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This made Max smile. “Detective, I am surprised you know that Houdini did his prison escapes like that.”
Chu didn’t smile. “I’ve been partnering with a woman who knows a lot about magic and I finally know why. We can handle things much faster if you don’t pull any tricks. Do we have an understanding?”
“Of course, detective.”
Elisha rose. “Pro will call me when you’re released, and I will come by for you, Max.”
“Great,” Max said as he was led out of the room. “Thanks, Pro.”
Pro shook her head and looked at the report on the screen she had to fill out. “This is going to be a long day.”
4. Passe-Passe
Hours later, Pro and Tom returned to the precinct from another call they’d received—a robbery gone wrong at a bodega a few blocks away. The owner defended himself with his legal firearm, and the robber, a shaky drug addict with an illegal pistol, ended up dead.
“I guess it’s better that the perp got shot instead of the owner,” Pro sighed as she walked into the bullpen.
Chu nodded. “Uniforms confiscated the owner’s firearm until all the evidence is finalized. It helps that he had a working camera pointed at the cash register.”
“At least Mister Paulo could keep his business open,” Pro said, referring to the owner by name. “He was shaken up pretty bad. The last thing he needed was to be thrown into holding.”
As they walked up the stairs, they saw a crowd around the processing desk where suspects went to turn in their belongings before being locked into holding. Pro and Chu heard laughter and applause.
“What the hell is going on?” Pro said as they approached.
“I have no idea,” Chu responded. “You find out. I’m going to get the report started.”
Chu headed for the bullpen as Pro got closer. A circle of policemen and women had formed, and in the middle, taller than those around him, was Max. He wore his black velvet coat again and looked every bit the magician. He manipulated what appeared to be a large copper penny, only it was the size of a silver dollar. The collection of cops looked on in amazement.
“Of course, all you have to do is keep your eye on it,” Max said as he appeared to grasp the coin with his right hand and hold it aloft. “No, I said watch it!” he chided, as he showed the right hand empty and the coin stood up at the tips of his left fingers.
“See, if you watch, you’ll know it goes right here,” Max explained, and he appeared to palm the coin as he placed it back into his left hand.
“No, it’s in your right,” a young woman in uniform said. She was a short African-American woman, who wore bright-red lipstick and worked traffic. She pointed at Max’s right hand.
“See, you don’t trust me,” Max chuckled as he showed the right hand empty and opened his left fist to expose that the coin truly had been in there. He grabbed the shiny object with his right hand and held it out for the woman who had spoken. “You can look at it if you want,” he said and opened his hand, but the coin was gone.
This drew laughs from the crowd and one officer muttered, “Damn!”
“But, it’s actually right here behind my knee,” Max pointed out, as he leaned forward to retrieve the coin from behind his leg. “It would help if it were bigger.” With that, the dollar-sized coin was gone, instantly replaced by a much larger shiny coin, the size of a beverage coaster. The large penny appeared to be far too big for him to even hold in his hands, and the assembled officers clapped and cheered.
Max bowed his head, held the large penny high, and said, “If I was truly a magician, I would vanish this!” As if on command, there was a flash of fire in his hand and the coin had disappeared.
“What’s going on?” Pro bellowed over the noise and applause. “Why isn’t my suspect in holding?”
The man behind the desk had been laughing along with everyone else. He became instantly serious. “Sorry, detective, word came down to release him. We returned him his possessions, and one of the guys recognized him from TV.”
The woman officer drew close to Max and smiled. “I thought seeing you on television was amazing, but, wow, right here in front of us, I can’t believe it.” She pulled out a piece of paper that had a phone number scrawled on it. “I like what you do with your hands. Maybe you could give me a private show.”
Max smiled a winning smile. “I would be delighted.”
“Oh!” Pro snarled, and moved between them. “Go back to your duties, officer. This man is old enough to be your grandfather.”
With a sultry glance at Max, she moved away, as he took a look at the number in his hand.
Pro grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall. “I can’t believe you…”
“Hey, I’m single,” Max defended.
