08 The Magician's Secret by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online Page A

we might be able to pull it off. Maybe I’ll go ahead without Drake. I can set things up and wait for him there.” He glanced at the courthouse. “We’ll see.”
    We sat on that bench waiting for an hour. Then two. At the end of the third hour, Bess was done reorganizing her purse and George had maxed out the dataminutes on her smartphone. I’d slept a bit on a nearby patch of grass to make up for the night before, but the truth was we were bored.
    Even though it wasn’t her job, Officer Fernandez had been bringing us periodic updates and snacks. This time she had bottles of water and granola bars. She was about to leave when Hugo asked, “Want to see some magic?”
    Bess brightened. “Sure.”
    We all gathered around as I shook off the last bit of my sleepiness with a big yawn.
    â€œCan I borrow your handcuffs?” he asked Officer Fernandez. By now we’d spent so much time together that we knew her first name was Faith, that she drove a convertible, and that she lived across the street from her elderly parents.
    The officer put a hand on the silver metal cuffs that hung off her police belt. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. . . .”
    â€œJust for a minute,” Hugo said. “I promise they’ll be returned to you.”
    She glanced at the courthouse doors, then to the street. No one was around except for us and a small band of reporters a block away. She pinched her lips together for a short pause before handing Hugo the cuffs.
    He passed them to me. “Nancy, check these out. Confirm they are real. I want you to make sure the lock isn’t broken and that there aren’t any hidden release buttons.”
    I examined the cuffs and didn’t find anything strange.
    â€œFaith,” Hugo asked Officer Fernandez, “did I borrow these earlier? Have they been in your possession at all times? Is there any way I might have tampered with them?”
    She shook her head. “No to all those questions. I’ve had them the whole day.”
    â€œPut them on me,” he told her.
    I handed the cuffs back to the officer. She slipped them around Hugo’s outstretched hands and locked them tight.
    â€œWhere is the key?” Hugo asked, then laughed. “I probably should have asked that before I had you put them on my wrists.” He jingled the chain now connecting his wrists together as Officer Fernandez held up a ring of keys.
    I had to admit, he was a good showman. I just hoped the trick lived up to his jokes.
    â€œBess,” Hugo asked, “can I use the scarf that’s in your purse?”
    â€œWow!” Bess exclaimed. “How’d you know I had a scarf  ?”
    Hugo rolled his eyes.
    â€œIt doesn’t take a psychic to know that,” I told Bess gently. “We all just watched you clean out your bag.”
    Bess smiled sheepishly. “Oh, yeah.” She reached into her purse and gave Hugo a boldly patterned blue scarf.
    â€œToss it over my hands,” Hugo said, making a scene about how he couldn’t possibly do it by himself since he was wearing cuffs.
    Bess covered his hands and the handcuffs.
    â€œDo you have a favorite magic word?” Hugo asked me.
    â€œAbracadabra,” I answered.
    â€œRight. Now, Nancy, wave your hands over the scarf and say your magic word.”
    I did as he told me.
    â€œTa-da!” An instant later Bess’s scarf floated to the ground. Hugo picked it up with his free hands. The locks on the cuffs were both open. He gave the handcuffs back to Officer Fernandez and told her to examine them again.
    â€œWell done,” she told him. “Remind me not to arrest you.”
    â€œHow’d you do it?” George asked. I could see the wheels in her brain turning. “Are you double-jointed? Did you put grease on your hands to slip them out? Did you pickpocket the officer’s key?”
    At that Officer Fernandez checked her