The Fear In Yesterday's rings

in Russia and the Eastern European countries, as I'm sure the two of you are well aware. Much has changed in that part of the world, but some traditions remain. The famed Moscow Circus, perhaps the foremost collection of circus talent in the world, is still, in fact, made up of the finest acts which have been culled from small, regional circuses in the Eastern bloc countries. Those small, regional circuses are where all of us come from, and that's why you've never heard of us before. You may also know that it is a great honor to be selected as a performer in one of those circuses-and, of course, the government in each country still provides the best circus performers with certain privileges and a life-style not accessible to the average citizen. Circus performers are considered artists in the countries we come from, and all of the hundreds of regional circuses are subsidized by their respective governments. I am from what used to be East Germany. Some years ago, before all the changes and when I was much younger, I was invited to perform with the Moscow Circus. I refused the invitation.'

'Why?' Harper asked.

'Because I hate the Russian people in particular, and the communist system in general,' he said simply. 'I could not allow my talents to be exploited and used as propaganda for a people and form of government I loathe.'

Harper took another sip of her brandy, studied Luther's sculpted, hard-featured face. 'I would think that at the time refusing an invitation like that could be risky,' she said evenly.

Luther smiled thinly, nodded. 'I was fired from my own circus and sent out to the countryside to work on a collective farm. It was eight years before I was allowed to return to my work with animals-and only then after I had submitted to a formal political rehabilitation program. Then I was given the opportunity to escape to this country, and I took it. It was because of this circus that I had that opportunity.'

I said, 'World Circus has only been in existence a little more than two years. As you mentioned, much has changed in that part of the world.'

'All of us left before the changes. In any case, walking across a border there is not the same as coming here,to America, which is where all of us want to be. You see, Frederickson, World Circus is, indeed, a sanctuary for circus performers and their families who have fled to the greatest free country of all. Now we want to stay here. Unfortunately, the vagaries of various immigration laws being what they are, none of us has had the luxury of being able to go through normal procedures to acquire proper documentation. If we had even applied for exit permits in our own countries at that time, none of us would now even have the luxury of freedom.'

I asked, 'Who actually owns World Circus, Luther?'

'I'm not at liberty to tell you that, Frederickson. It's not that I don't trust you-I obviously do, or I wouldn't have admitted that all the personnel of this circus are illegal aliens. I simply feel

I don't have the right to give you the names of the individuals and organizations that banded together to buy and fund this circus, and to provide the finances and logistics necessary to help us escape from our countries and then travel here.'

'People defected from communist bloc countries all the time, Luther, and they were routinely granted asylum. And things are considerably simpler now.'

'Not for us, Frederickson. In many ways, the changes in Eastern Europe have complicated our situation here. There is nothing routine about the granting of asylum. You see, as circus performers, we are outsiders; our plight, especially now, would not generate the interest or sympathy of that of a defecting ballerina from the Bolshoi, or a chess grand master, or a scientist. Circus performers are not taken seriously by politicians. If we were not immediately sent back to our countries, we would all probably be put in refugee camps, like the Haitians and Laotians. It could be years before we obtained proper credentials, if we ever obtained them, and by then our careers would be finished. So, you see, it's just a little thing we have here. We prefer anonymity to the risk of losing our freedom to live here and practice our art. We don't harm anyone, and we bring pleasure to a great many people. It's enough for us. The one thing every person associated with this circus shares is a desire to live in the United States, and …' His voice trailed off as he glanced back and forth between Harper and me, and he frowned slightly. 'Is something the matter? You both look. . disappointed.'

'Luther,' I said wearily, 'the reason Harper and I are here is that we represent a group of people who were hoping to buy this circus; we were hoping that whoever picked it up at auction when Phil Statler went bankrupt would be ready to cash in if he or they could turn a profit. The situation is turning out to be a little more complicated than we thought it would be.'

'Ah,' Luther said, once again leaning forward on his broad forearms. 'And now you understand not only that the circus wouldn't be for sale but also why. Or I hope you do. It was not purchased for the purpose of making a profit, but to provide a refuge for circus performers, workers, and their families fleeing what was then communist oppression. Now it exists to allow us to remain in this country. Were we to lose this, not only would we lose a means to earn a living, but we could be sent to refugee camps or even forced to return to the countries we and our families risked so much to escape from.'

I said', 'Right.'

Harper said, 'Do you mind if we look around?'

Luther seemed startled by our reaction-or by what he might have considered a lack of it-and by Harper's request. He swallowed hard, recovered. 'I don't think that would be a good idea, Miss Rhys-Whitney. As I've just explained to you, all of the people here have reason to feel skittish about outsiders, and very few of them speak English. I wouldn't want to make them uneasy, and I wouldn't want to subject the two of you to any possible hostility.'

'I understand,' I said, rising and extending my hand across the table. 'We certainly don't want to make anyone nervous, so we'll be leaving. Thanks for the ride and drink, Luther. And good luck to all of you.'

'And to both of you.'

Harper, who seemed surprised by my sudden action, looked at me quizzically for a few moments, then slowly rose and took Luther's outstretched hand.

Abraham Lincoln was waiting outside the trailer to take us back the way we had come.

It can get cold, even in summer, in the Great Plains states when the sun goes down. Knowing this, I had brought along a light poplin jacket, and Harper a sweater, which we'd draped over the backs of our seats. Mabel hadn't given me much of an opportunity to gather my belongings when she'd decided to include me in her act, and Harper had left her sweater with my jacket on the seats when she'd come back to join Luther and me. By the time we returned, the show was over, the lights in the Big Top dimmed, Harper's sweater and my jacket gone. Abraham Lincoln apologized profusely and offered to pay for the missing articles of clothing, but we declined.

It was cold, and the heater in the rented car wasn't working; that was bad. Harper was huddled next to me as I drove; that was good. 'Why the quick exit, Robby?' she mumbled into my shoulder.

'I didn't want to wear out our welcome.'

'I didn't notice that we had a real welcome to wear out. I kind of figured you were going to put a little heat on him.'

'Why did you figure that?'

'You mean you believed that story about all of them being illegal aliens, refugees from communist tyranny traipsing through the Midwest in a kind of ghost circus?'

'No. First, I can't see how being with a circus would protect you from INS scrutiny. Second, and more important, there were no children; none in any of the acts that we saw, and none wandering around outside the trailers. It was Luther who mentioned families, and it's a little hard for me to believe that all those men and women just up and left their children behind- one or two couples, maybe, but not all of them. Have you ever seen a circus where the performers' kids weren't running around all over the place?'

'Hmm. Of course not. I hadn't even thought of that.'

'That's the reason you're not a world-famous private investigator. Why didn't youbelieve him?'

'Because I know at least a half dozen performers living in Florida who are refugees from what used to be communist bloc countries, and they never had any trouble getting permanent resident status. I think our friend Luther was bullshitting us, Robby. He's a hell of a lot better animal trainer than he is a liar.'

'Right.'

'Then why didn't you press him on it?'