by John Blaine
The mansion was huge, rather boxlike, built of dressed stone, standing three stories high above a portico which could have sheltered a small fleet of limousines. The driveway passed under the portico, swung in a circle and connected to itself like a loop in a screw-eye. An access road led off behind the north wing of the house, probably to a service entrance and parking area.
Under the portico Rick saw the panel truck and Jerry’s motorcycle. He drew up parallel with the truck, placing the car in a position for a fast getaway. He asked, “Want to wait out here while I go in for a look?”
The girls answered in unison. “No!”
“Then let’s go, but stay behind me.”
Rick led the way through the wide entrance doors, which were standing ajar as though in invitation.
Inside, the entrance hall was huge, two stories high, the floor covered with deep-pile gold carpet. The decor was lush oriental, the walls hung with tapestries and art objects. The furniture and lamps were classic Chinese in style, heavily carved and accented with gold leaf and touches of Chinese red. The effect was exotic and dramatic.
A gasp from Barby made Rick whirl. She pointed to a niche at the right of the door where two boxes lay. They looked very much like coffins, and their lids were open.
Rick hadn’t really believed the wild yarn until that moment. He walked over and looked down, horror creeping through him. Sightless eyes stared at him from both boxes. In one was a man, a corpse in velvet, as Barby had described him. In the other, dressed in harem trousers and embroidered jacket, was a woman, little more than a girl, her face expressionless in the rigor of death.
“Double trouble,” Rick said hoarsely. “There are two bodies!”
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CHAPTER II
The Magicians
For a long moment Rick stood frozen, then his forehead wrinkled in a frown as he sensed something odd about the two in the boxes. He studied the faces, and suddenly he had it. The skin was unlined, smooth, healthy-looking, and the colors were those of life, not the waxen pallor of death. He stepped forward and heard Barby gasp as he bent and touched the male figure’s face.
The skin was flexible, and the dent made by his finger disappeared as soon as pressure was withdrawn.
“These aren’t bodies.” He let out his breath with a sigh of relief. “It’s a pair of dummies.”
“But dummies are rigid,” Barby objected.
“Not these. They’re not store window dummies; they’re for something else. Come on, let’s find Scotty.”
Rick started for the nearest doorway, then stopped as he realized that Jan wasn’t following. She was in the middle of the entrance hall, her face tilted upward, as though listening for a distant voice.
“Jan!” Rick reached her side in a few long strides. When she heard her name, she turned slowly.
“I’m sorry, Rick. Did you say something?”
“I said they’re not bodies. They’re dummies.”
“That’s good.” Then, as his meaning penetrated, her eyes opened wide. “That means Scotty isn’t in trouble.”
“Yes. Let’s go find him.” He was disturbed, but this wasn’t the time to find out why Jan wasn’t acting like herself. The first order of business was to find Scotty.
He surveyed the wide doorways and chose the one nearest the entrance. It led into a bar and cocktail lounge. The decor was Middle Eastern, the theme established by a mural above the bar. Desert horsemen, Arab or Bedouin, were clustered together looking upward to the top of a sand dune where a jet black camel with fiery red eyes stared down at them.
“The Black Camel,” Jan murmured.
Rick looked at her. “What does it mean?”
“In some parts ofArabia the legend is that Death comes as a black camel. I read about it in a book of folklore.”
“It’s a cute camel,” Barby laughed. “He looks friendly, not deadly.”
Rick smiled. Barby was right.
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A familiar voice called, “Well, aren’tyou going to come and say hello?”
Scotty! As they stepped farther into the room they saw him seated at a corner table having a Coke.
With him were two men who looked exactly alike and a petite, very attractive girl. The men and the girl were duplicates of the dummies in the boxes!
The four at the table rose and walked to meet the three Spindrifters. The big, husky black-haired ex-Marine was obviously pleased with himself. “What took you so long?” He demanded.
Rick was still somewhat bemused by seeing the two dummies in the flesh, as it were, one of them in duplicate. He blinked. “Were you expecting us?”
“Of course.”Scotty was clearly enjoying himself. “I wanted you to meet some old friends of mine.”
He introduced his surprised chums to Derek and David Cameron, and to Karen, David’s wife. With the introductions complete, Scotty added, “I know I’ve told you about Derek the Magician, and Rick will remember that we used a couple of simple tricks I said he taught me.”
“How could I forget?” Rick replied. “I know you’ve been corresponding now and then since you left the Marines. Which one is Derek?”
“Both the twins are Derek for stage purposes, and Karen is an important part of the act, too.”
“And so are the dummies in the hall,” Barby concluded. Rick could tell that she was furious with Scotty.
The twins chuckled. Karen frowned. “I hope these two nuts didn’t upset you too much. I scolded Scotty when Derek told me he’d waved you off. You obviously thought the replica was real.”
Scotty wasn’t at all repentant. “It got results,” he pointed out. “I knew the girls would fly to a phone and call Rick, and they’d be here in a hurry. It was the quickest way of getting us all together.”
“You might have chosen a less nerve-shattering way,” Barby said tartly. “Maybe somethinglike a telephone.”
“That’s the problem,” one of the twins replied. “Our phones won’t be connected for several days because we’re having a multiple line cable put in.”
“What brought the girls into the estate in the first place?” Karen asked.
Rick decided to avoid complicated explanations and spoke before the girls could answer. “Jan wanted to look the place over, and the gate was open. Incidentally, what is all this? And how did Scotty connect up with you?”
One twin responded.“By accident. We were going to call Scotty when our phones got connected, but he found us instead. By the way, to make things easier, I’m Derek and I always wear a blue tie. David wears a red or maroon one.”
“Thank you.” Barby nodded. “That does help.” She looked at Scotty. “How did you find them?”
“I was trying out Jerry’s bike and heading back to Whiteside when I passed them in the panel truck. I Page 9
was pretty sure it was them, so I turned and followed into the estate. By the time you and Jan arrived, David and Karen had carried the Karen figure in and I was giving Derek a hand with the male figure.”
Rick had been curious about one point. “Why didn’t you carry them in right in their cases?”
“Because they’re so heavy,” David explained. “They weigh exactly as much as we do. The boxes are heavy, too, to protect them when they have to be shipped.”
“They’re pretty convincing,” Barby was smiling now. She had too sunny a disposition to stay angry for long, and she was beginning to see the funny side of Scotty’s practical joke. “But you haven’t told us what this is all about.”
The twins spoke in unison. “Welcome to the House of Illusion.”
“We’re creating a restaurant-theater club,” Karen explained. “We’ll serve food and magic together.
How about a quick tour? We’re not quite ready, but things are shaping up.” She led the way to the entrance hall.
Rick moved close to Jan. She hadn’t said a word since acknowledging the introductions, and that increased his uneasiness. Usually she was an interested participant who asked good question
s and contributed to the conversation.
“Will people come to such an out-of-the-way place?” Barby asked. “You’ll have to draw people fromNewark andNew York , as well as the closer cities like Red Bank,Atlantic City , and Monmouth.”
“We hired a marketing research firm,” Derek told them. “The report was pretty enthusiastic. Besides, we’ll only be open on weekends and holidays, which will make it easier for people to drive from the big cities.”
“Let’s start in the restaurant and theater part,” David suggested.
Jan spoke for the first time. “Please, who else is in the house?”
Karen moved to face her and took her hands. For an instant, with the two of them framed against the exotic tapestries of the entrance hall, Rick’s active imagination pictured them as priestesses in an ancient oriental temple. Both were slender, dark of hair and eyes, and at the moment, both had the same expression, one of searching for something other-worldly.
“Who else do you feel in the house?” Karen asked.
Jan gave an uncertain smile. “I’m not sure. Is there an old man?Quite old?”
Karen shook her head. “Not in our group, Jan. Our staff isn’t here just now, except for the chef and his assistants. They’re in the kitchen planning menus. But none of them is old. Idon’t know of an old man...but yet...never mind. Shall we go on tour?”
Though Rick had never been in the estate before, he had seen from the air that the mansion was shaped like an L with a large wing on the north side. It was that wing which housed the restaurant-theater part.
There were four dining rooms. Three, David explained, had been a reception room, a den, and a library.
Each would accommodate from fifteen to twenty tables for two and four. Decorating already was complete, done with taste and imagination on oriental, medieval, and Egyptian themes.
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The fourth dining room was huge, two stories high. It had been the mansion ballroom, complete with stage. The theme was ancient Persian, and on the inner wall was a great mural, a vast caravan of horses, camels, turbaned or fezzed riders, veiled men and women, children, goats, and dogs, all in a long line that trailed off into darkness at either end. In the center of the mural was a well from which bearded men were drawing water. The entire scene was misty, as though shrouded in purple twilight. Rick had to pull his eyes away. It was hard to focus on the mural.
“We’re in the Phantom Caravan room,” David told the group. “It’s where we’ll perform. The room and stage are actually the reason we selected this place to lease. The setup is just perfect for us, but I have to admit the stage has us really puzzled.”
Rick was examining the ceiling, which was about twenty feet above the floor. It was unusual, because, on the mural side, and at the front close to the stage arch, there were channels about four feet deep and wide between the bottom of the ceiling and the walls. It was almost as though the ceiling were suspended from a higher ceiling.
Along both of the channel sides, facing the stage and the mural, were long banks of lights of several different kinds and shapes. Rick could see why so many lights faced the stage, but why so many focused on the mural?
“What’s puzzling about the stage?” Barby asked.
David smiled. “Without giving away the family secrets, I can tell you that magicians need a stage with some special features. This one has everything we could possibly need. It’s a magician’s dream.”
“Do you know the history of the house?” Jan asked.
“Only that it stood empty for years with a bank taking care of it. An agent found it for us just a week after it had been put on the market for lease, a bit more than four months ago. We’ve no idea who the magician was, or much else.”
Karen explained, “We’ve been on tour in the south, and until last week, we’ve depended mostly on our stage manager and principal helper, Archy Sullivan, to supervise our contractors here. We took turns flying into Newark for one and two day trips to check up until just ten days ago when we arrived to stay.
We’ve rented a house nearShrewsbury . Later, we may move in here, if we’re a success. We’ll know in two or three months. We also have a firm in Red Bank which will handle reservations and publicity.”
“Anyway,” Derek added, “We’ve had no time for research or much else except getting ready. The rest of our staff arrives on Monday, and from then on it will be crash ahead until we open.”
Derek led the way through swinging doors that led to the kitchen, then around through corridors to backstage where there were dressing rooms, storage, and a lounge for the staff. Finally they reached the entrance hall again and went up the wide stairway to a large hallway from which doors opened on several rooms.
The magician took them into a room directly back from the top of the stairs and explained, “This was the master bedroom.”
“It’s beautiful!” Barby exclaimed. The decor was FrenchProvincial , the walls made of panels framed with mouldings of sculptured fleur-de-lis. There was a fireplace in one wall with a magnificent mirror Page 11
above the marble mantel. French doors opened onto a small balcony. Other doors opened into a large walk-in closet and a very large bathroom.
Instead of bedroom furniture there were a couch, two stuffed chairs, and two desks with desk chairs. In one corner were four-drawer oak file cabinets with combination locks.
“We’ve taken it for our office,” Derek explained.
Karen and David had paused in the doorway. Karen suggested, “Show them the view from the balcony, Derek.”
“Yes. When warm weather comes, we may also serve cocktails out back, and perhaps even offer a small alfresco magic show.” He opened the doors and stood aside for the Spindrifters to move onto the balcony and look down at a broad formal garden of green lawn, flagstones, trimmed shrubbery and several statues. In the center of the expanse was a large fountain with a heroic statue of some figure from mythology. From the huge weapon, like a sledge hammer, in the figure’s upraised hand, Rick guessed it probably was the Scandinavian god Thor.
As they returned to the hallway, Derek pointed. “The men’s lounge for the public will be the room on the left of the office. The ladies will have the room to the right.” He led the way downstairs.
Rick looked at his watch as they reached the entrance hall. “Kids, it’s time for us to be leaving.”
“Yes, but first we want to extend an invitation.” Karen smiled warmly. “We knew Scotty was nearby, and we were looking forward to seeing him and meeting his Spindrift folks. We planned to send invitations to our opening on Thanksgiving Eve for both the Brant and Miller families.”
“But that would be eight of us,” Barby protested.
“A good round number,” David said.“A nice tableful . Will you extend the invitations to your parents, or shall we make it formal with a letter?”
“We’re not formal people,” Rick assured him. “We’ll accept with pleasure, if you’ll agree to a condition.”
“Name it.”
“That you come and have Thanksgiving afternoon dinner with us, if your schedule permits.”
“Don’t you have to consult your parents?” David asked curiously.
Rick smiled. “My parents taught Barby and me never to hesitate when Brant hospitality is concerned. I know they’d love to have you, and they’ll be as excited about coming to your opening as we are.”
“He’s right,” Barby echoed.
“I can speak for my parents, too,” Jan added. “Thank you so much for inviting us.”
Derek laughed. “If only other people could make up their minds so quickly! We’re agreed, then. You’ll come to the opening and we’ll go to Spindrift for afternoon dinner if we can get back here by six to prepare for our evening show. It will be wonderful to see Spindrift. Scotty isn’t a frequent letter writer, Page 12
but when he does write it’s a long, newsy one with lots of details, so we feel that we know you.”
As they shook hands all around, Bar
by announced that she was riding to Whiteside on the motorcycle with Scotty.
Rick and Scotty protested simultaneously. “You are not!” Rick exclaimed. “Not only don’t you have a helmet, you’re not dressed for it. You’ll freeze.”
Scotty shook his head. “Sorry, Barb. I can’t take you without a helmet.”
Barby started an angry protest, but Karen hastened to calm the incipient storm. “A moment please, all of you. Dave, that helmet I wore in the cannon shot illusion is in the big box by the train wreck set. It will fit Barby.”
David nodded, and hurried off.
Rick grinned at his sister. “You win, Barb.” He slipped out of his heavy jacket. “Put this on. No, don’t take yours off; put mine over it and cinch the belt tight.”
Barby took the jacket. “Thanks, Rick.”
David appeared with a helmet painted in wild poster colors that whirled to a crest at the top. He chuckled. “You’ll not only be safe, Barby, you’ll be too visible to get lost.”
Scotty took the helmet from David and put it on Barby’s head. It was a good fit. “With that on, no one will even notice the driver. Climb aboard and let’s fly.”
Barby thanked Karen and promised to return the helmet soon. With Rick’s jacket over her own making her bulky as a bear and the helmet concealing most of her face and head, she was almost unrecognizable, but the delighted smile was pure Barby Brant.
“Come on, corpse toter . The kids can pick us up at Jerry’s.”
Rick, Jan, and the Camerons watched as Barby got on the postern seat behind Scotty, put her arms around him in a death grip, and called, “Let’s go!”
Scotty kicked the starter. The cycle roared into life, spun around the driveway loop like a jet taking off, and was gone.
“Time for us,” Rick said to Jan.
The girl turned to the Camerons. “Thank you for the tour. I’m truly glad to have met you.”
Karen took her hand. “Jan, tell me, please. Why did you want to come into the estate?”