Deadly Magic (4 page)

“
Good job, Grace.”

Grace smil
ed. “I wish I was able to see it.”

“
Oh you will. Just follow me. If we hurry you’ll be in time to see Lily appear.”

“
Do I get to reappear?”

Belle laugh
ed. “Of course, but later. Until then you’ll be able to watch the rest of the show from a room we have set up downstairs. We have some gifts as well. The only thing we ask is that you sign a confidentiality agreement. It’s just a simple contract saying that you won't reveal anything that happens back stage.”

“
I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.” Grace quickly followed the other woman up the stairs. As they got closer to the first floor, they could hear the gasps and applause from the audience.

Suddenly, another magician’s assistant ran past them, almost running into Belle. Grace recogniz
ed her as the one who led her to her stage. Belle reached out a hand to steady her. “What’s wrong, Tabitha?”

Tabitha
was breathing heavily. Shaking, she wiped away a few stray tears.

Concerned, Belle repeated her question, but Tabitha just shook her head and ran around the corner.

Just then, a scream echoed through the theater.

As more screams sound
ed throughout the room, Belle turned around and raced down a hallway with Grace close on her heels.

Reaching the stage
door, they dashed through the entry and stopped.

Lily was hanging in the center of the stage. A silken scarf wrapp
ed around her neck.

CHAPTER FOUR

Grace glanced at
Ethan, whose eyes were starting to drift shut. She debated whether she should jostle him awake or let him sleep. There wasn’t really anyone around who would care if he fell asleep in his seat. Except for one lone police officer sitting on the stage watching over the crystal chest and Grace and Ethan sitting at the end of the front row, the place was empty.

The police had finally remov
ed Lily’s body from the stage and were now concentrating on questioning Straker, his family and several of the magicians and their employees in the back rooms. Grace had already spent thirty minutes telling the police what little she knew.

They
both were emotionally exhausted and ready to go home, but the police insisted that Grace stay. She had tried to convince Ethan to go home without her, but he had steadfastly refused to leave her side. They sat in near silence, ever since the detective in charge had left her alone in front of the stage, a couple of hours before.

Ethan
started to tip forward, the movement causing him to wake up, startled. He looked at Grace and grinned sheepishly. Glancing at his watch, he groaned. Looking around he asked, “Where is everyone?”

“
Still being questioned.”

“
I don’t know why,” Ethan said sleepily. “It’s clearly an accident.”

“
Are you sure?” Grace asked.

“
You think she committed suicide?” he asked, surprised. He shook his head and ran his hand through his black curls. “It has to be an accident.”

Grace shook her head.
“I don’t know. It’s weird.”

“
This sort of thing happens all of the time. I saw this movie the other day about a magician accidentally stabbing his assistant to death in one of those magic boxes. Her husband spent the rest of the movie trying to get revenge.”

Grace smil
ed. “That was a movie.”

Ethan smiled.
“Sometimes movies mirror real life. It was really good.” Stretching his arms above his head, he yawned widely. “They tell you when you could leave yet?”

“
No,” she said, suppressing a yawn. “I don’t understand why I can’t go. I told them everything I know. What could be taking so long?”

Ethan
closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of his seat. “They’re probably just being thorough.”

Grace look
ed around the near empty room and whispered, “Tell me what happened on the stage.”

“
It was awful Grace. Be glad you were in the back and didn’t see it.”

“
Did she die instantly?”

The police officer on the stage
passed in front of them and continued to the steps on the side of the stage. Ethan lowered his voice as the cop passed near them on his way to the back of the theater. “It looked that way to me. After he put you in the chest . . .”

Grace shudder
ed. A sick feeling going through her stomach.

“
. . . it rose to the ceiling. It hovered there for a while as he talked about the magician and the fair maiden again. I could see you inside the whole time, waving that flashlight whenever Dragovich called your name. When you got all the way to the top of the ceiling, he raised his hands. All of sudden there were sparks coming from the chest, the lights flickered and then the bottom fell out, the chest disappeared and . . .” Ethan gripped Grace’s arm. “I thought it was you. She just fell straight down. At first, everyone just thought it was part of the act, but then someone screamed. Dragovich just stood there. Then the curtain suddenly closed.”

“
What did my boss do? Did he realize it was his wife hanging there?”

“
I don’t think so, at least not until someone from behind the stage ran out and asked him to go behind the curtain with her.”

Grace remember
ed him rushing onto the stage. Ilya had gotten Lily down and was giving her CPR. The magician didn’t stop until the ambulance arrived and the EMTs took over, but by then it was too late. Lily was dead. She overheard Ilya tell Straker that Lily was supposed to slide down a silken scarf. He didn’t know what had happened. Straker looked devastated. Luckily, Valerie was there. She gently led him to a chair while they waited for the police to arrive.

“
It’s just such a horrible accident.”

Grace look
ed at her watch again and sighed. She stood up. “I’m going to try to find a police officer. What more could they want from me tonight?” Just as she started to walk away, Ethan grabbed her hand and pointed to the stage.

Grace breath
ed a sigh of relief, as the detective that had spoken to her last came onto the stage. Trailing behind him was Ilya Dragovich and a few more police officers.

Grace sat back down next to
Ethan.

“
I hear this is exactly how your wife died,” the detective in charge said, walking to the crystal chest.

Ethan
and Grace exchanged looks. Obviously, the police didn’t know they were still in the audience. Making as little noise as possible, they both shrank down in their seats at the same time.

Crossing his arms in front of himself,
Ilya said sharply. “No. In fact, it’s nothing like how Juliet died.”

The detective scratch
ed his head. “Now that’s interesting because I was told your wife died performing a magic trick where she was suspended from the ceiling. She died right there out on that very same stage.”

Ilya shook his head.
“Whoever told you that was lying or mistaken. My wife died in Germany. Not on this stage. I didn’t come to New York or to this stage until just recently.”

Taking out a notepad from his breast pocket, t
he detective made some notes. “Uh huh.” He looked up. “Go on. I’m listening.”

Irritat
ed, Ilya inclined his head. “She was not performing. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the Düsseldorf police. They investigated her death at the time and ruled it an accident.”

“
What was the name of the police officer?”

Ilya glar
ed at the detective.

“
We’ll probably want to talk to him.”

“
Werner Schultz.”

The detective wrote the information down.
“Is he still in Germany?”

“
Oh, I don’t know,” Ilya said sarcastically, “we sort of lost touch after my wife died. Drifted apart.”

The sarcasm was not lost on the detective.
“Uh huh. I’m just trying to sort everything out Mr. Dragovich. We don’t want any mistakes, do we?” When Ilya didn’t respond, the detective asked, “So, how many people were performing with your wife?”

“
What does my wife’s accident have to do with Lily?”

“
We’re just trying to get our facts together. The situations are so similar. It’s rather curious, don’t you think?”

“
No,” Ilya said slowly. “Like I said the situation is not the same. We were not performing. We were practicing a new illusion.”

“
But your wife was suspended—”

“
No, she wasn’t. She and one of our stage assistants were up in the rafters, setting up. The beam they were standing on fell.”

“
Did your wife usually take part in setting up for such activities?”

Ilya hesitat
ed. “Sometimes. It depended on the illusion. Our stage assistant was showing Juliet part of the set up.”

“
Didn’t she already know?”

“
No. Lily was actually supposed to be up there helping to set up, but she had sprained her ankle a few hours before. My wife was preparing to go in her place.”

The detective look
ed up from his notepad. “Sprained her ankle? Gee, I didn’t realize magic was so dangerous.”

“
She sprained her ankle running for a cab.”

The detective grunt
ed. “So, what happened to your assistant?”

“
Lily?”

The detective shook his head.
“The stage assistant.”

“
She managed to catch the next beam over. My wife was not so lucky.”

“
Uh huh,” he said, scribbling in his notebook. “Her name? The assistant?”

Ilya sigh
ed. “Teresa Ricardi.”

“
Her address?” He looked up from his notebook. “We would like to interview her as well.”

“
I don’t know. I retired after my wife’s accident to take care of my children. I haven’t kept in touch.”

“
Retired?” The detective looked around at the stage. “It doesn’t look like you retired.”

“
I came out of retirement a few years later.”

The detective grunt
ed. “She married?”

“
Who? Teresa?”

The detective nodd
ed.

“
No. Not at the time, but I heard she married one of our stage hands a few years later.”

“
Do you have his name? We may want to ask him a few questions.”

“
Possibly. I’ll ask around.”

“
What caused the . . . accident?” The tone of his voice making it clear he was putting accident in air quotes.

“
It was an old stage. Termites had eaten through the beam.”

“
Interesting.”

“
Yes. Perhaps you would like to interview the termites, too?”

Amus
ed, Grace and Ethan smiled at each other.

The detective was not
so amused. “What exactly was your relationship with Mrs. Straker?”

“
We were friends. Nothing more.”

The detective star
ed at Ilya. “I don’t suppose you’ll be willing to tell us how this trick was done. I can easily get a warrant—”

“
That’s not necessary. As long as you’ll promise to be discreet with the information, I’ll be happy to show you how it works.”

Out of the corner of her
eye, she noticed Ethan reach his hand up to his nose and scrunch his eyes together.

Grace glanc
ed around. Please don’t sneeze, she thought desperately.

Surpris
ed, the detective gave Ilya a crooked smile. “That’s awful nice of you, Mr. Dragovich. I thought you magicians took these sorts of things to the grave. Why, are you being so forthcoming?”

“
Lily was not only my former employee, but my friend. She helped me a great deal after Juliet died. I owe her quite a lot. I want to know what happened to her, too. It’s actually quite simple. The chest is lifted up to the ceiling. Behind the chest—out of view of the audience—is a small platform.” Pulling back part of the curtain, Ilya pointed to the ceiling. Lily would have been standing up at the top, waiting.”

Ethan
removed his hand and smiled in relief.

“
Waiting for what?”

“
For the chest to slide into place and my signal.”

“
Is that all she’s doing up there?”

“
No. She usually checks the silks—”

“
Silks?”

“
Long nylon sheets which are secured to the ceiling. Once the chest rises to the top, I hit this button.” Ilya held out a small remote control. “Once I hit the button, the bottom of the chest falls out, the lights flicker on and off, and confetti and glitter rain down on the stage. At the same time, my assistant floats to the stage with the aid of the silks.”

“
She isn’t in the chest?”

“
No. She’s never in the chest. She jumps off from the scaffolding.”

“
What does she do then?”

“
She usually does a few aerial tricks while she comes down. It’s actually one of the least difficult illusions I use, but the audience usually likes the story and the acrobatics.”

“
But that didn’t happen this time?”

“
No.”

“
Why?”

“
I have no idea.”

“
How many people knew Mrs. Straker would be up on the scaffolding tonight?

“
Myself, my daughter, and my other assistant, Tabitha. I don’t know if Lily told anyone.”

“
I understand this was a surprise performance. Who usually does this part of the trick?”

“
Tabitha.”

The detective stood next to the purple silk hanging from the ceiling. Reaching for the end, he sharply tugg
ed at the material. “Is there any way she could have accidently wrapped this around her neck?”