less sullen. Apparently, she enjoyed Timâs attention.
Bess asked her, âHowâd you go from diving to flying?â
âThe circus bug, as Tim said,â Katrina replied. âI asked a retired trapeze artist to give me lessons. Tim and I joined different circuses, but weâve both been with the Grand Royal for about three years now.â
âIsnât it scary to fall? What causes that, anyway?â Nancy asked innocently.
âMostly, itâs a poorly timed trick,â Katrina said. âHayden decides whether or not to catch a trick. If it isnât coming at him right, heâll let it go rather than risk not being able to hang on to it throughout the swing.â
âSo even pros fall?â Nancy asked.
âOh, sure,â Katrina said. âThough during shows, Hayden sometimes catches tricks heought to let pass. Especially Nataliaâs. Guess he wants to make her look good,â she added.
Noticing that Timâs attention had strayed to his friends, Nancy reached into her bag and pulled out the towel Natalia had wiped her hands on.
âNatalia was telling the truth about the bar being oily. Look at this,â Nancy said, waiting for Katrinaâs reaction.
âLooks like Natalia had something on her hands when she left the platform,â Katrina said in a sharp voice.
âI donât think sheâd be that careless,â Nancy said. Watching Katrina carefully, she added, âNatalia thought you had something to do with it.â
The redhead jumped to her feet, nearly spilling her tea. âYouâve got no right to accuse me! Take that back or youâll be sorry!â
The chatter at the table stopped dead. Nancy felt every face in the room turn her way. Tim the clown leapt out of his chair as Katrina stormed around the table and came straight at Nancy!
Chapter
Three
A LARMED , Nancy pushed her chair back and stood to defend herself. But Joseph Pomatto jumped up, too, and stepped in front of Nancy.
âWhoa, whoa, calm down, Katrina,â he said soothingly.
âKat, take it easy.â Tim slipped his arm through Katrinaâs. âCome on, letâs take a little walk.â He cast a glance at Nancy. âDonât mind Kat. She didnât mean anything. Itâs just been pretty tense around here lately, with the show coming up.â
âOf course,â Nancy said, though she didnât think much of Timâs excuse.
Katrina glowered at Nancy, then turned and stormed out of the cookhouse. Tim followed at her heels, and the door banged shut after them.
Eduardo blew out his breath. âWhat did you say to make Katrina so mad?â he asked.
Briefly Nancy described what had happened during practice. All the clowns listened in. Finishing, she said, âMaybe someone oiled the bar as a prank. Or do you think it was meant to do serious harm?â
When the men seemed reluctant to speak up, George said, âWell, I donât know much about trapeze artists, but it seems to me that either way, Natalia could have gotten hurt.â
âYouâre right,â Jiffy said. âA flyer needs to hit the net in a horizontal position. Otherwise, he or she could bounce right off it.â
âThatâs what causes injuries,â Packrat added. âA few flyers have died that way.â Packrat drained his coffee cup and rose to go. The other clowns said goodbye, then followed him out.
The clowns hadnât answered her, Nancy mused. Hoping to do better with the Pomatto brothers, she asked, âWould Katrina purposely hurt Natalia?â
Eduardo frowned. âWell, Katrina didnât exactly like getting her boyfriend stolen,â he said slowly.
âNatalia stole Katrinaâs boyfriend?â Nancy repeated, startled. âYou mean Hayden?â
Eduardo nodded. âHayden and Katrina came to Grand Royal together three years ago. They trained Natalia and put her in their act. Six months ago,
Reshonda Tate Billingsley