The Case at Blackburn Circus
I recall it was one those spring mornings in May; the fragrance of the newly blossomed flowers in the garden & the chirping of the birds and the bright sunshine all greeted me to a beautiful Morning. Inspector Morris being a late riser was still in bed, perhaps dreaming of his is mortal enemy Clifford Green. Mrs. Brown the housekeeper had just laid a pot of tea on the table along with freshly fried Bacon and Eggs and Toast; its aroma tantalized my appetite. I had just about gone down to the dinning room, when the doorbell rang. I wondered in heavens name, who was the unexpected visitor to deprive me the tranquility of the morning which I was enjoying. It was within a minute that Mrs. Brown announced the arrival of a young lady, a Ms. Elizabeth Mayal, her purpose of visit was to see the invincible Inspector Morris on a matter which was of urgent importance. I asked Mrs. Brown to show her in and within a few seconds I met Ms. Mayal. I quickly summed her up of being a person who was in her mid 20′s, about 5 feet 6, perhaps weighed 50 kilos, black hair which was done up in a bun and had a fringe, she wore a Pretty black dress, and had ordinary shoes. She had sharp features and had fair complexion and amazing violet coloured eyes which added to her beauty. The lady seemed to be quite disturbed about something and was desperate to meet Inspector Morris. We exchanged greetings and then I told her to make herself comfortable, as I excused my self and to awake Inspector Morris who was snoring like a locomotive.
I tried to wake Inspector Morris from his deep slumber but my efforts went in vain. Ultimately my patience ran out and in disgust I began ticking his ears with a feather, which Inspector Morris simply detested. Within a second he sprang up and instantly looked at me exclaimed with annoyance ” What is the meaning of this Baker that you indulge yourself in such juvenile antics”. I quickly extended my apology for my intrusion to his peaceful sleep and explained to him my reason. Immediately Inspector Morris showered and changed his attire and accompanied me to where the anxious visitor was seated. The lady sounded a greeting and an honest apology for her unscheduled arrival. Inspector Morris then beckoned her to take a seat and then took his seat as he clasped his hands and said “What wind blows you here Ms. Mayal”. She hesitated a bit and then said “Oh Inspector I seek your help most urgently, well you must have read about the tragic incident that occurred at the Blackburn Circus in yesterday papers”. “Most certainly I have go on, go on” exclaimed Inspector Morris. “The Lion trainer that was mauled in that accident happened to be my fiancé and I too worked at the Circus as a trapeze artist” said Ms Mayal. “How horrid? Please do accept my condolences” said Inspector Morris. The lady paused for a few seconds and then said “I have a strong notion Inspector Morris that I suspect foul play”. The lady barely completed her sentence when she took out her handkerchief and burst into tears and had to be consoled by me. After a while when she regained her composure she continued by saying “Jim had accused the Ringmaster Jack Little for the death of his two favourite big cats Shere Khan & Shera, who he had raised from a cub. Apparently the big cats were poisoned claimed Jim, but jack Little stood his ground and denied such false allegations that where charged on him, and tried to convince Jim that his pets died of excessive dehydration, which Jim was not ready to buy. To add more fuel to the fire Jack little compelled Jim to perform his act for the opening show with the substitute big cats, which Jim refused point blank. However when the ringmaster threatened to lay him off, he reluctantly accepted to perform the act but on condition that the ringmaster allowed him to use a gun as a safety measure, which the ringmaster allowed, and now my poor Jim is no more…” She barely finished her statement and started weeping once again. Inspector Morris who was in deep thought then suddenly rose from his chair and lit his pipe and looking at me said “Well Baker it sure sounds interesting to me, we’ll get to work immediately”. And with that he made a grab of his Brim hat and cane and then briskly exited out of the entrance and asked us to follow suite.
I cannot reckon the exact time when we reached our destination but I estimated that it might have been around a quarter past eleven. We descended from our carriage and are nostrils could pick up the scent of a typical circus. The tent enclosures were decorated with lights, festoons and other decorations and a sign greeted us at the entrance that read “WELCOME TO THE BLACKBURN CIRCUS”. A knife thrower, Jugglers and acrobats were busy practicing their acts. We continued our promenade and then we stopped at a sign that read “KEEP OUT TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED”. It was here that Ms Mayal informed us that we had approached the Ringmasters enclosure. We ignored the warning sign and advanced but no sooner we went a yard or two, than we heard Dogs barking profusely and it was not long when we were greeted rather lukewarmly by a six footer gentleman along with his two dobermann.He had a big pot belly, a handlebar mustache, and wore a black fish tale suite, a brim hat, high leather boots and carried a whip and said. “What business brings you here gentlemen”. We introduced ourselves and learnt that the impertinent gentleman was Jack Little the ringmaster. His name took me by surprise because honestly speaking the fellah did not live up to his title “Little”. Inspector Morris then told Mr. Little that we had come to investigate on the death of Jim Brown. “Certainly I shall help as much as possible” said the ringmaster. He then narrated the incident that had occurred the day before and concluded by saying “You know Jim was a real asset to our Circus, his passing away has placed us into a predicament, as our sale of tickets has gone down. I do accept that I should not have compelled him do perform his act with the substitute Lions which were not well trained but then I was left with no choice, but one thing that confuses me Mr. Inspector Morris is I do not seem to understand how he could have forgotten to load his Gun with bullets. Inspector Morris thanked the Ringmaster for his statement and asked him if he could place a call. Within a moment he placed a call to Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard and asked him to meet him at the Blackburn Circus.
Inspector Lestrade arrived within an hour and asked Inspector Morris to throw some more light on the death of Jim Brown. Inspector Morris lit his Pipe and then said” Inspector I am sure that you read about the tragic death of trainer Jim Brown which the papers concluded as an accident. “Well that’s correct” said the inspector. Inspector Morris took another drag of his pipe and inhaled through his nostrils then he exclaimed “what if I told you that Jim Brown did not die of an accident but was murdered”. “Murdered” grasped the Inspector. “Precisely” said Inspector Morris. “How come” came in the puzzled reply of the baffled inspector. “The murderer was an extremely intelligent man who got rid of Jim making it look as if it was an accident. The Inspector and the rest of us present were speechless. I was wondering had Inspector Morris gone insane, because he had no shred of evidence and yet how could he have concluded that Jim Brown was murdered. The instant silence was broken by Inspector Lestrade who said “fair enough Inspector Morris but I need an explanation before I place any arrests “. The case indeed reached its crescendo and curiosity was burning inside off me to know how the great Inspector Morris came to his deduction. Inspector Morris then said “Inspector according to the statement which Mr.Little gave me this morning he had mentioned it was rather unfortunate that Jim Brown forgot to load his gun with Bullets but inspector if my study on Lion trainers is said to be correct you will agree with me that a Lion trainers certainly carry’s a gun for safety measures but the Gun is never loaded with bullets but with blanks. Therefore when Mr.Little, said that the Gun was loaded with bullets I had my doubts although he tried to conceal his guilt but yet from his statement he gave himself away, he was the person who had unloaded the blanks and replaced it with bullets before Jim went for his act”.
‘So you see Mr.Little wanted the entire episode to look like an accident.’ said the inspector.
Inspector Morris had just about finished his explanation when Inspector Lestrade went to the Ringmasters tent putting on the cuffs on for the Ringmaster said “I am afraid you are under arrest for the murder of Jim Brown”. The Ringmaster by now who had broken out in cold sweat, confessed his crime, and was soon transported to the London county Jail. Ms Mayal extended her gratitude to Inspector Morris and promised she would send his fees the next day and with that she departed.
It began to drizzle as we were returning in our carriage; Inspector Morris as usual was smoking his pipe and was in deep thought perhaps recollecting the case, as I wondered this was perhaps the fastest cases that Inspector Morris had solved and I considered myself fortunate to have had the opportunity of working with such a gentleman, the Invincible Inspector Morris.
About the Author
The author is currently an educationist by profession, and a man of many avtars but one of the authors greatest assets is being a prolific story teller with vivid creativity and imagination for which he can captivate the young and the old. He writes mostly mystery stories with some classy endings, leaving the readers wanting more. Most of his work is non fiction and is spun around incidents in schools of India, he is also into writing fiction but prefers the former mode of writing to his readers as it gives them food for though since the incidents are real. The conclusions of each story is different and would certainly interest all to find out what happens at the end, he insures that even a impatient reader will still be curios to know what is the final outcome of each story.
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