A Tale of Two Carnies

43 - The Truth Revealed

The first sketches in Cozbi's memory book, beautifully drawn in color, showed the carnie life Cozbi and I shared. She drew scenes of townies walking along the midway, playing the games, all of us gathering for chow in the food tent. Drawings of me fixing things. There was a sketch of her father in animated discussion with Mr. Green. She drew all of the colorful carnival wagons exactly as I remembered them. In some of the scenes, I recognized Ma Adams, Mose Jensen, and the rest. She even drew me sitting in the Beast. Her attention to detail stole my breath as always. In many of the drawings depicting only the two of us, Cozbi had her face turned toward me, her expression one of adoration.

"She never really looked at me like that," I muttered.

Sitting beside me on the bed, Shelly said, "You just never noticed."

Halfway through the book, her sketches departed from happy scenes and took on a solemn feel. She drew herself at her father's graveside, kneeling, hands on his gravestone while oversized silver tears tracked down her face and puddled on the ground. A visual metaphor, I figured, depicting the depth of her grief.

Shelly laid a hand on my thigh.

I turned the page.

The sketches changed from color to shades of gray. Cozbi walking toward the food tent, wearing shorts showing off her legs. In the background, leaning against a pole, Marlin Cleveland's expression left no doubt that he ogled her.

The sketch on the next page showed Marlin Cleveland grasping her arm. Cozbi was struggling to free herself, her posture bent away from him. He pointed toward his wagon with his other hand. His words appeared in a dialog bubble. "Your daddy's gone, honey. I'll take care of your needs, and you can take care of mine."

Anger flared inside me.

The next sketch showed her running from Marlin Cleveland toward the midway and the safety of other people.

"That bastard," I uttered. "Why didn't she tell me? I would've gone with her to report him to Mr. Green."

The next sketch answered my question. A night scene. Only a porchlight illuminated Marlin Cleveland's meaty hand around Cozbi's throat. He had her shoved up against the door of her trailer. The dialog bubble read, "If you tell anyone, I'll gut you, but only after I cut up that young man who fancies you."

"She was protecting you," Shelly whispered. "That's why she never said anything."

My hand trembled as I turned the page.

Another night scene. This time a streetlight adjacent to a firehouse provided illumination. Marlin Cleveland dragged Cozbi along by the arm. She was straining to resist him, but he was too big and too strong. The bubble read, "Time for you to earn your keep."

The next sketch showed Marlin Cleveland twisting Cozbi's arm while standing inside the firehouse. The two men who testified against Cozbi at her trial stood in the frame, eyeing her with hunger. "Here you go, boys. When you're done, I'll be taking a turn with her."

In the next frame, Cozbi waved a butcher knife toward Marlin Cleveland, her face red with rage. The two firemen were sketched with hands in front of them as if ready to fend off her attack, alarm on their faces. The sketch didn't show where Cozbi got the knife. The bubble above her head read, "If you touch me, I'll kill you." A bubble above one of the firemen read, "You told us she was compliant and willing. Get her out of here, Marlin, and give us our money back."

Cozbi had been right again. She did threaten to kill Marlin Cleveland and the two firemen were witnesses. During Cozbi's trial, the two cowards didn't testify as to the context of her threat.