Scribbles began to form over the page as he listened to the two men sitting across from him in the booth. Frankie Diamond and Albert Gold were two other active magicians and had been more than happy to sit down with Rico for an interview. Gold was an animated speaker, his voice boisterous and commanding, drawing anyone’s attention the moment he opened his mouth. Diamond on the other hand, was a direct contrast, soft spoken and more apt to take his time answering questions.

“Neither of you were performing the night of the murder, correct?” Rico asked.

Gold shook his head. “Nope, we had the night off. Which is kind of nice sometimes, but it gets old after a while. Been getting a lot of those kind of nights with Jett around.”

Diamond eyed his partner for a moment before adopting a smile. “What my partner says is true. We went over this already with the other officers, though.”

“We like to be thorough in our investigations,” Rico told him lightly.

Diamond nodded. “And to make sure our story hasn’t changed since the last time we were interviewed. How about this, Detective, we’ll tell you a little bit about our act and you can work with what we tell you however you wish.”

Rico wasn’t particularly in the mood to hear about more magic, especially after how his last conversation about the secrets behind a trick had gone. He didn’t think the two men across from him had any ideas about getting in his pants, so he figured he was safe. That, and he knew there was probably a bit of trickery used in the crime and any information he could gather might be useful.

Trying to ignore the memory of his time with Jett, Rico nodded. “If you think it will help, by all means, go right ahead.”

“Magic is all about the smoke and mirrors. Cliché, but let’s be honest, it’s true,” Gold began, jabbing his finger into the palm of his other hand.

Diamond nodded. “The less the audience sees, the better the show is.”

“I’m going to assume you mean so long as they don’t see whatever the real part of the trick is, the better the show and your profits,” Rico said with a slight smile.

Diamond didn’t return the smile. “Simply put, yes. The magic of a show is borne from the audience being left in the dark. The more it appears we have done something wonderous, the better the show. And as you said, the more money pours our way.”

Gold grinned. “You can’t blame us for wanting to make a living though, right?”

“I can if someone is so willing to protect their own pockets they’d be willing to do something drastic,” Rico said.

Gold frowned, dropping the smile and replacing it with a look of indignation. “Look, we might be willing to do a lot of things to keep our own secrets secret, but killing someone over them? No way.”

Diamond grasped the drink before him, sipping it easily. “And this does, in fact, make a perfect example of what I meant to explain. Gold is—well, he’s the smoke and the mirror for the show we do. Everyone keeps their attention on him, and while they’re watching him, I can quietly work in the background to make sure everything is setup and running.”

“So, he gets up in front of everyone, makes a lot of noise, and everyone pays him every bit of attention while you’re doing the trick?” Rico asked with interest. It wasn’t much different than his days in the SEALs, when the occasional misdirect was necessary.

The corner of Diamond’s mouth turned up at one corner. “And he is very good at it. Albert is a very skilled performer. Truth be told, I was never overly fond of getting in front of everyone and making a spectacle of myself. I enjoyed every other aspect of magic tricks but the ones which required me to speak before an audience. It was the one thing missing from my act years ago, and it was the one which held me back from making a decent name for myself.”

Gold motioned to himself with a return of his grin. “Did a lot of acting growing up, even went to a university or two to try my hand at it. Never got my big break though, just took whatever jobs I could, right up until I saw an ad in the newspaper for an assistant for a magician. Showed up and Frankie here, he just took to me.”

Diamond opened his hands with a little shrug. “Gold simply had the presence I found necessary to bring my act to the next level. I only watched him on the stage for a few moments before I realized he was exactly what I needed.”

Their explanation reminded Rico a little of Jett, and possibly Jett’s assistant, Riley. Rico hadn’t seen either of them perform live, but he had taken the time to pull a few videos up online. From what he had witnessed, Jett made the perfect showman, while Riley hung in the background, looking beautiful and appealing. Rico had found himself enchanted, in a bemused sort of way. He had kept his gaze on Jett as the magician had flaunted himself, strutting from one end of the stage to the other. It would have been all too easy for Riley to have worked her own tricks in the background while Jett hogged the limelight.

Rico nodded toward Diamond. “So, you do all the work and he takes all of the attention?”

Gold laughed. “Detective, you really know how to make a guy feel special.”

“To say I do all of the work minimizes the need for my partner’s skillset. We both operate in our own capacities to bring the show together. Without Gold, I would be unable to easily maneuver my way through an act,” Diamond explained with an air of infinite patience.

Gold nodded vigorously. “And I don’t really have the fingers to do what Diamond does when no one’s looking.”

Rico raised a brow. “The fingers?”

Gold wiggled his fingers, waving them around in the air. “You know, quick and slippery. He’s got the whole sleight of hand thing down to a science, an art, really. While I’ve got them distracted and paying attention to me, Diamond could pick all their pockets, slip everything into my pockets, and all without anyone noticing he’s done a thing. Hell, most of the time, people don’t even remember he moved in the first place.”

“We work only as a team. Without one, the other would fail miserably,” Diamond finished.

Rico nodded. “So, if I’m reading between the lines correctly, you’re saying neither of you could have done this. Without one to distract, and the other to do, you would be ineffective.”

Diamond inclined his head gently in assent. “That would be the long story made short, yes.”

Rico hadn’t expected them to tell him anything to put them at the top of his suspect list. The hard fact was that no one magician, or team of magicians, seemed guiltier than the rest. Each of them would have stood to lose a lot from the victim’s new show, and each of them would have been capable of the trickery to pull it off. At least the men before him would have required a two-man act, and Rico knew neither of them had been seen anywhere near Hotel Opulence on the night of the murder.

Rico set his pad of paper down, leveling his gaze at the two men. “And who, in your personal opinion, would be the one person most likely to have committed the murder?”

Gold and Diamond looked at each other, answering simultaneously. “Jett Richards.”

He wasn’t surprised, but his heart sank a little lower in his chest all the same. Everyone he had talked to seemed to believe Jett was the most likely candidate to have killed Trentwood. There was no real evidence to support the accusation, but Rico was becoming more worried that, with time, the evidence would eventually support bringing Jett in. The only thing keeping Rico from pushing the idea of Jett being the prime suspect was how guilty the man looked. The sheer amount of suspicion laid at Jett’s feet had Rico cautious about being overly suspicious himself. The answer was too easy.

Diamond ran a finger around the rim of his glass, looking thoughtful. “Being the biggest name around, he stood to lose the most when it came to Trentwood’s newest show.”

Gold shrugged. “None of us were really happy to hear about it, but Jett’s new to the business. He wouldn’t really understand that this sort of thing comes along every now and again. There’s always some smartass who wants to prove magic tricks aren’t real, and they do a big investigation, blab a bunch of secrets. It only helps us in the long run, since it attracts so much attention.”

“But you believe Mr. Richards wouldn’t see it that way?” Rico asked calmly.

Diamond crooked a small smile. “Jett is relatively young, only just gained his first bit of fame, a bit full of himself. I doubt the lovely Riley does much to curb Jett’s ego and enthusiasm, as I often try to do for Albert here.”

“Jett’s young enough, and talented enough to think too highly of himself. If anyone would have wanted to get rid of Oliver, it would have been Jett,” Gold agreed.

Rico had certainly seen plenty of Jett’s ego for himself. Jett was as quick with a smart comment as he was with a smile, always managing to look utterly confident with just a shade too much arrogance. He might have believed it was an act for his benefit alone, but with every person Rico spoke to, he found another who thought of Jett as cocksure and egotistical.

An image bubbled up from behind the professional mental screen in Rico’s mind. For a moment, he could see the lazy, ultimately satisfied and relaxed, smile on Jett’s face after their tryst on the stage. In one moment, all the cockiness, ego, and irritating playfulness Rico had come to expect from Jett had disappeared. It made Rico think of the TV show the victim had been preparing to air. While Oliver Trentwood had been preparing to peel back the curtain on magic acts, it seemed the intimate act had shifted the curtain from Jett’s inner self.

Rico shook the thoughts away. “You are not the only ones to express the same belief. Many seem to think Mr. Richards is too arrogant for his own good.”

Diamond laughed softly. “Most of those people also speak out of jealousy for Jett’s fame. Were you to drum up a list of people who had said Jett was too cocky, I would guarantee a vast majority are bitter. This business is fickle, just as much as any stage performance is. It all depends upon what acts capture the current audience’s attention and imagination. Those who rise inevitably fall back before a new, fresher face. Some become extremely bitter when it’s their time to fall back, and they’ll hold a grudge against anyone who dares take their place.”

“We had our time at the top once upon a time, our faces and names were everywhere for a few months around here,” Gold said with a vigorous nod.

Diamond took another sip of his drink. “The practical performer, however, realizes that no one stays at the top forever. To hold a grudge over your place being taken is foolish and a quick way to stagnate. It’s important to either innovate and try to reach the top again, or to find your niche and keep your place with steady business.”

Rico considered it for a moment. “Translation, neither of you accuse Jett of the crime because you want to see him crash and burn?”

Diamond smiled. “Exactly. We don’t begrudge Jett his fame. I’ve been to his shows—he’s very good, perhaps better than we are. However, his ego does bear mentioning, if only because the younger ego cannot always stand a perceived insult.”

“And, well, he is good. And it would take someone very good to pull off something like the murder,” Gold said with a wince.

Rico raised a brow. “We’ve kept the details of the murder as quiet as possible.”

Gold snorted. “You should know by now, Detective, there’s no such thing as a secret around here. You might have tried, but people don’t like to be quiet.”

“If Jett did this, he would be too good to be caught,” Diamond continued.

Gold nodded. “But if you’re not finding any evidence to point at him, I’d say it probably means he did it.”

Rico scoffed. “You’re offering me a catch-22 here, gentlemen.”

Diamond swirled the last of his drink before downing it. “Well, I trust you’ll be able to sort through the mess to something more substantial then, Detective. I really hope your skills of deduction are excellent, because you’ve wandered into a world built upon throwing your perceptions and expectations on their head.”