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“We have heard a rumor you want to shut us down! That you are going to take us off the streets because of what has happened!”
That rumor was entirely correct. They had been considering that. Someone at the police station must have heard it, and perhaps passed it on to one of the performers, and word had traveled fast. But Juliette now saw it would be a terrible idea. It would, as Lucien had said, cause riots.
In fact, it already was.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Thinking quickly, Juliette turned to the colorful crowd, hoping to calm the situation down, but the woman in front, a tall, long-limbed woman in a bright harlequin costume, was shaking her fists violently.
"You are not even the French police! What right do you have to try to oppress us and tell us what to do?"
"We are working with the French police."
“You are forcing the police to take us off the streets?”
As Juliette took a breath, not sure how to answer this, she saw Lucien hurrying toward her, his face anxious.
“What is happening here?” he asked. “Calm down, people!”
"Why should we listen?" one of the performers shouted. "You are here to interfere with our work, to cause problems, to shut us down for no reason! We are innocent."
The anger was palpable. Juliette was impressed that Lucien remained cool-headed.
He murmured to Juliette and Wyatt, “We cannot shut the performers down. Trying to clear the city will cause riots. Our French people are passionate, and they protest quickly when they feel wronged. But perhaps what we can do is ask them to help us.”
Juliette and Wyatt nodded in approval at that. It was definitely the wisest choice. They didn’t want more trouble in this city, or police having to be deployed for other reasons.
Turning to the angry group, Lucien said, "Your livelihoods are not at risk. You will not be closed down. But we are going to be policing these areas very closely for the next few days. The criminal committing the murders in these arrondissements might be posing as a street performer."
There was a general murmur of disbelief.
"How could he do that?" the woman demanded.
"Easy. He could simply set up shop, and put on a costume to make sure people didn't realize his true identity," Lucien said. "After all, you all know about people who perform illegally, don't you? I know you all dislike the police checks, but imagine if the checks caught the criminal?"
There was silence. Juliette could see all the performers were considering these words.
"I don't know everyone," the woman said, "but I know a lot of the people who perform in these areas. We are - we are like a community. And if I see someone I don't know, I am aware of them."
"I also do the same," another man, dressed as a clown, said. "I know most of the others well. Occasionally I see a stranger and that is also, for me, a reason to watch them."
"You can help us," Juliette said, glancing at Lucien.
Juliette could see now that if the performers got angry, it would work in the killer's favor. It would divide the police and cause a distraction. That, they couldn't afford.
But working with the street performer community, alerting them to the dangers, asking them to help - well, that might just flush Goldenface out.
"If we find him, we can stop this killer," Lucien continued. "So right now, you can help us. You are a community, and you know each other."
"Yes," a mime artist dressed all in white, with a masklike face, said. "We do know each other, and we are like a family. We look out for each other and support each other."
"So help us then. You can help us."
"How?" a man in a spangled gold jumpsuit, queried.
Juliette stepped in, joining the conversation.
"We are looking for someone who might be posing as a performer, but who's most likely a stranger. He might have some skill, though – a musician, a juggler, a mime artist. He wears black gloves. And he has spent time in New York recently. This is what we know so far. What we're trying our best to do, is to stop more women from being murdered. Whatever that takes, we have to find this killer."
