The Vanished Man

consultant he had only limited clout. “Sooner is better. . . . Thanks, Vince.”
    “Don’t mention it,” the man said coolly.
    They hung up. Rhyme said to Bell, “Not much else I can do, Roland, until we get that information.”
    A glance at the break-in report. Fibers and backwoods militiamen . . . Mysteries. But at the moment they’d have to remain somebody else’s. Rhyme had his own enigmas to unravel and not much time in which to do so: the notations on the evidence chart about the broken watches reminded him that they had less than three hours to stop the Conjurer before he found his next victim.
    T HE C ONJURER

    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.” Homemade.
    • 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 × 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.
    East Village Crime Scene
    • Victim Two: Tony Calvert.
        • Makeup artist, theater company.
        • No known enemies.
        • No apparent connection with first victim.
    • No apparent motive.
    • Cause of death:
        • Blunt-object trauma to head followed by postmortem dismemberment with crosscut saw.
    • Perp escaped portraying woman in her 70s. Checking vicinity for discarded costume and other evidence.
        • Nothing recovered.
    • Watch smashed at 12:00 exactly.
        • Pattern? Next victim presumably at 4:00 P.M.
    • Perp hid behind mirror. Not traceable. Fingerprints sent to FBI.
        • No matches.
    • Used cat toy (“feke”) to lure victim into alley. Toy is untraceable.
    • Additional mineral oil found, same as at first scene. Awaiting FBI report.
    • Additional latex and makeup from finger cups.
    • Additional alginate.
    • Ecco shoes left behind.
    • Dog hairs found in shoes, from three different breeds of dog. Manure too.
    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