Dark Carnival Murders

Dark Carnival Murders by Bob
Moats

Smashwords EBook Edition

Copyright © 2011 by Bob
Moats.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be
reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic
form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage
piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s
rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

This is a work of pure
fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and
any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.

For information and address:

Magic 1 Productions

P.O. Box 524, Fraser MI
48026-0524

Website:
http://murdernovels.com

Magic 1 Productions - Published through
Smashwords

EBOOK ISBN:
978-1-4657-5038-9

Cover design and photo by Bob Moats,
all rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal
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Other Jim Richards series
books by Bob Moats

(In series order)

“Classmate
Murders”

“Vegas Showgirl
Murders”

“Dominatrix
Murders”

“Mistress
Murders”

“Bridezilla
Murders”

“Magic Murders”

“Strip Club
Murders”

“Made-for-TV
Murders”

“Mystery Cruise
Murders”

"Talk Show
Murders"

"Sin City
Murders"

"Black Widow
Murders"

"Vegas Vigilante
Murders"

"Area 51 Murders"

"Mortuary
Murders"

"Hypnotic
Murders"

"Sunshine State
Murders"

"Blue Suede
Murders"

"Honky Tonk
Murders"

For a preview or to purchase
a paperback book

go to
http://murdernovels.com

What people are saying
about the Murder novels by Bob Moats

"I went online this morning and read your
book. I thought at first that I would only read a few pages, but
got sucked into it and read all 11 chapters. You are a very good
writer! I read quite a bit and often pick up "Airport" paperback
mysteries to read on a plane. Most of them are dreadful, with
obvious plots. Classmate Murders is a much better story than
most."

Ray Zink, Entrepreneur, Minn.

"I got up to chapter ten of
the Classmate Murders and decided then to buy the next two books."
... "Just finished your third book, the Dominatrix Murders. I
thought it was the best one of the three, didn’t want to put it
down till I finished it. Keep the books coming can’t wait for the
next one."

A. Norris, Retired Naval Corpsman

"Classmate Murders is well written and keeps
the reader involved and wondering what will happen next throughout
the book. Showgirl Murders keeps the reader involved throughout the
story and keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is until very
near the end."

G. Shurig, Kalamazoo

"If you like mysteries and
action then don’t miss reading this book..."

Jan Schneider, avid mystery/crime reader

"I finished the book last night, and really
enjoyed it. I can only read a book that fast when it keeps my
interest, so that should tell you a lot. I would recommend this
book to others. I look forward to reading the next installment of
the book."

M. K., retired Chrysler Admin.

"I haven’t finished the
book yet, when I enjoy a book, I take my time, but I want to buy
the other two books. I compare your writing to a Mickey Spillane
novel, and I like your style, very narrative. I’m amazed you don’t
have a publisher yet."

Michael Rasah, Professor of History

"Thanks for making me immortal, love the
stories, your friend, Buck."

The real "Buck", George Carver

“
Your books have been a joy
to read. They keep me interested until the last page is turned.
Keep up the good Work!

B. Scharmann, Rochester Hills, Michigan

"Bob, I LOVED it. It
reminds me a lot of Colombo, I can see Jim as a regular guy, not a
smooth talker, but able to outwit the bad guys. The characters were
great and I love the way you describe so many of them. Some of your
other characters were fun to read about. I can’t think of any
corrective criticism. I will have my husband read it, he reads all
the time. I think he will love the book too."

Joyce Van Houzen-Stacy,
B.A.,M.B.A.

Bob, my brother, Bill, sent
all seven of your Jim Richard’s novels for me to read. I loved
them. They were interesting and fast moving. You did good and I
hope you write some more of them. I gave the books to my daughter
and now she says she is hooked! I enjoy your books and I want to
see more of them. It is hard to find books of this type. Concise
and interesting. We need more books like these. Getting published
is a real war. I hope you have good luck with them. You have a
talent for writing novels the way I think they should be written.
Regards,"

Fred Scharmann, Avon, OH

Murder novels aren’t my
usual fare but this sweet, suspenseful and often humorous series
draws you in and keeps you guessing to the end. I’ve read all eight
(some of them twice) and hope to see more coming soon. I recommend
following Jim Richards adventures but take care, murder seems to
follow him!

Tia L Brink, Binghamton, New York

____________________

Thank you for purchasing
this book, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing these
for my faithful readers. Please feel free to email me to tell me
what you thought about my stories. I can be reached at
[email protected]
thanks again!

Chapter 1

They slowly moved in under
cover of the pale moon. Enough light to see what they needed to do;
but not enough to attract much attention. The convoy of trucks
pulled into the center of the expansive twenty acres of still
untouched desert land. In one corner of the property sat
construction equipment and supplies to soon build the most
expensive and most glamorous towers of condos in Las Vegas, but the
work had been delayed while the investors battled over profit
division.

The trucks came to a stop
in formation for the building of another type of attraction; the
men flowed out of the cabs and started to pull out equipment and
parts to build the rides on which people would find thrills and
chills.

A huge tent went up at the
perimeter where the rides were being set up and a gaily colored
banner was strung across the front of the tent where it could be
seen easily from the road. It read "Jacob S. Dark’s Traveling
Carnival and Wonder Shows."

Three hours later, the
tent was equipped with all that was needed to amaze and amuse the
crowds with the greatest sideshow of geeks and freaks found on
earth.

From the edge of the lot,
two young boys were watching the activities. They had told their
parents that they were camping in the backyard in the pup tent they
had set up. But the flyer they had found blowing in the street
summoned them to the lot where a bigger tent and rides were growing
before them. So when it was finally dark, they’d snuck out of the
yard and walked the mile from their home to the place where they
knew magic would happen. They quietly moved up to the back of the
tent and listened carefully at the canvas.

Suddenly a flap in the
tent opened and there stood a tall, dark man, in a black suit, the
type a funeral director from the western movies would wear. Tall
stovepipe hat, a pencil thin mustache and he had what the hip folks
on the strip would call a soul patch beard.

The boys froze, one felt a
trickle of wetness running down his leg, the other just made a
small yelp. The man smiled and said loud and boisterously, "Welcome
boys, don’t be frightened, this is my carnival and you can come in
to help set up the side shows and the games of chance. I pay well,
and you get to go on the rides for free. Just step on in and I’ll
take care of you."

The older boy looked to
the other and nodded, then they happily ran into the tent. The
tall, dark man grinned, looked out to the vast area to see if
anyone was watching, and then slowly closed the flap.

~~*~~

It was Saturday morning
and I wanted to sleep in, so I had already warned my beautiful wife
Penny not to disturb me under penalty of death. I, of course,
couldn’t sleep so I just stared at the ceiling as Willy, our tiny
toy Yorkie licked my foot hanging over the edge of the bed. I
usually slept in strange positions but my leg over the side of the
bed was not one of them. Moreover, Willy’s tongue tickling my foot
wasn’t on my list of favorite things.

I gave up and swung my
other leg over the bed causing Willy to rush out of the room before
I could trample him. I stood and stretched, went to my bathroom and
started my day.

A half-hour later I came
out to the kitchen, but it was empty. No Angelo, no Penny. Odd, I
thought and saw the patio door was open. I went out and stopped by
the ugly Greek God statue that still occupied the patio, reached
down into the can at the foot of the statue and pulled a handful of
feed, throwing it into the Koi pond in front of the statue. The
huge goldfish devoured the pellets and I ventured on past them. I
could smell food cooking and went to the backyard and found Angelo
and Penny at the incinerator, which is what we called our
BBQ.

"Smells great, what’s
cooking?" I asked.