The Vanished Man

quarter in her fingers, change from the coffee. She closed her palm and when she opened it again the coin was gone.
    Sachs laughed. Where the hell had it gone?
    “That was sleight of hand. Illusion is tricks involving large objects or people or animals. What you just described, what that killer did, is a classic illusionist trick. It’s called the Vanished Man.”
    “Vanishing Man?”
    “No, the Vanish ed Man. In magic we use ‘vanish’ to mean ‘to make disappear.’ Like, ‘I just vanished the quarter.’ ”
    “Go on.”
    “The way it’s performed usually is a little different from what you described but basically it involves the illusionist getting out of a locked room. The audience sees him step into this little room onstage—they can see the back because of a big mirror behind it. They hear him pound on the walls. The assistants pull the walls down and he’s gone. Then one of the assistants turns around and it’s the illusionist.”
    “How does it work?”
    “There was a door in the back of the room. The illusionist covers himself with a large piece of black silk so the audience can’t see him in the mirror and slips through the back door just after he walks inside.There’s a speaker built into one of the walls to make it sound like he was inside all the time and a gimmick that hits the walls and sounds like he’s pounding. Once the illusionist’s outside he does a quick change behind the silk into an assistant’s costume.”
    Sachs nodded. “That’s it, all right. Could we get a short list of people who know the routine?”
    “No, sorry—it’s pretty common.”
    The Vanished Man . . .
    Sachs was recalling that the killer had changed disguises quickly to become an older man, recalling, too, Balzac’s lack of cooperation and the cold look in his eyes—almost sadistic—when he was talking to Kara. She asked, “I need to ask—where was he this morning?”
    “Who?”
    “Mr. Balzac.”
    “Here. I mean, in the building. He lives there, above the store. . . . Wait, you’re not thinking he was involved?”
    “These’re questions we need to ask,” Sachs said noncommittally. The young woman seemed more amused than upset by the inquiry, though. She gave a laugh. “Look, I know he’s gruff and he has this . . . I guess you’d call it an edge, you know. A temper. But he’d never hurt anybody.”
    Sachs nodded but then asked, “Still, you know where he was at eight this morning?”
    Kara nodded. “Yeah, he was at the store. He got in early because some friend of his is in town doing a show and needed to borrow some equipment. I called to tell him I’d be a little late.”
    Sachs nodded. Then a moment later asked, “Can you take a little time off work?”
    “Me? Oh, no way.” An embarrassed laugh. “I was lucky to sneak out now. There’re a thousand things to do around the store. Then I’ve got three or four hours of rehearsing with David for a show I’m doing tomorrow. He doesn’t let me rest the day before a performance. I—”
    Sachs held the woman’s crisp blue eyes. “We’re really afraid this person’s going to kill someone else.”
    Kara’s eyes swept the sticky mahogany bar.
    “Please. Just for a few hours. Look over the evidence with us. Brainstorm.”
    “He won’t let me. You don’t know David.”
    “What I know is that I’m not letting anybody else get hurt if there’s any way I can stop it.”
    Kara finished her coffee and absently played with the cup. “Using our tricks to kill people,” she whispered in a dismayed voice.
    Sachs said nothing and let silence do the arguing for her.
    Finally the young woman grimaced. “My mother’s in a home. She’s been in and out of the infirmary. Mr. Balzac knows that. I guess I could tell him I have to go check on her.”
    “We really could use your help.”
    “Oh-oh. The sick mother excuse. . . . God’s gonna get me for this one.”
    Sachs glanced down again at Kara’s perfect, black nails. “Hey, one thing: What happened to that quarter?”
    “Look under your coffee cup,” the girl replied.
    Impossible. “No way.”
    Sachs lifted up the cup. There sat the coin.
    The bewildered policewoman asked, “How’d you do that?”
    Kara’s answer was an enigmatic smile. She nodded at the cups. “Let’s get a couple more to go.” She picked up the coin. “Heads you buy, tails it’s on me. Two out of three.” She flipped it into the air.
    Sachs nodded. “Deal.”
    The young woman caught it