The Vanished Man Read online

  Sellitto gave a similarly lustful gaze toward the bagels. He allowed himself only a half. Without cream cheese. He looked pained with every bite.

  They went over each item of evidence with Kara, who studied it carefully and delivered the discouraging news that there were hundreds of sources for most of the items. The rope was a color-changing rope trick, sold in FAO Schwarz as well as magic stores throughout the country. The knot was one Houdini used in his routines when he planned to cut the cord to escape; it was virtually impossible for a bound performer to untie.

  "Even without the cuffs," Kara said softly, "that girl never had a chance of getting away."

  "Is that rare? The knot?"

  She explained that, no, anyone with a basic knowledge of Houdini's routines would know it.

  The castor oil in the makeup, Kara continued, meant that he was using very realistic and durable theatrical cosmetics, and the latex was, as Rhyme had suspected, probably from the fake finger cups, which were also popular magician's tools. The alginate, Kara suggested, wouldn't be from dental work but was used to make molds for latex casting, probably for the finger cups or the bald cap he'd worn in his janitor disguise. The disappearing ink was more of a novelty, though some illusionists occasionally used it in their shows.

  Only a few things were unique, she explained: the circuit board (which was a "gimmick," she said, a prop the audience can't see), for instance. But he'd made that himself. The Darby handcuffs were rare. Rhyme ordered someone to check out the escapology museum in New Orleans that Kara had mentioned. Sachs suggested they take the responding officers, Franciscovich and Ausonio, up on their offer to help. This was the sort of assignment that'd be perfect for a couple of eager young officers. Rhyme agreed and Sellitto arranged it through the head of the Patrol Services Division.

  "How about his escape?" Sellitto said. "What's the deal where he changed into janitor clothes so fast."

  " 'Protean magic' it's called," Kara said. "Quick change. It's one of the things I've been studying for years. I just use it as part of my routines but there're some people, it's all they do. It can be amazing. I saw Arturo Brachetti a few years ago. He could do three or four dozen changes in one show--some of them in under three seconds."

  "Three seconds?"

  "Yeah. And see, true quick-change artists don't just change clothes. They're actors too. They walk differently, hold themselves differently, speak differently. He'll prepare everything ahead of time. The clothes are breakaway--they're held together with snaps or Velcro. Most of quick change is really quick strip. And they're made of silk or nylon, real thin, so we can wear layers of them. I sometimes wear five costumes under my top outfit."

  "Silk?" Rhyme asked. "We found gray silk fibers," he explained. "The officers on the scene reported that the janitor was wearing a gray uniform. The fibers were abraded--sort of buffed to a matte finish."

  Kara nodded. "So they'd look like cotton or linen, not shiny. We also use collapsible hats and suitcases, shoe coverings, telescoping umbrellas, all kinds of props that we hide on our bodies. Wigs, of course."

  She continued, "To alter a face the most important thing is the eyebrows. Change those and the face is sixty, seventy percent different. Then add some prostheses--we call them 'appliances': latex strips and pads you put on with spirit gum. Quick-change performers study the basic facial structures of different races and genders. A good protean artist knows the proportions of a woman's face versus a man's and can change genders in seconds. We study psychological reactions to faces and posture--so we can become beautiful or ugly or scary or sympathetic or needy. Whatever."

  The magic esoterica was interesting but Rhyme wanted specific suggestions. "Is there anything concrete you can tell us that'll help find him?"

  She shook her head. "I can't think of anything that might lead you to a particular store or other place. But I do have some general thoughts."

  "Go ahead."

  "Well, the fact he used the changing rope and finger cups tells me he's familiar with sleight of hand. That means he'll be good at picking pockets, hiding guns or knives or things like that. Getting people's keys and IDs. He also knows quick change and it's obvious what kind of problem that'll be for you. But more important--the Vanished Man routine, the fuses and squibs, the disappearing ink, the black silk, the flash cotton means he's a classically trained illusionist."

  She explained the difference between a sleight-of-hand artist and a true illusionist, whose acts involved people and large objects.

  "Why's that important for us?"

  Kara nodded. "Because illusion is more than just physical technique. Illusionists study audience psychology and create whole routines to trick them--not just their eyes but their minds too. Their point isn't making you laugh because a quarter disappears; it's to make you believe in your heart that everything you see and believe is one way when in fact it's the opposite. There's one thing you'll have to keep in mind. Never forget it."

  "What?" Rhyme asked.

  "Misdirection. . . . Mr. Balzac says it's the heart and soul of illusion. You've heard the expression that the hand is quicker than the eye? Well, no, it's not. The eye is always quicker. So illusionists trick the eye into not noticing what the hand is doing."

  "Like, you mean, diversion, distraction?" Sellitto asked.

  "That's part of it. Misdirection is pointing the audience's attention where you want it and away from where you don't want it. There're lots of rules he's been drumming into me--like, the audience doesn't notice the familiar but're drawn to novelty. They don't notice a series of similar things but focus on the one that's different. They ignore objects or people that stand still but they're drawn to movement. You want to make something invisible? Repeat it four or five times and pretty soon the audience is bored and their attention wanders. They can be staring right at your hands and not see what you're doing. That's when you zing.

  "Okay, now there're two kinds of misdirection he'll be using: first, physical misdirection. Watch." Kara stepped near Sachs and stared at her own right hand as she lifted it very slowly and pointed to the wall, squinting. Then she dropped her hand. "See, you looked at my arm and where I pointed. Perfectly natural reaction. So you probably didn't notice that my left hand's got Amelia's gun."

  Sachs gave a faint jump as she glanced down and saw that, sure enough, Kara's fingers had lifted the Glock partway out of the holster.

  "Careful there," Sachs said, reholstering the pistol.

  "Now, look in that corner." Pointing with her right hand again. This time, though, Rhyme and the others in the room naturally looked at Kara's left hand.

  "Caught my left hand, didn't you?" She laughed. "But you didn't notice my foot, pushing that white thing behind the table."

  "A bedpan," Rhyme said acerbically, irritated that he'd been tricked again but feeling he'd scored a point or two by mentioning the indelicate nature of the object she'd moved.

  "Really?" she asked, unfazed. "Well, it's not just a bedpan; it's also a misdirection. Because when you were looking at it just now, I got this with my other hand. Oh, here," she said. "Is this important?" She handed a canister of Mace back to Sachs.

  The policewoman frowned, looked down at her utility belt to see if anything else was missing and replaced the cylinder.

  "So, that's physical misdirection. That's pretty easy. The second kind of misdirection is psychological. This is harder. Audiences aren't stupid. They know you're going to try to trick them. I mean, that's why they've come to the show in the first place, right? So we try to reduce or eliminate the audience's suspicion. The most important thing in psychological misdirection is to act naturally. You behave and say things that're consistent with what the audience expects. But underneath the surface you're getting away with . . ." Her voice faded as she realized how close she'd come to using the word that described the death of the young student that morning.

  Kara continued, "As soon as you do something in an unnatural way, the audience is on to you. Okay, I say I'm goi
ng to read your mind and I do this." Kara put her hands on Sachs's temples and closed her eyes for a moment.

  She stepped away and handed Sachs back the earring she'd just plucked from the policewoman's left ear.

  "I never felt a thing."

  "But the audience'd know instantly how I did it--because touching someone while you're pretending to read minds, which most people don't believe in anyway, isn't natural. But if I say part of a trick is for me to whisper a word so that nobody else can hear. . ." She leaned closer to Sachs's ear, with her right hand over her own mouth. "See, that's a natural gesture."

  "You missed the other earring," Sachs said, laughing; she'd lifted a protective hand to her ear when Kara had stepped close.

  "But I vanished your necklace. It's gone."

  Even Rhyme couldn't help but be impressed--and amused, watching Sachs touch her neck and chest, smiling but troubled to keep losing accessories. Sellitto laughed like a little kid and Mel Cooper gave up on the evidence to watch the show. The policewoman looked around her for the jewelry and then at Kara, who offered her empty right hand. "Vanished," she repeated.

  "But," Rhyme said suspiciously, "I do notice that your left hand's in a fist behind your back. Which is, by the way, a rather unnatural gesture. So I assume the necklace is there."

  "Ah, you're good," Kara said. Then laughed. "But not at catching moves, I'm afraid." She opened her left hand and it too was empty.

  Rhyme scowled.

  "Keeping my left fist closed and out of sight? Well, that was the most important misdirection of all. I did that because I knew you'd spot it and it would focus your attention on my left hand. We call it 'forcing.' I forced you to think you'd figured out my method. And as soon as you did that your mind snapped shut and you stopped considering any other explanations for what had happened. And when you--and everybody else--were staring at my left hand, that gave me the chance to slip the necklace into Amelia's pocket."

  Sachs reached inside and pulled the chain out.

  Cooper applauded. Rhyme gave a grudging but impressed grunt.

  Kara nodded toward the evidence board. "So, that's what he's going to do, this killer. Misdirection. You'll think you've figured out what he's up to but that's part of his plan. Just like I did, he'll use your suspicions--and your intelligence--against you. In fact, he needs your suspicions and intelligence for his tricks to work. Mr. Balzac says that the best illusionists'll rig the trick so well that they'll point directly at their method, directly at what they're really going to do. But you won't believe them. You'll look in the opposite direction. When that happens, you've had it. You've lost and they've won." The reference to her mentor seemed to upset her and she glanced at the clock and offered a faint grimace. "I really have to get back now. I've been away too long."

  Sachs thanked her, and Sellitto said, "I'll get a car to take you back to the store."

  "Well, near the store. I don't want him to know where I've been. . . . Oh, one thing you might want to do? There's a circus in town. The Cirque Fantastique. I know they have a quick-change act. You might want to check it out."

  Sachs nodded. "They're setting up right across the street in Central Park."

  The park was often the site for large-scale outdoor concerts and other shows during the spring and summer. Rhyme and Sachs had once "attended" a Paul Simon concert by sitting in front of the criminalist's open bedroom windows.

  Rhyme scoffed. "Oh, that's who was rehearsing that god-awful music all night."

  "You don't like the circus?" Sellitto asked.

  "Of course I don't like the circus," he snapped. "Who does? Bad food, clowns, acrobats threatening to die in front of your children. . . . But"--he turned to Kara--"it's a good suggestion. Thanks. . . . Even though one of us should've thought of it before," he said caustically, looking over the others on the team.

  Rhyme watched her sling an ugly black-and-white purse over her shoulder. Escaping from him, fleeing into the crip-free world, taking the Look and the Smile with her.

  Don't worry. You can give the gimp your insights then get the hell out.

  She paused and looked at the evidence board once more with a cloud in her striking blue eyes then started for the door.

  "Wait," Rhyme said.

  She turned.

  "I'd like you to stay."

  "What?"

  "Work with us on the case. At least for today. You could go with Lon or Amelia to talk to the people at the circus. And there might be more magic evidence we uncover."

  "Oh, no. I can't really. It was hard for me to get away now. I can't spend any more time."

  Rhyme said, "We could use your help. We've just scratched the surface with this guy."

  "You saw Mr. Balzac," she said to Sachs.

  In nomine patri . . .

  "You know, Linc," Sellitto said uneasily, "better not to have too many civilians on a case. There are regs on that."

  "Didn't you use a psychic one time?" Rhyme asked dryly.

  "I didn't fucking hire her. Somebody at HQ did."

  "And then you had the dog tracker and--"

  "You keep saying 'you.' No, I don't hire civilians. Except you. Which gets me into enough shit."

  "Ah, you can never get into enough shit in police work, Lon." He glanced at Kara. "Please. It's very important."

  The young woman hesitated. "You really think he's going to kill someone else?"

  "Yes," he replied, "we do."

  The girl finally nodded. "If I'm going to get fired, at least it'll be for a good cause." Then she laughed. "You know, Robert-Houdin did the same thing."

  "Who's that?"

  "A famous French illusionist and magician. He helped out the police too, well, the French army. Sometime, I don't know, in the 1800s, there were these Algerian extremists, the Marabouts. They were trying to get local tribes to rise up against the French and they kept saying they had magic powers. The French government sent him to Algeria to have a sort of magical duel. To show the tribes that the French had better magic--you know, more power. It worked. Robert-Houdin had tighter tricks than the Marabouts." Then she frowned. "Though I think they almost killed him."

  "Don't worry," Sachs reassured her. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen to you."

  Then Kara looked over the evidence chart. "You do this in all your cases? Write down all the clues and things you've learned?"

  "That's right," Sachs confirmed.

  "Here's an idea--most magicians specialize. Like the Conjurer doing both quick-change and large-scale illusion? That's unusual. Let's write down his techniques. That might help narrow down the number of suspects."

  "Yeah," Sellitto said, "a profile. Good."

  The young woman grimaced. "And I'll have to find somebody to replace me at the shop. Mr. Balzac was going to be out of the store with that friend of his. . . . Oh, man, he's not going to like this." She looked around the room. "There a phone I can use? You know, one of those special ones?"

  "Special one?" Thom asked.

  "Yeah, in private. So there's nobody around to hear you lie to your boss."

  "Oh, those phones," the aide said, putting his arm around her shoulders and directing her toward the doorway. "The one I use for that's in the hall."

  THE CONJURER

  Music School Crime Scene

  * Perp's description: Brown hair, fake beard, no distinguishing, medium build, medium height, age: fifties. Ring and little fingers of left hand fused together. Changed costume quickly to resemble old, bald janitor.

  * No apparent motive.

  * Victim: Svetlana Rasnikov.

  * Full-time music student.

  * Checking family, friends, students, coworkers for possible leads.

  * No boyfriends, no known enemies. Performed at children's birthday parties.

  * Circuit board with speaker attached.

  * Sent to FBI lab, NYC.

  * Digital recorder, probably containing perp's voice. All data destroyed.

  * Voice recorder is a "gimmick." Homemad
e.

  * Used antique iron handcuffs to restrain victim.

  * Handcuffs are Darby irons. Scotland Yard. Checking with Houdini Museum in New Orleans for leads.

  * Destroyed victim's watch at exactly 8:00 A.M.

  * Cotton string holding chairs. Generic. Too many sources to trace.

  * Squib for gunshot effect. Destroyed.

  * Too many sources to trace.

  * Fuse. Generic.

  * Too many sources to trace.

  * Responding officers reported flash in air. No trace material recovered.

  * Was from flash cotton or flash paper.

  * Too many sources to trace.

  * Perp's shoes: size 10 Ecco.

  * Silk fibers, dyed gray, processed to a matte finish.

  * From quick-change janitor's outfit.

  * Unsub is possibly wearing brown wig.

  * Red pignut hickory and Parmelia conspersa lichen, both found primarily in Central Park.

  * Dirt impregnated with unusual mineral oil. Sent to FBI for analysis.

  * Black silk, 72 x 48". Used as camouflage. Not traceable.

  * Illusionists use this frequently.

  * Wears caps to cover up prints.

  * Magician's finger cups.

  * Traces of latex, castor oil, makeup.

  * Theatrical makeup.

  * Traces of alginate.

  * Used in molding latex "appliances."

  * Murder weapon: white silk-knit rope with black silk core.

  * Rope is a magic trick. Color changing. Not traceable.

  * Unusual knot.

  * Sent to FBI and Maritime Museum--no information.

  * Knots are from Houdini routines, virtually impossible to untie.

  * Used disappearing ink on sign-in register.

  Profile as Illusionist

  * Perp will use misdirection against victims and in eluding police.

  * Physical misdirection (for distraction).

  * Psychological (to eliminate suspicion).

  * Escape at music school was similar to Vanished Man illusion routine. Too common to trace.

  * Perp is primarily an illusionist.

  * Talented at sleight of hand.

  * Also knows protean (quick change) magic. Will use breakaway clothes, nylon and silk, bald cap, finger cups and other latex appliances. Could be any age, gender or race.

  Chapter Nine They sensed many smells as they walked: blooming lilacs, smoke from the pretzel vendors' carts and families barbecuing chicken and ribs, suntan lotion.