Carnival by William W. Johnstone

“Truth time, gals?”
    They nodded. Martin noticed a flush creeping up his wife’s neck at his words. He wondered about that. Then he told them about the conversation he’d shared with Gary about the occurrences that had been taking place around town.
    Janet nodded her head. “Gary was sure hot about Rich coming in so late last night, and that’s a fact. Came down hard on him. But I wonder why he didn’t tell me about the rest of the kids doing the same?”
    â€œGary?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œHe didn’t know anything about it until this morning, out at the club. Come on, let’s walk around some.” He pointed to Nabo’s Ten-in-One. “But stay out of that tent.”
    â€œWhy?” his wife asked. “Is there a girlie show in there?”
    Martin bit back a sharp reply and patiently told the women about the Ten-in-One.
    Joyce giggled at that. Janet grimaced at her friend’s reaction and said, “There must be something wrong with me. Poor misshapen people have never held any fascination for me.”
    Alicia looked to her right and put her hands on her hips. “Now what in the hell! ...”
    Linda, Jeanne, and Susan were walking toward them.
    No one said anything about the absence of Joyce’s daughter, Missy, from the group. Missy and the other three girls she’d palled around with since learning to walk had themselves a major falling-out some months back. Missy was running with another group, Karl Steele’s bunch of thugs. Missy, so the rumors went, had turned into a sixteen year old tramp. For a time, all concerned thought Joyce was going to have some sort of breakdown. She worked her way out of it with a lot of help from friends. Missy, however, continued to allow the entire male student body of Holland High to use her body.
    Joyce and Eddie’s other child, seventeen-year-old Ed, was a fine young man, very studious and brainy. He had plans to attend the U of N next fall, and when the boy tried to explain to Martin what his major would be, he had lost Martin sometime during the first ten words.
    Martin thought it had something to do with space. Or semi-conductors. Or something strange and beyond a normal being’s comprehension. Martin finally had to admit to his own son—after buying the family a new station wagon—that he couldn’t figure out how to set the buttons on the super-dooper computerized radio.
    Took Mark about fifteen seconds to set them. All on rock stations—done with a grin.
    Alicia looked at her daughter. “I thought you girls would still be sleeping?”
    â€œWe all woke up real early,” Susan volunteered the astonishing news, since the girls were famous for staying in bed as long as their mothers would let them, on any given day.
    â€œReal early meaning? . . .” Martin prompted.
    â€œAround seven.”
    â€œJesus,” Janet breathed. “What is this world coming to?”
    â€œWe were by here last night,” Linda said. “We saw the giant man. Have you seen him?”
    â€œYes!” Martin said quickly, a flash of annoyance surging through him. Why? he asked himself. He felt he knew. “That man is dangerous, kids. I don’t think he likes people very much. Maybe he has reason not to. But you girls stay away from that tent over there.” He pointed and explained why.
    The girls picked up on his irritation. “Sure, dad,” Linda assured him. “We were just going to walk around some. Is that all right?”
    â€œWalking around is fine. Just stay together and don’t go off by yourselves.”
    â€œOK if we tag along with you-all?” Susan asked, showing a lot of insight.
    And it wasn’t lost on Martin. He smiled at the con job. “That’s fine. So come on, gang. Let’s walk.”
    They had not walked fifty feet when Janet looked up and pointed in horror. The eyes of the group followed her finger.
    A roustabout had