The Magician's Secret (Nancy Drew Diaries #8)(18)

George pointed at Lonestar. “So you were already in River Heights when you decided to come to River Heights!”

“George, are you saying that the video of Lonestar throwing darts at a map is fake?” Bess asked.

“The video was planned and carefully edited,” George said, not moving her eyes from Lonestar’s face. “I should have realized! From what I’ve read, videos are often used in illusion magic because they are so easy to manipulate. That means that if they’re done right, they seem live. Drake knew he was coming to River Heights.”

“Don’t look at me with those disappointed eyes. Your courthouse was perfect for what I wanted to do,” Lonestar told George.

“But it was a bold lie,” George accused. “You made a video about how you ‘chose’ River Heights with a single dart throw.” She glanced at the pockmarked wall. “Apparently, it took more than one toss.”

Lonestar laughed. “Hugo is a terrific filmmaker. The darts took a lot of practice for me, but the video was done in a single recording.”

He asked me to grab a deck of cards from the nightstand. “Once I could pin the map, I moved on to other tricks. Check this one out.” He took the cards, shuffled them, and fanned them in front of me. “Pick a card. Don’t show me which one.” Drake rose from the bed and handed me a pen. “Write your name on it.”

I took the ace of spades and wrote NANCY in bold letters across the top.

He opened the deck to a random spot. “Put in the card.” I did, and he shuffled the deck. Then he told me to shuffle. I ran the cards through my fingers several times and handed the deck back to him.

“I’m going to throw a dart at the wall three times,” Drake told me, taking the dart I’d picked up off the floor. “Two for practice, and on the third, I’ll toss up the deck.” The first shot landed in the wall, knocking down bits of dry plaster as it stuck. He took back the dart and did the same thing.

With the third throw, Drake Lonestar tossed up the deck of cards. They fluttered through the air as the dart soared from his fingertips to the wall.

“Take a look,” he told me.

The dart was stuck in the wall. There was a single playing card pinned there, speared through the point. I peeled it off the wall. “It’s mine,” I said, showing Bess and George the ace of spades with my name written on it.

“Nicely done,” George told Drake.

He said, “We wanted to come to River Heights, but we had to make it look coincidental. Besides”—he removed the dart and put away the cards—“magic is always a kind of lying. Like those flowers I made appear out of thin air; you know they didn’t just come from nothing. I say the courthouse ‘disappeared,’ but you know it really didn’t.” He paused and turned to face me. “Have you figured out how I did that one yet, Nancy?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’ve been trying to take your advice and not overthink the magic.”

“Perfect!” He sat down and leaned back against a pillow. “That means you accepted the lie.”

“I suppose I did.” I glanced at Bess and George. “On some level, we all did.”

“Good,” Lonestar said. “If people didn’t completely suspend their logical reasoning, I wouldn’t have a job.”

I nodded. He was right. I supposed it didn’t make a difference how he’d decided to come to our town, except for one thing: Everyone already knew that Drake Lonestar was around the night the gems were stolen from the jewelry shop, but now it wasn’t a coincidence that he’d been in River Heights. He had actually planned to be here. That made it even more suspicious. He’d had plenty of time to plan a show as well as a heist.

As hard as I was trying to put other suspects on my list, Drake kept making it impossible. Every clue kept coming back to him. Even Hugo couldn’t protect Drake from the evidence mounting against him.

“Where’s Hugo?” I asked Lonestar. My dad said that Lonestar had been released into Hugo’s custody. Shouldn’t the bodyguard have been around?

“He went to the resort,” Drake said. “I left all my gear in my room, but I can’t go back, not even to help him. The press is camped out there.”

I nodded. Smallwood was at my house for the same reason.

He waved his hand at the roll-away and groaned. “I’m bunking with the girls until this legal mess is resolved.”

“Why didn’t the media follow you here?” I asked him.

Lonestar grinned. “Hugo spread a rumor that I was planning to go to the resort later tonight.”

“Another lie?” I couldn’t help myself; it just burst out.

“I suppose,” Drake Lonestar said. “This time, a small white one for protection. It’s the same reason Hugo lied about Ayela and Ariana being Gritty Grand’s nieces instead of her daughters. And why he’s been telling the press that he’s dating Gritty.”

He went on, “I work hard to distance myself from anyone who might use my family to get close to me. Hired employees, even if they are related to a top designer, are definitely less interesting than a magician’s daughters. The idea of Hugo and Gritty dating is less scandalous than her being my ex. All of these are red herrings meant to throw the paparazzi off my trail.”