Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier Page B

you’re the new deputy chief?” She pronounced deputy as deppity .
    “Yes, ma’am, I am.”
    “Earl didn’t mention he was hiring a woman.”
    “You know the chief?” Vanessa was surprised.
    Margie Hamilton shrugged. “Oh sure. I used to live next door to him when he was married to his first wife. No, wait, Irene was his second wife.” She thought for a moment, then waved a hand dismissively. “Anyway, we were neighbors about fifteen years ago, is what I’m saying. I downsized when Louie—that’s my late husband—died. Had a massive heart attack on the way to work one morning, dropped dead in the driveway. The old house was too big for just me after Louie passed, especially once the girls were grown. Anyway, whenever I run into him at the grocery store, Earl always says hello.”
    “Mrs. Hamilton, did you know something about Glenn Hovey?” Vanessa asked.
    “Oh sure, that’s why I waved you in here. I didn’t want Sherry hearing me, so what I’m telling you, you don’t repeat to her, you know what I’m saying?”
    “Got it.”
    “Okay, so Glenny, he’s a little batty.” Margie made a twirling motion with her finger near her temple. “He’s not crazy or stupid or nothing, but he’s kind of awkward, though some of that probably comes from living with Sherry for too long. She always says he got weird after what happened to him when he was fourteen. Or was he fifteen?” She paused again, then waved a hand. “He was still a boy when it happened, is what I’m saying.”
    “What happened to him?”
    “The Clown Museum.” Margie said this as if Vanessa was supposed to understand exactly what she was talking about. “It messed him up something awful. He was never quite right after that.”
    Vanessa bit back a sigh. It was important to be patient, and to not show frustration, even though she was tempted to shout at the woman to make her point already. “I asked Mrs. Hovey if she knew where Glenn was. She wasn’t sure.”
    “Oh, she probably don’t know. She don’t want to know, you know what I’m saying? Sherry’s protective of her boy, but she likes to pretend that his problem is gambling. His problem’s not poker, no matter what she told you.” Margie leaned in slightly, and did the twirly thing again with her finger. “His problem goes way deeper, know what I’m saying?”
    Biting her lip, Vanessa said, “No, ma’am. No, I really don’t.”
    “He’s got other . . . addictions.”
    “Such as?”
    “You know. Those blue movies.”
    “Blue movies?”
    “Dirty movies. Sex movies.” The older woman paused for dramatic effect. “ Porn .”
    Vanessa tried not to laugh. “I see.”
    “He been caught two or three times watching porn at work. Can you imagine? That’s not right. He’s around all those kids, he got no business watching movies like that with kids around. But it’s because of what happened to him when Glenny was a kid, you know what I’m saying? It’s like he don’t know that it’s wrong.”
    This time, Vanessa did know what she was saying. “And how do you know he’s been in trouble at work?”
    “Because my grandson worked at Wonderland three summers in a row. He said all the kids know about Glenny.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And it’s not like the regular porn. It’s really dirty stuff. It’s not boy-girl stuff. It’s boy- boy stuff.”
    “You’re saying Glenn has been caught watching gay pornography while working at Wonderland?”
    “You didn’t hear it from me.”
    “But yet they never fired him.”
    Margie waved a hand. “They can’t. On account of what happened to him.”
    “What happened to him?” Vanessa was beginning to feel like a parrot.
    The old woman let out a sigh. “In the Clown Museum.”
    Vanessa forced a note of concern into her voice. “Mrs. Hamilton, it would help me if you were specific. What exactly happened to Glenn in the Clown Museum?”
    “He was . . . you know . . .” Margie Hamilton looked at