Chapters (39)
- Cover
- Title
- TheLastIllusion
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- HISTORICAL NOTE
“Yes, but that could have just been working out a new stunt,” she said. “He’s always in his own world when he’s working something out. Absolutely obsessed. Didn’t want to be disturbed.” She let out a great shuddering sigh. “I just want him found.”
Stagehands were returning to the stage. “He’s not anywhere,” one of them said. “We’ve searched the whole place, top to bottom. And Ted at the door says no one’s been in or out that way, except for Marvo, and he went some time ago.”
“Are there any other ways out?”
“There’s a service door leading to the back alley, when they need to bring in big pieces of scenery, but that was bolted from the inside,” another of the stagehands said. “It’s hardly ever used.”
“We’ll wait until my men get here then we’ll go over the whole place again.”
“I should take Bess home,” Dash said. “My mother will be worried about where we’ve got to. And Bess was supposed to be resting. She’s only just out of the clinic. She shouldn’t have come tonight at all.”
“I’m not leaving until they find my husband,” Bess said, her voice rising hysterically again. “He’s got to be somewhere. He can’t just have vanished.”
Daniel put a calming hand on her shoulder. “As you say, Mrs. Houdini, he can’t just have vanished. Don’t worry, we’ll find him. Now why don’t you go home, as your brother-in-law suggested. We’ll need to talk to you in the morning.”
Bess reached out imploring hands to me. “Molly—come with me. I’m scared.”
I looked up at Daniel, not sure whether to comply with this request.
“I’ll need to question this young lady before she can go anywhere,” he said. “Go home to your family now. I’ll send a constable with you and we’ll put a guard on the house tonight. We’ll let you know as soon as we have any news.”
“I’ll come in the morning to be with you,” I said. “You’ll be quite safe.”
“I won’t.” She started to sob again. “I’ll never be safe again.”
As she was led away sobbing, Daniel looked at me and rolled his eyes for a moment.
“And I thought I was going out for a pleasant evening at the theater,” he said.
Nineteen 