The Ambitious Card (An Eli Marks Mystery) by John Gaspard

ask?” I stated rhetorically, without stopping for anyone to answer. “Because, just like our friend Grey here, one particular card always finds its way to the top.”
    I fanned the cards and held them out to Grey. “Pick a card,” I said, adding a carnival barker inflection to my voice. “Pick a card, any card.” This produced more laughter from the crowd than it really warranted.
    Practically dripping with contempt, Grey reached out his hand and pulled a card out of the cluster of the deck without even bothering to look at it. I gathered the cards together and pivoted in my chair, turning my back on him. “Now go ahead and sign your name on the face of the card, just to ensure that I don’t try to switch cards later on.”
    I could hear him sigh deeply, then I heard the rustle of clothing as he pulled a pen out of his suit coat pocket. Moments later I heard the scratching of the pen on the card, then the click of the pen and the sound of rustling again. “All set?” I asked with a bit too much cheer.
    “Yes, all set,” he replied with no inflection in his voice.
    I turned back to the table and once again held the cards out to him, slowly riffling through them. “Say stop whenever you like,” I instructed.
    “Stop,” he growled.
    I stopped riffling and told him to place the card at that spot in the deck, which he did with little enthusiasm. I cut the cards and then gave the deck two quick shuffles.
    “So I’ve mixed the cards twice and cut them once. Your card is buried somewhere in the deck. But, like I said, it’s an ambitious card, and so with a little coaxing from me,” I said as I gave the bottom of the deck a hard flick of my index finger, “your card magically moves to the top of the deck.” With that, I peeled back the top card, revealing a signed card—The King of Diamonds.
    Grey stared at me with disdain, but the crowd applauded wildly. I looked at the card and then looked from the card to the diamond rings on Grey’s fingers. “King of Diamonds,” I said. “How fitting.”
    With that I launched into the trick with fervor. I shuffled the deck—the King of Diamonds returned to the top. The host shuffled the deck. The King of Diamonds returned to the top. I shuffled the deck and let Nova cut it three times in a row. The card returned to the top of the deck.
    “It’s a persistent little bugger, isn’t it?” I said to Grey, who seemed to have only one facial expression—utter revulsion. Perhaps he was one of those rare people who didn’t like card tricks.
    “There may be only one solution,” I continued, putting the card back with the others and shuffling them vigorously. “We may have to take lethal steps.” I shuffled the cards one last time, and then spread all the cards face down across the table in front of me. “Grey, could I bother you to lend me your blindfold? And your letter opener—that wickedly sharp one you used earlier?”
    I thought for a second that I had finally pushed him too far and that he was going to explode and come across the table at me. But, to his credit, he kept his cool.
    Slowly, oh so slowly, he reached into his coat and withdrew the long strip of black fabric and the letter opener, setting both on the table just outside of my reach. Before I could lean forward to take the objects, Nova moved in and picked up both of them.
    She moved into assistant mode, stepping behind me and placing the letter opener on the table, near my right hand. And then she took the blindfold and covered my eyes, skillfully tying a snug knot against the back of my head. I could feel her breath on my neck and her perfume wafted past my nose. Her hands danced lightly on my shoulders, straightening my shirt and adjusting my collar. And then I could feel her stepping back to her original position to watch the finale of the trick.
    “The conclusion of this illusion,” I said poetically, “comes courtesy of the great magician, Max Malini, who invented and perfected this move over