he could conceal himself in her robe and kill Mr. Chesterfield.”
“Why did you arrest the defendant for the murder of Mr. Chesterfield?” Ragland asked.
“We decided that the killer had to have learned how the Chamber of Death trick was performed in order to accomplish the murder. We also decided that he must have been in the Imperial Theater during rehearsals so he could learn about the inhaler and Miss Porter’s routine.
“Titus Atkinson was in the seat directly behind the defendant during the show. He will testify that Mr. Turner left his seat while Mr. Chesterfield was performing card tricks onstage in the part of the act that precedes the Chamber of Death illusion. He will also testify that the defendant did not return to his seat until after Mr. Chesterfield was murdered. The defendant denied ever leaving his seat during the performance.
“The defendant also denied being in the theater during rehearsals. A security guard will testify that he saw Mr. Turner inside the Imperial during a rehearsal.
“Figuring out how to murder a person in front of an audience during a magic illusion is something that a magician would know how to do. The defendant is a master magician who performs a magic act regularly in a Las Vegas casino, so he would have been able to figure out how the illusion was done.”
“Did the defendant have a motive for killing Mr. Chesterfield?”
“He had several. First, he is living with the deceased’s wife, who was being sued by Mr. Chesterfield for divorce. If the couple divorced, Ms. Madison would have to have given Mr. Chesterfield a lot of her money and maybe some of her property. With Mr. Chesterfield dead, that’s no longer a problem.
“Furthermore, the defendant hated Mr. Chesterfield for revealing the secret to his Las Vegas casino finale on television several years ago. This almost killed the defendant’s career.
“In summation, Your Honor, the defendant had several motives to kill Mr. Chesterfield, the means and skills to accomplish the task, and the opportunity to commit the murder. He also lied about being in his seat during the performance of the Chamber of Death and not being in the Imperial during a rehearsal. We concluded that this provided probable cause to arrest.”
“I have no further questions, Your Honor,” Ragland said.
“Do you have any questions for Detective Anders?” the judge asked Robin.
Jeff was sitting in the spectator section directly behind Robin. While Detective Anders was testifying, Stanley Cloud moved beside him and whispered in Jeff’s ear. Jeff reached over the bar of the court and tapped Robin on the shoulder.
“Ask for a recess,” he said when she turned around. “Stanley has something important to show you.”
“Miss Lockwood?” the judge asked.
“Can we take a brief recess, Your Honor?” Robin asked.
Judge Washington didn’t like taking a recess so early in the proceedings, but she had recognized Stanley Cloud. “Will fifteen minutes be sufficient?” the judge asked.
“It should be.”
Robin hurried into the hall as soon as the judge left the bench. She found Stanley waiting for her at the end of the corridor that ran in front of the courtroom.
“What’s so important?”
Stanley handed Robin the police report that set out Titus Atkinson’s statement. A yellow Post-it was glued to it. The message on the Post-it read: NO TIME!!!
“What does this mean?” Robin asked.
“I asked Regina. She wrote it when she was reading the discovery, but she can’t remember why. She’s very upset because she obviously thought it was very important. She reread the report but drew a blank.”
Robin concentrated on Atkinson’s statement, but she couldn’t see anything important enough to warrant three exclamation points. Had Regina’s dementia made her see something that wasn’t there?
“Did you read this?” she asked Stanley.
“I didn’t see anything.”
“Okay. I’ve got to—” Robin stopped dead and reread the interview. Then she broke into a grin. “The boss is still the Sorceress. You tell her that for me,” Robin said before racing back to the courtroom.
* * *
“Detective Anders, before the Chamber of Death finale, wasn’t Mr. Chesterfield onstage by himself performing card tricks?”
“Yes.”
“And before the card tricks, Mr. Chesterfield made Sheila Monroe, one of his assistants, levitate and float above the stage?”
“Yes.”
“During that illusion, Nancy Porter and Maria Rodriguez, the other assistants, were also onstage, weren’t they?”
“Yes.”
“And all three assistants were dressed in costumes that they did not wear during the finale?”
“Yes.”
“Did Miss Porter tell you that she put the inhaler on her dressing table before going onstage for the levitation act?”
“Yes.”
“But she couldn’t find it when she came back during