“This has been very useful,” Anders assured the couple. “Why don’t you step outside. Officer Robinson will be with you in a minute.” Anders turned to Robinson as soon as the Atkinsons were out of the room. “Go get David Turner. I have a few questions I’d like to ask him.”
* * *
“Have a seat, Mr. Turner. I’m Carrie Anders, and this is Roger Dillon. We’re detectives with Portland Homicide. And this is Deputy District Attorney Peter Ragland.”
“Why am I being detained?” the magician asked.
“We’re talking to everyone who was near the front of the theater and may have seen something that can help us find the person who killed Mr. Chesterfield. I’m particularly eager to get your input because you’re a professional magician and would see things I never would.”
“Then I’m sorry to disappoint you. I have no idea who killed Chesterfield.”
“Do you know how the trick worked?”
“I saw Chesterfield perform the Chamber of Death a few years ago. I thought I’d figured out how he pulled it off, but I was never one hundred percent certain.”
“During the performance, did you get a good-enough look from your seat to confirm your hypothesis?”
“Not from the angle I had.”
“What’s your best guess?”
“When Chesterfield performs the illusion, the background is black. In magic circles, this is known as ‘black art,’ and it lets a magician wearing black blend in with the background. Chesterfield had on a black robe with a hood and long sleeves, and the lights on the front of the stage were very bright, which also helped to render him invisible. There’s a moment when the three assistants are in a line in front of the sarcophagus, blocking the audience’s view. That would be his moment to roll out of the coffin and get offstage somehow.”
“I understand that you had a grudge against Mr. Chesterfield because he exposed the illusion you used to close your Las Vegas act.”
“I hated his guts.”
“If you hated him, why did you come to the theater tonight?”
“I wanted to figure out how the Chamber of Death worked so I could ruin his show the way he ruined mine.”
“Thank you for your honesty,” Dillon said. “Say, out of curiosity, can anyone confirm that you were in your seat during the Chamber of Death trick?”
“Claire was sitting next to me the whole time.”
“That’s confusing, Mr. Turner, because we just spoke to the person who was seated directly behind you, and he told us that he saw you leave your seat right before the illusion began. Can you explain that?”
For the first time during the interview, Turner looked uncertain.
“Well?” Anders prodded.
“I … Ask Claire. She’ll tell you I never left my seat.”
“If she does tell us that and we can prove she’s lying, she could be charged as an accessory to murder,” Anders said. “Is that what you want?”
“All right, I did leave my seat so I could get a better look at the trick.”
“Then why lie to us?” Anders asked.
“I’m living with Chesterfield’s wife, who he was suing for a divorce so he could steal her money. With Chesterfield dead, we’re rid of him. And everyone knows I hated him because of the TV show. Plus, I’m a magician. I knew I’d be a prime suspect because of the way he was killed.”
“Too true,” Dillon said. “So, where were you during the trick?”
“I went into the wings behind a curtain. That put me behind the floor lights so they wouldn’t blind me. I thought I could see how Chesterfield got out of the coffin. But he never left it, and now I know why.”
“What was happening on the stage when you left your seat?”
“Chesterfield was performing card tricks.”
“Have you been in the Imperial Theater before this evening?” Ragland asked.
“No,” Turner answered after a slight hesitation.
“You seem uncertain,” Anders said.
“I did try to get inside to see a rehearsal last week.”
“So you would be able to expose the trick?”
“Yes. But I never got past the guard at the stage door.”
“You’re telling me that a man with your abilities couldn’t sneak into this theater?” Dillon pressed.
“I didn’t kill him,” Turner said, sidestepping the question.
“You must admit, you’re coming off as our most promising suspect,” Ragland said.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Turner said.
“That’s your right,” Ragland said, “but it would be in your best interest to tell us anything you know that can help take you off our list of suspects.”