AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maybe. Although he might not realize Khan was killed Sunday night. I don’t think the Sheriff’s Office has made a statement to the press yet.”
They fell silent. The rain spattered soundlessly against the bulletproof window, blurring the view of the parking lot.
“Why do you think there are so few female magicians?” Dreyfus asked suddenly.
“Not sure. It probably wasn’t considered respectable? Women weren’t supposed to go on the stage.”
“But I mean even now, it seems like there are relatively few female magicians.”
“Yeah, I don’t know.”
Dreyfus said, “I looked up the meaning of that tarot card they found in Khan’s pocket. The Fool. It means the start of a new journey. New beginnings. Everything is still possible.”
Jason looked up from his phone. He kept hoping for a text from Sam, but nope. Nada. Out of sight, out of mind, apparently. No messages from anyone. It was like he’d fallen into another dimension. “Doesn’t the meaning change depending on whether the card is upright or reversed?”
“Yes, but I think we have to assume the intended meaning would be the upright because Khan’s killer would have to know there’s no guarantee in what position the card would be found.”
“You don’t want to make assumptions about an unsub’s thought process.” He stopped. “Wait. Wasn’t the card found at the scene The Hanged Man?”
Dreyfus looked confused. Her eyes widened. She laughed. “Oh my gosh. You’re right. Where did I come up with The Fool?”
“Not sure.”
“I was looking at a bunch of different cards and their meanings. I guess I got distracted.”
She picked up her phone as though preparing to re-google. Jason said, “Honestly, it doesn’t matter. For all we know, Khan carried that card as a talisman or good luck charm. Or the card was added to the crime scene simply to throw investigators off the trail.”
She gave him an exasperated look. He shared her frustration. At the minimum, being barred from including Khan’s homicide in their investigation reduced their access to potentially helpful information gleaned at the murder scene. He’d have to wait for Sam’s return to know what, if anything discovered at Vedauwoo, related to their case.
Sam.
His heart warmed in anticipation of that eventual homecoming. To distract himself, Jason said, “I wonder why Boz panicked the instant he saw we were federal agents.”
“That should be obvious!”
“Maybe. But we didn’t have anything on him. According to him, there’s nothing to have. At least as far as the Khan investigation is concerned.”
Dreyfus said, “That reminds me. I spoke to George Cohen, Khan’s agent, and Khan did show up for their dinner Friday night. He didn’t leave until around nine thirty.”
“Then regardless of whether Khan set up the burglary, we know he wasn’t actually on the premises when it occ
urred. What about the security footage from the neighbors? We want to keep on top of that. It’s our best bet for getting a look at who showed up in the moving van.”
“I’ll check with Detective Ward at Cheyenne PD.”
Jason nodded. “I’ve got a few calls in to people. I heard back from Arlo Presley at Potter & Potter, and he says no one has contacted them about the collection.”
“That makes sense if Khan stole his own collection. He wasn’t planning to sell anything. He was just going to sit on it until the divorce was over and he thought it was safe.”
“Maybe. The thing is, I don’t think it’s a coincidence the Khan collection disappeared right before this magic convention.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone I’ve spoken to seems to agree the magic community is the obvious and best customer for those stolen items. This convention means a bunch of potential consumers are about to arrive on the scene.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh is right.”
