The Shadow 294 Murder by Magic by Maxwell Grant

Author:Maxwell Grant [Grant, Maxwell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Street & Smith
Published: 1945-07-31T22:00:00+00:00

“That’s what Del Weird said about his wine and water,” chimed a voice from a corner. “Maybe he was just a bigger fool than he thought.”

The speaker was Val Varno. Why he was here, except to check on two suspects named Glanville Frost and Zed Zito, Pete couldn’t guess, unless Val had begun to think in terms of an alibi, like Demo.

Or maybe it was because Val was practicing new manipulations with rhinestone-studded thimbles and wanted to get the opinion of such connoisseurs as Frost and Zito. He was a smoothie, Val Varno, in a way much more convincing than Frost’s, if being smooth could be styled a convincing matter.

Pete concentrated on Zito.

“You’re buying the guillotine?”

“That’s right,” replied Zito. “Seems out of my line, but it isn’t. I’m going to present it as a feat of hypnotism, saying it can’t hurt Claire while she’s under the spell.”

“You’re dropping the light and heavy act?”

“No, no. This will just be an added feature. Useful too in case I’m held over and have to do the usual hyp routine. By the way, how did you like the weight act last night?”

“Didn’t catch it,” replied Pete. “In fact I’ve never seen it. By the way, who’s Claire?”

“Claire Meriden. She works as Miss Libra. So you missed the Golden Pagoda, too. Claire doubled in that act.”

“I’ve heard it was good,” said Pete. He turned to Frost. “Want to sell the pagoda illusion, Glanville?”

Frost showed bland interest which was his equivalent of a nod.

“How much?” asked Pete.

“I couldn’t say,” returned Frost. “Not until you’ve seen it.”

“And until I’ve tried it,” added Pete. “How about shipping it over to Demo’s? I’m staying there, working up my new show.”

Frost picked up the telephone.

“The truck is due at the hotel shortly,” said Frost. “It would be just as easy to drop the pagoda at the Albuquerque Arms as to bring it back here.”

“Provided it isn’t off the route to the Club Marimba,” put in Zito. “My stuff is going there. And what about the chopper? The truck was to pick it up here.”

“Take the guillotine in a cab,” suggested Frost. “It’s not too big and you won’t have to wait around.”

Accepting the suggestion, Zito hoisted the portable guillotine and started out with it. He expected Varno to open the door for him but Val was no longer around. Pete made a mental note of that, calculating that Val must have left within the last few minutes. The ways and means of Val Varno, seemed devious and doubtful to Pete Noland, which was all the more reason for checking on the card man.

Completing the call to the hotel, Frost made the arrangements for the shipment of the pagoda. Pete thanked him and left, taking a cab back to Demo’s apartment. Though he’d met three Class-A suspects, Pete couldn’t say that he had learned a thing. However, one item of Savanti’s old apparatus would reach Demo, namely the Golden Pagoda.

It was probably the worst bet of all Savanti’s equipment from the standpoint of a jewel cache, but Pete was sure that Demo would be pleased.

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