The Advocate's Illusion

by Teresa Burrell

  “Have you got anything on Todd Lynch?” Ron asked.

  JP noticed Addie smiled every time she looked at Ron. He glanced at her left hand—no rings.

  “We spoke to him on Saturday. He was extremely polite, almost sugary sweet, not at all like others have described him. I wasn’t impressed with his constant comments about what a dangerous job we have, and how brave we are. It all seemed like an act to me. He had no alibi for Friday night. He said he was home alone watching television. We’ll see if he has an alibi for Sunday night.”

  Addie turned to go, then looked back at JP and then Ron. Her eyes lingered a second longer on Ron. “Let me know if you find anything else.”

  “I will,” Ron and JP said in unison.

  JP tipped his head and stared at Ron.

  “What?” Ron asked.

  “She was flirting with you.”

  “You think?”

  JP nodded.

  Ron smiled. “She is cute.”

  Chapter 53

  Ron and JP continued to search the internet for any connection between Sabre’s clients and magic, or more specifically the Great Silent Thunder. They found nothing.

  “I still think Lynch is involved,” Ron said. “It’s too bad his boys are gone or Sabre could ask them if Todd was into magic.”

  “Yeah, she can’t do that now,” JP said. “But I have an idea.” He picked up his phone and called Marilyn LaFiura, the new foster mother. He put it on speaker so Ron could hear.

  “Hello, is this Marilyn?” JP asked.

  “Yes, who’s calling?”

  “I’m JP Torn. We met a little over a week ago. I told you I was the investigator for Heather Lynch in their divorce.”

  “Yes, I remember you.”

  “I know you are aware of the juvenile court case now because you have the children, correct?”

  “Yes, they’re here and doing very well.”

  “Good. I thought you would make a good foster parent for those boys.”

  “Thank you. They’ve been here a week now, and of course my son Andrew is thrilled, and so is Drew. The other boys seem happy to be here as well. My husband has supervised one visit for the father. Todd wasn’t happy about that, but he dealt with it. They let me supervise the visit with the mother. That went well.”

  “Did—”JP started to ask a question.

  “They both came to the house for their visits. We thought it would be easier on the boys that way. Besides, they both know us and where we live anyway, so there was no point in trying to go elsewhere for the visit.”

  “But—” JP tried again.

  “Todd lives a little too close and he has tried to just stop in, but Andrew, my husband--not my son, put the kibosh on that.”

  Ron snickered as JP tried to get a word in. Finally, JP interrupted her. “I appreciate the information, but I have a question about something else. I was hoping you could help out.”

  “Sure, what’s that? If it’s—”

  JP jumped in. “Do you know if Todd ever had any connections to a magician? Or did he ever do magic with the boys, maybe?”

  “I don’t think he knew any magic, but a couple of years ago, he got some free tickets for a show at the Magic Castle. He took Drew, Andrew, and Nolan. The boys loved it. They had the best time. Heather stayed home with Evan. He was too young to appreciate it, and I don’t think she was that interested in going.”

  “Do you know if there was a magician there called Silent Thunder?”

  “That doesn’t ring a bell, but they have tons of magicians at the Magic Castle. They do acts in every room, even the bar. They also have a stage where they have the main show. Different magicians perform there all the time. You know you can only go there by special invitation.”

  “Do you know where Todd got the tickets?”

  “Well, you have to be a magician and belong to their club to get tickets, so he must have gotten them from someone who was a member. He said he got them through his work. That’s all I know. I had no reason to question where he got them. Why do you ask?”

  “It’s just something we’re following up on,” JP said. “Do you happen to know what date it was?”

  “Not off hand, but I can check. I think I have the ticket in one of my scrapbooks. I love to do scrapbooking and I’ve made up albums for both of my children. They love looking back at the old photos and stuff. It’s like they get to experience it all over again. When they’re older, I’ll give them their albums. I’m not sure when to do that yet, but probably not until they’re married and more settled down. Right after high school is too soon. They won’t fully appreciate them yet. Even college might be too soon. I think they’ll make special wedding gifts. Don’t you?”

  “That would be good timing,” JP said. “Do you mind checking the date on the ticket?”

  “No, not at all. Give me a minute.”

  Ron was laughing so hard that JP clicked the speaker off on the phone so Marilyn couldn’t hear him. JP frowned at Ron, but he had a hard time not laughing himself.

  A few moments later, Marilyn came back on the phone and gave him the date. JP thanked her and hung up before she could say anything more.

  “She’s a nice woman, but she could talk the legs off a chair,” JP said, shaking his head. “We need to see if Silent Thunder was at the Magic Castle that night.”

  Ron was already tapping away at the keyboard. It didn’t take him long to see who was starring that night.

  “I found it,” Ron said, then sighed. “He wasn’t performing on the main stage. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.”

  JP started looking for Silent Thunder’s appearances. He looked up from his computer. “No, but this does. According to this, he was performing in Europe all that week.”

  “But there are more than one of them. What if he was in both places?”

  “You have a point there. We might make a detective out of you yet, Ron. We need to shift our focus a little. Instead of concentrating on Sabre’s clients, perhaps we need to find out everything we can about Silent Thunder.”

  “Great idea,” Ron said. “And if we find anything, it’ll give me an excuse to call Detective Addie.”

  “You dog.”

  The room was silent except for the clicking of keyboards while both men tried to find out everything they could about the Great Silent Thunder.

  “There are thirty-five Google pages on this man, but it’s mostly different events he has performed at,” Ron said. “Wow. I’ve never seen this before.”

  “What is it?”

  “When you click on the last Google page, it says: In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 350 entries already displayed. If you like, you can repeat the search with the omitted results included.

  “Did you click on it?”

  “Yes,” Ron said, and he continued to click through the pages. “Now I have seventy-four pages.”

  “You start at the beginning. I’ll start at the end. We need to check each one to see if we find anything relevant.”

  About forty-five minutes later, Ron said, “I’ve got nothing. I can’t even find this guy’s real name. There’s no Wikipedia on him and no social media.”

  “And the earliest show listed on here is about twenty years ago, which probably has more to do with the internet than when he began.”

  “Wait. I might have something,” Ron said. “There’s a guy who blogs about mysterious people. He claims he’s done a lot of research and this blog post is called A Magician Who Calls Himself Silent Thunder.” He read from the blog:

  The Great Silent Thunder has done a magnificent job of hiding his identity from the world. He is called Silent Thunder because he doesn’t speak during his performances, and you never see his face either because it is covered with a mask. Many have speculated as to why that is. Some have suggested he is mute. Others have theorized he did it because he wanted to travel from country to country and he didn’t speak but one language. If he
didn’t talk at all, it didn’t matter what country he was in. Some say it’s because he is a woman and that she thought it would be more difficult to gain fame as a woman.

  I have reason to believe that most of those theories are correct, except I don’t think he is mute. Although, I can’t prove it, I think there is more than one Silent Thunder. It would not only explain some of his tricks, but it also explains why he hasn’t aged in the last sixty-plus years.

  “That’s not news. We discovered that in one show.”

  “Wait, there’s more. Let’s see what else it says.”

  I’m disappointed I can’t provide you with the name of the first or even subsequent Silent Thunders, but I haven’t given up yet. I’ve become a Silent Thunder groupie, and with each show, I get a little closer to the truth.

  Silent Thunder’s career started over sixty years ago. The first show I’ve been able to verify took place on July 7, 1956 at a 200-seat cabaret theatre in Paris, France called Lavoir Moderne Parisien. I have reason to believe his career began in another country, most likely Sweden.

  Ron and JP exchanged glances.

  “Do you think?” Ron asked.

  “It’s possible.”

  Chapter 54

  Sabre and her mother sat at a small table in a local coffee shop called Wholly Crepe drinking coffee and sharing a “Monkey Turtle” crepe that consisted of pecans, marshmallows, banana, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream.

  “You’re living a little on the wild side,” Sabre said, “eating dessert in the afternoon. Aren’t you afraid it will ruin our dinner?”

  “That’s why we’re sharing it, dear,” Beverly said. “I wanted you to see this place. I know how much you like crepes, and they make the best.”

  “I like this side of you, Mom.”

  “I’m trying to relax more, not be so anal about everything. I know I need to let loose.”

  Sabre studied her mother. “Not too loose. Okay, Mom?” Sabre said.

  “Not much chance of that.”

  “You seem happy. Tell me about Harley.”

  “He’s a good guy.” Her eyes smiled when she spoke about him. “I know he has some unusual things in his past, but it could happen to any of us.”

  “I’m sure he’s fine, Mom. Just give JP a little more time to investigate. He’s kind of busy right now trying to find out what happened at the magic show.”

  “I want you to meet him,” Beverly said. “I’ve decided to have a barbeque on Saturday. I want you and Ron there, and JP, of course. We’ve invited Harley’s children. We expect two of them will be there.”

  “So it’s already planned?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Isn’t it a little early for this, Mom? You two have only had, what? One formal date?”

  “We want it all out in the open. It feels like we’re sneaking around trying to see one another.”

  “But, Mom, the whole family, really?”

  “His children are just as concerned about me as you two are about him.”

  “You don’t have a trail of dead husbands behind you.”

  Beverly cleared her throat and looked sternly at Sabre. “You don’t have to come if you choose not to.”

  Sabre didn’t want to argue with her mother like she had done so many times growing up. She had been making an extra effort to spend more time with her and to see things from her mother’s point of view, but it wasn’t easy. She could be in danger. It was different with her father; they had always seemed to be on the same page. How she wished he were here right now to help make her mother see that dating this guy was risky. That’s silly, she thought. If Dad were here, she wouldn’t be dating anyone.

  Just then a handsome blond man, who appeared to be in his late fifties or early sixties, walked in the door. He was solidly built and stood around 5 feet 10 inches tall, but he had a presence about him that made him appear taller. Beverly’s eyes lit up when she saw him.

  “I guess you don’t have to wait until Saturday to meet him,” Beverly said.

  “Mother, did you set this up?”

  “No,” she said indignantly, “I had no idea he would be here.”

  Sabre believed her because her mother wasn’t much of a liar.

  Harley stood by the door for a couple of seconds as if he were waiting for someone, then opened the door and an attractive woman about five-foot-six with a blonde bob, blue eyes, and a trim body walked in. He put his arm around her shoulder and guided her to a table in the corner not far from the exit.

  Beverly’s shoulders drooped, and her smile faded.

  “Maybe she’s a colleague or a client,” Sabre said.

  “You’re right.”

  They both had a good angle so they could see the couple, but not hear their conversation. Sabre saw Harley take the woman’s hand and squeeze it. She hoped her mother hadn’t seen it, but she did.

  “He’s awfully friendly with his young clients or co-workers.”

  “Mom, you’ve only had one real date. You’re not exclusive, are you?”

  “I guess I thought we were.” Her voice broke. “I’ve been such an old fool. I think we better go.”

  Sabre laid some cash on the table and they stood to leave.

  “Just don’t look that way when we leave,” Sabre said.

  “No, I’m going to look right at him, hold my head high, and act like I don’t care.”

  “You’re not good at that sort of thing, Mom. You even had a hard time pretending Santa Claus was real when we were kids. Deceit doesn’t work well for you.”

  “I can do it.”

  Beverly took a deep breath and started forward looking directly at his table, but when she got closer she turned her head toward the exit.

  “Beverly,” Harley called to her.

  She turned toward him, and he stood up.

  “Hello, Bev, it’s so nice to see you. Come meet my daughter.”

  Beverly sighed, smiled, and stepped toward his table. Sabre followed.

  “Your daughter?”

  She must have sounded stunned because he said, “You didn’t think I was cheating on you, did you? That wouldn’t make me much of a man now, would it?”

  Beverly waved a dismissive hand, but didn’t speak. Sabre reached out her hand and said, “I’m Sabre, Beverly’s daughter.”

  “I’ve heard so much about you,” Harley said.

  “Likewise.”

  They continued the introductions and Harley asked them to sit, but Carly Banks, Harley’s daughter, got up. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to go. I have a classroom full of twelve-year-olds who will destroy the school if I don’t get back soon. Nice to meet you both.” She kissed her father on the cheek. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “See you later, honey girl.”

  Sabre glanced at her mother, then at Harley, her eyes wide and her posture stiff. Her father always called her ‘honey girl’. She knew it was silly, but for a few seconds Sabre felt resentful that this man used her father’s term of endearment. She sat there thinking about and missing her father. She was startled when her phone rang. It was JP.

  “Excuse me,” Sabre said. She answered her phone and went outside.

  “Are you with your mother?” JP asked.

  “Yes, we’re at a coffee shop called the Wholly Crepe. You’ll never guess who else is here.”

  “Who?”

  “Harley Lindgren.”

  “Stay at the coffee shop until Ron gets there. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, but why? What’s wrong?”

  “We have reason to believe Harley might be connected to the magician.”

  Chapter 55

  JP sat in Detective DuBois’ office waiting for him to return from a meeting. He called Sabre while he waited.

  “Are you at your mom’s?” JP asked.

  “Yes, and Ron is with us. All is good.”

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be, but I think we’re getting closer to an answer.”

  “I’ve been lookin
g through the reports you gave me, and I noticed you wrote down a license plate number for Helga Norstrom.”

  “Yes, but I didn’t do anything with it.”

  “You might want to,” Sabre said. “Check to see if it’s registered to Helga and if it’s a custom plate.”

  “Where are you going with this?”

  “The plate number is GST 023. Do you suppose the GST stands for Great Silent Thunder?”

  “You just might have something there, kid.”

  DuBois walked into his office. JP said his goodbyes and hung up.

  JP explained to DuBois what had happened to Sabre and about his brake lines being cut.

  “Holy moly,” DuBois said. “Why didn’t you come to me sooner?”

  “Because I had no reason to think there was a connection. Even now, what I have is a long shot. All I know is that this magician might be Swedish, and I’m not even certain of that.”

  “What would Lindgren have to gain by killing Sabre?”

  “Maybe he knows we’re investigating him and he’s afraid we’ll find out what happened to Vanna.”

  “But why wouldn’t he just stop seeing . . . what’s Sabre’s mom’s name?”

  “Beverly.”

  “If he stopped seeing Beverly, you wouldn’t have a reason to keep investigating.”

  “I thought about that, but maybe we’re closer than even we know and he’s scared. I don’t know. Nothing seems to fit together. It’s like trying to put socks on a rooster.”

  DuBois smiled. “That’s the McCloud I know and love. What can I do?”

  “For starters, could you check out this license plate?” He gave him the number. “It should be registered to Helga, but who knows?”

  “Sure.” DuBois called someone and asked them to run it for him. “You don’t suppose Lindgren and Helga are working together, do you?”

  “It’s possible,” JP said. “I’d like to have another look at that file and see if there’s something that stands out for me, now that I’m a little more informed.”