Chapter 29 28

do you know his nameSellitto asks: Who is he? I think this man's name is Eric.Will. How to spell it?Rhyme asked. W︱E︱I︱R.She added more sugar to the coffee and said: He's an entertainer, and a few years ago he was an illusionist.I called Monsieur Balzac because no one in the magic world knows more than he does.I told him the profile of the man, and also told him some of the things the man said to Lincoln tonight.He was getting a little weird, let alone losing his temper, and she glanced at Sachs.Like he did this morning, he didn't want to help at first, but eventually he calmed down and told me this guy was a lot like Will.

Why?Sachs asked. Well, because he was about that age, early fifties.And Will has always been known for engaging in extremely dangerous acts, mastering hand tricks with blades and knives.Additionally, he is one of the few illusionists to have done a burning mirror show.Remember I said that all illusionists have specializations?It's hard to find an entertainer who can master all the different kinds of tricks, one who knows not only illusion, escape, disguise, and sleight-of-hand, but also ventriloquist and psychology.As a result, Will just learned all of these things.He was also particularly familiar with Houdini's sleight-of-hand, and some of the tricks he committed this weekend were rooted in or modified from some of Houdini's performances.

Then, he also mentioned one thing about the wizard.This man was a nineteenth-century magician named John.Henry.Anderson.The Wizard of the North was his nickname for himself.The man was a genius but had bad luck playing with fire.Several times his performances were nearly destroyed by fire.David told me that Will, too, had been injured in a circus fire. The scars on his body, Rhyme said, were the marks of being burned. Also, his voice might not be breathless, and Sachs speculated that the fire might have damaged his lungs as well. When did that accident happen?Sellitto asked. three years ago.Will had an accident during the rehearsal, the circus tent was burned down, and his wife died in the fire.They had just been married then.Except for the two of them, no one else was seriously injured.

That's a good lead.Mel!Rhyme yelled suddenly, forgetting that it might hurt the lungs he was trying to protect.Mel!Mel.Cobb hurried into the guest room.You're doing better, I can hear that. You immediately search the computer databases, go to the felon arrest system, the national crime data center and the database of the state government.The person to check is Eric.Will, he's an entertainer, an illusionist, a magician.This person is most likely the suspect. Did you find out his name?asked Cobb, greatly surprised. Lambie turned to Carla.She found out. Wow! A few minutes later, Cobb returned with a stack of printed documents.While talking to the crowd, he flipped through the documents.There is not a lot of information, Cooper said: It seems that he seems to have deliberately hidden everything in his life.His full name is Eric.Albert.Will was born in Las Vegas in October 1950.There are no records of the early years.He is Randolph.Schlegel's apprentice, whose stage name was Satany

The man was famous, Carla said: he had done a lot of dark illusion shows.I guess, he should be the creator of the burning mirror. Is he still on the show? No, passed away a few years ago. Cooper continued: Will worked as a show assistant at several circuses, theaters and entertainment companies before performing independently as a illusionist and speed drag artist.Three years ago, he and Mary.Cosgrove married, after marriage in Cleveland Thomas.Hausburg and Koehler Brothers Circus.During a rehearsal, a fire broke out in the circus.The tent was completely burned, he suffered severe third degree burns and his wife died in the accident.There is no information on him since.

Track down Will's family. Sellitto said leave it to him.Since both Bedi and Saul still have important tasks to spare, he called back to the headquarters to find some detectives from the serious case team and asked them to invest in the investigation. Here's a little more information, Cobb said, flipping through the printouts in his hand.A few years before the fire, Weir had been arrested in New Jersey for public danger and served thirty days in jail.It seemed that something went wrong on the stage, causing severe burns to many audience members.Then the theater manager was entangled in civil lawsuits, and was accused of having to pay for damages to the theater and injuries to staff; Will himself was also sued for failing to comply with the contract.After that incident, a theater manager discovered Will was using real guns and bullets in a performance; he ignored his manager's advice and was fired.Cobb flipped through a few more pages, and then continued: Here is a document that records the names of the two assistants involved in the fire.One lives in Reno, the other in Las Vegas.I have obtained their phone numbers through the Nevada State Police.

It's nine o'clock at night over there now, Rhyme said, glancing at the clock.Put on the speakerphone, Thomson. No, too much happened tonight, what you need now is rest. We just had two phone calls and then went to sleep, I promise. The nurse hesitated. Thank you very much, please. Thomas nodded and walked out of the room.When he returned, he had brought the phone, wired it up, and put the controller on the table next to Rhyme's bed.After ten minutes, I will turn off the main circuit.The nurse said menacingly, in a tone so serious that Rhyme believed he would actually do it.

fair enough. Sellitto ate the second sandwich and started dialing.The call came from Arthur.Rose's wife left a message on the answering machine, saying the family was out at this time and that callers were asked to leave a message.Sellitto did, and then called another assistant. The phone rang once, John.Jiding picked up the phone.Sellitto explained to him that he was investigating a criminal case and had a few questions he wanted to ask.The man was silent for a while, and then, the man's nervous voice came from the small loudspeaker.Uh, which unit are you from?Is it the NYPD? That's right.

OK, I think it should work. Sellitto asks: Have you ever done a favor for a man named Eric?Will's people work, don't they? After a while of silence, the voice on the other end of the phone said intermittently: Mr. Will?Um, uh huh.I have.Why do you ask about this?His voice was high-pitched and he sounded like he'd just had a dozen cups of coffee. Do you know where he is now? Why are you asking me about him? As I said, this is a criminal investigation, and he may be involved. Oh my god what criminal case?What do you want to know about him? Just a few general questions, Sellitto said: Have you been in touch with him lately?

There was no sound on the other end of the phone.Rhyme knew that the nervous man must be considering whether to tell the truth or lie. gentlemen?Sellitto said. Well, it's hilarious that you're asking me about him.He was speaking with such rapid spluttering that it fell like a handful of glass beads on a metal plate.My answer is, I'll tell you the truth, I haven't heard from Mr. Will for years.I thought he was dead.The last time I worked for him there was a fire in Ohio.He was burned, very badly.He hasn't been heard from since that time and we all thought he was dead.However, six or seven weeks ago, he actually called me.

Where did you play it from?Rhyme asked. I don't know, he didn't say, and I didn't ask.Doesn't everyone who gets a call ask where you're calling from?At least not at first.I never thought of that.Do you ask this every time? Rhyme asked again: What is the purpose of his call? ok, ok.He was calling to find out if I still had contact with the circus that had the accident.It was Housebury Circus, but it was in Ohio, and it was three years ago.Housper stopped running the circus, the fire knocked him out of business, and the circus has since changed hands for a different kind of show.I live in Reno, how can I contact the people there?So I told him I didn't, and he just went on and on, you know. Rhyme frowned. Sachs guessed: Is it a temper tantrum? Oh, yes, that's what I mean. Go on, Rhyme said, fighting impatience.Tell us what else he said. That's all, that's all.I was going to tell you, I mean, just such a little thing.That's right, the way he talks is the same as before, the same old way you know what he always says on the phone? How to say?Rhyme answered. His first words were always: I'm Eric, not Hallo or John, how's it going?remember me?He never, but always said: I am Eric.I haven't spoken to him since the fire and what does he call?Still: I'm Eric.It's been so many years since I left him and worked like hell and he called like I was still working for him.I knew I had done nothing wrong, but at the time he sounded like something was my fault.It's like when you take a customer's order and then when you bring the food up, they say it wasn't what they ordered.But everybody knows how things go is they change their minds and make it look like you got it wrong.It's all your fault, you're the one who got in trouble on purpose. Is there nothing else?Did he not mention anything? A sigh was all that answered Sellitto's inquiry. Sachs added: Can you tell us about him?For example, what friends does he have?Where do you often go?Or what hobbies and habits? No problem, the crackling sound came out again.All but one thing: illusion. What?Rhyme asked. Illusion is his friend, his haunts and his hobby.Do you know what I'm talking about?Nothing else, he was a man who had long since devoted himself to his profession. Sachs asks: So, what about his way of thinking?Do you know how he thinks about things? After a long silence: For three years, since the fire, I spend fifty minutes twice a week thinking about this man, but I can't.He's still hurting me.I, Ji Ding, suddenly let out a piercing and weird laugh.Do you understand?I said hurt just now, but what I really mean is the shadow, who has been haunting me like a ghost.What would a Freudian say?I'm supposed to share this with the therapist next Monday at 9 am, right? Rhyme saw everyone frowning angrily at this man's nonsense, so he said: We heard his wife died in that fire.Do you know anything about her family? Mary?I am not sure.They had only been married for a week or two when the accident happened.They really love each other.We thought she would calm him down and keep him from pestering us.We all thought so, but we didn't know her at all. Do you know anyone else who knew him?Can you give us some names? Arthur.Rose was his first assistant, I was the second.We are all his little devils.They call us Eric's kid, and that's what everyone calls them. Rhyme said: "We've called Arthur.Is there anyone else? I can only think of one man, and he was the manager of the Hausberg Circus at that time.His name is Edward.Kadeschi.If I remember correctly, he is currently working as a producer in Chicago. Sellitto copied the spelling of the man's name and asked: Did Will call him? No.But he'll do it if he needs to.He even called me, stretched out his claws to hurt me, and entangled me. □□□ I'm Eric □□□ Oops, I can't say any more.I still have to iron my uniform, and I have to be on duty early on Sunday morning, so I'm really busy. After the other party hung up, Sachs walked slowly to the loudspeaker and pressed the disconnect button.That's enough.she grumbled. He needs to take more medicine.Says Sellitto. But at least we've got a lead, Rhyme said: track down this man Kadeski now. Mel.Cobb left the guest room again, and when he came back a few minutes later, he had printed out some theater company information and found out that Kadeski was currently a producer on South Wall Street in the Windy City Chicago.Sellitto called immediately.As expected, the only thing answering the phone on this Saturday night was the answering machine.So, he recorded the message. Sellitto said: "He made the assistant's life uneasy, he was emotionally unstable, he was a wounded person.But what is it that makes him so annoying? This sentence made Sachs look up.We called and asked Terry. Terry.Dubailin is a psychologist with the New York City Police Department.Although he wasn't the only one there, he was the only one who excelled at behavioral profiling, a specialty he had learned and honed at the FBI in Kundico, Virginia.Thanks to the help of the media and some popular novels, the public is familiar with the term psychological profiling and knows its value.But to Rhyme, he felt the approach was only suitable for a limited variety of crimes.Generally speaking, there is nothing mysterious about the psychology of the average criminal.However, in this case where neither the motivation of the criminal nor the next victim is known, behavior profiling can really help a lot.It allows investigators to get some clues, or find someone who knows something about the suspect, predict his next move, arrange the bait in the right place, perform follow-up, or refer back to some similar crimes in the past. Sellitto immediately opened the NYPD section of the phone book and called directly to Du Bailin's residence. Terry. Ron, you've got a mic echo in there, I'm guessing Lincoln must be there. That's right.Rhyme made a sound.He had always liked Du Bailin, the person he saw first when he woke up after a spinal injury accident.Rhyme remembered a man who was equally passionate about football, opera, and the mysteries of the human psyche. Sorry to bother you so late, Sellitto said, but not at all apologetic.But we need your help analyzing a difficult suspect. Is that the guy on the news?He killed a student at the music school this morning?And maybe kill a patrolman? That's right.He also killed a make-up artist and nearly killed a lady on horseback.Because these victims were very different, two women, a gay man, and no sexual assault, we can't judge any clues from them.Moreover, the gangster told Lincoln himself that he would carry out the next murder at noon tomorrow. He told Lincoln himself?use the phone?Or write a letter? I said it face to face.Lyme said. Well, it must have been a good conversation. You don't know the details yet. Sellitto and Rhyme began to tell Dubailin about the case, telling him everything they could. After asking several questions, Dubailin was silent for a while before saying: I see two forces driving him, but these two forces will reinforce each other to achieve the same result in the end. He is still doing acting work. ? Nope, says Carla: He hasn't been on stage since the fire, at least no one has heard of it. Performing in public is an intense experience, Dubailin says: It's so motivating, so when someone who's been successful gets thwarted performing, the sense of loss he feels can be relatively high.Actors and musicians, I guess, and probably magicians as well, do what they can to prolong their careers.So the result of what I just said is: the fire has basically completely destroyed everything about this person. Vanishing, Rhyme thought of the term. So he was now motivated by more than ambition to succeed, more than wanting to please his audience, and more than devotion to his profession, to which he added anger.It was stirred by a second force: the fire that had mutilated him and damaged his lungs, and he, as a public figure, would be especially sensitive to these imperfections.This multiplies the anger.I guess we could call it Phantom of the Opera syndrome.He would see himself as a monster. So, he wants revenge? True, but it doesn't have to be as simple as it sounds: the fire murdered him, so to speak. Murdered his old self so that he might feel more comfortable murdering someone; anxiety. So, why were these people chosen? There is no way of knowing.Can you tell me their occupation again? A music school student, a make-up artist and a lawyer.However, the gangster refers to the lawyer by the rider. There must have been something incidental to his anger.I don't know what that could be. There isn't enough information at the moment to tell.But, according to the literature textbooks, these outbursts of anger involve crucial, fate-altering moments in past life, the crucible moment.Maybe his wife was a musician, or they met at a concert.As for the makeup artist, maybe it is a mother type.For example, he may feel that the happiest time with her is sitting in the bathroom like a little boy watching her make up in the mirror.As for the horse part?Who will know?Perhaps he and his father had ridden together, and he had been delighted.Happy times like these are now gone because of the fire, so he could target people who would bring back his memories.Or, the reason may be quite the opposite: those victims represent precisely his most unpleasant experiences.Didn't you say that his wife died during the rehearsal?Maybe there was music playing live at the time. However, didn't he take the trouble to carefully design the crime process, follow these people, find them and kill them?Rhyme asks: This must have been a thought project for many months. Thoughts can relieve the itching.Dubailin said. One more thing, Terry, he talks to the imaginary audience and so on, I always thought he meant the esteemed audience, but now that I think about it, he used the word respectable.He talked to them as if someone was actually there.Now, dear viewers, we're about to do this and that. Admirable, says the psychologist: it's important.After he lost his professional stage and his favorite person, he transformed the object of his adoration, turning his love to an impersonal polyquantified object in the audience.For those who only love groups or crowds, they may disregard the individual and even be dangerous to them.This doesn't just refer to strangers, even their parents, partners, children, family members. Rhyme suddenly thought, John.Ji Ding spoke like a child abused by his father. In Will's case, Dubailin continued, the thought patterns were even more dangerous.He didn't speak to real audiences, but to imaginary people, which made me think: real people mean nothing to him anymore.Even if he wants to start a massacre, he will not soften his heart because there are too many objects to be massacred.This guy is going to be quite a troublesome figure. Thank you, Terry. If you catch him, please let me know, I want to spend some time studying his psychology. After hanging up the phone, Sellitto immediately said: Maybe we can go to sleep.Thomas said. What?the detective asked. My question is not whether it can be done, but whether it must be done.Lincoln, you go to bed at once, while everyone else leaves me.You look pale and tired, and there is absolutely no room for cardiovascular or neurological problems under my care.If you haven't forgotten, I sent you to bed hours ago. Alright alright.Rhyme compromised.But to be honest, he was also really tired.Besides, although he didn't tell anyone, the previous fire had really scared him. As a result, the members of the task force began to go home separately.When Kara put on her jacket, Rhyme noticed that she looked dejected.Are you all right?Sachs asked. She shrugged.In order to ask Mr. Balzac about Will, I have told him the truth.He was very upset and it seemed that I would pay for it when I got back. We'd write him a note, and Sachs made a little joke: Write you a fake note. But the girl only smiled slightly. Rhyme cried out.What to write?If it weren't for you, we would have no way of knowing who this suspect is.You go back and tell him to call me, and I'll fix his head. Kara couldn't stop laughing.Thank you. You're not going to go straight back to the store, are you?Sachs asked. I have to go back.Mr. Balzac doesn't know anything about the store, I have to go and sort out the bill receipts and tell him about the show I plan to perform tomorrow. Rhyme was not surprised that she would be so in awe of Mr. Balzac; from this case, he already knew that in the magic industry, the power of the master over the apprentice is extremely great.He noticed that she always referred to Mr. Balzac, and occasionally called his name David, and definitely not at this time.He recalled that although the sorcerer had almost destroyed John.Ji Ding's life, but when the assistant called the murderer, he also used the most respectful title. You'd better go home, insisted Sachs: for heaven's sake, you've already been killed today. Carla smiled again, then shrugged.I won't be in the store for too long.She walked to the door, stopped again and said: I have a show tomorrow afternoon, but I can still come here tomorrow morning if you need it. Thank you in advance, Rhyme said, but we'll try to catch him by noon, and we won't keep you here long. Thomas led Carla out of the room, walked through the corridor and left through the door. Sachs also stepped out of the guest room, taking a breath of the air that still smelled of smoke.call!She spat it out immediately, and ran upstairs quickly.I went to take a shower.she shouted. Ten minutes later Rhyme heard her coming down the stairs, but she did not come to the guest room immediately.There was a banging and creaking sound from the other side of the room, and Thomas's soft-spoken voice.After a while, she returned to the guest room.She was wearing a black T-shirt and silk panties, her favorite pajamas.But in addition to that, there are two extra pieces of equipment that she doesn't usually carry with her when she sleeps: her Garak and the standard police long-barreled flashlight. She put the two items on the table beside her. It was so easy for that fellow to come in, she said as she climbed into the bed next to him, "I checked every corner of the house, put chairs against all the doors, and told Thomas that if he heard anything Yell, but don't act rashly. I'm in the mood to shoot right now, but I don't want him to be the one I shoot.