“Just be careful,” Daniel muttered as he hailed a hansom cab for me. “One illusionist’s assistant has already come to a tragic end this week.”

Then he helped me up into the cab, gave some money to the driver, and hurried back into the theater.

Twenty

Early the next morning I was leaving Patchin Place, on my way to Bess Houdini’s house, when I bumped into Gus coming home with a bag of fresh rolls and the morning paper.

“You’re up bright and early,” she said. “Come and have breakfast and hear about our ordeal at the cottage.”

“Ordeal?”

“My dear, you were so right not to have accompanied us. If we’d known what a boring and bigoted bunch they would be, we’d never have gone. Nothing but tittle-tattle and gossip of the most idle sort, and worse still, my cousin’s wife’s mother spent the whole weekend trying to get me together with her unmarried son—who had pimples and a stutter—and kept lecturing me on how life was passing me by and I’d be doomed to be a hopeless spinster. She was quite put out when I told her that I didn’t mind that prospect at all.”

“I’d love to come and hear all about it,” I said, “but I’m afraid I’m working. I take it you haven’t read that paper you are carrying yet.”

“I haven’t, but the newsboy was yelling something about a murder in the theater and Houdini having vanished,” she said.

“That’s right. I was at the theater last night. I saw the whole thing firsthand. And Houdini’s wife is expecting me.”

“My dear Molly, what an exciting life you lead,” Gus said, eyeing me with envy. Most women would have been reaching for their smelling salts by this time. “I do wish we could come with you. I don’t suppose you could take us along—as your assistants, maybe?”

I smiled. “No, I couldn’t take you with me.”

She sighed. “You will keep us au fait, won’t you? I can’t wait to tell Sid. She’ll be positively agog.”

So we parted and I caught my train northward. As we made our slow progress, I had time to think. My head was clear after a night’s sleep and I found myself full of energy and ready for anything. I went through the whole performance of the night before, wondering if I had overlooked anything. Was there anything I had observed while I was waiting in the wings to go onstage? Anyone who had been near the trunk? Anything lying there that shouldn’t have been? I could think of nothing. Of course I had been wound up and nervous about going onstage so I may have overlooked a good deal, but the point was that Houdini wouldn’t have overlooked anything. He was meticulous in his preparation.