The Linking Rings

by John Gaspard

  “Oh my,” he said in awe. “Are these what I think they are?”

  “They are indeed,” De Vries said. “They are the set of Linking Rings which once belonged to Ching Ling Foo.”

  “They are magnificent,” Harry said, examining each of the metal hoops. “How in the world did you even know they were of interest to me?”

  “A little bird told me,” De Vries said, stealing a glance in my direction. I gave him the slightest of nods in response.

  “They are spectacular,” Harry continued, letting Laurence Baxter take a look and then giving Roy Templeton a chance. “A genuine piece of magic history. I will treasure them, De Vries, treasure them.”

  “It is small repayment indeed for your help on the planning and execution of the Catherine Wheel,” De Vries said.

  “Hold on, buddy,” Roy said as he examined one of the rings more closely. “You may want to demand your money back.”

  “Why, what’s the problem?” De Vries said, sounding a little panicked.

  “One of these is defective,” Roy said, holding it up. “See. The sucker’s got a gap in it.”

  The response from the rest of the group was loud and profane, but I paid it no notice. I was too busy admiring my new ring and the special membership it represented.

  And looking at the Magi ring reminded me of another ring I’d been carrying around all week.

  Chapter 23

  With all the flight rescheduling we had done over the previous ten days, it took a bit of juggling, but we finally arranged it so Harry, Megan, and I all took off from London and landed in Minneapolis at about the same time. Not the exact same time but close. The reason for the discrepancy was that Harry was flying out of Gatwick airport, while Megan and I were departing from Heathrow. Such was the downside of non-refundable tickets and multiple rebookings.

  So we all said our goodbyes in the drive in front of Laurence Baxter’s mansion, with Megan and me getting a cab and Baxter himself driving Harry to Gatwick. Hugs all around with Roy and Roxanne, while Davis De Vries stuck with the more traditional handshake and a warm pat on the back. Although we’d been unable to see him, word from the hospital was Angus Bishop was upright and taking liquids, which Roy suggested would be the perfect title for Angus’ memoir “if the old sot ever got sober enough to write one.”

  We successfully avoided the dreaded Minnesota Long Goodbye, which generally added thirty minutes to any departure, by saying we were afraid we’d be late for our flight. Five minutes later, Hampstead Heath was behind us.

  As we settled into the backseat, with our luggage piled unsteadily on the floor in front of us—an odd design flaw in London cabs, as they appear to lack useable trunk space—I got a sudden feeling of sadness. Megan picked up on it immediately, as I must have given out a particularly woeful sigh.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I said. And then I came to a decision—I had meant to do this all week, and now was as good a time as any. “I’ve been meaning to do something since we got here, but other things kept getting in the way.”

  “Like murders and dead bodies and fires and things?”

  “Exactly. But I want to try out this new trick before we leave London. Can I borrow your ring?”

  Intrigued, she pulled off her grandmother’s ring she always wore and placed it in my hand. I took off my new Magi ring and set it alongside her ring in my hand. I closed my fist, made some magical motions over it with my right hand, dropped the rings from my left to my right hand, and then held them up for her inspection.

  Both rings were now joined together, one looping seamlessly through the other. I let them dangle before her eyes for a few moments, as she clapped her hands together in surprise.

  “Oh, Eli, that’s wonderful.”

  “Wait,” I said, taking the conjoined rings and placing them back in the palm of my left hand. “There’s more.”

  A few more magical-looking hand motions, a toss from the left hand to the right, and I once again held up the rings. But now, instead of just her ring and my ring, there was a third ring in-between. It connected the two rings.

  Megan looked at it, her eyes widening.

  “What kind of ring is that?”

  “Well, I don’t know what they call it over here, but back in the States we call it an engagement ring.”

  “My answer is yes,” she said quickly as she broke into a wide grin.

  “I haven’t asked the question yet.”

  “You forget, I’m psychic.”

  I’m not sure who made the first move, but seconds later we were kissing. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see we had attracted the attention of the cab driver, who studied us via the rearview mirror.

  “I suppose we should set a date. And things,” I suggested.

  “I’ve always wanted to honeymoon in London,” she said, still beaming.

  I looked out the taxi window as we zipped along.

  “Funny. We’re already in London.”

  “Well, let’s just stay,” she said. “Who says we can’t have the honeymoon first?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Tradition?” I suggested.

  “Ah, we’ll get around to the wedding eventually,” she said. “I traditionally don’t let traditions get in my way.”

  “I think that’s one of the things I love about you.”

  “So we’re staying?”

  I did a mental check of my calendar for the next week. No work obligations occurred to me, which really should have indicated bad news for a freelance magician, but I wasn’t exactly in that mode at the moment.

  “Works for me,” I said.

  “Me too,” she said, and then her face brightened. “And we can go back and stay at that great little hotel I loved!”

  Before I could protest, she passed the address onto the driver.

  And my fate was sealed.

  About the Author

  In real life, John’s not a magician, but he has directed six low-budget features that cost very little and made even less – that’s no small trick. He’s also written multiple books on the subject of low-budget filmmaking. Ironically, they’ve made more than the films. His blog, “Fast, Cheap Movie Thoughts” has been named “One of the 50 Best Blogs for Moviemakers” and “One of The 100 Best Blogs For Film and Theater Students.” He’s also written for TV and the stage. John lives in Minnesota and shares his home with his lovely wife, several dogs, a few cats and a handful of pet allergies.

  The Eli Marks Mystery Series

  by John Gaspard

  THE AMBITIOUS CARD (#1)

  THE BULLET CATCH (#2)

  THE MISER’S DREAM (#3)

  THE LINKING RINGS (#4)

  Short Stories

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