The Final Flower

Why the Alyssum flowers? They had been delibratly placed at the first two murders. The piece that didn't fit into the puzzle.

Sending on DI Lestrade to wrap up the tedious matter of arresting the circus, I retraced my steps to the flower bed where this had all began.

Burried in the park were 2 throwing knives from the first murder and a phone.

M contacted me and gave me a choice. Save either John or Irene from the pain of drowning, by forcing me to choose which one to shoot one of them. From what I gather, M had stolen both John and Irene from the company of the police and was holding them at gunpoint, weighted and bound in a swimming pool.

Using what I could deduce over the phone I maganged to locate the position they were being held and alerted the police. Foul water, echoes, the faint sound of a freight train, the lack of concen over being heard. Conclusion: The disused Surrey Aquatic Center.

I arrived in time to confront M before the poice arrived. He escaped while I pulled the unconcious and bleeding Irene Alder from the waters and returned to rescue John from the bottom of the pool. During this time I also managed to get winged by a bullet ricochet.

Lestrade arrived armed with an army of EMT's and ambulances. Which is how I ended up with another blanket for 'shock' and eight stiches in my right arm. Apparently I'm not allowed to play the violin. We'll see about that.

Case and puzzle solved.

Perhaps next time M decideds to 'burn the heart of me' It might present more of a challenge.

Le Cirque d'Morte

This case had all the flair of an Agatha Christie. The third murder was a forgone conclusion.

The victim told me little I didn't know but confirmed all by suspicions. Emma Saunders, burnt alive, tied at a stake in plain sight with no witnesses. The fire would had to have burnt fast and hot to do that amount of damage to a corpse therefore an accelerant had been used. Traces were still detectable on the concrete, the same accelerant used by fire performers, most commonly, fire battons. Also the cord once again used to bind the victim was light fibres, silk most probably that perished in the fire. The locket found on the body immedaitly indicated the personal connection with the crime. Emma Saunders's ex-husband.

The method of the murder also answered motive. It was personal. Obviously revenge. Only that would be satisfied by such a violent and voyeristic death. Correlating the differing skills of the killers wasn't difficult.

• Simon Brown was killed by two knife throwers. (The marks left on the tiles)


• Lance Peterson was killed by the strong man an a trapeeze artist. (The strength required and the bindings.)


• Emma Saunders was killed by the Fire Performer. (The type of accelerant use on fire batons.)

It then became a matter of which travelling circus it was. Unsolved police reports follow Augustine's Greatest Circus and their movements for almost ten years.

Conclusion. The travelling circus troop that used each other for alibis while systematically murdering those that had wronged them.

The only loose end is the flower.