Chapter 4

They made a detour by the bookstore before going to the office. Any magic tricks' book available at the store would be convenient to refresh some of Mr. Steele's old abilities and would be useful as well to help Laura to catch up on basic magic knowledge. A few hours later they were inside his office, the new acquired magical paraphernalia sprawled all over the place. Mr. Steele was going to work with handkerchiefs, coins, and other typical elements, and Laura will work with cards. The final tricks selection would be made at the end of the day, after some of John's offered advice.

Mildred was dearly amused by the subject of the case. As it was well known, she was an avid follower of every kind of seers and wizards. She was secretly begging for the chance to be needed close to her bosses, near the stage, just to be in contact with some of this exciting magic world.

"Are you going to need the limo to go to the theatre, chief?" asked the secretary.

"I think we will drive the Rabbit, Mildred. We don't need to raise suspicions before starting to play our characters. A small white car will suit us better as a couple of unknown magicians," quickly answered Laura.

"Maybe I can help you to carry your stuff to your dress room later…" added Mildred, almost begging for a chance to be there with them.

Laura raised her eyes from her activity, "You are right, Mildred. There is not enough space in the Rabbit to carry all the stuff. You can join us at the theatre later," she said guessing Mildred's intentions.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Steele. I'll take care of everything."

"I have no doubt about that, Mildred," she returned her gaze to her previous activity hiding a smile.

They arrived at the theatre and followed John to their respective dressing rooms. Mr. Steele got the one besides John's, and Laura the one in front of Mr. Steele's one. Both rooms were small, there was a considerable mirror surrounded by light bulbs preceding a small dresser and a sofa in each one of them. But Mr. Steele's had an exciting addition, a connecting door to John's room. Those two were going to be able to remind old times without her interfering. It could be useful to the case, Laura thought. John seemed slightly old-fashioned so he would be more comfortable working with just his friend. Her collaboration should focus to be as less personal but more tactical. It would feel good to do some fieldwork alone, especially working freely between the male crew. Like old times…

Once they were settled, they met in a brief reunion with John to decide the tricks they will be using on stage. They were developing the schedule when Mildred arrived with their stage stuff and wardrobe. John's eyes seemed captivated by the secretary, who was well aware of the captivating effect she was having on him.

"Do I know you?" asked Mildred, "Your face looks familiar; maybe we've met…"

"I don't think so, Miss Krebs. A beautiful face like yours is hard to forget," told her John, "But… perhaps we could try working over that familiarity… Would you like to take a walk along the place? Theatres have enchanting magic when empty…"

"I'd love to," answered Mildred, turning back to wink an eye to Laura, who smiled her back. This mysterious case was getting interesting by the minute. And the secretary was ready to enjoy the ride with the Master of Ceremony by her side. Not bad…

The detectives decided to make a tour as well, but starting the opposite way. They walked through backstage, paying particular attention to the faces working there. Several men were arranging all kinds of paraphernalia everywhere, and a few ladies were immersed in conversation while making a sort of dress rehearsal. Everything looked trivial, so they decided to call it a day. Laura glanced at her watch and sighed. Dinner at Frances was the last scheduled task for the day. They would need a lot of magic to go through the evening without making an early disappearance.