Occasionally, however, some of the assistants he had lured into his lair were looking to kick-start their career in the same field. These were the ones he had to avoid. It usually meant they were already trying to make a name for themselves, meaning people could make the connection between their jobs and their disappearances.

The last one was simple. She was transparent. She had been on the scene barely a month before she fell straight into his trap. It made her death all the sweeter.

But this new girl had been a little more difficult. She was a risk but a risk he wasn’t aware of until he learnt of her past.

It’s fine. I’ve done this trick a million times, she had said.

Unfortunately, it was too late. She needed to die today. Time was running out.

Judging by how effortlessly she curled up into the box, she was telling the truth. She certainly had done this trick a million times. But this one would be a little different from the run-of-the-mill Indian Basket routines performed by every other stage illusionist out there.

When the beautiful young lady had contorted herself into the necessary position, her neck was perfectly placed against the side of the cardboard box. Without her realizing it, he had used industrial-strength masking tape along the top of the box under the guise of theatrics. Then he had slowly pushed the needle through the cardboard directly into her flesh.

The thick cardboard masked her screams, and he had to quickly stand back as she squirmed around inside. She tried to free herself by kicking through the cardboard but the industrial-strength tape was surprisingly effective. After about 30 seconds of squirming, she fell into a lifeless trance.

There was nothing fake about the Indian Basket illusion. There were no gimmicks, no trap-door trickery. Everything was exactly as the audience saw. A woman went into a box, then the box was stabbed with swords, spikes, spears or whatever sharp implement the magician chose to use.

Finally, the woman inside revealed herself at the end of trick – completely unharmed – to raucous applause.

This is where his trick would differ.


14

 

 

“I didn’t want the other officers to hear this because, like you say, if details spill, the press will have a field day,” said Andrea.

“What is it, Chief?” asked Tyler.

“When I started on the force, one of my first cases was a shooting in Piccadilly Square. A young girl had been shot in the mouth.”

“Weird place to shoot someone,” said Cael.

“We assumed they were aiming for her head or body but missed,” said Andrea.

“No, I meant Piccadilly Square.”

“I know you’re joking, Adler, but you’re absolutely right. Who shoots someone at a busy London landmark?”

“Someone opportunistic.”

“Maybe. Or someone who needed to kill a person at a certain location.”

“Or that,” said Cael. “But what’s this got to do with Stephanie Brady’s murder?”

“Our victim, a young girl named Rachel Morgan, was a magician’s assistant. When we looked into her life, we found she was practicing a magic trick called the bullet catch. Apparently, it involved being shot in the mouth and catching the bullet – somehow. The murder was quickly written off as a magic trick gone wrong and closed.”

“I’m sure these things happen, Chief. But this was what – 20 years ago?”

“Twenty-seven years ago. But some things bothered me about it. Why would she be left in the middle of a busy landmark? Why didn’t the magician ever come forward and claim responsibility?”

“For fear of the repercussions, I would guess,” said Tyler.

“Maybe but there was something else, too. You said you found a playing card at your victim’s crime scene.”

“Sure did.”

“Was it a Jack of Hearts, by any chance?”

A wave of silence washed over the room.