“That’s okay,” I said. “You can keep it. Souvenir of Magic Day. Now, about the rabbit?”
“It wasn’t my idea. It was the big kid.”
Jose and I waited for him to continue. And, of course, he didn’t.
“Big kid?” Jose asked.
Benny shrugged.
“You don’t know his name?” I asked.
Benny shook his head.
“What grade is he in?” Jose asked.
Another shrug.
“Can you describe him?” I asked.
Benny shrugged again.
“Do you remember anything about him?” Jose asked.
Benny smiled.
“He gave me this,” he said. He pulled a dollar bill out of his pocket. It was folded in the shape of a rabbit.
I looked at the dollar and then at Jose. We both said “Chase Matthews” at the same time.
We found Chase Matthews in his usual spot in the school library. He sat at a small table with a stack of purple and green papers scattered in front of him. Next to the stack was a menagerie of small origami animals. Among the group were several rabbits just like the one in my hand. I dropped the rabbit on the table in front of him. He stopped folding and looked up.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“You tell me,” I replied. “We got it from a kid named Benny this morning. Is it one of yours?”
He finished folding a giraffe and set it aside. He picked up the rabbit.
“And if it is?” he asked.
I pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. Jose stood behind me.
“If it is,” I said. “Then I want you to tell me why you paid him to let the rabbit out.”
Chase’s face turned bright red. Jose stepped in closer. “Benny told us everything,” he said. “Where’s my stuff?”
Chase looked surprised.
“Who’s Benny?” he asked. “And what stuff are you talking about?”
I plucked the rabbit out of his hands and held it up.
“Benny,” I said, “is the kid you gave this to earlier.”
“Oh.” He chuckled. “I had no idea that was his name. But look, I didn’t take your stuff.”
Jose snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“Then why did you want him to let the rabbit out?” I asked.
Chase looked from me to Jose and shook his head. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a large sheet of rolled-up paper. He handed it to me.
“It was just supposed to be a joke,” he said.
I unrolled the paper. It was nearly ten feet long. Chase had painted a message on it. I had to read it a letter at a time as I unscrolled his banner. When I put the letters together, I got the message: “Magicians are Morons.”
I shook my head. “Seriously? You would do this? On Magic Day?”
Chase lowered his eyes.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “It was just a dumb joke.”
“This is why you wanted the rabbit let out?” I asked.
He nodded. “I figured everyone would be distracted by the bunny so I could sneak backstage and hang it. Like, what do you call it? Misdirection.”
“That’s not really misdirection, but okay.”
“Wait a minute,” Jose interrupted. “If that was your plan, why do you still have the poster?”
“Because it didn’t work,” he said. “That tall girl, I can’t remember her name, didn’t leave. She just sat there with her basketball. So I gave up. Like I said, it was just a stupid prank.”
Jose looked at me as if to ask, “Do we believe this guy?”
I half-nodded, half-shrugged. I wasn’t certain, but I was pretty sure he was telling the truth. Plus, he’d just given us a great lead. The tall girl with the basketball could only be one person: Madison Reilly.
We found Madison in the gym. She was wearing her usual basketball shorts and sweatshirt. Her blonde braids were pulled back into a ponytail. Her basketball sat in her lap.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” she answered. She looked at Jose. “Who’s this?”
Despite being the tallest kid in school by far, Madison was only in the sixth grade. She didn’t know many kids outside of her class unless, of course, they played sports.
“This is Jose,” I said. “He has a problem we hope you can help us with.”
“What kind of problem?”
“I lost something,” Jose explained. “It’s really valuable, and my dad will kill me if I don’t get it back.”
Madison wrinkled up her nose. “And I can help you because?”
“Were you here in the gym this morning?” I asked. “When the rabbit got out?”
She nodded.
“Well,” I continued. “We think that’s when the theft happened.”
Madison stood up, cradling the basketball under one arm. We both had to look up at her.
“Theft?” she asked. “I thought you said you lost something.”
Jose winced.
“Somebody stole it, actually,” I explained. “It happened after everyone chased the rabbit out into the hall.”
“I still don’t see how I can help you. Unless you think I’m the thief.”
Jose started to speak. I held up my hand to stop him.
“We don’t have any reason to think that,” I said. “But we heard you were here. Did you see anything suspicious?”
She thought for a moment.
“There was a guy here, too,” she said. “He was holding this big roll of paper. He looked like he was waiting for someone or something. Then he left.”
“Chase Matthews,” I said.
“Chase what?”
“It was Chase Matthews. He’s an eighth grader.”
“Oh,” she said. “I don’t know him. Do you think he did it?”
“Not really,” I said. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
She shrugged. “I guess not.”
“Why were you here this morning? It doesn’t really seem like Magic Day would be your kind of thing.”
“It’s not,” she said. “I forgot it was happening. I came in to practice free throws and found all these tables set up. So I’m doing visualization exercises instead.”
I was out of questions. Jose, Madison, and I stood for a moment, staring at each other. Jose cleared his throat.
“I think, maybe, we should get going,” he said.
“Right,” I agreed. “Thanks, Madison.”
We were almost out of the gym when we heard her shout.
“I almost forgot,” she said. She trotted over to us. “There was someone else here, too.”
“Who?” Jose asked.
“That kid who does the food videos,” she said.
“Malik Smith?” I asked.
“I guess.”
“We know him,” Jose said. “What was he doing?”
Madison shrugged. “Just hanging around. Kind of like me. Look, I gotta go. I hope you find your magic cups.” She dribbled her ball out of the gym and into the hall.
“Well, let’s go find Malik,” I said.
Benny, the first grader we’d met earlier, was waiting for us in the hall. He had a friend with him. His friend had bright red hair and matching freckles and, from his watery eyes and runny nose, I could tell that he had been crying.
“This is my friend,” Benny said. His friend snorted and then pulled a handkerchief—my long multicolored handkerchief—out of his pocket.
“That’s really his,” Benny told his friend, pointing to the handkerchief. The kid blew his nose. It made a sound like a really long note on a really wet tuba. Then he held the handkerchief out to me.
“Here you go,” he said.
“That’s okay,” I said. “Keep it. What’s up, Benny? We’re pretty busy.”
“Did you find your stuff yet?” he asked.
“Not yet,” I said. “Why?”
“This is my friend,” Benny said again.
“Does your friend have a name?”
; “It’s Kyle,” Benny said.
“Okay. What can I do for you, Kyle?”
“I lost something, too,” Kyle said.
“That rabbit?” I asked. He shook his head.
“Not the rabbit,” he said. “A magic wand. I went to help catch Xavier and when I came back it was gone.”
“Who is Xavier?” Jose asked.
The two first graders looked at each other, then at us. Benny shook his head in disappointment.
“Xavier is our rabbit,” he said.
“Oh,” I said. “You left the wand in the gym and now it’s gone?”
Kyle nodded. He looked ready to burst into tears again.
“That’s not all,” Benny said. “I heard a fourth grader lost her top hat and someone else lost a magic book.”
Jose and I exchanged glances.
“Sounds like we’ve got a thief on the loose,” I said.
“Let’s go find Malik,” Jose suggested. I shook my head.
“We’re running out of time,” I said. “I’ll find Malik. You see if you can find out what else is missing.”
Jose and Kyle both gave me the same sad puppy face.
“Don’t worry, guys,” I told them. “We’ll find your stuff.” I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt.
I found Malik Smith in the cafeteria kitchen. He had agreed to make the snacks for Magic Day. In exchange, Principal Greeley agreed to let him film everything for his YouTube channel.
He was hard at work, chopping onions for salsa when I got there. Pans of chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries filled the counter behind him. He wore his usual black-and-white-checkered pants and a chef’s jacket. He stopped chopping when he saw me.
“Marlon the Magician,” he said. “The man of the hour. What brings you here?”
I had a hard time seeing Malik as a thief, but I was running short of options. Still, I knew I needed to be careful. Malik was very protective of his “brand,” as he called it. He would not be happy if I accused him of stealing.
“I need your help,” I said. “Can I ask you a question?”
He went back to chopping the onions.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Were you in the gym earlier?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said, then shook his head. “Man, that rabbit. I’ve cooked rabbit before, but I never had to catch one. I had no idea they were so quick.”
We both laughed, then Malik got serious again.
“What’s this about?” he asked.
“During the commotion with the rabbit, some things went missing.”
Malik glared at me.
“Dude,” he said. “I hope you’re not here accusing me of something.”
I glanced down at the very sharp knife in his hand and shook my head.
“No, of course not. But I heard you were there. I thought maybe you saw something.”
Malik stared at me for a moment, then looked down at the knife. He set it aside and his face softened.
“Sorry,” he said. “You know how I am about my brand.”
He thought for a moment.
“After everybody went running after the rabbit, I wasn’t the only one who stayed behind.”
I tried to pretend that this was news to me.
“The basketball girl was there,” he said. “Madison something.”
“Reilly,” I said.
“Yeah. Her. And the guy who does all the origami. He had a huge piece of paper with him. Like he was going to fold something really big.”
“Did you see anybody else around?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“I didn’t see anybody else,” he said. “There might have been someone backstage but, if so, I wouldn’t have known. Anyway, the origami guy creeps me out, so I left.”
He picked up the knife again and went back to work on the onions. A thought started to form in the back of my mind. Something wasn’t quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. The first bell rang.
“You need to head to class,” Malik said. “I need to make salsa.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Thanks for your time.”
I turned to leave, then stopped.
“Malik,” I said. “You didn’t ask what went missing.”
He didn’t look up.
“Don’t really care,” he replied. “Besides, on a day like today, I’m guessing it was magic stuff.”
I made it back to the gym just as the second bell rang. Jose sat alone, holding his empty case. Principal Greeley gave us permission to skip homeroom so that we could prepare for the show. Other than the two of us, the gym was completely empty.
“Did you find out anything?” Jose asked hopefully.
“Sorry. Nothing useful. You?”
He fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and gave it to me.
Cups and Balls
Magic Wand
2 decks of cards*
Magic Book*
Bag of sponge balls
Top Hat*
“This all went missing this morning?” I asked. “Somebody was busy.”
He nodded.
“Everything was taken from inside the gym. But get this. The ones listed with stars were missing before the rabbit got loose.”
That thought was still forming in my mind, but it wasn’t quite clear.
“What now?” Jose asked.
“I’m not sure. It might be time to talk to Principal Greeley.”
Jose started to protest, then stopped. He nodded.
“Let’s get you ready for the show,” he said. “We can talk to her after it’s over.”
I was in no mood to perform, but there was no way I could back out. Jose and I got my props organized and I practiced a few tricks to warm up. The whole time, I had a feeling I had seen or heard something that would crack the case, but I had no idea what it was.
The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom, and kids started filing into the gym. The younger grades sat up front, with the older grades in the back. Soon, the gym was buzzing with excitement. I hoped I could deliver on their expectations.
Jose went to sit with our class, but not before saying “break a wand.” He’d come up with his clever phrase several years earlier as an alternative to “break a leg” and I didn’t have the heart to tell him that, in the magic world, a broken wand signifies a dead magician.
I’d put on my outfit for the show. It was my usual black pants, black shoes, and black T-shirt. Over that, I wore one of my magician’s robes. This one was red with silver stars and moons to match our school colors. Like all my robes, I’d made it myself.
I stood behind the curtain as Principal Greeley climbed the steps to the stage. She reminded everyone about staying in their seats, keeping quiet, and respecting the performer. Then she cleared her throat.
“Now,” she said. “We’re all in for a treat. This year’s magician is one of your fellow students. He’s been mentored by none other than the Great Waldini, who, years ago, started our wonderful Magic Day tradition. Our magician has appeared on television and was even invited to perform for the governor. Please give a warm George Roberts Elementary Redtail welcome to Marlon the Magician!”
The curtain opened, and the audience cheered.
I started with the trick I use to open all my shows. I called Mr. Davis, the gym teacher, up on stage and handed him three ropes. They were all different lengths. After he declared there was nothing unusual about the ropes, I took them back. Holding the ropes between my hands, I slowly pulled until all three ropes were the same size. Everyone cheered. Mr. Davis’s eyes bulged.
“Don’t worry,” I told him and gathered the ropes together in my left hand. With my right hand, I very slowly pulled the ropes apart. They were once again three different lengths. Mr. Davis snatched the ropes away from me, stunned. I let him take them back to his seat. He fiddled with the ropes for the rest of the show.
The show continued. I did my cups and balls routine, which reminded me there was a thief on the loose. It’s an
audience participation trick with giant sponge balls. I also made an impossible number of coins appear from nowhere and drop into a large metal can.
The kids and teachers seemed to love it. Still, I was distracted by the mystery I hadn’t been able to solve.
For my finale, I had planned a mind-reading effect where four audience members write down the name of a famous person and I guess the names. It’s one of my favorite tricks because it stuns people. With my mind still focused on the missing items, I called up my four suspects, Benny, Chase, Madison, and Malik. I gave them each a pad and a pen.
“I want you each to think of someone famous,” I said. “Once you have someone in mind, write his or her name on the pad and make sure I can’t see it.”
I walked to the front of the stage, so my back was to my volunteers. When they finished, I raised my hand to my head and thought.
“Benny,” I said. “You wrote SpongeBob SquarePants. Is that correct?”
“Yes!” he shouted. He turned his pad around to show the audience. He had mangled the spelling, but it was clearly SpongeBob. Plus, he’d drawn a very helpful picture.
Next, I called on Malik.
“You wrote Prince Harry,” I announced.
“No way!” he exclaimed and turned his pad around.
“Madison,” I said. “You were thinking of Wilma Rudolph, correct?”
“Correct!” She flipped her pad over to show that I was right.
That just left Chase.
“Interesting choice,” I said. “You wrote Abraham Lincoln.”
Chase was speechless. He slowly turned his pad around.
“Abraham Lincoln,” he said. “How did you do that without seeing our pads?”
I started to give him my usual answer, then stopped. The thought that was building in the back of my mind became crystal clear, and I knew who the thief was.
“With your permission,” I said to the audience. “I’d like to do one more thing. This morning, several items went missing from right here in the gym. I spent time investigating, but was unable to figure out who the thief was. Until now. I sense that one of you feels very guilty.”
A murmur moved through the gym. The four students on stage with me looked at one another. Next to the stage, Principal Greeley stood with her arms folded across her chest. Her usual frown had been replaced by an even more severe frown.
I turned to the kids on the stage and pointed at one of them. “It’s you. You’re the thief!”
Super Puzzletastic Mysteries Page 16
