According to the police reports, Maria Rodriguez was living in a garden apartment in Southeast Portland. The apartments formed a horseshoe around a courtyard with a neatly trimmed lawn. Moments before Rodriguez answered Jeff’s knock, a young woman smiled at Jeff as she wheeled her bike past him.
Onstage, in costume, with makeup, the magician’s assistant had seemed taller, with the glamorous appearance of a showgirl. In the pale afternoon light, without makeup, dressed in jeans and a faded T-shirt, she looked ordinary.
Jeff handed Rodriguez his business card and introduced himself.
Rodriguez looked at the card, then took a hard look at Jeff. “Have we met before?”
“Yes, at Robert Chesterfield’s house on the coast, the night he disappeared. I was with Mr. Chesterfield’s attorney, Robin Lockwood.”
“Yeah. I remember you two. Why are you here?”
“David Turner was arrested for killing Robert Chesterfield. He swears he’s innocent, and he’s hired Robin to help him. I wanted to ask you what you saw during the Chamber of Death illusion.”
“I already told the cops everything I know.”
“I read the report of your interview, but there were some things the police didn’t cover.”
“Ask away.”
“Thanks. Did you work with Mr. Chesterfield in Las Vegas?”
“No. Bobby hired me through my agent when he was developing the Chamber of Death at the coast. Since I live in Portland and knew how the illusion worked, Bobby called me when he got the engagement at the Imperial.”
“Did Sheila Monroe and Nancy Porter work the rehearsal at the coast? I don’t remember seeing them there.”
“No, just me. The other girls from the coast rehearsal don’t live in Portland anymore.”
“Okay, that’s helpful. Now that you’ve had some time to think about what happened at the theater, have you remembered anything that might help us figure out who killed Mr. Chesterfield?”
“Honestly, no, and I’ve thought about it a lot. I assumed Nancy was onstage with us, but now I know she wasn’t. With that hood up, I never saw the face of the person who stabbed Bobby.”
“What about the person’s hands? When the killer stabbed Mr. Chesterfield, it’s possible that his arm or hand would have been exposed.”
“Yeah, but Sheila and I were looking toward the back of the stage, so we wouldn’t have seen the killer’s arms or hand.”
“It was just an idea I had.”
“Sorry.”
“That’s okay. One other thing, do you know where I can find Miriam Ross? She was Chesterfield’s personal assistant when he had the rehearsal at the coast.”
“Why do you want to talk to Miriam?”
“She was at the Imperial when Mr. Chesterfield was murdered. I couldn’t find a police report with a record of her statement. I thought she might have seen something that could help clear Mr. Turner’s name.”
“She was at the show?”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am. She was really upset when Bobby disappeared at the coast. I think they had a thing going and she felt like he dumped her.”
“They were having an affair?”
Maria smirked. “We were all bunking at Bobby’s house, and he came on to every one of us. Me and the two other girls in the act turned him down, but Miriam … I never caught them going at it, but she put out a vibe, if you know what I mean. And she was furious when he pulled that disappearing act.” Maria shook her head. “I guess she never got over it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She showed up at the theater during a rehearsal, and they got into an argument. I don’t know what it was about, but she walked by me on the way out, and she didn’t look happy.”
“Do you know where I can find Miss Ross?”
“I might. Let me get my phone.” Maria was gone for five minutes. She had a smile on her face when she came back. “When we were working at the coast, she gave her phone number to us in case we needed something. If she kept it, you can get in touch.”
“Thanks.”
“So you don’t think Turner killed Bobby? I remember how mad he was at the rehearsal.”
“Oh, he was mad, all right, but a lot of people were mad at Mr. Chesterfield.”
“How many of them are master magicians?”
* * *
Miriam Ross agreed to meet Jeff at a coffee shop near the downtown building where she worked as an office manager for an engineering firm. Jeff spotted her as soon as she walked in.
“I remember you,” Ross said when Jeff handed her the soy latte he’d offered as a bribe if she would meet with him. “You were with the blond lawyer at Bobby’s rehearsal.”
“I was.”
Ross looked sad. “It was terrible what happened to Bobby.”
“You sound like you really cared for him.”
“I did once.”
“Were you close?”
Ross smiled. “You don’t have to be diplomatic. If you got my number from Maria, I’m sure she told you that Bobby and I had a fling at the coast. He and Claire were a couple in name only, so I never felt guilty.”
“Did you get angry when he took off after the rehearsal?”
“Yeah, but I got over it pretty quickly. Sex with Bobby was good, but I knew it wouldn’t last. Bobby had only one true love—himself—and I knew that from the start.”
“So the affair was just a way to kill time at the coast?”
Again, Ross smiled. “That’s one way to put it.”
“If you disliked Mr. Chesterfield, why did you go to his show?”
“Good question, but there’s a simple answer: After seeing the rehearsals so many times at the coast, I wanted to see if the Chamber of Death worked in front of a real audience.”
“I heard you two got into it at the Imperial during one of the rehearsals.”
Ross raised an eyebrow. “So Maria did gossip. She was always jealous that Bobby was visiting my room at night and not hers.”
“What happened at the Imperial?” Jeff prodded.
“It wasn’t a big deal. When Bobby disappeared, he owed me two thousand dollars in back pay. When I found out he wasn’t dead, I went to the theater for my money. He tried to talk me out of it. When I wouldn’t budge, he got upset and threatened me. So I gave him a piece of my mind and stormed out. But if you think I was mad enough to kill him, think again. Bobby was an asshole, but I got over him about a week after he took off, and I’m not going to murder someone over a few thousand dollars.”
“When you were watching the performance, did you see anything that might help us figure out who killed Mr. Chesterfield?”
“No, and that’s why I left the theater so quickly. I knew I couldn’t help the police, and I didn’t want to stay at the theater all night.”
“I can’t think of anything else to ask you. Thanks for the help.”
Ross raised her latte. “Thanks for the drink.”
Jeff smiled as he handed Ross his card. “If you think of anything that might help Mr. Turner, give me a call.”
“What if I want to get together and it has nothing to do with David Turner?”