FUN AT THE FAIR

By MAYP

 

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�WELCOME TO TECHNOLOGY ADVENTURES!� announced the robot in a metallic childish voice to an approaching crowd of children.� Under the canopy in front of the white building, the robot rolled over to a little girl in pigtails.� �MY NAME IS SEYMOUR.� WHAT IS YOUR NAME?�

 

�Annie!� the little girl squealed.

 

�HI, ANNIE.� DO YOU WANT TO GIVE ME A HUG?�� The robot�s rigid arms went up to a 90-degree angle at the shoulders.� The girl reached the robot�s lower body, her arms too short to go around the metallic body as the mother snapped a picture.

 

Richard Kimble smiled at the robot�s antics.� Standing by a giant barbecued grill next door to the building, he flipped the meat over.� The late morning sun was getting warm, but Richard already wore a baseball cap identifying him as an employee.� Being at the fair was a boon.� After around two weeks or so, the employer would move to another fair location.� Richard would move wherever the fair was.� Working at the grill also meant that there was less contact with the public.

 

At this particular fair, he was here long enough to figure out how the robot �works�.� The robot operator was a young man wearing a baseball cap and dark glasses.� The public had not caught on the robot�s working.� It was amazing that the robot would be attracted to children, especially the younger ones.� The children were amazed to see a mechanical man talking to them as a real person.� Richard chuckled to himself when he overheard a conversation by a family walking by about a �midget� inside the robot.� Someone else talked about a man inside the building watching the robotic antics from a television.� These people had great imagination.

 

Richard got a giant pan to remove the barbecued meat off the grill.� People were already ordering at the booth.� People love the spared ribs, chicken, hamburger, hotdog, and fries.� After placing a new batch of marinated meat onto the grill, Richard covered the grill and went to open a giant bag of ice to fill the ice machine.� It would be hot later and people would welcome the cold drinks.

 

He looked up to see bounty hunter Karl Vasick entering the Technology Adventures building.� �Jenna, I�m taking a break,� he told the cashier in the booth.

 

�Okay, John,� she said.� �Randy will be here soon.�

 

Richard entered the building.� The cool air from the air condition hit him.� He stood for a few minutes to adjust his eyes to the dim lights.� The lights were off while spotlights were strategically placed to highlight the various exhibits.� The music from the Dance Dance Revolution boomed as two people, probably parent and child, jumped on two individual dance pads.� They were following the arrows moving up on the screen.

 

�Get ready!� ordered the kung fu master at the Sony iToy interactive video game in the next booth.� The little boy standing 3 feet from the giant screen started waving his arms to whack the enemies on the screen.� Richard hurried past a crowd of people watching the boy�s movements to look around for Vasick.

 

Richard found him at the Earth Viewer exhibit.� Vasick was seated at a workstation, the screen projected on the wall above the exhibit.� Vasick was searching a location in Maryland.� Pausing by the projector, Richard found some paper that someone had left behind and wrote down the address.

 

Then Vasick left the exhibit and moved outside.� Richard followed.� A man leaving the Energy Bike exhibit at the same time also moved toward the door.� The older man, his face pale, commented to the security guard seated there, �I don�t feel so good.�� The man collapsed to the floor.� Richard hurried to the man, kneeled down, and checked his pulse.� It was beating rapidly and the man�s skin felt hot.

 

�Stand back and give him some air!� Richard ordered.� The crowd retreated.

 

�The man�s having a coronary,� someone in the crowd murmured.

 

The security guard called 911 on his radio.� The paramedic arrived in seconds as the man regained consciousness.� The paramedic took over as Richard moved to the edge of the gathering crowd.� �My husband was riding the Energy Bike and he went as fast as he could for 30 seconds,� the man�s wife explained.

 

�Sir, you should not exert yourself in this hot weather,� said one of the paramedic.� �You should take it easy.�

 

Richard left the building.� He stayed for a while to adjust his eyes to the bright light.� Vasick was waiting outside.� �Kimble,� he said.� �I just want to talk to you.�

 

Richard glanced around and nodded at an empty picnic table nearby under the canopy.� People were already seating at the other tables.� It was safe enough.

 

They sat at the empty table, facing each other.� �Kimble, I want you to know that I believe you are no killer,� started Vasick.

 

�You didn�t believe before.� Why did you change your mind?� asked Richard.

 

�Let�s say that I got a reality check from our common friend, Gerard,� remarked Vasick.� �He made me realize that I was barking up the wrong tree, so to speak. �Anyway, I found out that your one-armed man is real and I believe that he is in Maryland.�

 

Richard remembered the shootout at a Kansas farmhouse one night.� Richard was almost arrested by Gerard, but was able to escape when Vasick provided a distraction by shooting at Richard.� That Gerard took his eyes away.� He remembered hearing a shot by Gerard followed by a heavy thud as Vasick tumbled down the stairs.� Gerard had rushed out of the house to search the empty yard.� So Vasick had been shot, but Richard did not know how serious.� Escape was a high priority at the time.� Apparently, Vasick had made a full recovery.

 

�Do you need any help?�

 

�Yes, what do you know about the man?�

 

�His real name is Ben Charnquist, but his alias is Fred Johnson.� He lost his right arm in an oil rigger accident.� He supposedly died of a drug overdose in New Orleans in 1993, but as you know, he is still alive.� I have already seen him seven times.� The last time, I almost brought him in to Gerard too.�

 

Vasick nodded.� �He�s probably scammed the insurance company.� That is one of the oldest tricks.� I remembered reading in the newspapers about an insurance investigator on the Charnquist case found dead in the Mississippi River.�

 

�I wouldn�t be surprised if Charnquist is the culprit.� He was already at the cemetery where I was to meet the investigator,� Richard recalled.� �His wife, Renee, was the benefactor, but she claimed that she didn�t know that Charnquist was still alive.� I believed her, but they were in it together.� When I returned to her apartment, it was already emptied.� She had tricked me.�

 

�It sounds like he is not working alone,� Vasick agreed.� �That�s how he is able to remain free all this time.�

 

�I saw him get arrested in Baltimore, but somehow he got released.� There was no record of his being brought in.�

 

�He sounds like he has friends in high places too.� I wouldn�t be surprised if McLaren has anything to do with it.�

 

�Do you mean the Chief of Police?�� Captain McLaren was the Chief of Detectives in Chicago.

 

�Yes, he was working with Matthew Ross together when Ross brought me in on your case.�

 

So his father-in-law was involved.� Richard contemplated this new piece of evidence.� Perhaps Matthew Ross knew Ben Charnquist or maybe Charnquist worked for Ross. �The part that Ross hired Charnquist to murder Helen did not make sense.� If only he could find the link to put all the pieces together like a puzzle, then he could be free.

 

�I have to get back to work,� said Richard as he stood up.� �Do you need any more information?�

 

�Not now.� Thanks, I have enough to go on,� said Vasick as he also stood up.� �I�m just here to let you know that I�m on your side now.�� He put his right hand out.� Richard shook his hand.

 

Richard left Vasick and he hurried back to the barbecue booth.� Randy, the other worker, was already at the grill, flipping the meat around.� Richard took a drink from a water bottle.� It was hotter now.� Standing by the grill is even hotter, but Richard didn�t mind.� Now he had hope that he was getting closer to clearing his name.� He was feeling better already.

 

�WELCOME TO TECHNOLOGY ADVENTURES!� announced the robot in a metallic childish voice to another group of children.� It was time to have fun at the fair.

Extras
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