Chapter 22 twenty one

Obviously this second is still there, but the next second is gone. There was no way the red ball could have moved directly behind Kara's ear from her straight right hand. But it is true. And, when Carla took the red ball out from behind her ear and tossed it into the air, there was no way it would disappear and pop out of her bent left elbow. But it is true. how did you do that?Rhyme wondered deeply. Carla has returned to Rhyme's residence, waiting for Emilia in the laboratory downstairs.Sachs and Rona.Bell is back.when melWhile Cobb was busy putting the evidence on the examination table, the room suddenly burst into the sound of a piano jazz CD played by Rhyme with his own little hand trick.

Carla was standing by the window now, wearing the black T-shirt that Sachs kept in the upstairs closet.Thomas was washing her blouse, trying to get rid of the blood she'd made with Hans Five Seven steak sauce during an impromptu hallucination at the trade fair. Where did these come from?Rhyme asked, nodding to the balls.He didn't see her open her purse or put her hand in her pocket.She smiled and said it was from her body (Ryme frowned, noticing that there was another trick that magicians like to play, the old habit of using intransitive verbs as transitive verbs). where do you livehe asks.

Greenwich Village. Rhyme nodded, remembering the past.Before I was divorced, we lived there with most of our friends, along with Soho and Tribeca. I don't go north on Twenty-third Street very often.she says. Rhyme let out a laugh.In my day, Fourteenth Street was the beginning of the DMZ. It seems that our side has won.She jokes that the red ball keeps disappearing and reappearing, passing from one hand to the other.Then she began an impromptu juggling act, taking turns tossing and catching the red balls in the air. Where is your accent from?he asks. Do I speak with an accent?she asked.

A little.I can hear that your tone of voice is different from others. Probably Ohio, Midwest. Me too, Rhyme told her, I'm from Illinois. But I've been here since I was eighteen, to college in the Bronx. Sarah Lawrence College, majoring in drama.Rhyme guessed. Wrong, I studied English. Then you like it here and stay. Well, I liked it so much at one point, that's why I left the country and came to the city.Then after my dad died, my mom moved here to be closer to me. She has a widow mother.It's the same as Sachs, Rhyme thought, but wondered if she had the same problem with her mother as Sachs had with her mother.The relationship between Sachs and her mother has improved a lot in recent years, but in her teenage years, her mother Rose was quite irritable, gloomy and unpredictable.Rose couldn't understand why her husband only wanted to be a cop, or why her daughter refused to do what she expected.In this way, the father and daughter naturally developed into an alliance, which made things worse between them.Sachs had told Rhyme that the garage became her and her father's sanctuary during those rough days, and there they found a safe world of perfect predictability: when the carburetor wouldn't fit, it must be Violation of some understandable rule of the physical world is either a mechanical error or a washer cut to the wrong size.

The engine, suspension and transmission don't put you in a mood of popular melodrama or whisper bad things about you in private.They don't blame you for your mistakes and failures, even in the worst of circumstances. Rhyme had seen Rose.Sachs counted her and found her a charming, loud, eccentric woman who was extremely proud of her daughter.But he also knew that the relationship between their mother and daughter in the past was definitely not the relationship he saw now. How is your current relationship?Since she moved here?Rhyme asked suspiciously. Does this sound like the plot of a sitcom?No, you guessed wrong, my mother is very nice.Hey, you know, she is my mother.Of course they will have the way mothers do, and that won't change.

where does she live She lives in a nursing home, on the Upper East Side. Is she seriously ill? Nothing serious, she'll be fine.Kara casually let the ball roll over her knuckles and into her palm.When she recovers, we will go to England, just the two of us.We're going to London, Stratford, Cotsworth Hill.My parents and I went there once and it was the best vacation of my life.Going again this time, I'm going to try driving in the left lane and drinking warm beer, because they didn't allow me to do these things last time.Of course, I was only thirteen years old at the time.Have you ever been to the UK?

have been.I used to work with Scotland Yard a lot and I've been there to teach.But I never, uh, I haven't been there for several years. Magicians and illusionists are more popular in England than they are here in America.They have a long history there.I want to take my mother to see the Egyptian Palace in London, which was a center of magicians all over the world a hundred years ago.You know, it's kind of like a pilgrimage. Rhyme looked towards the door of the room, but there was no figure of Thomas.can you do me a favor no problem. I need to take some medicine. Carla noticed some medicine jars by the wall.

Not here, but in the bookcase over there. Oh, I see.which bottle?she asked. The bottle next to it is Macallan, eighteen years old.He whispered: It would be better if you move softly and don't make a sound. Hey, then you've found the right person.Rob.Woody said that to be a successful illusionist, one must be proficient in three skills: dexterity, dexterity, and dexterity. In a few moments, almost completely silently and unobtrusively, Rhyme's glass was filled with more than half a glass of smoky whiskey.Even if Thomas stayed here at this time, he probably wouldn't find out that Carla poured wine for Rhyme secretly.She inserted a straw and set the glass on the cup holder of Rhyme's wheelchair.

You should drink a little too.He said. Carla shook her head and pointed to the coffee pot (she drank almost one by herself).This is the medicine I take. Rhyme took a sip of his whiskey.He raised his head, letting the scorching warmth flow deep into the depths of his throat before disappearing.He stared at her hands, watched her make incredible movements with the red ball, and took another sip of his wine.I feel great. What's great? Hallucinating the idea. Don't be so fucking sentimental, he said to himself.As soon as you drink, you become sentimental.However, such self-awareness could not prevent him from taking another sip of whiskey, and then continued: You know, sometimes, reality is hard to accept.Similarly, he couldn't stop himself from glancing at his immobile body at this moment.

As soon as he said this, he immediately regretted it, and at the same time regretted that he should not have aimed at his body just now.He wanted to change the subject, but instead of immediately expressing sympathy and pity, Carla simply said: You know what?I'm not sure how much reality there is.He frowned, not understanding what she meant. Isn't most of our life an illusion?she continued. What's the meaning? Let's put it this way, everything in the past has become a memory, right? That's right. And the future is all imagination.Both are hallucinations. Memory is unreliable, and we cannot speculate about the future.The only thing that is completely real is the present moment we live in, but this is the process of constantly changing from imagination to memory.So, do you understand?Most of our lives are hallucinations.

Rhyme laughed lightly, he didn't expect Kara to be a logician and scientist.He wanted to find holes in her theory, but found he couldn't.She was right, he had to admit that most of his time was spent on memories of the past, memories before the accident; he also kept imagining the future, thinking about how the future would change, such as whether he should accept consideration Years of surgery?Will he regain the ability to walk?Or at least get the arms up?Will the surgery affect his relationship with Sachs? The same goes for him at work: as long as he investigates a case, he keeps scanning his vast memory warehouse, searching for criminal forensic knowledge and past cases, in order to deduce where the suspect may be hiding and what he wants to do next. action. All the past is memory, all the future is imagination When we spoke the first words she said, adding a spoonful of sugar to the coffee.I have to confess to you. He took another sip of his drink.confess what? I had a feeling when I first saw you. Ah, yes, he remembered.That look, the most famous look of running away from the cripple, was staged with a smile.But there was something worse than that, a very clumsy apology for the look and the smile. She hesitated for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed, before saying: My feeling is that you are a really good illusionist! I?Rhyme asked in surprise. Carla nodded.You represent reality and perception.Is that what you say when people see you and see you as disabled? The politically correct version is disability, but my own version is: I'm reimbursed. Carla laughed, and then said: When they see you can't move, they may think you have mental problems, or that your reactions must be slow.right? This is the truth.People who don't know Lyme often speak very slowly and loudly, explaining in the simplest terms what is perfectly clear (Lyme sometimes responds with ramblings on purpose, or simply fakes Tourette's syndrome (Annotation: Tourette's Syndrome, a common neuropsychiatric disease today, in addition to motor and speech tic symptoms, is often combined with other mental behavioral diseases, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder, often seriously impairing the patient's cognitive function , psychological development, interpersonal relationships, and social functioning.), so that terrified visitors are thrown out of the room, which often makes Thomas angry).They will have a first impression of you, thinking that the real you cannot hide behind the hallucinations they see.Half of the people are affected by your physical condition, and the other half are afraid to even look at you.That's how you trick them Anyway, when I first saw you, in this wheelchair, in all the pain and suffering, I didn't have any sympathy, and I didn't want to ask you In terms of physical condition, I didn't even say I was sorry.I was just thinking, shit, what a great performer you are.I know it's stupid, but I have a feeling you're aware of the situation yourself. Those words made Rhyme completely happy, he assured her.Believe me, I don't take kindly to pity or politeness, it's better to be stupid. Yeah? Yes. She raised her coffee cup.To the most famous illusionist who cannot move. I can't do hand tricks.Lyme said. Carla replied: Mr. Balzac used to say that brain tricks are the most powerful technique. At this moment, they heard the sound of the door being opened, and the voices of Sachs and Sellitto as they entered the corridor.Rhyme raised an eyebrow and quickly leaned over the straw.He whispered, "Look, this is a trick I created myself, and it's called Vanishing Guilty Evidence." Ron.Sellitto asks: First, do you think he's dead?Are you lying on the bottom of the river feeding fish and shrimp? Sachs and Rhyme looked at each other, and said at the same time: No. The fat police detective said again: But do you know how fast the river is there?Some children tried to swim across the river, but they were never seen again. Unless I see the body, Rhyme said, then I will believe it. While he doesn't think the suspect has drowned, there is at least one thing to be thankful for: It's past 4 p.m., two hours after the previous victim's death, and they haven't heard of anyone yet or missing messages.The murderer's near arrest and another swim in the water may have had some deterrent effect on him; perhaps he knew the police were on his way and had to give up the attack or at least hide for a while.This gave Rhyme and the task force a breathing space, allowing them to use this gap to find out where the criminals were hiding. Larry.What happened to Buck?Rhyme asked. Sellitto shook his head.We sent dozens of people out looking for it, plus a bunch of volunteer police officers and firefighters who were off duty.The priest has gone to comfort his wife and children, and the mayor has offered a bounty, but I have to say, things don't look good.I figured he might have been stuffed into the trunk of that car and sank into the water with him. Haven't they fished that car yet? They haven't found the car at all.The river was as black as night, and there was an undercurrent underneath.A diver told me that the car may have been swept a kilometer away before it hit the bottom of the river. We've got to find the car quickly, Rhyme said, and the suspects might have taken Buck's weapon and radio.Ron, we should change the comm channel so he can't monitor our movements. no problem.He immediately called the headquarters, requesting that all communications related to the sorcerer be changed to the city's special police channel. Let's start researching the evidence.Sachs, what do we have now? She frowned and said: I told the owner of the restaurant to keep the scene intact, but this request does not seem to be conveyed, maybe he didn't want to convey it at all.By the time I got back to the restaurant, the waiters had wiped down the tables and mopped the floor. Where is the pond?The scene where the gangster was found? We found something there, Sachs said: "He used flash cotton to blind us and then set off some firecrackers, and at first we thought he had shot it. Cobb studied the burnt scum.As with the previous one, the source cannot be traced. Well, Rhyme sighed.Is there anything else? There are iron chains, two in total. The sorcerer tied Qiao Li with these two iron chains.Marston's hands and ankles were locked with buckles similar to the end of a dog chain.Cooper and Rhyme scrutinized the evidence, but the chains and clasps were not marked with the maker's mark.The same situation also appeared on the rope and the tape used by the gangster to stick the victim's mouth. As for the sports bag that the gangsters took from the car, they speculated that it was used to hold iron chains and ropes.This bag has no brand name and is manufactured in Mainland China.If the police are well-manned and fully invested in visiting discount stores and street vendors, it is sometimes possible to pinpoint the origin of some common branded goods.But such a large-scale search is simply not possible for such a cheap, mass-produced bag. Cobb turned the bag upside down, moved it over a porcelain inspection plate, and tapped the bottom of the bag several times to get the contents out.Some white powder fell out of the bag, and Cobb immediately took it for drug testing, which proved that the white powder was flunitrazepam. It's date rape drugs.Sachs said to Kara. There are also some fine translucent particles in the bag, which are sticky and look like what is sticking to the bag's zipper and handle.I don't recognize what it is.Cooper said. But Kara only took one look and said: This is sticky wax used by magicians.On stage, we'll use it to temporarily glue things together.Maybe he opened the rape drug capsule first, stuck the wax in the palm of his hand, and then sneaked the drug in while he reached over her drink or coffee. Where did the wax come from?Rhyme sarcastically: Let me guess you can get it at any magic supply store in the world, right? Carla nodded.so sorry. Cobb also found some tiny metal fragments in the bag, as well as a black circular mark that looked like the bag had once contained a paint can, and the black mark may have been caused by residue on the bottom of the can. Examination under a microscope proved that the metallic substance was likely to be copper and had unique mechanical patterns on it.But Lincoln.Rhyme was reluctant to make any inferences.Take a picture and send it to our friends at the bureau.Cooper immediately snapped a photo, compressed the file, and emailed the data to Washington. As for the black mark, it turned out after inspection that it was not paint, but just ordinary ink.But the database couldn't tell which brand it was, and no markings for identification were added to the ink. what is that?Rhyme asked, eyes falling on an evidence bag containing navy blue clothing. We were lucky, Sachs said: it was the windbreaker he was wearing when he kidnapped Marston.At that time, he was too busy running away to take the clothes away. Can it be individualized?Rhyme asked, wishing only that there would be any initials or laundry logos on the clothes. After checking for a long time, Cobb said: There is nothing, and all the labels on the clothes have been cut off. However, Sachs said: "We found a little something in the pocket. They checked the first item, a press card from CTN, a major cable company.The name on the press card is CTN reporter Stanley.Shefferstein, shown in the photo above as a thin, brown-haired man with a beard.Sellitto immediately called the TV company and talked with the head of safety for a while.It turned out that Schaefferstein was one of the oldest reporters at the company and had been working on the metropolitan news station for many years.His press card was stolen last week, when he was going downtown for a press conference.The pickpocket apparently cut the rope and pocketed the press card without the reporter realizing it at the time. Rhyme thought that the reason why the gangsters targeted Shefferstein's press card was because the reporter's appearance was somewhat similar to that of the magician: he was also in his fifties, with a narrow face and dark hair. This press card has been invalidated, but the head of the security section said: If the guy shows this pass, the guards or the police will probably let us go without careful inspection as soon as they see our company logo. As soon as Sellitto hung up, Rhyme said to Cobb: Check Stanley.Shefferstein's profile, entering his name into the Felon Hunt and the National Crime Data Center. no problem.But why check it? no reason.Lyme said. The result of the verification was sent back, and there was no information about this person in the two databases, but Lime was not surprised.He didn't really think the reporter had anything to do with the sorcerer, it was just that he had to not be careless in the face of this particularly cunning gangster. The jacket also had a gray plastic key card for the hotel in the pocket.Rhyme was glad they had found it, although the key didn't bear the name of the hotel, just a picture of the key and an arrow to tell the guest which end to insert into the keyhole.However, Rhyme figured that the magnetic strip on the key card must have a combination that would tell them which hotel and which room it was. Cobb finds the maker's name on the back of the key card. APC Corporation, Akron, Ohio.Based on this information, he found more detailed information from the commercial and trade database. APC stands for American Plastic Cards, a company that makes hundreds of different ID or key fobs. Within minutes, the task force had contacted the chairman of APC and spoke to him on a speakerphone.This chairman is really hardworking, Rhyme thought. Not only is he working on Saturdays, but he also answers the phone himself.Rhyme explained the situation to him, described the format of the card, and asked him how many hotels in the New York metropolitan area would use the key. Well, that's the APC︱42 model, the best seller.We produce this kind of card for major door lock system companies, such as Alco, Suffolk, Tessa, Wenyun, Sajint, almost every company has it. Is there a way you can narrow it down a bit?Can you tell us which hotel key this is? I'm afraid you have to call the hotel one by one to find out who uses the APC︱42 key card.Our company has such information, but I don't know how to retrieve it.I'll try to get in touch with my business manager or his assistant, but it might take a day or two. oops.Sellitto called out. Indeed, this is really slow. After hanging up the phone, Rhyme decided that he couldn't just sit and wait for APC's reply, so he asked Sellitto to tell Brady and Saul the key information, and asked them to start a search of all the hotels and restaurants in Manhattan one by one to find out which ones they had. Restaurants use this damn common APC︱42 type key.He also demanded that Cobb immediately fingerprint the press card and the plastic key card, but got less than ideal results.Only a faint smudge was found on these two cards, and the same two fingertip marks as before. There was something else hidden in the conjurer's jacket: a receipt from a restaurant called the Riverside Inn at Bedford Station, New York, which showed that four people had visited the restaurant two weeks earlier on Sunday, April 3rd. Eat Chinese food and sit at table 12.Lunch includes turkey, meatloaf, steak and a special of the day.No one drinks alcohol, everyone drinks juice drinks.Sachs shook his head and said: Where the hell is Bedford Station? About upstate New York, I guess.Cooper said. The receipt had the restaurant's phone number on it, and Bell said: Call 'em and ask Debbie or Tanya or any of the beautiful waitresses and see if anyone remembers which of the four regulars sat He glanced at that receipt .Table No. 12.At the very least, ask them if anyone remembers who ordered the food.Although the time is a bit far away, who can say for sure? What's the number?Inspector Sellitto. Bell read it out. Time has indeed passed too long.As Rhyme had predicted, neither the manager nor the waitresses remembered who had eaten at the restaurant that Saturday. That place was so busy, Sellitto hung up the phone, rolled his eyes and said: There is no answer at all. What a pity.Sachs said. What? Why do you think he would have dinner with the other three? Good question, Bell said: Is this a general social event?Or was there someone else working with the suspect? Sellitto replied: No, I don't think he has a partner, because the criminals who repeat the pattern of crimes are usually alone. Carla objected.I dare not say this.If it's an up close performer or a chamber magician, they really are all alone.But don't forget, this man is an illusionist.Illusionists usually perform with other people, including volunteers chosen from the audience, assistants standing on stage, people who the audience can see and know who they are.In addition, the illusionist will also have some hidden stakes. They secretly work for the illusionist, but the audience in the audience does not know anything about it.They may masquerade as stagehands, blend in with the audience, or simply pose as volunteers.In a perfect show, you can't tell who's who at all. God, thought Rhyme, this one suspect with quick shifts, escapes, and illusion skills was bad enough.If he had assistants, it would make him a hundred times more dangerous. Write it down first, Thomas.He said aloud: Next, let's look at what was found in the alley and the scene where Buck once arrested him. The first piece of evidence was the patrolman's handcuffs.He unlocked the handcuffs in a very short time, and he must have the key hidden in him.Sachs said.This is a sore spot for all police officers across the country, because most handcuffs can be opened with a very common key that can be bought for a few dollars at a military and police supply store. Rhyme drove the wheelchair to the examination table and studied the handcuffs carefully.Turn it around and park it here Yes, he probably used a key to open the lock, but I see fresh scratches in the keyhole.I bet he picked it open with a lock pick But Buck will definitely search him first, and Sachs questioned, where can he hide the lockpicking tool? It can be hidden anywhere, such as in the hair, in the mouth. mouth?Rhyme thought for a moment.Mel, shine ALS on these handcuffs. Cobb dons the goggles and turns on the Alternative Light Source Scanner (ALS) to project a beam of light onto the handcuffs.Yes, some fine stains near the keyhole.This means, Rhyme explained to Kara, that there are human humoral reactions on the handcuffs, such as saliva. Houdini often used this trick.Sometimes he would ask the audience to come on stage and check his mouth to prove that there was nothing in it.Then just before he performed the escape act, his wife would come up to him and kiss him, saying it was for good luck, but in reality it was for her to pass the key she had hidden in his mouth to him. But his hands were handcuffed behind his back. Sellitto said: How can he get the key in his mouth like this? Isn't that simple?Carla laughed and said: Any expert in escape techniques can move the handcuffed hands behind the back to the front of the body in three or four seconds. Cobb examined the saliva marks on the handcuffs.Some people secrete antibodies into bodily fluids that allow the tester to identify the blood type. But in this case, they only proved that magicians do not belong to this category of people. Sachs also found a very small piece of metal with sharp jagged edges. Ah, this must be his, said Carla: it's one of those escape tools, a razor saw.He may have used the tool to cut the plastic cord around his ankle. This thing can't be hidden in the mouth, right?Wouldn't this be too dangerous? not at all.We often hide things like needles and blades in our mouths during performances, and they are quite safe after practice. They continued to examine the remaining evidence.At the scene in that alley, they found more traces of latex and cosmetics, all of which were identical to those previously found.In addition, more cleaning oil stains appeared on the scene. Sachs, did you find anything at the scene where he went into the river? Only skid marks in the dirt.She pinned the digital photo that Cobb had just printed out on the computer to the whiteboard.Some of the townspeople wanted to sabotage the scene, she explained, but I spent half an hour searching through the mess to make sure he didn't drop any evidence or jump out of the car. Sellitto asks Bell: Where is the victim?That woman named Marston?Did she say anything? The North Carolina state police detective briefed the group on her previous interview. She is a lawyer by profession, why should she be picked?Rhyme was very puzzled.What exactly is the pattern in which musicians, make-up artists, and lawyers and conjurers pick their victims? Bell added: She was divorced and her ex-husband lived in California.Although the divorce process was not very pleasant, I don't think her husband is suspected of being involved in the case.I've had the LAPD call and he gave today's alibi and he didn't go to Bedford for lunch a few weeks ago.He is also missing from the National Crime Data Center and Felon Hunt. Joely.Marston described the sorcerer as a thin, wiry, bearded man with scars on his neck and chest.By the way, she also confirmed that the suspect's fingers were deformed, as we speculated.She said two fingers were glued together.Also, she did not know the address or the area of ​​residence of the suspect, who used the pseudonym John.That's all there is to know. All useless, Rhyme thought. Bell also explained how the gangster accosted her and what happened next.Lime asks Kara: Is there a show like that? He may have hypnotized a pigeon or a seagull before throwing it at the horse, and using some sort of gimmick to make the horse agitated.Then he turned off the device, so it looked like he was calming the horse on his own. What device is that?Rhyme asked, do you know who is making it? No idea, that might be homemade.Magicians are accustomed to using electrodes or electric rods to make lions growl when prompted, and that device may also belong to this category.But now animal rights activists will never let this kind of thing go. Bell went on, describing the situation when Marston and the magician went to drink coffee together. She said that there was something very strange, that he seemed to be able to see through her mind.Bell relayed what Marston had told him, that the sorcerer knew her well. It was judged by body language, Carla said: He would say something first, then watch her, study her reactions carefully, and learn a lot from that.Like those quacks or salesmen, a person who is really proficient in psychology can find all kinds of private information just by saying random seemingly insignificant words to you. Later, when she began to feel at ease and was getting used to being with this man, he drugged her, took her to a pond, and sank her upside down in the water. It was a parody of water tank torture, Carla said: one of Houdini's most famous performances. Why did he manage to escape from the pond?Rhyme asked Sachs. At first I wasn't sure it was him. He had done a quick change and she said: "His clothes are completely different." She glanced at Kara and his eyebrows changed.I couldn't see his hands, couldn't examine his fingers, and then he distracted me with his ventriloquism. I was staring at his face and didn't see his mouth move at all. Carla said: I bet he said ventriloquist without consonants like b, m and p, so you couldn't see him move his lips.Even, he doesn't even use the two consonants f or v. You are right, what he said at the time seemed to be true.Be careful miss!There's a man in a jogging suit on your right!He has a gun!Sure enough, it's standard jargon.She made a face.At that time I turned my head away and followed the gangster, just like everyone present.At this time, he ignited the flash cotton, which made me lose my eyesight for a while.He set off some more firecrackers, which made me think he had fired.He totally played me. Rhyme saw a look of displeasure on her face and knew that Emilia.Sachs held back in front of everyone, and she would save the worst emotions for when she was alone. However, Carla comforted her and said: Don't blame yourself.Hearing is the easiest sense to deceive, and we don't even use it very often when we're on stage because it's such an easy trick. Sachs shrugged, ignored Carla's reassurance, and continued: When Rona and I were blinded by a bright light and couldn't see anything, he took the opportunity to slip away and fled into the trade fair venue.Another grimace.Fifteen minutes later I saw his biker in a Harley T-shirt.I mean, for God's sake, he's standing right in front of me. Jesus, said Carla, shaking her head: his pennies sure can't talk. What's the meaning?Rhyme asked, copper plates? Oh, it's a magician's word for tricks with copper plates that don't make any sound out of the copper plates, but we use it to describe someone who does a really good job.Another way to put it: He did it seamlessly. She walked to the evidence board, picked up the whiteboard marker, and added a note to the column where the illusionist profiled.She writes: So, he knows close-up magic and psychoanalysis, and ventriloquism, and animal tricks.We knew he'd pick the lock from the second murder scene but now we know he's an escape expert.What kind of magic trick has he not done? Rhyme looked up and watched her write on the whiteboard when Thomas walked into the living room with a large envelope. He handed the envelope to Bell.is for you. what is this?asked the North Carolina police detective, dumping the contents of the envelope and immediately reading it.While watching, he nodded slowly.Hey Lincoln, here's the follow-up report from the scene of the burglary at Grady's office that you asked Peretti to do.Want to take a look? A note was attached to the report, which simply stated that it had been handled according to the requirements of the station.Rhyme read the report carefully, nodding gravely after each page, and Thomas immediately turned the pages for him.The crime scene report also contained a complete inventory of the secretary's office items, and also identified and mapped the location of all footprints in the room, exactly as Rhyme had requested.After carefully reading the report several times, he closed his eyes and began to imagine the scene. After a while, he turned to the full inspection report for the fibers found at the scene.Most of the white fibers are a mixture of polyester and rayon, and some are thick cotton fibers that are white in color.Most of these fibers are dull and dirty.As for those black fibers, it belongs to wool. Mel, what do you think about these black fibers? The technician immediately got up and walked over to examine the photos on the report.The photo wasn't very good, he said, but after a while he came to the conclusion that it looked like it came from some kind of tightly woven fabric, twill. GabetteRhyme asked. This sample is not large enough to tell from the slashes.However, I think it is very likely that it is Gabeldin. Rhyme continued to look, and found that the only red fiber found at the scene belonged to silk and satin.good very good.He closed his eyes and began to meditate again. Bell said to Rhyme: Charles.Grady and his family have business to leave tonight, and I thought I'd go check on the security there before they go.Is there anything I should tell him about this report? Wait a minute, Rona.Before you go, I have one more thing to clarify. no problem. So Rhyme turned to Cobb.Mel, how much research have you done with fibers and fabrics? not too much.But Lincoln, I'm going to find fault with your manner of questioning.你不該問你對什麼東西有多少研究？這不是重點，你應該說你知道該去哪裡找到它？而對於這個問題，我的回答是：可以。 □□□ magician Music school crime scene ．Description of the suspect's appearance: brown hair, fake beard, no obvious features.Age: about fifty years old.Medium build, medium height.The ring finger and little finger of the left hand are glued together.Can quickly change clothes to look like an elderly, balding co-worker. ．The motive for the killing is unknown. ．Victim: Svetlana.Lasnikhov.Full-time student at a music school.We are checking family, friends, classmates and colleagues, looking for possible clues. (No boyfriends, no apparent enemies. Worked as a performer at a kids birthday party.) ．Circuit board with speaker: Sent to FBI New York office laboratory for inspection. （為數位錄音器，可能錄有嫌犯聲音。所有資料都已被銷毀。）錄音器是一種秘密裝置，是自製物品。 ．Use old-fashioned handcuffs to handcuff the victim.These are Derby style handcuffs, antique handcuffs from England.A visit has been sent to the Houdini Museum in New Orleans. ．The victim's watch was broken, and the hands stopped at exactly eight o'clock in the morning. ．Cotton thread, used to tie the folding chair. (The style is general and the sources are too wide.) ．Firecrackers, used to create sound effects.Destroyed by explosion. (The sources are too broad.) ．Fuse, general style. (The sources are too broad.) ．The homicide police reported a strong flash.No substance was found at the scene.Could be glitter cotton or glitter paper. (The sources are too broad.) ．Suspect shoes: ECCO brand, size ten. ．Silk fibers, dyed grey, satin-brushed.Dropped from the quick change worker outfit. ．The suspect may have been wearing a brown wig. ．Red hickory trees and slum lichens, both of which grow primarily in Central Park. ．The soil contains unusual amounts of mineral oil.Sent to the FBI for testing. ．Black silk cloth, 72 x 48 inches, used for shelter.Unable to trace source.Mesmers often use this black cloth. ．Wear something on your hand to cover your fingerprints.finger cots. ．Traces of latex, castor oil, cosmetics. ．Traces of alginate.Used to cast latex gear. ．Murderer's Weapon: White silk cord with a black silk core.The rope is used for magic show.Change color. （無法追查來源。） ．特殊繩結：已送至聯邦調查局及海事博物館目前尚無消息。 （為胡迪尼表演使用繩結，實際不能解開。） ．在校門登記簿上使用隱形墨水。 East Village Crime Scene ．The second victim: Tony.Calvert.Makeup and stylist for Broadway theaters.No obvious enemies.No apparent relationship with the first victim.There was no apparent motive for the killing. ．Cause of death: Fatal blunt trauma to the head, the body was sawn in two after death. ．The suspect fled disguised as an elderly woman in her seventies.A search is ongoing in the immediate area for costumes and other evidence discarded by the suspect. ．The watch was broken and the hands stopped at twelve noon. (Stationary pattern? The next victim may show up at four in the afternoon.) ．The suspect hid behind a mirror.Mirror cannot trace the source.Fingerprints have been sent to the FBI. (No matches.) ．Use a toy cat (fake) to lure the victim into a dead end. (Toys cannot trace the source.) ．Mineral oil was found again, same as the first scene.Awaiting the FBI's laboratory report. （保潔牌油脂，使用於保養馬鞍皮革。） ．Rediscover latex and makeup from finger cots. ．Alginate was discovered again. ． ECCO brand shoes were left at the scene. ．There is dog hair on the shoe, possibly from three different breeds.There was also feces on the shoes. （糞便為馬糞，不是狗屎。） 哈德遜河和相關刑案現場 ．被害人：喬莉．Marston.律師。已離婚，但前夫並未涉嫌。 ．歹徒動機不明。 ．嫌犯使用假名為約翰。頸部和胸口有疤痕。確認嫌犯手掌有畸形現象。 ．嫌犯快速變裝換上斜紋棉褲、正式襯衫、未留鬍，扮成生意人模樣；之後又變裝換上牛仔褲和哈雷T 恤，扮成機車騎士。 ．做案車輛已沉入哈林河。嫌犯可能已逃脫。 ．水管膠帶，貼住被害人嘴巴用。 （來源無法追查。） ．爆竹。 （模式同前，一樣無法追查來源。） ．鐵鍊和扣環配件。 （式樣普通，來源無法追查。） ．繩索。 （式樣普通，來源無法追查。） ．再度發現化妝品、乳膠和保潔。 ．運動袋，中國製造。 （來源無法追查。）內含：約會強姦藥氟硝西泮粉末；魔術師專用黏蠟，來源無法追查；銅片（？）碎屑，已送聯邦調查局化驗；普通墨水，黑色。 ．海軍藍防風夾克一件，無姓名縮寫或洗衣店記號。內含：CTN電視公司通行證，所有人為史丹利．謝佛斯坦（此人非嫌犯全國犯罪資料中心和重罪犯追捕系統亦無其資料）。塑膠鑰匙卡片，俄亥俄州阿克隆市美國塑膠卡片公司製造，型號為APC︱42型，上面並無指紋。 （該公司董事長調閱銷售資料中。貝迪和索爾警探已開始查訪市內各家旅館。）紐約貝德福車站河畔餐廳收據一張，顯示兩星期前的星期六，曾有四個人至該餐廳用中餐，桌號為第十二桌。餐點為：土雞、肉捲、牛排和本日特餐。喝無酒精飲料。餐廳人員已不記得這些客人是誰。 （同謀者？） ．妖術師被捕之巷弄現場：開鎖脫逃。唾沫（鑰匙藏於口中）。無法鑑識血型（小鋸刀，用來割斷束縛繩索）。 ．哈林河現場。無任何證物，唯有泥土上的煞車痕跡。 illusionist profile ．Suspects use misdirection to confront their victims and evade police: physical misdirection (for distraction); psychological misdirection (to remove suspicion). ．The way to escape from the music school is similar to the Vanishing Man trick. (Too common to trace.) ．The suspects are mainly illusionists. ．Skilled hand tricks. ．Also know how to transform (quick change of clothes).Use easy-to-remove clothing, nylon and silk cloths, bald covers, finger cots, and other latex gear.May be of any age, gender and race. ．Calvert's Death: Selby's Sawyer Trick. ．Proficient in lockpicking (possibly familiar with rubbing lockpicking techniques). ．通曉逃脫術技巧。 ．有動物表演經驗。 ．利用心理分析以取得被害人個人資訊。 ．利用手部戲法對被害人下藥。 ．企圖使用胡迪尼之逃脫戲碼水缸折磨殺害被害人。 ．腹語術。 □□□