"Ladies and gentlemen, I am the next great magician, and I will give one hundred dollars to anyone who can tell me how this trick is done." At the mention of money, a few people turn around.
I jumped a touring boat on the East River after lunch at the deli. I climbed to the top level, where the wind hardly touched my short hair. Tourists are easy to trick and I knew it wouldn't be hard to entertain them. It would be good practice, if nothing else. But, now I had their attention.
"I have an ordinary spoon from Mel's Deli right here in Brooklyn. Check it out." I hold up the spoon and tap it against the railing. People stand up to see and pretty soon there's a crowd around me next to the stairs.
I shake out my hands; I'm getting ready. I raise the spoon so it's eye level. "Now, everyone, please pay very, very close attention because I'm about to bend this spoon with my mind." I pinch the spoon around the throat in my right hand. I slowly make it bend; holding out my left hand like I'm twisting it from a distance. Once it's reached a 90 degree angle, I hold it up for all to see. Most everyone looks impressed and hesitant applause grows more confident. I smile.
"Thank you, thank you. Pass that around." I hand it off. A nerdy-looking guy with thick glasses, dark curly hair, and a plaid tie makes his way to the front of the crowd.
"What's this?" Nerdy Glasses asks, pulling at my sleeve. Shit. He takes the spoon from the back pocket of my jeans.
This guy obviously knows how this trick works. I don't actually have the hundred; I'll have to improvise.
"What are you doing, man?" I demand, grabbing his wrist. That's when I slip off Nerdy Glasses' watch. He doesn't notice.
He pulls the other spoon out of the sleeve of my leather jacket. "Look at this," Nerdy Glasses announces, turning to show the crowd what he found. "Looks like we have a spoon and a stem." The crowd moans.
Defensively, I say quickly, "I've got other tricks," He's a little too close, so I slip his black leather wallet out of his jacket and into mine. He doesn't notice.
"Or you could give me my hundred bucks," Nerdy Glasses insists.
A guy in the audience chimes in, "You said you would."
I sigh and take out Nerdy Glasses' wallet and fumble around for the cash.
Nerdy Glasses remarks, "Nice wallet," with a smirk. I ignore it.
"You have a very good eye, sir," I say, acting defeated, and hand him the hundred. It takes all I have not to get too excited. This guy has way too much cash on hand. I tuck the wallet inside my jacket and take the stairs, pushing through the tourists on my way off the boat. The boat is just leaving again; I jump the distance between the boat and the dock.
"Stop that guy!" I can hear him yell from the top of the boat. I keep walking quickly, like the commotion had nothing to do with me. "Stop that guy in the leather jacket! He's got my wallet!" The line of waiting boating tourists makes no move to stop me.
Okay, first thing to do with a stolen wallet: get rid of the ID and credit cards. Keep the cash. Best way to get rid of something quickly: throw it in the river.
After I walk a few blocks along the edge of the river, I get down to the water and count my earnings. Nerdy Glasses kept his money in tens. I got sixty bucks even after I gave him the hundred. I carelessly toss the wallet into the water.
I check all my pockets and I'm surprised to find something I didn't know I had. There's a card in the back pocket of my jeans. The front looks kind of like a Tarot card that clearly spells 'death' and has a picture of a human skull with a grotesque red background. Shit, that's not a good sign. I flip it over and there's an eye symbol. Underneath the image, it says, 'March 29, 4:44 pm. 45 East Evan Street, NY, NY.' I let out a soft, nervous laugh. Two days from now, I guess.
No way Nerdy Glasses could've planted the card; he was no sleight. It must've been a passenger. But, who could escape my notice?