Sleight of Hand

CHAPTER Fifty-Eight

“Benedict is free on bail!” Christopher Rauh screamed.

“I have people out looking for him,” Stephanie Robb said.

“How did he make bail so fast?” Rauh asked.

“We took him to the hospital because his wrist and arm were broken,” Frank Santoro said. “He lawyered up while he was there. We couldn’t listen to the conversation because of the attorney-client privilege. I’m guessing he told Marcus Foster to spring him right away. Foster was at the jail in record time.”

Rauh swore again.

“Calm down, Chris,” Hamada said. “We’ll find him. Santoro, Robb, and I are working on the presentation to the grand jury. I’ll get a murder indictment so we can hold him without bail.”

“Has Benedict shown up at his condo?” Rauh asked.

“Not so far.”

“So where is he?”



Nikolai Orlansky knew that part of Charles Benedict’s training as a magician involved escape from restraints, so Orlansky made sure that the lawyer was gagged and confined in a straitjacket, with his ankles securely manacled to a ring embedded in the cement floor of the warehouse to which Peter Perkovic had transported him.

Shortly after Benedict regained consciousness he realized that he had little chance of escaping. Even if he could get out of the straitjacket and the manacles, two of Nikolai’s goons were watching him.

Benedict had no idea how long he’d been unconscious, so he had no idea how long he’d been a prisoner. He was starving, so it could have been days. He was still disoriented from the drugs that had been injected into him, so maybe that meant he’d only been out a short time, unless they’d given him more drugs. The lawyer tried calling to the men, but they ignored his muffled cries. He tried to remain calm and think of ways to escape, but nothing came to mind.

After what seemed like hours, a door opened. The guards looked behind Benedict, who could not turn his head far enough to see what was happening. Footsteps echoing off the concrete told him that someone was drawing near. Then Nikolai was standing in front of him, with Peter Perkovic at his side.

“Charlie, Charlie, Charlie,” Nikolai said with a sad shake of his head. “What a mess you are in.”

Benedict tried to speak. Nikolai nodded to Perkovic, and Peter removed his gag.

“What the f*ck, Nikolai?” Benedict said as soon as he could generate enough saliva.

“I am sorry, believe me,” Orlansky answered. “But you see my problem.”

“No, I do not. I have no idea why I’m tied up in this f*cking warehouse. And I’ve got to pee, so can you let me out of this S&M getup?”

“I am also sorry for your discomfort, but it won’t last for long.”

“What have I ever done to deserve this?”

“It is not what you have done, although I do have a bone to pick with you about the way you treated Gregor. No, Charlie, it is what you might do that troubles me.

“Peter has been keeping me apprised of the police investigation into several murders. You are in trouble, Charlie. The authorities have an open-and-shut case against you for trying to murder a woman in that hotel parking lot last night, and there is considerable evidence that you framed Horace Blair for the murder of his wife, which suggests that you were the person who murdered her.”

“They can’t prove I killed anyone.”

Nikolai nodded. “You are very skilled at covering your tracks, but there may be too many tracks this time. If I were in your shoes I would cut a deal. I would tell all you know about my activities in exchange for freedom.”

“I’d never rat you out,” Benedict stated emphatically. “Look, Nikolai, I’ve got an escape plan. If your men hadn’t kidnapped me I’d be gone by now and no one would ever find me.”

“The world has changed, Charlie. If they can find bin Laden, they can find you. When they find you, the authorities will be pissed off that you gave them such a hard time. They will want to make you pay for wasting taxpayer money on the manhunt that could have financed education, or higher pay for politicians, so they will want to see you on death row. They will want blood, Charlie.”

“Jesus, Nikolai, we’re friends. I’d never sell you out.”

“I don’t doubt that you are sincere now, but will you still feel this way when you are facing a death sentence? I like to think the best of people, but I cannot take the chance that I might be wrong, because I do not want to pay for my crimes. So I must hope for the best but plan for the worst.”

“Don’t do this.”

“I have to, but I really do like you, so I will make sure your end will be painless. So long, Charlie.”

“Wait!” Charlie said, but Nikolai gave terse orders to the two guards and walked away.