Murder By Misdirection

by Debra Snow

  “Just Pro,” she demanded. “Call me Pro.”

  “Your name is Prophecy,” Max replied quietly.

  “Another thing you hung around my neck before you took off and left me and Mom high and dry. You don’t know all the trouble I had in school because of that name.”

  Max grew serious. “When you were a teenager, you made it pretty clear you didn’t want to be around me.”

  “Damn straight. Joe was the man who really raised me, and that’s why I took his name instead of yours.”

  “Well, I’m proud of you, if that means anything.”

  “Not a damn thing, Max.” Pro rose and moved to the door and hit the intercom button. “I’m ready to leave.”

  The door buzzed, and without a look back, she stepped out into the hall.

  Max lifted his freed arms and rubbed the wrists.

  “Damn,” Chu said out loud to himself from the window. “How the hell did he do that?”

  Pro headed back to her desk only to hear her name called by a female voice. She turned to see the figure coming toward her. A woman about five foot nine, wearing a simple but fashionable dress that showed her slim figure nicely. Her salt-and-pepper hair was set off by her makeup that worked well with the tone of her dark skin.

  “Mom?” Pro bleated in shock. “What are you doing here?”

  Elisha Thompson approached her only daughter with a jacket under one arm and a purse in the other. “Your father called me.”

  “I see,” Pro seethed and folded her arms. “You were his second phone call.”

  “He told me you arrested him,” Elisha announced, and glanced around the busy bullpen.

  Pro lowered her voice. “He was at a crime scene, and two officers found him with a possible murder weapon—a red rope—in his hands. We had to arrest him. He’s a suspect.”

  “Oh, your father didn’t murder anyone,” her mother chided.

  “Nice to see you, Mrs. Thompson,” Chu said, coming over. “I haven’t seen you since the Christmas party.”

  “Oh, thank you, Tom. And please, call me Elisha.” She leaned her head back to stare down her nose at her daughter. “You’ve arrested Max?”

  Chu could sense the tension between mother and daughter and moved closer to intercept. “We are holding him on suspicion of murder. It’s pretty serious.”

  “Max refused to speak until his lawyer got here, Mom.”

  “You fingerprinted him and took a mug shot?” Elisha said with a frown.

  “We had to, Elisha. It’s protocol,” Chu explained. “We are waiting for his lawyer, and then we are required to question him.”

  “If I could see him for a minute,” Elisha suggested.

  “Mom, I can’t believe he dragged you down here,” Pro said. “You should only see him through this window.”

  “What is that supposed to mean, Pro?”

  Pro’s mouth became a tight line. “Because you are always defending him. He twists you around his little finger—”

  Elisha waved dismissively at her daughter. “You don’t really think he did it, do you?”

  “We can’t be sure of anything until we question him,” Chu explained calmly.

  “Mother, we don’t know Max. We don’t know the kind of man he’s become.”

  “I know your father, Pro,” Elisha said, rising to her full height. “He wouldn’t harm anyone.”

  “Well, so far,” Chu said, “he’s released himself from two pairs of handcuffs. One at the scene and one here.”

  Elisha moved toward the window that looked upon her ex-husband. “Oh, he just does that to stay in practice. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “There you go,” Pro snarled. “The great Max Marvell can do no wrong.”

  “It does make him a flight risk, Elisha,” Chu said. “We take that pretty seriously.”

  “Let me speak to him, please,” Elisha said.

  Chu rubbed his forehead in annoyance. “I think we are going to have to reassign this case to detectives who are less personally involved.”

  “Please, Tom,” she repeated.

  Chu moved to the buzzer and gestured to the door.

  “You’re not going to let her?” Pro burst out.

  “She’s his ex-wife and the mother of his child,” Chu considered with a shrug, then turned to Elisha. “But remember, I can hear everything you say.”

  He hit the buzzer and Elisha went in. Chu turned a dial on a small speaker and it crackled in response.

  “Elisha!” Max said and rose from the chair. She opened her arms and he took her in a hug.

  “Seems like they still like each other,” Chu observed.

  “She always defended him,” Pro grumbled, her arms folded. “Even after the way he ran off and all. She just loses any sense when she’s with him.”

  The pair in the interrogation room separated and Max held her at arm’s length. “Look at you. You look great, as always.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Elisha said, her face lighting up from the look in Max’s eyes. She moved a hand to his temple and wove her fingers through the gray hair. “You finally stopped dying it. I like it. You look very distinguished.”

  Max shrugged. “More like extinguished. I am over sixty. I decided it was time.”

  “I keep forgetting how much older you are than me,” Elisha said with a smirk.

  “Not that much, young lady. But look at you. You’ve kept your figure, and I like what you’ve done with your hair. Here, sit, sit.”

  Max gestured to the chair across from where he’d been sitting as if he were meeting her for lunch instead of in a locked room in the middle of a police station.

  “So what are you doing here? Why were you with the man who died?”

  “I can’t talk about it until Mark gets here.”

  “You called Mark?” Elisha chuckled with delight. “I haven’t seen him since our final divorce settlement. I always liked him.”

  “I didn’t know who else to call.”

  “But you still haven’t told me why you’re in New York.”

  “To see you and Prophecy, of course.”

  “But what about your show?”

  Max held up his hands. “It’s closed. Elisha, I’ve retired.”

  The dark woman’s mouth fell open. “Retired? You?”

  Max leaned back in the chair and smiled at his ex-wife. “Vegas isn’t what it used to be, and I’ve made more money than I ever thought I would, even with ex-wives and all.”

  Elisha clucked sympathetically. “I was sorry to hear about the break-up with Judy. She was always nice to me when we spoke on the phone.”

  Max leaned closer. “She was banging the pool guy.”

  Again Elisha’s mouth fell open in surprise and a laugh escaped her lips. She covered her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry, Max.”

  “I’m not. Our prenup was ironclad. She barely left with the clothes on her back.”

  Elisha attempted to commiserate but couldn’t stop herself from laughing instead.

  Max sighed. “Face it, Elisha, I have lousy taste in women, except for you.”

  “Well, I never understood how you could go from me to Trixie. Honestly, what did you see in that girl?”

  “She was quite flexible,” Max suggested with a knowing wink. “It came in handy in the illusions and made some interesting experiences in bed.”

  This caused a fresh gale of laughter from Elisha. “That’s what you get for thinking with the wrong head.”

  “Well, it didn’t last five years, and her taking me to the cleaners taught me to always have a solid prenup and to make sure I maintained ownership of my property and possessions.”

  “Who says an old dog can’t learn new tricks?” she stated dreamily.

  Max leaned forward and took Elisha’s hand in both of his. “What tricks do you want to teach me?”

  Her eyes half-closed, Elisha replied, “Oh, if memory serves me, the tricks you do are fine…just fine.”

  Pro knocked on the window, then hit the button on t
he intercom. “Mom, you need to come out!”

  Max leaned back, the moment ruined. “The interrupting child! I am suddenly reminded why we didn’t give Prophecy a younger sister or brother.”

  Elisha laughed again. “Well, I’ll stay around until this is all settled, and then get you back to—where are you staying?”

  “The Waldorf-Astoria. I might do some private shows, and that is always the best location.”

  “Retired, my ass.” Elisha smirked and went to the door.

  “Thanks for coming, ‘Lisha.”

  “I wish it was under better circumstances,” she said as the door buzzed and she went through it.

  Back in the bullpen, Elisha saw that Chu was on his desk phone, and Pro was standing with her hands on her hips and an angry look on her face.

  “Honestly, Mother, get a room!”

  “Don’t start,” Elisha warned.

  “I can’t believe you were in there making goo-goo eyes at that man,” Pro whispered hoarsely.

  “Your father. You can call him your father.”

  “Joe was my father. And I can’t believe you could disrespect his memory like that.”

  Elisha sighed in frustration. “I loved Joe, and I was proud to be his wife. This has nothing to do with Joe.”

  “I was getting ready to get a fire hose to separate you two,” Pro seethed.

  “If you ask me, you could use someone in your life that would inspire a little fire now and then,” Elisha shot back.

  “Not today, Mother,” Pro huffed.

  “Then don’t complain about me,” Elisha sassed, keeping her voice low, “when the man who gave me my darling baby says a few nice things to me.”

  Pro surrendered. “All right, truce!”

  A big voice called out, “As I live and breathe, Elisha Martin!”

  Pro turned and Elisha looked past her daughter to see the heavyset man in the cheap suit as he walked toward them. He had a round face and his eyes were filled with delight. He opened his arms to Elisha. “Elisha Martin—no, no wait, it’s Elisha Thompson now, right?”

  Elisha moved into the hug. “How are you, Mark?”

  “Still practicing law. Someday I’ll get it right,” he laughed at his own joke. “Still married to Minerva, who loves me, God knows why. How is your marriage?”

  “He gave me sixteen good years, but he passed away about two years ago.”

  Mark frowned. “Sorry to hear that. But look at you. Except for the gray in your hair, you look like you haven’t aged a day.” His eyes moved to Pro, and he grew serious. “Wait, can that be?” He approached and looked carefully into Pro’s blue eyes. “My goodness, Prophecy Martin, all grown up!”

  “They do that, Mark,” Elisha said.

  Mark shook his head in amazement. “I guess so. I mean you were the same age as my Jinny. I remember when you kids used to play together.”

  “Hello, Mister Jeffries,” Pro conceded.

  “Mister Jeffries? That’s a long way from Uncle Mark!” Mark exclaimed and looked from one woman to another. “So what are you two doing here? How did you know to come here?”

  Elisha spoke quietly. “Max called me, Mark. Pro was the arresting officer.”

  Mark turned to view Pro with new respect. “What, you’re with NYPD? That’s great! I don’t really do criminal cases, so I don’t see the police very often.” He looked up at the taller Pro and chuckled. “So, little Prophecy Martin…”

  Pro was having none of it. “It’s Pro Thompson these days, counselor. Let me escort you to the suspect.”

  Mark glanced at Elisha, chagrined. “My, this is an unusual situation.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Elisha responded sardonically.

  3. Three Card Monte

  Mark sat with Max in the interrogation room, and through the observation window Pro watched her father gesticulate while he told his story to the lawyer.

  Of course she would have loved to know what they were saying, but that would be in direct conflict to the lawyer/client privilege. So, all she could do was watch the silent show acted out in front of her.

  “Are you all right?” Chu murmured, standing next to her. He glanced back to see Elisha sitting at the chair next to her daughter’s desk looking at her cell phone.

  “Yes…no…I don’t know,” Pro conceded and shook her head. “It’s like my entire past has come to hit me upside the head.”

  “Family drama and all that, huh?”

  “Yes, but more than that. My parents broke up when I was five. And divorce turns any marriage into a business that’s being dissolved. I mean, Max moved away, Mom met Joe, so all of their discussions about me, about money, were…businesslike.”

  “I guess that’s how it is for most people,” Chu agreed, and they both turned away from the window.

  “Yeah, but today was different,” Pro observed, looking over the bullpen, the movement of the detectives, men and women as they worked their cases. “For the first time, I actually saw my parents as people who were attracted to each other. That look in Max’s eyes when he saw my mom. I never noticed that before.”

  There was a knock at the window, and Mark Jeffries was waving them in. Pro stepped forward, but Chu raised his arm to block her.

  “Not you, Pro,” he stated curtly.

  “Tom, you can’t do this to me—”

  “I have to, Pro,” he reasoned and turned to face his partner. “Look, the fact that you were in on the arrest alone could give any lawyer reasonable cause to get this case dismissed. I can’t have you in on the interrogation. You observe from out here.”

  Pro swallowed back her anger. “Yes, sir.”

  “When this is all blown over, you’ll think about it and know I’m right, Pro.”

  “Yes, sir,” Pro griped and stood by the button to buzz her partner in. Chu pushed the door open and stepped in as Pro turned the volume up on the speaker. She also hit a button that activated the cameras in the room to begin recording the interview.

  Chu quickly stated his rank and the case number, then added, “Interview with suspect Maxwell Martin, aka Max Marvell.”

  This got a smile from Max.

  “Mister Martin, you were discovered in Albert Floss’s shop by two officers this morning at eleven hundred, is that correct?”

  Mark gave a nod to Max who said, “Correct.”

  “You were found with what appeared to be a rope in your hand, is that also correct?”

  “Correct.”

  “Would you please explain why you were there with what appeared to be the murder weapon?”

  This got a chuckle from Max.

  Elisha moved from Pro’s desk to stand next to her daughter.

  In the interrogation room Chu huffed, “Is something funny, Mister Martin?”

  “Sorry. I found that rope on Mister Floss’s chest when I arrived, and I picked it up out of curiosity. I found it funny, because that rope couldn’t be the murder weapon. It wasn’t even rope. It’s a special kind made for magicians; it’s just foam with a cloth coating. You could no more strangle a man with that than you could climb a mountain with it.”

  In spite of herself, Pro nodded in agreement and muttered, “Exactly as I thought.”

  “What was that, dear?” Elisha asked.

  “Nothing, Mom,” Pro replied, her eyes not moving from watching her father.

  Chu leaned forward. “Could you please explain why you were there?”

  “Certainly,” Max declared. “I came to New York because Mister Floss was stealing one of my effects.”

  “Excuse me?” Chu challenged.

  “He was stealing an effect of mine I named ‘Prism.’ It is an illusion I created for my stage show that uses two glass geometric shapes and the magician appears to vanish on a bare stage in a flash of rainbow light.”

  “Pretty neat,” Chu mused, and made a note on a paper in front of him.

  Max looked aghast. “Pretty neat? No, sawing a woman in half is ‘pretty neat.’ This is a routine that took me te
n years to perfect. This one illusion redefines what is possible to accomplish live on stage.”

  Mark cleared his throat for attention. “Mister Martin owns the rights to the effect, and it is protected as a theater piece by the copyright laws of the United States.”

  “Seems like a pretty important trick to sell out of a rinky-dink magic shop, isn’t it?” Chu pressed.

  “He didn’t have the equipment. He was trying to sell my methodology. I believe he had access to a full set of plans to recreate my illusion.”

  “You flew all the way to New York from Las Vegas because some guy figured out one of your tricks?” Chu questioned.

  “No, a man who I thought was an old friend was stealing my creation. He was offering the plans to different people throughout the country. I wanted to talk to him, to tell him to stop. I was even willing to offer him money.”

  “So you got there, and what, got angry?”

  Max sat up straighter in the chair. “Nothing of the kind. As I explained to my lawyer, when I arrived Mister Floss was already dead.”

  “Really?”

  “Quite! I found his door unlocked and went into the shop. I called for him and wandered around, thus discovering his body. I also saw the fake rope on his chest. I reached down and picked it up at the same moment the police arrived.”

  Mark took over. “My client just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Chu’s mouth grew tight. “Why couldn’t he tell us this there and then!”

  Mark and Max exchanged a quick glance, and Mark cleared his throat a second time. “My client had sent Mister Floss some, uh, rather unsavory emails.”

  Chu considered this. “Unsavory in what way?”

  “Perhaps ‘threatening’ might be a better choice of words,” Mark confided.

  Chu shook his head. “I see. Does Mister Martin wish to add anything to his testimony?”

  Mark looked to Max who exhaled heavily. “I would like to know what he did with the plans to my illusion.”

  “Mister Martin, we are investigating a murder, not chasing down your trick,” Chu told Max, then turned to Mark. “I will want your client to write up his account, and we are holding him until I get the report from forensics. If the timeline and the evidence agrees with Mister Martin’s account, I will speak to the DA about having him released.”