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Shaut held up his hands defensively “I illing to pay the price and I wanted to learn the effect You had no right to keep otheran illusion”

“I adrity of the illusion I came to New York and went to visit Mister Floss, whom I found had been murdered”

“But you haven’t told us why!” another audience member shouted

“He was murdered because he tried to cheat the ned the plans and explanation of my trick—Brent Williams”

“How can you prove that?” Chu dee “Williams is dead!”

“I already proved it when I used the working prototype of Prism down in the workshop of Mister Shaut The reason I went there was to find the plans Instead I found a prototype And even though Mister Shaut claims he did it, the workmanship had to be Williams’”

“Merely conjecture,” Shaut pointed out, a bit flushed

“It is also my conjecture that Floss wanted to cut out Williams and keep the rabbed a display rope off the counter and choked the old man to death I know this because there was a thin space on the dusty glass counter where the rope used in the murder sat” Max looked over at Chu “You will see the dusty outline in the crime scene photos and you will find the murder weapon at Brent Williams’ apartment on 14th Street”

“Hoe know you didn’t plant it there?” Chu said

“Because I didn’t have it when the police arrested me shortly after Mister Floss was killed But let us move on, as it is here that it becomes more diabolical”

Carson turned to a lady at the end of an aisle “You can go to the lobby and give your name and address, if you want to leave”

“Are you kidding?” the woman said “I wouldn’t miss this for the world”

“Williams needed a new middleman, because the buyer, Malcolm Shaut, would be furious if he discovered his own assistant had the plans the entire time So, Williams approached Louie Tanner and Sam Lovell”

“All right, all right,” Lovell responded “It is true that Brent did ask ht down”

“Really?” Max replied