“We’re not the cops. We’re the feds.”
Terry said with an unexpected flash of humor, “Nobody likes the feds.”
“Ouch.” Jason smiled. “I know he’s got a record. And I know he and Michael Khan were pals.”
“Maybe.”
“No?”
Terry said, “Michael Khan only cared about Michael Khan.”
“What makes you think so?”
“Do you know he’s the Kubla Khanjurer?”
“No,” Jason lied. “What’s a Kubla Khanjurer?”
“It’s not a what. It’s a who. Khan was a hack. He couldn’t cut it as a real magician, so he tried to build a career out of revealing the secrets of magic.”
“The secrets of magic? And that made people angry?”
Terry said hotly, “Of course it made people angry. Khan tried to claim that it was because he loved magic so much that he wanted to force magicians to abandon old and tired tricks and reinvent the art so that it would be able to compete in the modern world. It was total self-serving bullshit. He didn’t care if the art was able to compete. He didn’t care if he ruined peoples’ acts and spoiled everything for the audience. He didn’t care about magic—real magic—he just wanted to make a fast buck, and that was the only way he could.”
“Is that how most people feel? People within the community, I mean.”
“That’s how everyone feels. His own wife can’t stand him.”
“But he and Boz managed to stay friends? He helped Boz open this store?”
Terry said grudgingly, “Yes.”
Jason gazed around the room appreciatively. “It really is a great store. It probably functions as a center for the magic community?”
“Yes. But it’s all changed now even from when I was little.”
“Those posters are amazing. They’re the real thing?”
Terry’s smile was genuine. “Oh yeah. Absolutely.”
“Where do you find stuff like that?”
“Auctions. Estate sales. The Internet. Yard sales. People bring in stuff. They don’t always know what they’ve got.” He studied Jason curiously. “Are you interested in magic?”
“Not like I was when I was a kid, but I appreciate a good magic show.”
&nb
sp; Terry said wisely, “Magic is performance art, but it’s also a way of life.”
“I’m beginning to see that. Who do you think killed Michael Khan?”
Terry stared at him as though the question did not compute. He said finally, tentatively, “Whoever stole his collection?”
“Your boss suggested Khan stole his own collection.”
Terry blinked that over for a moment. “You mean the whole thing was sleight-of-hand?”
“That’s an interesting way to put it.” Jason glanced down at the framed sepia photo. “When people bring things in—people off the street, I mean—what’s your policy for handling items that aren’t accompanied by original bills of sale?”