Free No Escape by Meredith Fletcher Page B

saw down in Jamaica was Gibson.”
    Morganstern nodded and reshuffled the cards. He laid them on the table in a row, then made them dance from side to side. “How’d that happen?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Did Megan tell you about it?”
    “No.”
    “Seems like that’s something she would have told you about.”
    “It is. I think she just didn’t get the chance to.”
    Morganstern nodded and was somber and silent for a moment. “Something must have happened pretty quick for her not to tell you something like that.”
    “I know.”
    “So you’re wanting to talk to Gibson? See if he knows anything about...your sister?”
    “Yes.”
    Morganstern shrugged. “Gibson isn’t exactly a helpful man. As far as I know, he doesn’t have any friends. No one in the business here that I know, and I know a lot of people.”
    “But he has a home down in Jamaica?”
    “Rumor would suggest so. He spends a lot of time down there.”
    “Why?”
    Morganstern sighed. “I don’t know, kiddo. Most magicians like a place they can retreat to in order to design their illusions. Operate under the radar till they get the bugs worked out. I can make a few calls, see what I can find out.”
    Lauren nodded, getting more comfortable with her course of action. She couldn’t sit back because the police weren’t obviously going to carry the investigation very far. “I need this to be kept quiet. I don’t want Gibson to know anyone from the magic community is looking into him.”
    “All right.” Morganstern frowned. “I gotta say, I don’t like the idea of you going down there and talking to that guy. Especially not if you think you gotta do everything on stealth mode.”
    Lauren looked at him and saw the worry in his face.
    Morganstern hesitated a moment, then started talking. “Ten years ago, when Gibson was just starting out on the circuit, before he blew up and got network attention with those street magician YouTube spots, he had a reputation for being hard on female assistants.” He shrugged. “That doesn’t make him a killer, but I don’t think he’s a nice guy, either. You’ve seen what fame does to some people—makes them think they’re living in a whole different world than the rest of us.”
    “You think that’s what Gibson believes?”
    “I don’t know, kiddo, but I think it’s something you should keep in mind. And now that I think about it twice, this is probably something you should tell the police about and just walk away.”
    “I’m not going to do that.” Lauren was silent for a moment, thinking about Heath Sawyer and his vendetta. “There’s a police detective from Atlanta. He lost a friend, another police officer, to the White Rabbit Killer.”
    Morganstern’s eyes narrowed. “You’re saying Megan was murdered by that guy?”
    “It hasn’t come out yet, but the local police handling the investigation in Kingston have received a White Rabbit card.”
    Morganstern swore softly.
    Lauren went on, divorcing her emotions and speaking mechanically. “Heath and his friend had worked the White Rabbit murders together, and they were narrowing the focus on Gibson. Everywhere one of those murders was committed, Gibson had been playing a venue.”
    “Have the police questioned him?”
    “No. They don’t have any evidence against him, nothing that ties him to the murders.”
    “Then why are you so interested in Gibson?”
    “Because he was one of the last people to see Megan alive. He could have seen something that will lead the police to the killer.”
    “If that was the case, why doesn’t he come forward?”
    “Maybe he doesn’t know he saw anything. Maybe he doesn’t want the publicity. Either way, he’s got enough lawyers to keep the police away from him.”
    “What are you planning to do?”
    “I want to ask him about that evening he spent with Megan. I want to know where they went, who they saw, anything that might help with this investigation.”
    “You’re not an investigator,