “I miss you too. Anyway I could talk you out of going to that clown camp?”

  “Nope.”

  “When do you leave?”

  “Tomorrow morning. Check-in time is noon.”

  “Call me after you check in.”

  “If I can, I will. If not, I’ll call you in the afternoon or evening.”

  “What happened to my four calls a day?”

  “You’re going to be lucky to get two.”

  “But remember if I don’t get any, I’m coming in with the cavalry,” he said solemnly.

  It was time to change the subject. “How’s your face?”

  “It still hurts, but it’s getting better.

  “That’s good. I’m sorry I never got to meet Duke. Did you get him back from the vet?”

  “Tomorrow. He’ll be out of commission for a couple of weeks.”

  “No police work for him, huh?”

  “No. He’ll just hangout at the house and make sure the contractors are doing their job.”

  “Maybe your house will get done quicker.”

  “It will because I’m moving home. If they see me everyday maybe they’ll hurry and get out.”

  “But then they won’t leave me any chips to eat when I’m hungry.”

  “I’ll fill an entire cupboard with chips for you, okay?”

  “It’s a deal.”

  Shelby started barking at the door. “Shelby!” She kept on barking. “Tom, I’m going to go. Shelby’s barking and she won’t stop. I’ve got to see what she’s having a fit about.”

  “I can hear her. Pet her for me and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” I hung up the phone and opened the front door. Nothing was out there. “Shelby, what are you barking at?”

  Shelby ran out to the front of the driveway and barked. I walked out and looked up and down the street. A white van pull around the corner and I shook my head. I was getting paranoid.

  That afternoon I answered the kid’s journal entries. I’d asked them what their three wishes would be if they found a Leprechaun. Some of their answers were really cute. A lot wanted to fly. Not an unusual request for a five year old. Some wanted a bigger house, more toys, a pool, or a dog. Two wanted baby brothers. Knowing their mom’s they weren’t going to be getting that anytime soon.

  My little girl from Romania’s entry was very sweet. She wanted her grandmother to come and visit. She hadn’t seen her for a long time and she missed her very much. She drew a picture of herself and her grandmother - multi-colored flowers, a bright red sun and blue birds flying in the sky surrounded them. It was a cool picture.

  But my favorite was from Neil. He wanted to own Disneyland. I love that place. Maybe he’d let me get in free if he really found that Leprechaun.

  Around three o’clock I heard the familiar toot of Justin’s horn. I opened the door and Shelby ran out to meet him. She loves chasing his wheelchair and biting the tires. Justin started playing soccer when he was four years old. By the time he was thirteen, he was on a select team. He was the quickest and most talented kid I’d ever seen. Tragically, during one game, another child kicked the ball and it struck Justin right in his spine. He went down and he never walked again. But he’s always had a great attitude about it. I’m sure he has days when he’s depressed about his inability to walk, but I’ve never seen it. Now he was a paraplegic, riding in a wheelchair with red racing stripes.

  As Justin scooted up and down my driveway, laughing and waving his arms, Shelby barked and chased him. Within a few minutes, Shelby was hoarse from barking. I whistled and she ran back to me. Next to my door I keep a piece of triangular wood that goes under the one step to my house. Justin maneuvered his wheelchair up my makeshift ramp a
nd into my house.

  “Hey Teach.”

  “My dog sounds like a frog again.”

  He snickered. “Yeah, I know. Did you send that stuff to your friend?”

  “Yes. It was pretty bizarre stuff. All that mind programming.”

  “Yeah. Who would have thought that clowns were bad?”

  “I had a friend once who was scared by a clown at an amusement park when he was five. He still hates clowns. Maybe he has the right idea.”

  “One bad group doesn’t spoil the whole profession.”

  I patted him on the head. “So wise for one so young.”

  He laughed. “Last year we had an ex-cult member come into our psychology class and talk about her mind programming experience. It was cool.”

  “What did she say?” It might come in handy at the camp.

  I sat down on the couch and Justin wheeled over to me. “She said there were a lot of drugs involved to lower your mind’s ability to resist their suggestions. They would keep repeating the same thing over and over again. She’d repeat it and pretty soon she believed it as if she’d thought of it herself.”

  “How did she get away from the cult?”

  “Her parents had her kidnapped back. It took her two years to get deprogrammed.”

  I drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Wow, two years?”

  “That was because for the first year she fought them at every turn. She was a prisoner in her own home. Once she accepted the fact that she’d never see the cult members again, she relaxed and the deprogramming started to work.”

  “Did they have to use drugs in the deprogramming?”

  “No.”

  “Then how did they do it?”

  “She said the trick was to say something in your mind that went against the cult every time she heard or said what they’d stuck in her head.”

  “Like when they said, ‘We are the way,’ she would say ‘No way’?”

  “Exactly. She said it soon became a game with her and she was concentrating more on her response than the actual words she heard in her head. Pretty soon their words were gone and she was left with her own thoughts.”

  “Good for her.”

  “Yeah, now she goes to all the schools and teaches kids about cults and what to look out for. She said if the organization wants to replace themselves as your family. That’s the key to a cult.”

  “It’s amazing that they get you to totally forget about your own family.”

  “Yeah, she said it was like they wiped them out in your memory.”

  “How can they do that?”

  “They’d talk about her mom and then just erase her mom and put in themselves. They did it for everyone that was important to her. For example, for you, they’d erase the memories of your mom and dad, and then your sister. And then any of your friends who were important to you.”

  “How do they get everyone?”

  “That’s the tricky part, but also the way you can get your memory back.”

  I sat forward in my seat. “What do you mean?”

  “She said that if they forget to do someone who was important to you, then seeing that person might bring back all of the memories they’d erased.”

  “Like if I had a third grade teacher who changed my life, then if I saw her I’d remember my mom and dad and everything else?”

  “Yeah, that’s what she said.”

  “It’s just weird, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.”

  Justin and I spent several more hours talking. He told me about his latest videogame conquest and Sandra, his new girlfriend. I told him about Tom.

  “Wow, that’s great, Teach. You going to get married?”

  “It’s a little early in our relationship to start thinking about that.”

  “Never too early to start planning.”

  Justin was an amazing boy. I gave him the key to my house and walked him to the door.

  As he wheeled through the door, he turned his head back to me. “Be wary of those clowns, Teach.”

  “What?”

  He gave me a knowing look. “I found your reservation to the clown camp.”

  “I’m just seeing what it’s all about.” I replied nonchalantly, hiding my reaction to being caught lying. Then added quickly, “I didn’t want you to worry.”

  “You’re not a good liar, Teach. Will you tell me all about it and the real reason you’re going when you get back?”

  I put my arms out straight, moving them up and down like a robot. “If I can, Justin. If I can.”

  He laughed at my attempt to look like I’d been programmed, then grew serious. “Don’t eat their food. I’d like to say don’t breath their air, but you won’t be able to avoid that. Drink lots of water. It will help remove whatever crap they get into you as quickly as possible.”

  “Thanks, Justin.”

  I watched as he motored himself across the street. He was a very astute young man.

  I went to bed early, but didn’t sleep well. I suppose I was nervous about clown camp and what I might find. Or what I wouldn’t. I tossed and turned. Around two in the morning I finally gave up and got out of bed.

  I re-heated a slice of the pizza I had earlier, then sat down with my notes on Jessie’s kidnapping, the Uptown Clowns, the clown camp, and the information Justin had sent. I really wanted to know what I was getting into. Two hours later I didn’t know anything new, but I was exhausted. I climbed into bed and fell asleep immediately.

  In the morning, I packed a bag with my clothes, laptop, and gun. I also packed a bag of food and a case of bottled water. If there were any drugs at the camp, I wanted to avoid taking them. It was really weird having a gun in my possession. A gun for protection against clowns? That’s even stranger.

  I spent a few minutes in the backyard playing with Shelby. I was going to miss that dog. She’d wandered into my garage two years ago, scrawny and looking like she hadn’t eaten in days. I expected her to snarl when I walked up to her, but instead she lay down and put her head on the concrete. She didn’t have the strength to lift it or growl. I took her to a vet who suggested I put her down. He told me she was too far gone and that nothing would bring her back. I couldn’t let her die. I had the vet give her several IV’s of fluids and then I took her home. I fed her with a baby bottle for two weeks and then soft canned dog food. Eventually she could eat real dog food. When I took her back to the vet, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He told me he never thought I could do it.

  I teach my kids in my classroom to never give up and that’s what I was doing for Jessie. I’d see it through, no matter where it led me. I didn’t know Jessie, but I still felt like I owed her that. After all, my computer had sent me to find her. How do you argue with a computer?

  I said goodbye to Shelby and got into my car. It would take me at least four hours to get to Santa Dominga. I didn’t want to be late for clown camp, did I?

  Chapter 11

  I went directly to the Motel 6 in Santa Dominga and checked in. I’m pretty sure the same lively girl I’d talked to on the phone a few days ago was still working the desk. She had to be seventeen, without an ounce of fat on her.

  “Hello and welcome to Motel 6.” She smiled broadly and bobbed her head back and forth.

  “I’m here for the clown camp.”

  “Wow!” Her eyes grew wider. “That’s great. You’re going to just love it.”

  I gave her my name and she handed me the key to Room 10. “Your roommate is already here.”

  I drew my mouth in tight. “I have a roommate?”

  “Yeah, everyone at the camp is partnered with another member who’s been through the camp already.”

  “So my roommate is already an Uptown Clown.”

  “Yes.”

  “Great. Where do I check-in for the camp?”

  She pointed out the front door. “There’s a large building in the center of the park. You’ll register there.”

  “Thanks.” I picked up my bag and walked down to Room 10. Whe
n I opened the door a young girl, not much older than the desk clerk, was listening to headphones and moving her head back and forth. Great. My roommate’s a teenager. A teenage clown, no less. How much fun was this going to be?

  She looked up and pulled off her headphones. “Hi, my name is Tina.” Then she scowled. “And aren’t you a little old to be a clown?”

  I threw my bag on the other bed. “My name’s Liza and they took my money, so I guess I’m not too old.”

  “It’s pretty strenuous work. Do you think you can keep up?”

  She looked at me as if I were a hundred years old, with one foot on a banana peel and the other in my grave. I was starting not to like little Tina, but I just smiled. “If not, I’ll go home. My life won’t come to an end if I drop out of clown camp. I just thought it would be fun.”

  She giggled. “Well, it is that. It’s like one big party every day. Last time I was here, I was so wasted that I don’t even remember two of the four days.”

  “How old are you?” I asked.

  “Nineteen.”

  “That’s awfully young not to remember two days out of your life.” I frowned. I probably sounded more judgmental than I had intended.

  She rolled her eyes and put her headphones back on. With her memory losses, I wondered if she’d starred in one of the porn movies without knowing it. I needed some more information. I walked over and slid her headphones off. “Are there any children at the clown camp?”

  “Oh yeah. They have a group of underprivileged kids who come to every camp session. The Uptown Clowns are that way. They like to give back to the community, especially the kids. You know, kids with issues?”

  I nodded. “I’ve had a few of them in my class.” Most of the time, the issues came from the parents. The old saying, “the apple never falls far from the tree,” is true when it comes to kids and their parents. Once during a parent conference I was all fired up to talk to little Barry’s parents. He couldn’t sit still, let alone focus on anything I was saying or trying to teach. I had all the test results ready in my hand. That was until I met his parents. Dad never made eye contact with me during the entire conference. His eyes wandered around my classroom like a bee in search of a wildflower. Mom was dressed in bright yellow Spandex. She looked like an ex-Jerry Springer guest. After spending a few minutes with them, I was starting to feel pretty good about little Barry and his abilities. With those two as his parents, he was practically a brain surgeon candidate. I smiled at Tina. “Do the parents come with them?”