Now You See It

by Jane Tesh

  “It hurts, but I’ll manage.”

  I motioned to the huge flower arrangement on the desk, complete with tiny stars and top hats. “I see you have an admirer.”

  “They’re from WizBoy.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about him. Is he capable of running the club?”

  “We had a long discussion earlier in the week. He had some legitimate complaints and some good ideas for the club. I’ve decided to give him more responsibility. I know he looks like a useless teenager, but he’s a hard worker, and he really knows his craft.”

  “You’re sure no one else was backstage?”

  “Just WizBoy.”

  “What about Jilly?”

  “If she was backstage, I didn’t see her. And why would she attack me?”

  “Did Jilly know about your affair with Taft?”

  “I don’t see how. We were very discreet.”

  I know a thing or two about women. And one thing I know is that they always know.

  Rahnee shifted her arm and winced. “Taft liked Jilly, but he felt she was too young for him.”

  “He told her this?”

  “No, he was very careful not to get her hopes up. He’d stop by the bar and have a drink, maybe talk a little, but that’s as far as it went.”

  That was far enough to get Jilly’s hopes way up. “What about his offer to put her in his act?”

  “I don’t think he was serious. He liked working alone.” Her gaze went to the flower arrangement. “WizBoy is desperately in love with her. If she’d give him a chance, he’d teach her all kinds of magic, make her his assistant, create illusions for her to perform. She doesn’t realize what she’s missing.” She looked back to me. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? We don’t realize what we’re missing till it’s gone. Taft was a wonderful man. I really should’ve tried harder to make things work. Do you know what I mean?”

  We don’t realize what we’re missing till it’s gone. I didn’t want to go down that road. “How interested is Jolly Bob in the Finches’ collection of magic memorabilia?”

  “He was always after Lucas and Taft to sell him something or another from their collection. I know he offered to buy the box from them, but they wouldn’t sell. They’d rather have this bet of theirs.”

  Would Jolly Bob have killed Taft to get his hands on the box? Would Bart?

  “Do you have any idea who could’ve taken the box from the club?”

  “No.”

  “Did you know Taft was the one who ended the WOW/WAM feud?”

  This surprised her. “Where did you hear that?”

  “The woman at Ali’s Cavern. She said Taft had taken care of the problem. After Jolly Bob revealed how Omar’s illusion was done, I think Taft gave Omar a new illusion, or gave him money to buy one.”

  Tears slid down her cheeks. “That sounds like something Taft would do. And he wouldn’t want everyone to know about it. Omar’s the one who caught Jolly Bob stealing? I didn’t know that, either. No wonder they hate each other.”

  I got up. “I’m going to talk to a few more people. I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “Thanks for telling me about Taft. He was always willing to help another magician.”

  And another magician was willing to shove him into a trunk. The more I learned about Taft, the more I wanted to catch his killer.

  Before I left, Rahnee wrote me another check. I went to the bar, hoping to speak to Jilly, but she wasn’t there. Since no one was in the club, I went around behind the bar. I found two interesting things. A playing card, the three of clubs, was wedged in a crack in the floor. Of course, since this was a magic club and practically everyone knew card tricks, I didn’t think too much of it. There were probably cards wedged everywhere. But when I pulled it out, I saw a familiar pattern on the back, a pink and red paisley design. Dirk Kirk had indeed been here.

  However, the more interesting thing was a box of something called Sneeze Ease. I reached for it.

  An annoyed voice said, “Can I help you?”

  I looked up and across the bar into Jilly’s dark wary eyes. “Yes, you can. Is this yours?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve never heard of Sneeze Ease. Do you have allergies?”

  “Yes. Did you want something?”

  “I want to know about the Houdini box. When Lucas first had the box, WizBoy says he brought it to the bar. Do you remember seeing it?”

  “Yes. He thought he could get it open. Of course he couldn’t.”

  “Then Lucas took it back, right?”

  “Yes. After that, he decided to have this contest with all of us.”

  “Any money involved?”

  “No. He only wanted to see if anyone could get it open.” She crossed her arms. “Do you mind coming around from back there? I have work to do.”

  “Sorry.” I came back around. “Did you know there was a card wedged in the floor?”

  She took her place behind the bar and opened the register. “There are cards everywhere.”

  “Mind if I take this one?”

  She gave me a look as if to say, why in the world would you want it? “No. Go ahead.”

  WizBoy came around the corner of the stage. “Randall, I want to talk to you.”

  “Sure. Excuse me, Jilly.”

  She nodded. WizBoy motioned for me to come to the stage. He kept his voice low. “Have you found out anything?”

  “Not yet.”

  He wiped his palms on his jeans. “Man, I don’t like this at all. You think the police are planning to arrest me?”

  “Calm down. The police don’t have any proof. Rahnee doesn’t believe you threw a knife at her. She’s the only one you have to worry about.”

  “Yeah, but I been wracking my brain trying to think of anybody I might’ve insulted, or anybody who wants my job here. If they think I’d hurt Rahnee, what’s to keep them from thinking I murdered Taft? The police would like that. Solves both the crimes at once.”

  “Where do you keep your keys?”

  He patted his back pocket. “Right here.”

  “You never take them out, set them down somewhere, loan them to anybody?”

  “No, never.”

  “So somebody picked your pocket, took off one of the little bones, and then returned your keys before you noticed they were gone.”

  He scrunched up his face so hard I thought his features might fuse together. “Okay, when I first got the key ring, I showed it to everyone ‘cause it was cool. Then maybe a couple of weeks ago, Rahnee left her keys at home and she used mine to lock up. I got them right back, though. And Jilly had to borrow them because she accidentally locked herself out Monday night.”

  “The Monday we found Taft?”

  “Yeah, I remember now. She was really upset and crying and left her keys on the bar. She called me and I came over and let her in so she could get them.” He looked disgusted. “I thought I was being helpful, you know, coming to the rescue and all that? Didn’t make things any different between us.”

  “You let her in, right? She never had your keys?”

  “Maybe for a minute or two. What the hell are you saying?”

  “I’m saying everybody associated with WOW is supposedly good at sleight of hand.”

  “She’d have to be a genius at sleight of hand, and believe me, she’s not.”

  WizBoy was getting riled and probably would have asked me to step outside had Rahnee not called for him. “WizBoy, could you come here a minute, please?”

  His dark look disappeared. “Look, what do you charge to solve things? I’d better hire you.”

  “We can discuss that.”

  “Later. I’d better see what Rahnee wants.”

  I thought Jilly had gone, but I heard sounds behind the bar like very large mice having a party. I glanced over the
bar. Jilly was down on her hands and knees, trying to get something from one of the lower compartments.

  “Need some help?” I asked.

  “No, thank you. I can manage.” She rummaged around and pulled out a stack of towels. “Did you want to ask me something?”

  “I understand you’re pretty good at sleight of hand.”

  She gave me a wary look. “Sort of. Why?”

  “Did you ever think of getting an act together for the club?”

  “No. I’d rather be an assistant. It’s more fun and the costumes are prettier.” She stood and put the towels on a shelf behind her. She gave me a more thoughtful look. “You’re a detective, right? But are you a magician, too?”

  “The Remarkable Randall.”

  She gave me her full attention. “Do you need an assistant?”

  “I might.”

  “Well, watch this.” She went to the register and hit a button that made the drawer pop out. She got three quarters, put them on the bar, and proceeded to make them disappear.

  “That’s excellent.”

  The quarters reappeared in her hand. “I can do lots of other tricks, too.”

  “I’m surprised no one’s hired you.”

  “Me, too,” she said glumly.

  “You don’t want to work with WizBoy? He seems interested in you.”

  “All he wants to do is run the club and hang around with Rahnee, even though she’s way too old for him.”

  “Sounds like you don’t like her, either.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I’m annoyed because she thinks she’s so great and everything, but I like this job, so don’t think I’d be hiding backstage throwing knives at her.”

  “Who would be?”

  Jilly leaned forward on the bar. “I wouldn’t put it past Fancy to have something rigged up in her case.”

  “And what’s Fancy got against Rahnee?”

  “She probably didn’t tell you, but when both of them were starting out, Rahnee beat Fancy out for all the best jobs because Rahnee would do anything to get an audition.”

  “Are you saying she slept her way to the top of the magic world?”

  Jilly gave me a lofty look. “That’s the way I heard it.”

  “Intriguing stuff, Jilly, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Intriguing, but not necessarily true. Since Rahnee and Fancy were both very attractive women, I doubted they had to do anything extra to get hired. I’d seen Fancy in action, though, and it was possible she could make a knife do whatever she liked.

  Jilly was rubbing her shoulder again. “Are you cold?”

  She frowned. “No.”

  “Hurt your shoulder?”

  Her expression said, None of your business, but she answered calmly enough. “Sometimes it itches.”

  “Okay. Just curious.” Did you sprain it heaving Taft into the trunk? No, even on a good day, Jilly couldn’t manage that.

  ***

  I found Fancy on stage at the Bombay Club, rehearsing her act. She stopped for a moment and came to the edge of the small stage area.

  “David, I sincerely hope you’re here to tell me you’ve caught whoever stabbed Rahnee.”

  “Wish I had good news for you, but nothing yet.”

  “I’ve got the stage for a few more minutes and then we can talk. Would you start the CD player? I need to time this part.”

  I sat down at one of the little tables, pressed play, and watched as Fancy made balls, hoops, and knives spin in dizzying circles above her head. Then she made everything disappear.

  When she finished, I applauded, and she took a bow. The music changed from the lively rock theme to another song, something slower and sweeter. She looked startled, and then said, “Turn it off.”

  I pushed the off button. Fancy stood still for a moment. “You okay?” I asked.

  She took another moment. “Yes, fine. I forgot that was on there. It was my sister’s favorite song.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Today’s her birthday. She would’ve been thirty-nine. I would’ve teased her up one side and down the other.” She came and sat down at the table with me. “She died four years ago of cancer. I think of her every single day.”

  “I know the feeling.”

  “Have you lost a sister, too, David?”

  “My daughter.”

  “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.” Fancy’s eyes sparkled with tears and suddenly, words burst out. “I still get so angry! How can you be here one moment and be gone the next? Something made you move and breathe and talk. Where’s that something now?”

  For years, I’d asked myself the same question. Oddly enough, I always thought of a program I’d seen about a woman grieving for her dog. She’d looked at the camera with the most anguished expression. “Where’s the thing that made it go?” she’d asked. “Where’s the thing that made it go?”

  The thing. Life. Some impossible combination of blood and breath and nerves and personality.

  Fancy’s face was streaked with tears. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but every time I see something as insignificant as a bug, I get so frustrated. Bugs have it. Bugs and worms squirming on the sidewalk and gnats, for God’s sake. Things that don’t matter! It’s still inside them. They still have it. They’re still living. I don’t understand.”

  “Me, either.”

  “Why can’t we know what happens? What’s the big secret? Why can’t I know for certain my sister is happy and free from pain? What’s with all the mystery?”

  I put my hand on hers. I’d asked myself the same questions, over and over. I didn’t have any answers. Not for her. Not for me.

  Abruptly, she brushed the tears from her eyes. “Sorry for going on like that. You’d think I’d get over it. I mean, it’s been four years.”

  If I live four hundred years, I’ll never get over Lindsey’s death. “Who says you have to get over it?”

  “Everybody tells me it gets easier as time goes by, and she’s in a better place, and you should get on with your life. Things like that. But I want to hear the truth, and the truth is I’m not going to ‘get over it.’”

  “No,” I said. “You live through it.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said again. “You wanted to ask me some questions?”

  I was glad to change the subject. “How long have you and Rahnee known each other?”

  She opened the player and took out the CD. “Since high school. We both moved to Parkland about the same time.”

  “Any trouble finding work?”

  “Rahnee never had any trouble. Club owners took one look and hired her right away.”

  “What sort of act did she have?”

  “Very sexy stuff. She’d dance around and make things appear and disappear. Scarves, mostly, and handkerchiefs. She was very good.”

  “No jealousy between the two of you?”

  “No. Our acts were very different.” Her eyes narrowed. “Did someone at the Magic Club suggest that to you?”

  “You have to admit it’s a possibility. Two extremely attractive magicians in the same town. Maybe a little rivalry going on?”

  “I suppose so. Yes, okay, maybe I was a little jealous, but I found plenty of work. And I’m certainly not jealous enough to start flinging knives at anybody. What’s my motive? If I attack Rahnee, no more jobs at the Magic Club for me. Word would get out I’m unstable, and then there are no more jobs for me anywhere. That’s not something I’d risk.” Her cell phone rang. She checked the number. “Speaking of jobs, excuse me a moment, please. This is a club in Greensboro.”

  I told her I’d see her later. I went out to the Fury, sat down, and took a few deep steadying breaths. When my phone rang, I wasn’t surprised to see it was Camden. His voice faded in and out like an old radio station
.

  “I need pizza.”

  “What a coincidence. So do I.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  She Didn’t Do Magic

  I picked up Camden and we headed to Pokey’s Pizza for some lunch.

  Although I was sure he had picked up all the distress from my conversation with Fancy, he didn’t comment on it. “What’s new at the club? How’s Rahnee?”

  “She’s okay. WizBoy insists he never let anyone use his keys, but he did let Rahnee borrow them one time, and he let Jilly in the club when she locked herself out. Both of these ladies are good at sleight of hand, so I guess either one could’ve taken a little bone off the key ring without WizBoy noticing.”

  “But why would Rahnee throw a knife at herself?”

  “Exactly. And aside from a little natural jealousy, why would Jilly throw a knife at her? I talked with Fancy, too, and I can’t see that she has any reason to attack Rahnee, either.”

  All the tables had little signs announcing that Pokey’s was giving kids free pizza for every twenty tickets they brought in from a recycling center. This gave me an idea. While we were waiting for our pizza, I called Sandy’s house and asked the housekeeper if Sandy did any recycling. She told me she took the recycling to the center on Marsh Road.

  I thanked her and hung up. “Would you like to revisit your troubled dumpster-diving past and dig through some trash, a last ditch effort, so to speak?”

  “I’d better eat two pizzas, then.”

  “Here’s something to make you lose your appetite. I think someone made sure Taft had a mix of medications with a drink so he was completely disoriented when he attempted to escape from the trunk. Which reminds me. A little while ago, I found something called Sneeze Ease behind the bar. I didn’t get a good look at the package, but the picture of the pill on the front looked a lot like Taft’s pills.” I used my phone to find Sneeze Ease and magnified the photo. “Looks the same to me.” I let Camden have a look.

  “But it’s not a sleeping pill, is it?”

  I read the package. Sneeze Ease was a local drug store chain’s brand of Benadryl. “Listen to this. ‘Compare to the ingredients in Benadryl.’ It’s diphenhydramine. That’s one of the drugs Jordan said was found in Taft’s body.”