Torn and Restored

Chapter 11 - Jack of Clubs

Behind a row of LED screens sat Waldo, trying his best to infer something from the evidence they had collected. He had been instructed to work with Emery, as her partner had left her. He was really excited at first to work with such an experienced lady but it did not turn out well. She seldom spoke and felt that he couldn't be of much help. He wanted to do something and desperately rummaged through all the stuff he had. He heard his computer beep and he saw that he had a new e-mail. It was from the tech department. He had asked for the phone usage details of everyone involved in the case and they had forwarded the details. He was skimming through the list of calls and texts when he suddenly found something interesting. Something that could help him get in terms with Emery. He ran to her room and knocked the door.

"Come in", she said. She was getting up from the chair and was preparing to leave.

"What is it?" she asked.

Waldo was a little offended when she didn't bother looking up and continued picking the files from her table.

 " I think we have a break", he said.

"What do you have, Waldo?", her eyes lit up immediately.

He guided her to his desk and pointed at his screen. The contents on the screen were random messages that Tarquin had sent and received.

"But these are just informal text messages. How can these be useful?", Emery asked, irritated.  

Then it struck her.

 The last few lines of the page read,'He knows, Will. Everything. I'm sorry for everything. Tried my best. Stay safe. He's coming.'

Emery re-read those lines. It did not make a lot of sense to her but one thing was clear. Tarquin had sent this message to Will. Will was hiding something. He had not told her about this. Will's attitude had bothered her from the beginning. His best friend had died and it surprised her to see how composed he'd been when they had told him. She'd let it go taking Will to be detached in general. But now it bugged her. They were missing something huge.

Will was trying to take his mind off everything that had happened lately. Staying alone didn't help him. He came out of his room and made his way to the hallway. He saw Olivia standing on the lawn, watering the plants. He opened the glass door and walked towards her.

"They're beautiful. Aren't they?" asked Olivia.

Will saw the flowers she was pointing. He had never seen anything like them before. They looked so pretty. He stretched his hand and touched the violet flower closest to him. He ran his fingers over its petal and said," Yes, they are."

She laid the watering pot on the grass and gently walked forward and looked back at Will. He guessed that she wanted him to follow her. He began walking with her.

After a few steps, Olivia sat down on the grass.

Will looked down at the grass and felt it with his hand as he sat down. It was getting dark and the air smelt of dew. He made himself comfortable.

"Were you like this from childhood?" she asked.

"Like what?" Will asked.

"You prefer staying alone and don't read emotions well, do you?"

"I enjoy the company of others. Ernie never let me join a school. He taught me himself. I did not meet a lot of kids as a child. We did not go out that often and even when we went out, I was shy and avoided people. He'd take me to the supermarket on weekends. Occasionally he would take me to meet artists. He met a lot of people who sold and bought paintings. He would keep talking hours and hours with people who understood painting. He tried so hard to teach me the art but I wasn't interested. Then he'd take me to the library. I just love to read. The librarian Bolton helped me choose my books. That is when I fell in love with magic. I still remember the day when I first asked Ernie to take me to a magic show. He was completely against it at first. I kept crying till he finally gave in. I loved watching magic and made him take me to every show across the country."

"You seem pretty stubborn even then", she thought and smiled. She saw him touch his stomach and feel it. It was the wound.

"What happened? I mean, how did you get shot? How did you escape?" she asked.

Will took a deep breath. He avoided thinking about it. He didn't want to talk to Olivia about it but something told him that he'd feel a lot better if he did.

He began," We were just talking after you ran away. I knew he would eventually shoot me. He wanted the secret to the bullet catch and I didn't want to lose. While talking I picked a bullet from the working table and wore a jacket to cover my shirt. He challenged me to catch the bullet as he shot. I took a hit. But got up and showed him the bullet. Then we fought and I knocked him out. I remember seeing you then but I don't remember what happened after that. I woke up at the hospital in the morning. I have no idea how he escaped and set the house alight."

"How's the pain now?"

"The painkillers helped me a lot. Now it hurts a little when I lie down. But it has healed a lot and is much better now."

"Yeah. You'll feel better tomorrow. I wanted to ask you something. How are you very sure that Kane wanted the secret to the bullet catch and did not come here for anything else?"

Will had never doubted Kane's intentions. He replied," Why would he come here anyway? What do we have to offer?"

Olivia didn't have anything to say. She just wanted to know the reason for Will being so sure about that.

Will had always thought that Kane wanted to know the secret for the bullet catch. But when he was speaking about his childhood, he remembered one incident, his first day as a magician.He took a deck of cards and asked Ernie to pick a card. He picked one and placed it into the deck. It was Ernie who had taught him the trick. The chosen card was placed on the marked card, which the magician knew already. So after shuffling the deck a bit, the card next to the marked card was the chosen card. Senior magicians used a fake shuffle to protect both cards from separating. So Will shuffled the deck and took Ernie's card. He displayed it to him with a broad smile. Ernie smiled and clapped to appreciate him. Will showed him the deck again to pick a card. Ernie picked one and placed it on the deck. Will began shuffling the deck. But Ernie knew that Will would fail. The marked card would've changed when Will shuffled the deck the previous time. But Will did not check the deck and so, he wasn't prepared. Will ran through the deck and searched for the marked card. He found it. But the card next to it wasn't Ernie's. He did not know how he knew that. But he suddenly picked up a card and displayed it to Ernie. It was the five of spades.

Ernie was shocked.

"What was your marked card?" he asked.

Will remained silent. He'd been happy that he had guessed the correct card. But he did not know how he did it. Ernest grabbed the deck from him and went through the cards.

"How did you find the card, Will?" he asked again.

"I don't know", he replied.

Ernest was not angry. He was worried. Young Will could see that in his eyes.

"I'll do better next time", Will said innocently.

"No, it's not that. Promise me you won't do this again for a while", he said.

Will nodded.

Ernest had taught him a lot of magic tricks after that but both of them never talked about this event and now Will knew what Kane was after.

"Where's my phone?" Will asked Olivia.

She had collected his phone from the hospital and kept it in her bag.

"It's in my bag, at the dining table", she said.

Before she could even finish the sentence Will got up and sprinted for the door. All this time he had thought that Kane was after the secret of the bullet catch. He was partially correct. Kane was after the secret of a trick he performed. But it wasn't the bullet catch. It was the third trick that Will hadn't performed that day after the mishap.