Real Magic (18 page)

She handed him another paper — an advertisement for The Amazing Verido. Covered in writing about how unbelievable and talented Verido was, the ad went on to say that he would be performing at the Pennsylvania State Fair and don't miss the Door of Vanishing. Artwork below depicted Verido in a fine suit bowing to a happy, young woman as she stepped through a doorway. Her leg was far enough through that it should have appeared on the other side, but, of course, nothing came through.

"The story goes that Verido would wheel out a door on a small platform. After spinning it around to show no trickery, he would open the door and pass through it fine. A little bow on the one side and then he'd step back through to the other side and bow again. At this point, he would find a volunteer from the audience and bring her to the stage."

"Was it always a woman?"

"There wasn't a plant in the audience, if that's what you're thinking. At least, the best we can determine was that the volunteer was truly a stranger. That person was warned that if they stepped through, they might never come back. And then the person would walk through and disappear."

Duncan's stomach sank. "Did they ever come back?"

"Of course. Well, except the last time."

"What happened then?"

"I don't really know what went wrong, but in some backwoods county in the middle of nowhere, he sent somebody through the door and they never returned. The police were called in but by the time they showed up, The Amazing Verido added escape artist to his list of accomplishments. Though no evidence of foul play ever arose, most people think Verido is a murderer."

While Duncan stared at the two papers in his hands, Lucy added a newspaper clipping. At the top was a photograph of two policemen standing on a stage with a suited-man, and the headline read: POLICE CALL MAGIC EXPERTS IN VERIDO CASE.

"The police had no idea what was going on," Lucy said.

"And these experts did?"

"Not one of them came up with a plausible solution. At least, not plausible to Vincent and me. To the press and the public, their answers would suffice. They said that Verido had a trap door in the platform and this would 'vanish' the volunteers. The fall, if substantial enough, would either kill or incapacitate his victims. The platform did have a secret door but it only opened into the platform itself. Just enough space to curl up in if you're small. The fact that there was no large drop for a victim to fall through didn't seem to bother anyone. The police decided Verido killed these people, and they tried to hunt him down. But he never resurfaced. It was his ultimate vanishing trick.

"Vincent thought it would make a great story for his book, and if we can figure out how the trick worked and what went wrong, the piece would be a big selling angle. Might even be able to sell the story to the movies. Wouldn't that be something? Especially if they included the story about how we figured it all out. They could get Spencer Tracey to play Vincent, and Janet Gaynor to play me."

Duncan stayed quiet. He looked at the drawing of the door. "This was what the door looked like? You're sure."

"Not entirely. There aren't any clear photographs, but that's what I think it was like based on what I've read."

"You read about all this? Just these newspaper articles or something else?"

"Well, books of course. We may not be a big city but we do have a respectable library."

Duncan lifted his head and stared straight at Lucy. "You want to know something about me? One of my secrets? Well, I'm going to tell you one right now."

Leaning forward, Lucy said, "I'm all ears."

"I'm going to find this man, Verido, and you're going to help me."

Lucy smiled.

1934

Now you'll perform a Duck and Deal.

With the packet face down, lift off the top card

and slide it under the packet (duck),

deal the next card to the table,

duck the next card,

deal the next on top of the first, etc.

Repeat until one card remains in hand.

Deal this on top of the rest and pick up the packet.

 

 

 

 

The Reedsburg Library was on the corner
of Main and Elm, and it looked as generic and old-fashioned as the names of its cross-streets. Two pillars rose in Greek-inspired architecture and marble steps lined the way to the front door. Inside were two floors filled with books upon books. This particular library housed an unusually large collection on the subjects of illusions and card magic — mainly because an influential resident held that interest.

I don't imagine many librarians would stand up to Nelson Walter over what to stock a few shelves with,
Duncan thought as he waited by the front door for Lucy to arrive.

A lone man, white-haired with thick glasses, sat behind a circular desk in the center of the main room. Three tall cases filled with little drawers formed a wall nearby. Duncan knew this was a card catalog, but he also had no idea how to use one. Any library he had ever visited (and he had visited one or two before) used a computer system to search for books. He could have asked for help from the librarian, but he figured the less people who knew what he searched for, the better. It also didn't hurt that his need allowed him to call upon Lucy for assistance.

She came in carrying a large bag over her shoulder. He pointed at the bag. "I don't think we'll be taking that many books."

"This is for later. Let's get to work."

All his plans for the card catalog turned out to be wasted. Lucy already knew where to find the books they needed because she had done the research once before. She led Duncan to the second floor and into the back. There they located an entire musty stack devoted to magic.

"I've read most of these before," Lucy said, "but I wasn't specifically looking for information on the Door of Vanishing until recently."

"Start with the ones you researched the Door in already. You'll know exactly where to go in those books, and I'll start with the others."

Hours passed. Duncan had never enjoyed research of any kind, but his desire to find Verido kept him planted in a chair reading tedious page after tedious page. He longed for the ability to plunk Verido's name into Google and have the computer spew out links to every last detail of the man's life. Instead, his eyes were the search engine, scanning index after index and page after page for any glimmer of Verido's name.

By the time noon arrived, Duncan thought they had accomplished little. He learned that
Verido
was a stage name. No surprise there. And he learned that Verido had a fear of water based on a story he circulated that he had almost drown at the age of eight. If that story turned out to be true, then they could assume he wouldn't be living near any large bodies of water — the ocean, lakes, and such. But magicians loved to promulgate the air of mystery surrounding them — especially magicians in the 1930s. Every bit of information they found in these books could be nothing more than the continuation of a hoax or publicity stunt originating from the magician himself.

"Hungry?" Lucy asked as she stretched her arms.

"Very much. May I treat you to lunch?"

"Nope."

Duncan turned his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Ms. Day, do you have something planned?"

"Have you ever seen me carrying such a big bag before? I made us a picnic lunch. There's a lovely park across the street, and it's a beautiful July afternoon. Let's go outside and clear our heads, fill our tummies, and breathe some fresh air."

Duncan snapped shut the book in his hand. In a ridiculous, pompous voice, he said, "That sounds like a splendid idea, my dear."

Lucy giggled as they packed up their things and headed to the park. Turned out, she was right. The day was gorgeous, a bit humid but wonderful for July, and he found the experience of sitting on a large blanket eating cheese sandwiches delightful.

As the sun warmed his face, Duncan watched over the small oasis of trees and grass and a pond that made up the center focus of the park. Three children sprinted by laughing and shouting. One threw down a can and they all went off to hide. A flash of sheer amazement hit Duncan — they were playing Kick the Can. They were actually playing Kick the Can. And they played it with such unbridled enthusiasm one would think the game had been newly invented.

Maybe it is new,
he thought. He knew so little of the minutiae of the time.
That's because I don't belong here.

It always came back to that. Before Verido had come to his attention, he could play this back-and-forth in his mind about Lucy and 1934 and all of it. But no more. He didn't belong here and he didn't want to belong. There were plenty of aspects that he had warmed to, but in the end, he wanted computers, modern toilets and showers, Xbox and cell phones, and all the amenities of life to which he had been accustomed.

Lucy opened her bag and pulled out two cheese sandwiches and a container of beans in butter. Duncan leaned back on one elbow and took a bite. Amazing — a simple sandwich from a meager lunch on the right day with the right gal in the right place had surpassed the steak dinner they had on their first date.

He wanted to let her know how much he appreciated this, and before he could stop himself, he said, "Things are going to get better. Soon, too. I mean there are hard times ahead, war even, but in the end, you won't have to struggle like you do."

"What are you going on about? What war?"

Trying to hide the shock on his face at his own misstep, he said, "Forget it. I'm just babbling."

"The Big One's done. Nobody's ever going to do that again. After what we've all been through, any President would have to be crazy to start another war. He'd be impeached before he could say word one. So, it's already getting better. And times are hard, but that's life. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. We get through it. You don't have to worry so much."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what?"

Duncan gazed on her sweet, inquisitive face, but he could only offer a smile and a regretful shake of his head.

Lucy stayed quiet for a time. They ate their sandwiches and enjoyed the warm air. He could feel her frustration mounting — a wire-thin tension ready to snap. When she did speak, he could hear the trepidation shiver her voice. "I was thinking that since I'm helping you with Verido, you might tell me a little about why we're searching so hard for him. I know Vincent can get single-minded when it comes to learning a big trick like this one, but I don't get the feeling you're after this man's trick." Duncan shifted uncomfortably, and Lucy quickly said, "I'm not trying to make you betray your secrets. I just think that if I knew what I was looking for, it might help in our search."

Duncan tightened his face and thought. "Did you ever see
The Wizard of Oz?
"

"See it? Like in a movie? Are they making a movie of
The Wizard of Oz?
I'd love that. You know I love the movies. I've seen
The Thin Man
three times already. And my favorite …"

Lucy's nerves caused her to ramble which suited Duncan fine. It gave him a little time to regroup his approach. He had no idea when
The Wizard of Oz
had been made into a movie but clearly it had not happened yet.

"Forget the movie," he said, snapping her attention back to him.

"Do you have something to do with Hollywood? Are you looking for magicians for some kind of movie? Is that why you've been so secretive?"

"No. I misspoke. That's all. Really. I just meant that you've read the book, right?
The Wizard of Oz?
"

"When I was younger."

"There are these two completely different worlds. Kansas and Oz. Dorothy, she's kind of stuck between the two. Because part of her wants to stay in Oz even though a stronger part wants to get back home. And in the end, she's given the choice." At least, he hoped that was the way the story went. He barely remembered the movie. "I mean she could've taken those ruby slippers and just held on to them, stayed in Oz, and lived with her friends and —"

"I suppose, but I don't understand. What are you saying?"

"I think I'm asking what you would do if you were Dorothy."

Though clearly befuddled by Duncan's odd behavior, Lucy gave the question serious thought. "I think I'd go home."

"You would? You'd turn away from all the excitement and adventure of Oz and go back to a life of suffering on a farm?"

"First off, life on a farm isn't so bad, and no matter how hard it might be for Dorothy, that's where her real family is. And if it were me, I think I'd miss the world I knew and understood too much. Oz is a magical land, there's no doubt, and like you said, filled with all kinds of excitement and adventure. There's part of me that would love the experience. But that's a fleeting moment. Eventually, the excitement would lessen, and I'd realize that I'm living in a world that didn't make any sense. I mean if I had grown up in Oz like the Scarecrow or the Tin Man or the Lion, well then a world of flying monkeys and strange fields and cities made out of emeralds would all seem normal. But it's not. Frankly, it's the same reason I would love to go visit some far off country in the Orient, but I wouldn't want to live there."