Read The Ambitious Card (An Eli Marks Mystery) for Free Online Page A

course, was that Deirdre had still been driving the first car while she test-drove the second.
    But who could blame them, really? They had worked closely for a number of years, she as a fast-rising Assistant District Attorney, he as a hotshot cop on his way to becoming a hotshot homicide detective. Deirdre really had far more in common with Fred than she did with me, a guy whose greatest skill, it appeared, was the ability to make a gallon of milk disappear into a rolled-up newspaper.
    All this flashed through my brain in a nanosecond and I mentally returned to the performance in time to hear Grey talking to a woman who had lost her virginity to a guy named Ned. Like I said, the brain will find the connection, regardless of how tenuous.
    Grey finished his short reading of the woman and the audience applauded, as they had done each time, regardless of his level of accuracy. He held up one hand to quiet them.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, I can feel my connection to the spirit world growing weaker, the braided strands to the other side unraveling by the moment. Could I impose upon my first helper to return to the stage to assist my journey back across that bridge?”
    Sharon, the over-dressed, matronly woman quickly made her way back to the stage, moving toward Grey, who was still seated stiffly in the high-backed chair. She placed two fingers on his wrist, moving them once and then again and then once more. She shook her head. “There’s no pulse,” she said, a note of dread in her voice.
    “No, not just yet,” Grey agreed. “I’m still on the precipice.” He closed his eyes and went through his deep breathing routine again.
    As he did, Sharon adjusted her grip on his wrist. After several moments, she started nodding, a little at first and then more confidently. “There it is,” she said. “I can feel the pulse. I can feel it.”
    Grey opened his eyes. “Yes. Yes,” he said, smiling like a Cheshire Cat. “I have returned. Thank you, Sharon.”
    He stood and ushered her off the stage, and then turned to the applauding crowd. “And thanks to all of you. I will leave you tonight with the words of a great man, The Amazing Dunninger, who so wisely said, ‘For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation will suffice.’ Good night.”
    He bowed deeply, took a step back, and then bowed again. The pipe organ music began blasting through the room as the audience stood, en masse, applauding wildly. Some had tears running down their faces, some were hugging each other, and the rest were clapping their hands vigorously as Grey took yet another overly-dramatic bow.
    “You’re up next,” a voice next to me yelled over the applause. The floor manager had appeared by my side, looking from me to the crowd. “Boy, that’s going to be one hell of a tough act to follow.”
    “Thanks,” I said. “That’s just what I needed to hear.”

Chapter 4

      
    “Okay, we’re back,” the TV host said as the red light popped on above the main camera.
    I was onstage, seated at the large wooden table, trying to look casual and relaxed and feeling neither. My unease was heightened by the placement of Grey, who was seated at the other end of the table. This was an unexpected development and the only solace I could take in the situation was that it seemed to be just as unanticipated for Grey as well.
    During the break, as the host chatted casually with me while I settled into my place on stage, he suddenly turned to the floor manager and said, “Hey, why don’t we get Grey back out here as well? Might be fun to have the two of them on camera together. Is he still here? Can we do that?”
    This was followed by several energetic and hushed conversations by crew members speaking frantically into their headsets. A few moments later, Grey stepped back into the room, just pulling on a black wool coat. The host saw him from the stage and pointed him out to the crowd. “Hey folks,” he boomed