The Vanished Man

Saul canvassing hotels.
            • Narrowed down to Chelsea Lodge, Beckman and Lanham Arms.
            • Hotel is Lanham Arms.
    • Restaurant check from Riverside Inn, Bedford Junction, NY, indicating four people ate lunch, table 12, Saturday, two weeks prior. Turkey, meatloaf, steak, daily special. Soft drinks. Staff doesn’t know who diners were. (Accomplices?)
        • Alley where Conjurer was arrested:
        • Picked the cuff locks.
        • Saliva (picks hidden in mouth).
        • No blood type determined.
        • Small razor saw for getting out of restraints (also hidden in mouth).
    • No indication of Officer Burke’s whereabouts.
        • Report body somewhere on Upper West Side.
    • Harlem River scene:
        • No evidence on riverbank, except skid marks in mud.
        • Newspaper recovered from the car. Headlines:
    Electrical Breakdown Closes Police Station for Almost 4 Hours
    New York in Running for GOP Convention
    Parents Protest Poor Security at Girls’ School
    Militia Murder Plot Trial Opens Monday
    Weekend Gala at Met to Benefit Charities
    Spring Entertainment for Kids Young and Old
    Governor, Mayor Meet on New West Side Plan
    Lincoln Rhyme Crime Scene
    • Victim: Lincoln Rhyme.
    • Perp’s identity: Erick A. Weir.
        • LKA Las Vegas.
        • Burned in fire in Ohio, three years ago. Hasbro and Keller Brothers Circus. Disappeared after. Third-degree burns. Producer was Edward Kadesky.
        • Conviction in New Jersey for reckless endangerment.
        • Obsessed with fire.
        • Manic. Referred to “Revered Audience.”
        • Performed dangerous tricks.
        • Married to Marie Cosgrove, killed in fire.
            • He hasn’t contacted her family since.
        • Weir’s parents dead, no next of kin.
        • No VICAP or NCIC on Weir.
        • Referred to himself as “Wizard of the North.”
        • Attacked Rhyme because he had to stop him before Sunday afternoon.
        • Eye color—brown.
    • Psychological profile (per Terry Dobyns, NYPD): Revenge motivates him though he may not realize it. He wants to get even. Angry all the time. By killing he takes away some of the pain because of death of his wife, loss of ability to perform.
    • Weir contacted assistants recently: John Keating and Arthur Loesser, in Nevada. Asking about the fire and people involved with it. Described Weir as crazed, overbearing, manic, dangerous, but brilliant.
    • Killed victims because of what they represented—possibly happy or traumatic moments before the fire.
    • Gasoline-soaked handkerchief, not traceable.
    • Ecco shoes, no trace.
    Detention Center Escape Scenes
    • Squibs and bladder from fake wound—homemade, no source.
    • Artificial blood (sugar syrup + red food coloring), fragments of beef bone, gray sponge to simulate brain, real blood, razor knife blade.
    • DOC officer’s Glock.
    • Handcuffs.
    • Unsuccessful attempt to clean up blood.
    • Additional bits of latex and makeup, as at prior scenes.
    • Adhesive wax.
    • Permanent ink, black, similar to that found earlier.
    • Dried artificial blood (paint), sent to FBI.
    • Carpet fibers, sent to FBI.
    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.
    • Calvert’s death = Selbit’s Cutting a Woman in Half routine.
    • Proficient at lock picking (possibly lock “scrubbing”).
    • Knows escapism techniques.
    • Experience with animal illusions.
    • Used mentalism to get information on victim.
    • Used sleight of hand to drug her.
    • Tried to kill third victim with Houdini escape. Water Torture Cell.
    • Ventriloquism.
    • Razor blades.
    • Familiar with Burning Mirror routine. Very dangerous, rarely performed now.
    •   •   •
    The Cirque Fantastique was coming alive, an hour before that night’s performance.
    Kara walked past the banner of